Procesos pedagógicos y uso de tecnología en el aula

Computer supports have diversified the possibilities for interactivity in classroom teaching. Collaborative games, response feedback systems and simulated participation are indicative of the wide range of activities for which these technologies have found application in classroom education processes. In this article, evidence is offered for the contributions made to classroom pedagogical processes by computer mediation. The bibliographic analysis conducted permitted the identification of 2 pedagogic processes generated, an inductive and a deductive one, were identified. The computer-mediated teaching activities associated with each process in this literature were then classified and analyzed. Finally, inferences were drawn regarding the advantages of computer mediation in this scenario, being the main contributions, structuring and gradual deepening of subject content, the strengthening of collaboration processes, the diversification of learning environments and increased student participation.Los soportes computacionales han diversificado las posibilidades de interactividad de la enseñanza en sala de clase. Los usos del computador en actividades educativas tales como juegos colaborativos, sistemas de retroalimentación de respuesta o participación simulada, entre otros, ponen en evidencia las diversas alternativas que tiene el uso de esta tecnología al interior del proceso educativo desarrollado en el aula. En este contexto, el propósito del artículo es evidenciar el aporte que genera la mediación computacional para los procesos pedagógicos implementados en la sala de clase de la educación escolar formal. Para ello se realizó un análisis bibliográfico que permitió identificar dos configuraciones de los procesos pedagógicos generados, la Inductiva y la Deductiva. Se analizaron y sistematizaron las actividades de enseñanza mediadas por el computador asociadas a ambos procesos. Entre los resultados se delimitan las ventajas del uso de la tecnología en este escenario, destacándose como principales aportes la estructuración y profundización gradual de los contenidos, el fortalecimiento de los procesos de colaboración, la diversificación de los entornos de aprendizaje, y el incremento de la participación estudiantil

Creative Haptic Interface Design for the Aging Population

Audiovisual human-computer-interfaces still make up the majority of content to the public; however, haptic interfaces offer unique advantage over the dominant information infrastructure, particularly for users with a disability or diminishing cognitive and physical skills like the elderly. The tactile sense allows users to integrate new, unobstructive channels for digital information into their sensorium, one that is less likely to be overwhelmed compared to vision and audition. Haptics research focus on the development of hardware, improving resolution, modality, and fidelity of the actuators. Despite the technological limitations, haptic interfaces are shown to reinforce physical skill acquisition, therapy, and communication. This chapter will present key characteristics intuitive tactile interfaces should capture for elderly end-users; sample projects will showcase unique applications and designs that identify the limitations of the UI

Teaching processes and technology use in the classroom

Computer supports have diversified the possibilities for interactivity in classroom teaching. Collaborative games, response feedback systems and simulated participation are indicative of the wide range of activities for which these technologies have found application in classroom education processes. In this article, evidence is offered for the contributions made to classroom pedagogical processes by computer mediation. The bibliographic analysis conducted permitted the identification of 2 pedagogic processes generated, an inductive and a deductive one, were identified. The computer-mediated teaching activities associated with each process in this literature were then classified and analyzed. Finally, inferences were drawn regarding the advantages of computer mediation in this scenario, being the main contributions, structuring and gradual deepening of subject content, the strengthening of collaboration processes, the diversification of learning environments and increased student participation.</p

Virtual reality for assembly methods prototyping: a review

Assembly planning and evaluation is an important component of the product design process in which details about how parts of a new product will be put together are formalized. A well designed assembly process should take into account various factors such as optimum assembly time and sequence, tooling and fixture requirements, ergonomics, operator safety, and accessibility, among others. Existing computer-based tools to support virtual assembly either concentrate solely on representation of the geometry of parts and fixtures and evaluation of clearances and tolerances or use simulated human mannequins to approximate human interaction in the assembly process. Virtual reality technology has the potential to support integration of natural human motions into the computer aided assembly planning environment (Ritchie et al. in Proc I MECH E Part B J Eng 213(5):461–474, 1999). This would allow evaluations of an assembler’s ability to manipulate and assemble parts and result in reduced time and cost for product design. This paper provides a review of the research in virtual assembly and categorizes the different approaches. Finally, critical requirements and directions for future research are presented

GRAND CHALLENGE No. 3: DIGITAL ARCHAEOLOGY Technology-Enabled Learning in Archaeology

Archaeology is traditionally a hands-on, in-person discipline when it comes to formal and informal instruction; however, more and more we are seeing the application of blended and online instruction and outreach implemented within our discipline. To this point, much of the movement in this direction has been related to a greater administrative emphasis on filling university classrooms, as well as the increasing importance of public outreach and engagement when it comes to presenting our research. More recently, we have all had to adjust our activities and interactions in reaction to physical distancing requirements during a pandemic. Whether in a physical classroom or online, archaeologists must learn to properly leverage digital technology in order to create enthusiastic, engaging, respectful, and accessible (from-place and in-place) learning environments. This article brings together scholars who are learning to do just that. We apply a usable and easily navigated framework for archaeologists to consider while in either formal or informal educational environments and provide examples of how digital technologies can be applied to satisfy the three “presences”—social/emotional, teaching, and cognitive—required for a successful “community of inquiry” experience in archaeology. Examples are drawn from our personal experiences in North America, Central America, and Europe

User-based gesture vocabulary for form creation during a product design process

There are inconsistencies between the nature of the conceptual design and the functionalities of the computational systems supporting it, which disrupt the designers’ process, focusing on technology rather than designers’ needs. A need for elicitation of hand gestures appropriate for the requirements of the conceptual design, rather than those arbitrarily chosen or focusing on ease of implementation was identified.The aim of this thesis is to identify natural and intuitive hand gestures for conceptual design, performed by designers (3rd, 4th year product design engineering students and recent graduates) working on their own, without instruction and without limitations imposed by the facilitating technology. This was done via a user centred study including 44 participants. 1785 gestures were collected. Gestures were explored as a sole mean for shape creation and manipulation in virtual 3D space. Gestures were identified, described in writing, sketched, coded based on the taxonomy used, categorised based on hand form and the path travelled and variants identified. Then they were statistically analysed to ascertain agreement rates between the participants, significance of the agreement and the likelihood of number of repetitions for each category occurring by chance. The most frequently used and statistically significant gestures formed the consensus set of vocabulary for conceptual design. The effect of the shape of the manipulated object on the gesture performed, and if the sequence of the gestures participants proposed was different from the established CAD solid modelling practices were also observed.Vocabulary was evaluated by non-designer participants, and the outcomes have shown that the majority of gestures were appropriate and easy to perform. Evaluation was performed theoretically and in the VR environment. Participants selected their preferred gestures for each activity, and a variant of the vocabulary for conceptual design was created as an outcome, that aims to ensure that extensive training is not required, extending the ability to design beyond trained designers only.There are inconsistencies between the nature of the conceptual design and the functionalities of the computational systems supporting it, which disrupt the designers’ process, focusing on technology rather than designers’ needs. A need for elicitation of hand gestures appropriate for the requirements of the conceptual design, rather than those arbitrarily chosen or focusing on ease of implementation was identified.The aim of this thesis is to identify natural and intuitive hand gestures for conceptual design, performed by designers (3rd, 4th year product design engineering students and recent graduates) working on their own, without instruction and without limitations imposed by the facilitating technology. This was done via a user centred study including 44 participants. 1785 gestures were collected. Gestures were explored as a sole mean for shape creation and manipulation in virtual 3D space. Gestures were identified, described in writing, sketched, coded based on the taxonomy used, categorised based on hand form and the path travelled and variants identified. Then they were statistically analysed to ascertain agreement rates between the participants, significance of the agreement and the likelihood of number of repetitions for each category occurring by chance. The most frequently used and statistically significant gestures formed the consensus set of vocabulary for conceptual design. The effect of the shape of the manipulated object on the gesture performed, and if the sequence of the gestures participants proposed was different from the established CAD solid modelling practices were also observed.Vocabulary was evaluated by non-designer participants, and the outcomes have shown that the majority of gestures were appropriate and easy to perform. Evaluation was performed theoretically and in the VR environment. Participants selected their preferred gestures for each activity, and a variant of the vocabulary for conceptual design was created as an outcome, that aims to ensure that extensive training is not required, extending the ability to design beyond trained designers only

Manifestations of Xenophobia in AI Systems

Xenophobia is one of the key drivers of marginalisation, discrimination, and conflict, yet many prominent machine learning (ML) fairness frameworks fail to comprehensively measure or mitigate the resulting xenophobic harms. Here we aim to bridge this conceptual gap and help facilitate safe and ethical design of artificial intelligence (AI) solutions. We ground our analysis of the impact of xenophobia by first identifying distinct types of xenophobic harms, and then applying this framework across a number of prominent AI application domains, reviewing the potential interplay between AI and xenophobia on social media and recommendation systems, healthcare, immigration, employment, as well as biases in large pre-trained models. These help inform our recommendations towards an inclusive, xenophilic design of future AI systems

Ubiquitous computing and natural interfaces for environmental information

Dissertação apresentada na Faculdade de Ciências e Tecnologia da Universidade Nova de Lisboa para obtenção do Grau de Mestre em Engenharia do Ambiente, perfil Gestão e Sistemas AmbientaisThe next computing revolution‘s objective is to embed every street, building, room and object with computational power. Ubiquitous computing (ubicomp) will allow every object to receive and transmit information, sense its surroundings and act accordingly, be located from anywhere in the world, connect every person. Everyone will have the possibility to access information, despite their age, computer knowledge, literacy or physical impairment. It will impact the world in a profound way, empowering mankind, improving the environment, but will also create new challenges that our society, economy, health and global environment will have to overcome. Negative impacts have to be identified and dealt with in advance. Despite these concerns, environmental studies have been mostly absent from discussions on the new paradigm. This thesis seeks to examine ubiquitous computing, its technological emergence, raise awareness towards future impacts and explore the design of new interfaces and rich interaction modes. Environmental information is approached as an area which may greatly benefit from ubicomp as a way to gather, treat and disseminate it, simultaneously complying with the Aarhus convention. In an educational context, new media are poised to revolutionize the way we perceive, learn and interact with environmental information. cUbiq is presented as a natural interface to access that information