Desktop multimedia environments to support collaborative distance learning

Desktop multimedia conferencing, when two or more persons can communicate among themselves via personal computers with the opportunity to see and hear one another as well as communicate via text messages while working with commonly available stored resources, appears to have important applications to the support of collaborative learning. In this paper we explore this potential in three ways: (a) through an analysis of particular learner needs when learning and working collaboratively with others outside of face-to-face situations; (b) through an analysis of different forms of conferencing environments, including desktop multimedia environments, relative to their effectiveness in terms of meeting learner needs for distributed collaboration; and (c) through reporting the results of a formative evaluation of a prototype desktop multimedia conferencing system developed especially for the support of collaborative learning. Via these analyses, suggestions are offered relating to the functionalities of desktop multimedia conferencing systems for the support of collaborative learning, reflecting new developments in both the technologies available for such systems and in our awareness of learner needs when working collaboratively with one other outside of face-to-face situations

Discovery Learning Experiments in a New Machine Design Laboratory

A new Machine Design Laboratory at Marquette University has been created to foster student exploration with hardware and real-world systems. The Laboratory incorporates areas for teaching and training, and has been designed to promote “hands-on” and “minds-on” learning. It reflects the spirit of transformational learning that is a theme in the College of Engineering. The goal was to create discovery learning oriented experiments for a required junior-level “Design of Machine Elements” course in mechanical engineering that would give students practical experiences and expose them to physical hardware, actual tools, and real-world design challenges. In the experiments students face a range of real-world tasks: identify and select components, measure parameters (dimensions, speed, force), distinguish between normal and used (worn) components and between proper and abnormal behavior, reverse engineer systems, and justify design choices. The experiments serve to motivate the theory and spark interest in the subject of machine design. This paper presents details of the experiments and summarizes student reactions and our experiences in the Machine Design Laboratory. In addition, the paper provides some insights for others who may wish to develop similar types of experiments

A Software Radio Challenge Accelerating Education and Innovation in Wireless Communications

This Innovative Practice Full Paper presents our methodology and tools for introducing competition in the electrical engineering curriculum to accelerate education and innovation in wireless communications. Software radio or software-defined radio (SDR) enables wireless technology, systems and standards education where the student acts as the radio developer or engineer. This is still a huge endeavor because of the complexity of current wireless systems and the diverse student backgrounds. We suggest creating a competition among student teams to potentiate creativity while leveraging the SDR development methodology and open-source tools to facilitate cooperation. The proposed student challenge follows the European UEFA Champions League format, which includes a qualification phase followed by the elimination round or playoffs. The students are tasked to build an SDR transmitter and receiver following the guidelines of the long-term evolution standard. The metric is system performance. After completing this course, the students will be able to (1) analyze alternative radio design options and argue about their benefits and drawbacks and (2) contribute to the evolution of wireless standards. We discuss our experiences and lessons learned with particular focus on the suitability of the proposed teaching and evaluation methodology and conclude that competition in the electrical engineering classroom can spur innovation.Comment: Frontiers in Education 2018 (FIE 2018

On Partially Controlled Multi-Agent Systems

Motivated by the control theoretic distinction between controllable and uncontrollable events, we distinguish between two types of agents within a multi-agent system: controllable agents, which are directly controlled by the system's designer, and uncontrollable agents, which are not under the designer's direct control. We refer to such systems as partially controlled multi-agent systems, and we investigate how one might influence the behavior of the uncontrolled agents through appropriate design of the controlled agents. In particular, we wish to understand which problems are naturally described in these terms, what methods can be applied to influence the uncontrollable agents, the effectiveness of such methods, and whether similar methods work across different domains. Using a game-theoretic framework, this paper studies the design of partially controlled multi-agent systems in two contexts: in one context, the uncontrollable agents are expected utility maximizers, while in the other they are reinforcement learners. We suggest different techniques for controlling agents' behavior in each domain, assess their success, and examine their relationship.Comment: See http://www.jair.org/ for any accompanying file

The evolution of a cooperative work framework for e-Learning

This paper details the evolution of a Framework for e-Learning, to a Cooperative Work Framework for e-Learning, as presented at the IASK conference (Graham 2008a) and annotated accordingly. It begins by discussing the development of the original Framework for e-Learning, and how this study resulted in a further study investigating whether the use of Blended Learning could fulfill or at least accommodate some of the human requirements presently neglected by current e-Learning systems as identified by the original Framework. This second study evaluated an in-house system: Teachmat, and discussed how the use of Blended Learning had become increasingly prevalent as a result of the enhancement and expansion of Teachmat. It looked at the employment of Blended Learning and Teachmat’s relationship to human and pedagogical issues, as well as both the positive and negative implications of this reality. PESTE factors from Sociology were then applied to appraise the adoption of e-Learning, leading to the proposal of PESTE factors for educational software and e-Learning in particular. Finally, the study evolved to reconsider e-Learning in relation to a Cooperative Work Framework, revealing critical weakness in the fundamental nature of e-Learning and its consequent propensity for failure

Factors influencing the success of computer mediated communication (CMC) environments in university teaching: a review and case study

Despite its potential benefits, the effectiveness of CMC when used to support learning in higher education is very variable, making it important to identify those factors which best predict successful implementations. A review of the literature from the past few years, presented in the first half of this paper, suggests that, consistent with Activity Theory (Leont'ev, 1978), the critical factors are those which provide a context and rationale for online communication by helping users to establish a shared purpose. However, generating empirical support for this hypothesis presents two kinds of methodological problem: specifying the methods and measures necessary to discern the existence and impact of shared purpose; and dealing with the difficulties of making controlled comparisons in this area. The second half of the paper illustrates, via an implementation case study, something of how these methodological problems might be resolved, and presents evidence in favour of the central importance of shared purpose