Mobile Learning Content Authoring Tools (MLCATs): A Systematic Review

Mobile learning is currently receiving a lot of attention within the education arena, particularly within electronic learning. This is attributed to the increasing mobile penetration rates and the subsequent increases in university student enrolments. Mobile Learning environments are supported by a number of crucial services such as content creation which require an authoring tool. The last decade or so has witnessed increased attention to tools for authoring mobile learning content for education. This can be seen from the vast number of conference and journal publications devoted to the topic. Therefore, the goal of this paper is to review works that were published, suggest a new classification framework and explore each of the classification features. This paper is based on a systematic review of mobile learning content authoring tools (MLCATs) from 2000 to 2009. The framework is developed based on a number of dimensions such as system type, development context, Tools and Technologies used, tool availability, ICTD relation, support for standards, learning style support, media supported and tool purpose. This paper provides a means for researchers to extract assertions and several important lessons for the choice and implementation of MLCATs

Concurrent Speech Synthesis to Improve Document First Glance for the Blind

International audienceSkimming and scanning are two well-known reading processes, which are combined to access the document content as quickly and efficiently as possible. While both are available in visual reading mode, it is rather difficult to use them in non visual environments because they mainly rely on typographical and layout properties. In this article, we introduce the concept of tag thunder as a way (1) to achieve the oral transposition of the web 2.0 concept of tag cloud and (2) to produce an innovative interactive stimulus to observe the emergence of self-adapted strategies for non-visual skimming of written texts. We first present our general and theoretical approach to the problem of both fast, global and non-visual access to web browsing; then we detail the progress of development and evaluation of the various components that make up our software architecture. We start from the hypothesis that the semantics of the visual architecture of web pages can be transposed into new sensory modalities thanks to three main steps (web page segmentation, keywords extraction and sound spatialization). We note the difficulty of simultaneously (1) evaluating a modular system as a whole at the end of the processing chain and (2) identifying at the level of each software brick the exact origin of its limits; despite this issue, the results of the first evaluation campaign seem promising

Fulfilling the needs of a metadata creator and analyst : An investigation of RDF browsing and visualization tools

The realization of Semantic Web vision is based on the creation and use of semantic web content which needs software tools both for semantic web developers and end users. Over the past few years, semantic web software tools like ontology editors and triple storage systems have emerged and are growing in maturity with time. While working on a large triple dataset during the course of a research aiming at a life-long “semantic” repository of personal information, besides other semantic web tools, we used several RDF browsing and visualization tools for analyzing our data. This analysis included ensuring the correctness of the data, conformance of instance data to the ontology, finding patterns and trails in the data, cross-checking and evaluating inferred data, etc. We found that many of the features needed by a metadata creator and analyst are missing from these tools. This paper presents an investigation of the tools that are used for browsing and visualizing RDF datasets. It first identifies the browsing and visualization features required by a semantic web developer and a metadata creator and analyst and then based on those features evaluates the most common RDF browsing and visualization tools available till date. We conclude this paper with recommendations for requirements to be fulfilled for future semantic web browsing and visualizationThe past and the future of information systems: 1976-2006 and beyondRed de Universidades con Carreras en Informática (RedUNCI

MACE: Deliverable D7.6 - Report on user interface design and community experiments

This deliverable presents the progress of the user interface design and community building experiments within the MACE project. In Chapter 2 we generally present the interface of the MACE portal, which is a platform to discover and enrich architectural resources and, at the same time, to support the community formed around architectural topics. Besides the advanced search, the portal provides various visual tools for metadata based search and browsing, tailored to architectural needs (see Chapter 3). Different metadata widgets are used to visualize and access multiple dimensions of each resource, as presented in Chapter 4. These widgets not only establish meaningful cross–connections between resources, but also invite to add and edit metadata effortlessly. In order to generate a critical mass of metadata and ensure sustainability of projects’ outcomes, supporting community and fostering end user contributions are critical. In Chapter 5, we present the components deploied in this direction as well as an analytical framework for incentive mechanisms. Within the dissemination strategy, the MACE project has got a unique chance to raise its public awareness at La Biennale of architecture in Venice, 2008. In this context we designed an interactive installation, demonstrating, in an exhibition setting, the benefits of resource interconnection via metadata (see Chapter 6). Chapter 7 presents our preliminary conclusions and an overview of planned future activities

Recent Developments and Future Trends in Volunteered Geographic Information Research: The Case of OpenStreetMap

User-generated content (UGC) platforms on the Internet have experienced a steep increase in data contributions in recent years. The ubiquitous usage of location-enabled devices, such as smartphones, allows contributors to share their geographic information on a number of selected online portals. The collected information is oftentimes referred to as volunteered geographic information (VGI). One of the most utilized, analyzed and cited VGI-platforms, with an increasing popularity over the past few years, is OpenStreetMap (OSM), whose main goal it is to create a freely available geographic database of the world. This paper presents a comprehensive overview of the latest developments in VGI research, focusing on its collaboratively collected geodata and corresponding contributor patterns. Additionally, trends in the realm of OSM research are discussed, highlighting which aspects need to be investigated more closely in the near future

Fulfilling the needs of a metadata creator and analyst : An investigation of RDF browsing and visualization tools

The realization of Semantic Web vision is based on the creation and use of semantic web content which needs software tools both for semantic web developers and end users. Over the past few years, semantic web software tools like ontology editors and triple storage systems have emerged and are growing in maturity with time. While working on a large triple dataset during the course of a research aiming at a life-long “semantic” repository of personal information, besides other semantic web tools, we used several RDF browsing and visualization tools for analyzing our data. This analysis included ensuring the correctness of the data, conformance of instance data to the ontology, finding patterns and trails in the data, cross-checking and evaluating inferred data, etc. We found that many of the features needed by a metadata creator and analyst are missing from these tools. This paper presents an investigation of the tools that are used for browsing and visualizing RDF datasets. It first identifies the browsing and visualization features required by a semantic web developer and a metadata creator and analyst and then based on those features evaluates the most common RDF browsing and visualization tools available till date. We conclude this paper with recommendations for requirements to be fulfilled for future semantic web browsing and visualizationThe past and the future of information systems: 1976-2006 and beyondRed de Universidades con Carreras en Informática (RedUNCI

Ontology-based personalisation of e-learning resources for disabled students

Students with disabilities are often expected to use e-learning systems to access learning materials but most systems do not provide appropriate adaptation or personalisation to meet their needs.The difficulties related to inadaptability of current learning environments can now be resolved using semantic web technologies such as web ontologies which have been successfully used to drive e-learning personalisation. Nevertheless, e-learning personalisation for students with disabilities has mainly targeted those with single disabilities such as dyslexia or visual impairment, often neglecting those with multiple disabilities due to the difficulty of designing for a combination of disabilities.This thesis argues that it is possible to personalise learning materials for learners with disabilities, including those with multiple disabilities. This is achieved by developing a model that allows the learning environment to present the student with learning materials in suitable formats while considering their disability and learning needs through an ontology-driven and disability-aware personalised e-learning system model (ONTODAPS). A disability ontology known as the Abilities and Disabilities Ontology for Online LEarning and Services (ADOOLES) is developed and used to drive this model. To test the above hypothesis, some case studies are employed to show how the model functions for various individuals with and without disabilities and then the implemented visual interface is experimentally evaluated by eighteen students with disabilities and heuristically by ten lecturers. The results are collected and statistically analysed.The results obtained confirm the above hypothesis and suggest that ONTODAPS can be effectively employed to personalise learning and to manage learning resources. The student participants found that ONTODAPS could aid their learning experience and all agreed that they would like to use this functionality in an existing learning environment. The results also suggest that ONTODAPS provides a platform where students with disabilities can have equivalent learning experience with their peers without disabilities. For the results to be generalised, this study could be extended through further experiments with more diverse groups of students with disabilities and across multiple educational institutions

Author, reader, text: collaboration and the networked book

Written, edited and published in a networked environment, the networked book makes the process of collaboration between its authors and readers visible. This collaboration is recorded in the peripheries of the text through a record of interactions, shared ideas, conversations and annotations and becomes part of the book. The presence of this documentation of the collaborative process challenges the traditionally held positions of author and reader and produces a new form of collaborative work. The divisions between the author, reader and the text become blurred as the book in the networked environment moves from being a physical product and the process of its creation becomes a collaborative experience. Authorship becomes an activity of exchange as the networked book champions the idea that multiple authors can take part in textual production. This thesis uses Gerard Genette’s theory of paratextual analysis to examine in depth the peripheries of three networked books; A Million Penguins, The Golden Notebook Project and Paddlesworth Press. It argues that the paratexts of the networked book are where the dialogues between authors and readers are located and an in depth examination of these is crucial for an understanding of how the process of their collaboration is made visible. Using this approach, the thesis examines and identifies the thresholds between author, reader and text. The text of each of the three case studies is examined as a space where authors and readers communicate through an analysis of behaviour, an identification of roles and a consideration of hierarchies in the collaborative process. The thresholds, boundaries, freedoms and restrictions of both the author and reader positions are explored. The collaborative experience of textual production is one of multiplicity; there is no one author, reader or text and the thesis concludes that a networked book is a book about the dialogue between author and reader and that these dialogues become part of the book

The effectiveness of the web accessibility audit as a motivational and educational tool in inclusive web design

The importance of Web sites that can be accessed and used regardless of an individual?s disability is critical. One barrier to improved accessibility of Web sites relates to the gap between Web authors? technical knowledge of Web accessibility guidelines and a broader understanding of the challenges facing disabled people when interacting with Web sites.This thesis describes the development and evaluation of a Web accessibility auditing methodology with the dual aims of accurately identifying accessibility barriers present in a Web site, and presenting the audit findings and recommended actions in a way that informs, educates and engenders an improved understanding of accessibility amongst the audience.The methodology was piloted amongst a sample of Web sites, validated against other published accessibility evaluation methodologies, and adopted for subsequent audits carried out on a commercial basis. The impact on recipient organisations and individuals of a sample of 14 commercially commissioned audits was then evaluated. Audit recipients were surveyed, and each Web site audited evaluated to identify any changes to accessibility, and the presence of evidence of changes or improvements to accessibility strategy.Strong indications were found that the audits had a positive impact both on individuals and on the commissioning organisations. The audits were identified as having a particularly positive educational and motivational impact on recipients who did not identify themselves as having expertise in Web accessibility. There was also evidence that the design approach promoted by the audits had been adopted and applied by some of the commissioning organisations. The majority of respondents cited the recommendations for improvement as the most valuable feature of the audit. This illustrates a tension between the importance of presenting specific recommendations for actions and providing richer narrative accounts of evaluation stages to encourage a more holistic appreciation of accessibility.The particular benefits of the study are found in the identification of evidence of impact of commercially-commissioned Web accessibility audits over a period of time to recipients of varying characteristics. A number of areas for further investigation have been identified, focusing on investigating the potential value of the accessibility audit in providing more ?experiential? evaluation stages.EThOS - Electronic Theses Online ServiceGBUnited Kingdo