Machining feature-based system for supporting step-compliant milling process

STEP standards aims at setting up a standard description method for product data and providing a neutral exchanging mechanism that is independent of all the information processing systems for product information model. STEP Part 21 is the first implementation method from EXPRESS language and implemented successfully in CAD data. However, this text file consists of purely geometrical and topological data is hardly to be applied in machining process planning which requires machining features enriched data. The aim of this research is developing a new methodology to translate the EXPRESS language model of CAD STEP data into a new product data representation and enriched in machining features which is more beneficial to machining process planning. In this research, a target Database Management System (DBMS) was proposed for developing this system by using its fourth-generation tools that allow rapid development of applications through the provision of nonprocedural query language, reports generators, form generators, graphics generators, and application generators. The use of fourth-generation tools can improve productivity significantly and produce program that are easier to maintain. From this research, a new product data representation in a compact new table format is generated. Then this new product data representation has gone through a series of data enrichment process, such as normal face direction generation, edge convexity/concavity determination and machining features with transition feature recognition. Lastly, this new enriched product data representation is verified by generating to a new STEP standard data format which is according to ISO1030-224 standard format and providing an important part of solution for supporting STEP-compliant process planning and applications in milling process

A review on massive e-learning (MOOC) design, delivery and assessment

MOOCs or Massive Online Open Courses based on Open Educational Resources (OER) might be one of the most versatile ways to offer access to quality education, especially for those residing in far or disadvantaged areas. This article analyzes the state of the art on MOOCs, exploring open research questions and setting interesting topics and goals for further research. Finally, it proposes a framework that includes the use of software agents with the aim to improve and personalize management, delivery, efficiency and evaluation of massive online courses on an individual level basis.Peer ReviewedPostprint (author's final draft

Collaboration in the Semantic Grid: a Basis for e-Learning

The CoAKTinG project aims to advance the state of the art in collaborative mediated spaces for the Semantic Grid. This paper presents an overview of the hypertext and knowledge based tools which have been deployed to augment existing collaborative environments, and the ontology which is used to exchange structure, promote enhanced process tracking, and aid navigation of resources before, after, and while a collaboration occurs. While the primary focus of the project has been supporting e-Science, this paper also explores the similarities and application of CoAKTinG technologies as part of a human-centred design approach to e-Learning

The use of animated agents in e‐learning environments: an exploratory, interpretive case study

There is increasing interest in the use of animated agents in e‐learning environments. However, empirical investigations of their use in online education are limited. Our aim is to provide an empirically based framework for the development and evaluation of animated agents in e‐learning environments. Findings suggest a number of challenges, including the multiple dialogue models that animated agents will need to accommodate, the diverse range of roles that pedagogical animated agents can usefully support, the dichotomous relationship that emerges between these roles and that of the lecturer, and student perception of the degree of autonomy that can be afforded to animated agents

Teaching and learning in virtual worlds: is it worth the effort?

Educators have been quick to spot the enormous potential afforded by virtual worlds for situated and authentic learning, practising tasks with potentially serious consequences in the real world and for bringing geographically dispersed faculty and students together in the same space (Gee, 2007; Johnson and Levine, 2008). Though this potential has largely been realised, it generally isn’t without cost in terms of lack of institutional buy-in, steep learning curves for all participants, and lack of a sound theoretical framework to support learning activities (Campbell, 2009; Cheal, 2007; Kluge & Riley, 2008). This symposium will explore the affordances and issues associated with teaching and learning in virtual worlds, all the time considering the question: is it worth the effort

Transforming pre-service teacher curriculum: observation through a TPACK lens

This paper will discuss an international online collaborative learning experience through the lens of the Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge (TPACK) framework. The teacher knowledge required to effectively provide transformative learning experiences for 21st century learners in a digital world is complex, situated and changing. The discussion looks beyond the opportunity for knowledge development of content, pedagogy and technology as components of TPACK towards the interaction between those three components. Implications for practice are also discussed. In today’s technology infused classrooms it is within the realms of teacher educators, practising teaching and pre-service teachers explore and address effective practices using technology to enhance learning

Collaborative trails in e-learning environments

This deliverable focuses on collaboration within groups of learners, and hence collaborative trails. We begin by reviewing the theoretical background to collaborative learning and looking at the kinds of support that computers can give to groups of learners working collaboratively, and then look more deeply at some of the issues in designing environments to support collaborative learning trails and at tools and techniques, including collaborative filtering, that can be used for analysing collaborative trails. We then review the state-of-the-art in supporting collaborative learning in three different areas – experimental academic systems, systems using mobile technology (which are also generally academic), and commercially available systems. The final part of the deliverable presents three scenarios that show where technology that supports groups working collaboratively and producing collaborative trails may be heading in the near future

A case study in online formal/informal learning: was it collaborative or cooperative learning?

Developing skills in communication and collaboration is essential in modern design education, in order to prepare students for the realities of design practice, where projects involve multidisciplinary teams, often working remotely. This paper presents a learning activity that focusses on developing communication and collaboration skills of undergraduate design students working remotely and vocational learners based in a community makerspace. Participants were drawn from these formal and informal educational settings and engaged in a design-make project framed in the context of distributed manufacturing. They were given designer or maker roles and worked at distance from each other, communicating using asynchronous online tools. Analysis of the collected data has identified a diversity of working practice across the participants, and highlighted the difficulties that result from getting students to work collaboratively, when not collocated. This paper presents and analysis of participants’ communications, with a view to identify whether they were learning collaboratively, or cooperatively. It was found that engaging participants in joint problem solving is not enough to facilitate collaboration. Instead effective collaboration depends on symmetry within the roles of participants and willingness to share expertise through dialogue. Designing learning activities to overcome the challenges that these factors raise is a difficult task, and the research reported here provides some valuable insight

Charting the role of the online teacher in higher education: winds of change

The purpose of this paper is to examine the role of the online teacher at the University of Southern Queensland, Australia. In this paper, it is intended to identify the issues and dilemmas facing those who are navigating the online teaching environment, to elaborate on the issues/dilemmas, and to offer some ways of addressing these issues by referring to the responses of experienced practitioners, online students, to the literature and to data collected for an Australian Government-funded educational evaluation project. Much of the data presented in this paper relates to an online course, Designing Instruction for Flexible Learning, which is part of the totally online initiative, launched at USQ in 1997. The authors of this paper have been involved in both teaching and instructional design of online courses for several years and have identified a significant shift in the role of the online teacher