Using mobile devices to support online collaborative learning

Mobile collaborative learning is considered the next step of on-line collaborative learning by incorporating mobility as a key and breakthrough requirement. Indeed, the current wide spread of mobile devices and wireless technologies brings an enormous potential to e-learning, in terms of ubiquity, pervasiveness, personalization, flexibility, and so on. For this reason, Mobile Computer-Supported Collaborative Learning has recently grown from a minor research field to significant research projects covering a fairly variety of formal and specially informal learning settings, from schools and universities to workplaces, museums, cities and rural areas. Much of this research has shown how mobile technology can offer new opportunities for groups of learners to collaborate inside and beyond the traditional instructor-oriented educational paradigm. However, mobile technologies, when specifically applied to collaborative learning activities, are still in its infancy and many challenges arise. In addition, current research in this domain points to highly specialized study cases, uses, and experiences in specific educational settings and thus the issues addressed in the literature are found dispersed and disconnected from each other. To this end, this paper attempts to bridge relevant aspects of mobile technologies in support for collaborative learning and provides a tighter view by means of a multidimensional approach.Peer ReviewedPostprint (published version

Designing for Cross-Device Interactions

Driven by technological advancements, we now own and operate an ever-growing number of digital devices, leading to an increased amount of digital data we produce, use, and maintain. However, while there is a substantial increase in computing power and availability of devices and data, many tasks we conduct with our devices are not well connected across multiple devices. We conduct our tasks sequentially instead of in parallel, while collaborative work across multiple devices is cumbersome to set up or simply not possible. To address these limitations, this thesis is concerned with cross-device computing. In particular it aims to conceptualise, prototype, and study interactions in cross-device computing. This thesis contributes to the field of Human-Computer Interaction (HCI)—and more specifically to the area of cross-device computing—in three ways: first, this work conceptualises previous work through a taxonomy of cross-device computing resulting in an in-depth understanding of the field, that identifies underexplored research areas, enabling the transfer of key insights into the design of interaction techniques. Second, three case studies were conducted that show how cross-device interactions can support curation work as well as augment users’ existing devices for individual and collaborative work. These case studies incorporate novel interaction techniques for supporting cross-device work. Third, through studying cross-device interactions and group collaboration, this thesis provides insights into how researchers can understand and evaluate multi- and cross-device interactions for individual and collaborative work. We provide a visualization and querying tool that facilitates interaction analysis of spatial measures and video recordings to facilitate such evaluations of cross-device work. Overall, the work in this thesis advances the field of cross-device computing with its taxonomy guiding research directions, novel interaction techniques and case studies demonstrating cross-device interactions for curation, and insights into and tools for effective evaluation of cross-device systems

Challenges and Opportunities for the Future of iCampuses

Meeting the educational needs of students currently requires moving towardcollaborative electronic and mobile learning systems that parallel the vision ofWeb 2.0. However, factors such as data freedom, brokerage, interconnectivityand the Internet of Things add to a vision for Web 3.0 that will require con-sideration in the development of future campus-based, distance and vocationalstudy. So, education can, in future, be expected to require deeper technologicalconnections between students and learning environments, based on significantuse of sensors, mobile devices, cloud computing and rich-media visualization.Therefore, we discuss challenges associated with such a futuristic campus con-text, including how learning materials and environments may be enriched byit. As an additional novel element the potential for much of that enrichmentto be realized through development by students, within the curriculum, is alsoconsidered. We will conclude that much of the technology required to embracethe vision of Web 3.0 in education already exists, but that further research inkey areas is required for the concept to achieve its full potential

Organizational and Technological Aspects of a Platform for Collective Food Awareness

Can Internet-of-food technologies foster collective food awareness within a food consumer community? The paper contributes to answer this question in a fourfold aspect. Firstly, we model a cooperative process for generating and sharing reliable food information that is derived from food instrumental measurements performed by consumers via smart food things. Secondly, we outline the functional architecture of a platform capable to support such a process and to let a consumer community share reliable food information. Thirdly, we identify main entities and their attributes necessary to model the contextualized interaction between a consumer and the platform. Lastly, we review articles reviewing technologies capable of acquiring and quantifying food characteristics for food performances assessment. The purpose is to give an insight into current research directions on technologies employable in a platform for collective food awareness

PAS: A Wireless-Enabled, Cell-Phone-Incorporated Personal Assistant System for Independent and Assisted Living

Advances in networking, sensors, medical devices and smart phones have made it feasible to monitor and pro-vide medical and other assistance to people either in their homes or outside. Aging populations will benefit from re-duced costs and improved healthcare through assisted living based on these technologies. However, these systems chal-lenge current state-of-the-art techniques for usability, relia-bility, and security. In this paper we present the PAS open architecture for assisted living, which allows independently developed third party components to collaborate. Further-more, we incorporate cell phones in PAS as the local intel-ligence in order to enhance the robustness and ubiquity. We discuss key technological issues in assisted living systems, such as software architecture layout, power preserving, se-curity and privacy; and results from our pilot study in a real assisted living facility are presented.

Tangible user interfaces : past, present and future directions

In the last two decades, Tangible User Interfaces (TUIs) have emerged as a new interface type that interlinks the digital and physical worlds. Drawing upon users' knowledge and skills of interaction with the real non-digital world, TUIs show a potential to enhance the way in which people interact with and leverage digital information. However, TUI research is still in its infancy and extensive research is required in or- der to fully understand the implications of tangible user interfaces, to develop technologies that further bridge the digital and the physical, and to guide TUI design with empirical knowledge. This paper examines the existing body of work on Tangible User In- terfaces. We start by sketching the history of tangible user interfaces, examining the intellectual origins of this field. We then present TUIs in a broader context, survey application domains, and review frame- works and taxonomies. We also discuss conceptual foundations of TUIs including perspectives from cognitive sciences, phycology, and philoso- phy. Methods and technologies for designing, building, and evaluating TUIs are also addressed. Finally, we discuss the strengths and limita- tions of TUIs and chart directions for future research

Ubiquitous Semantic Applications

As Semantic Web technology evolves many open areas emerge, which attract more research focus. In addition to quickly expanding Linked Open Data (LOD) cloud, various embeddable metadata formats (e.g. RDFa, microdata) are becoming more common. Corporations are already using existing Web of Data to create new technologies that were not possible before. Watson by IBM an artificial intelligence computer system capable of answering questions posed in natural language can be a great example. On the other hand, ubiquitous devices that have a large number of sensors and integrated devices are becoming increasingly powerful and fully featured computing platforms in our pockets and homes. For many people smartphones and tablet computers have already replaced traditional computers as their window to the Internet and to the Web. Hence, the management and presentation of information that is useful to a user is a main requirement for today’s smartphones. And it is becoming extremely important to provide access to the emerging Web of Data from the ubiquitous devices. In this thesis we investigate how ubiquitous devices can interact with the Semantic Web. We discovered that there are five different approaches for bringing the Semantic Web to ubiquitous devices. We have outlined and discussed in detail existing challenges in implementing this approaches in section 1.2. We have described a conceptual framework for ubiquitous semantic applications in chapter 4. We distinguish three client approaches for accessing semantic data using ubiquitous devices depending on how much of the semantic data processing is performed on the device itself (thin, hybrid and fat clients). These are discussed in chapter 5 along with the solution to every related challenge. Two provider approaches (fat and hybrid) can be distinguished for exposing data from ubiquitous devices on the Semantic Web. These are discussed in chapter 6 along with the solution to every related challenge. We conclude our work with a discussion on each of the contributions of the thesis and propose future work for each of the discussed approach in chapter 7

Context-Aware DVB-H Service Software Framework

Kontekstilla tarkoitetaan tietoa, jota voidaan käyttää jonkin kokonaisuuden tilanteen luonnehtimiseen. Kontekstitietoinen järjestelmä hyödyntää tätä kontekstia tuottaakseen merkityksellistä tietoa ja/tai palveluita järjestelmän käyttäjälle. Kontekstitietoisuus on yhä olennaisempi käsite tulevaisuuden mobiilipalveluissa ja -sovelluksissa. Personointi on myös olennainen käsite: sitä käytetään tarjotun sisällön ja käyttäjän kiinnostusten väliseen vertailuun. Mobiilipalveluntarjoajat tarvitsevat edullisia sisällönlähetystapoja. Eräs mahdollinen ratkaisu tähän on DVB-H-teknologian käyttö. DVB-H on digitaali-TV-spesifikaatio, joka on suunniteltu käytettäväksi mobiiliympäristöissä. DVB-H:n avulla voidaan tavoittaa suuri joukko asiakkaita erittäin kustannustehokkaasti. Kontekstitietoisuuden ja DVB-H-teknologian yhdistäminen mobiilipalveluksi on potentiaalisesti merkittävä skenaario: tämän kaltaisen palvelun käyttäjät pystyisivät kuluttamaan juuri sellaista sisältöä, jota he tarvitsevat ja josta he ovat kiinnostuneita; toisaalta palveluntarjoajat hyötyvät huomattavasti tästä rahallisesti. Edellä kuvattuun skenaarioon perustuen tässä diplomityössä esitetään i) kehitetty kontekstitietoisen DVB-H-palvelun ohjelmistokehys ja ii) referenssitoteutus, joka tehtiin ohjelmistokehyksen suunnittelun validoimiseksi. Tutkimuskysymys oli seuraavanlainen: millä tavoin kontekstitietoisuutta ja personointia voidaan hyödyntää DVB-H:n avulla välitetyn sisällön suosittelemiseksi käyttäjille. Kehitetty ohjelmistokehys suunniteltiin aiempaan tutkimukseen ja kontekstitietoisten mobiilipalveluiden ja -sovelluksien kehittämissuosituksiin perustuviin vaatimuksiin nojautuen. Ongelmat, jotka liittyvät kontekstitietoisuuden hyödyntämiseen DVB-H:ssa, käsiteltiin myös ohjelmistokehyksen kehittämisen täydentämiseksi. Referenssitoteutuksen vaatimusten mukainen toiminta validoitiin testiskenaarioilla. Skenaarioista saatujen tulosten avulla kontekstitietoisen DVB-H-palvelun kehittäjät voivat edelleen parantaa ohjelmistokehyksen toimintaa. Skenaariot osoittavat, että kontekstitietoisen mobiilisuosittelupalvelun kehittäminen DVB-H:lle ei ole vain mahdollista mutta myös suotavaa.Context is any information that can be used to characterize the situation of an entity. Context-aware system uses this context to provide relevant information and/or services to user. Context-awareness is a concept, which is increasingly both prevalent and essential in mobile services and applications. Additionally, personalization is a relevant concept in the field of mobile services. It is used to match the offered content and services to user's personal preferences. Mobile service providers require affordable content delivery methods. One viable alternative is DVB-H, a digital TV specification, which is specifically designed for mobile environments. Utilizing broadcasting, DVB-H is able to serve large amounts of customers in extremely cost-efficient way. Combining context-awareness with DVBH is potentially a remarkable scenario: users of this kind of service are able to consume content specific to their needs and preferences, while service providers gain maximal profits due to the inexpensive DVB-H delivery network. Based on this scenario, this Thesis presents i) a context-aware DVB-H service software framework that was developed and ii) a reference implementation, which was actualized to validate the framework design. The fundamental research question was: in what way can context-awareness and personalization be utilized in recommending DVB-H-mediated content to users. The developed framework was designed based on the requirements derived from earlier work related to context-aware system architectures and on guidelines related to designing context-aware mobile services and applications. DVB-H-specific context-awareness problems were considered to complete the design. The functioning of the reference implementation was confirmed with test scenarios, which validate the set requirements and provide valuable insights for the future developers of Context-Aware DVB-H Service. The scenarios validate that it is possible and even beneficial to create a context-aware mobile recommendation service, whose target content delivery medium is DVB-H

Towards a collaborative tourist system using serious games

Tese de mestrado integrado. Engenharia Informática e Computação. Faculdade de Engenharia. Universidade do Porto. 201