Multi Agent Systems

Research on multi-agent systems is enlarging our future technical capabilities as humans and as an intelligent society. During recent years many effective applications have been implemented and are part of our daily life. These applications have agent-based models and methods as an important ingredient. Markets, finance world, robotics, medical technology, social negotiation, video games, big-data science, etc. are some of the branches where the knowledge gained through multi-agent simulations is necessary and where new software engineering tools are continuously created and tested in order to reach an effective technology transfer to impact our lives. This book brings together researchers working in several fields that cover the techniques, the challenges and the applications of multi-agent systems in a wide variety of aspects related to learning algorithms for different devices such as vehicles, robots and drones, computational optimization to reach a more efficient energy distribution in power grids and the use of social networks and decision strategies applied to the smart learning and education environments in emergent countries. We hope that this book can be useful and become a guide or reference to an audience interested in the developments and applications of multi-agent systems

On the cybernetic arrangement of feedback in serious games: A systems-theoretical perspective

This paper explores the cybernetic regulation of complex human learning and teaching. It provides a theoretical description of the arrangement of adaptive, machine- generated learner feedback which relies on cybernetic principles. Cybernetics — today often referred to as control theory, or feedback control theory — involves the incorporation of self-establishing feedback mechanisms for optimal control in complex systems. Although feedback is considered a key element of any learning process, the arrangement of feedback by teachers and educators is under pressure because of the ever-growing complexity of learning environments which is being reinforced by open, online learning technologies and topical models of learning (competence learning, experiential learning, situated cognition, serious gaming). This paper explores how cybernetic principles could be implemented in complex learning environments, e.g. serious games, for the arrange- ment of self-regulating feedback loops for learners. The approach is based on a quanti- tative description of learning activities and learning performances. For the presentation of the feedback, a feedback decision procedure is suggested which is to be linked with pedagogical theories and assessment models. The proposed cybernetic approach is elucidated with a theoretical example. The paper provides a proof of principle and gives suggestions for further development

On the cybernetic arrangement of feedback in serious games: A systems-theoretical perspective

This paper explores the cybernetic regulation of complex human learning and teaching. It provides a theoretical description of the arrangement of adaptive, machine- generated learner feedback which relies on cybernetic principles. Cybernetics — today often referred to as control theory, or feedback control theory — involves the incorporation of self-establishing feedback mechanisms for optimal control in complex systems. Although feedback is considered a key element of any learning process, the arrangement of feedback by teachers and educators is under pressure because of the ever-growing complexity of learning environments which is being reinforced by open, online learning technologies and topical models of learning (competence learning, experiential learning, situated cognition, serious gaming). This paper explores how cybernetic principles could be implemented in complex learning environments, e.g. serious games, for the arrange- ment of self-regulating feedback loops for learners. The approach is based on a quanti- tative description of learning activities and learning performances. For the presentation of the feedback, a feedback decision procedure is suggested which is to be linked with pedagogical theories and assessment models. The proposed cybernetic approach is elucidated with a theoretical example. The paper provides a proof of principle and gives suggestions for further development

Participatory Design of Classrooms: Infrastructuring Education Reform in K-12 Personalized Learning Programs

The redesign of the physical spaces of classrooms and schools has become a prominent feature in many K-12, personalized learning schools, though it is often dismissed as a peripheral aspect of change. Through observations and interviews at four public schools, I examine the affordances of these new spaces and the narrative of their design. I situate these spaces-turned-places as pedagogical artifacts in a participatory design process to examine how educators and students create functional and meaningful learning spaces. Reframing the physical spaces in this way suggests how the spaces may be supporting the sustainability of the reform

Practices of physical and digital special effect practices of physical and digital special effects making : an exploration of similarities

This paper looks at practices of physical and digital special effects making in the context of the growing use of digital technologies in movie making. It develops a theoretical framework based on Lévi-Strauss's notion of bricolage and applies this framework to direct and indirect sources in order to develop an understanding of the elements and processes that characterize the making of special effects. After discussing the usefulness of bricolage as a perspective for organizational analysis, the paper concludes with the authors' views about the evolution of special effects making practices

NMC Horizon Report: 2017 Higher Education Edition

The NMC Horizon Report > 2017 Higher Education Edition is a collaborative effort between the NMC and the EDUCAUSE Learning Initiative (ELI). This 14th edition describes annual findings from the NMC Horizon Project, an ongoing research project designed to identify and describe emerging technologies likely to have an impact on learning, teaching, and creative inquiry in education. Six key trends, six significant challenges, and six important developments in educational technology are placed directly in the context of their likely impact on the core missions of universities and colleges. The three key sections of this report constitute a reference and straightforward technology-planning guide for educators, higher education leaders, administrators, policymakers, and technologists. It is our hope that this research will help to inform the choices that institutions are making about technology to improve, support, or extend teaching, learning, and creative inquiry in higher education across the globe. All of the topics were selected by an expert panel that represented a range of backgrounds and perspectives