Toward Multimodal Analytics in Ubiquitous Learning Environments

While Ubiquitous Learning Environments (ULEs) have shown several benefits for learning, they pose challenges for orchestration. Teachers need to be aware of the learning process, which is difficult to achieve when it occurs across a heterogeneous set of spaces, resources and devices. In addition, ULEs can benefit from multimodal analyses due to the heterogeneity of the data sources available (e.g., logs, geolocation, sensor information, learning artifacts). In previous works, we proposed an orchestration system with some analytics features that can gather multimodal datasets during the learning process. Based on this experience, in this paper we describe the technological support provided by the system to collect data from multiple spaces and sources as well as the structure of the generated dataset. We also reflect about the challenges of multimodal learning analytics (MMLA) in ULEs, and we pose some ideas about how the system could better support MMLA in the future to mitigate those challenges

Learning Buckets: Helping Teachers Introduce Flexibility in the Management of Learning Artifacts Across Spaces

Producción Científicaechnology offers rich opportunities for learning across different physical and virtual spaces. However, most of current across-spaces proposals are either highly teacher-centered, inflexible in the students’ self-management of learning artifacts during the enactment, or allow the teacher little/no control of such students’ management of artifacts. Moreover, these proposals tend to be disconnected from the practices and tools that are usual in the classroom. How can we achieve a middle ground between keeping the teacher in control of across-spaces situations and, at the same time, providing students with a degree of flexibility to manage learning artifacts? Aiming to address such challenge we propose the notion of learning bucket, and the Bucket-Server, a system implementing such notion. A learning bucket is a container of learning artifacts which are generated and/or accessed across-spaces by the students during the enactment, according to constraints configured by teachers at design time. The responsive evaluation conducted, based on a feature analysis and a pilot study with experts, suggests that learning buckets can help evolve from teacher- to student-centered approaches, while maintaining the teacher in control of students’ actions. The evaluation also indicates that the Bucket-Server surpasses the support provided by alternative proposals to across-spaces learning.Ministerio de Economía, Industria y Competitividad (Project TIN2014- 53199-C3-2- R)Junta de Castilla y León (programa de apoyo a proyectos de investigación – Ref. VA277U14

Monitoring for awareness and reflection in ubiquitous learning environments

Producción CientíficaDespite the educational affordances that ubiquitous learning has shown, it is still hampered by several orchestration difficulties. One of these difficulties is that teachers lose awareness of what the students perform across the multiple technologies and spaces involved. Monitoring can help in such awareness, and it has been highly explored in face-to-face and blended learning. Nevertheless, in ubiquitous learning environments monitoring has been usually limited to activities taking place in a specific type of space (e.g., outdoors). In this paper we propose a monitoring system for ubiquitous learning, which was evaluated in three authentic studies, supporting the participants in the affordable monitoring of learning situations involving web, augmented-physical, and 3D virtual world spaces. The work carried out also helped identify a set of guidelines, which are expected to be useful for researchers and technology developers aiming to provide participants’ support in ubiquitous learning environments

Game of Blazons: Helping teachers conduct learning situations that integrate web tools and multiple types of augmented reality

Producción CientíficaSeveral studies have explored how to help teachers carry out learning situations involving Augmented Reality (AR), a technology that has shown different affordances for learning. However, these proposals tend to rely on specific types of AR, focus on particular types of spaces, and are generally disconnected from other technologies widely used in education, such as VLEs or Web 2.0 tools. These constraints limit the possible range of activities that can be conducted and their integration into the existing classroom practice. GLUEPS-AR is a system that can help overcome these limitations, aiding teachers in the creation and enactment of learning situations that may combine multiple types of AR with other common web tools. This paper presents an evaluation study conducted on Game of Blazons, a learning situation carried out by two university teachers using GLUEPS-AR, and framed within two days of outdoor activities in a village in Spain. The evaluation showed that GLUEPS-AR provided an affordable support to the participant teachers to integrate several activities that made use of multiple types of AR, common web tools and augmented paper, into a unique learning situation.Ministerio de Economía, Industria y Competitividad (Projects TIN2011-28308-C03-02 and TIN2014-53199-C3-2-R)Junta de Castilla y León (programa de apoyo a proyectos de investigación - Ref. VA082U16

Using virtual learning environments in bricolage mode for orchestrating learning situations across physical and virtual spaces

Producción CientíficaTeachers usually implement their pedagogical ideas in Virtual Learning Environments (VLEs) in a continuous refinement approach also known as “bricolage”. Recently, different proposals have enabled the ubiquitous access to VLEs, thus extending the bricolage mode of operation to other learning spaces. However, such proposals tend to present several limitations for teachers to orchestrate learning situations conducted across different physical and virtual spaces. This paper presents an evaluation study that involved the across-spaces usage of Moodle in bricolage mode and learning buckets (configurable containers of learning artifacts) in multiple learning situations spanning five months in a course on Physical Education in the Natural Environment for pre-service teachers. The study followed a responsive evaluation model, in which we conducted an anticipatory data reduction using an existing orchestration framework (called “5 + 3 aspects”) for structuring data gathering and analysis. The results showed that learning buckets helped the teachers in the multiple aspects of orchestration, overcoming the limitations of alternative approaches in some specific orchestration aspects: helping the involved teachers to connect different physical and physical spaces, while supporting technologies and activities of their everyday practice, and transferring part of the orchestration load from teachers to students. The results also suggested lines of future improvement, including the awareness of outdoor activities.Ministerio de Economía, Industria y Competitividad (Project TIN2011-28308-C03-02 and TIN2014-53199-C3-2-R)Junta de Castilla y León (programa de apoyo a proyectos de investigación - Ref. VA277U14 and VA082U16

Supporting teacher orchestration of across-spaces learning situations

La tesis doctoral trata sobre la orquestación de situaciones de aprendizaje “a través de espacios” (across-spaces, AS, en inglés): situaciones de aprendizaje que integran actividades que tienen lugar en múltiples espacios físicos y virtuales, y donde se da una transición suave, o continua, entre los distintos espacios. En particular, la tesis intenta proporcionar herramientas conceptuales y tecnológicas para apoyar a los docentes en la orquestación de este tipo de situaciones de aprendizaje, que puedan incluir espacios físicos, web y mundos virtuales 3D. Siguiendo la Metodología de Investigación de Desarrollo de Sistemas, y con un paradigma de investigación interpretativo subyacente, se proponen dos constructos (modelo de POI y noción de cubo de aprendizaje o learning bucket) y dos sistemas (GLUEPS-AR y Bucket-Server), para ayudar a los docentes en la orquestación de situaciones de aprendizaje AS. Para la evaluación de las propuestas, se realizaron múltiples análisis de características, estudios pilotos y estudios de evaluación, enmarcados en un modelo de evaluación “receptivo”Departamento de Teoría de la Señal y Comunicaciones e Ingeniería TelemáticaNota: In reference to IEEE copyrighted material which is used with permission in this thesis, the IEEE does not endorse any of Universidad de Valladolid's products or services. Internal or personal use of this material is permitted. If interested in reprinting/republishing IEEE copyrighted material for advertising or promotional purposes or for creating new collective works for resale or redistribution, please go to http://www.ieee.org/publications_standards/publications/rights/rights_link.html to learn how to obtain a License from RightsLink. If applicable, University Microfilms and/or ProQuest Library, or the Archives of Canada may supply single copies of the dissertation

Decision-making of BDI agents, a fuzzy approach

The 4th International Conference on Computer and Information Technology (CIT 2004), Wuhan, China, 14-16 September 2004This paper introduces and proposes agent fuzzy decision-making (AFDM), as an extension to the classical belief-desire-intention (BDI) model. AFDM addresses the limitations of present formalisms within BDI models by making decisions based on quantified fuzzy judgment. The AFDM matrix model enables quantitative calculation and thus, provides a more practical solution to BDI models. In addition, more flexible and controllable solutions to BDI persistence can be expected with the introduction of AFDM.TS 31.07.1