Big Data and the Internet of Things

Advances in sensing and computing capabilities are making it possible to embed increasing computing power in small devices. This has enabled the sensing devices not just to passively capture data at very high resolution but also to take sophisticated actions in response. Combined with advances in communication, this is resulting in an ecosystem of highly interconnected devices referred to as the Internet of Things - IoT. In conjunction, the advances in machine learning have allowed building models on this ever increasing amounts of data. Consequently, devices all the way from heavy assets such as aircraft engines to wearables such as health monitors can all now not only generate massive amounts of data but can draw back on aggregate analytics to "improve" their performance over time. Big data analytics has been identified as a key enabler for the IoT. In this chapter, we discuss various avenues of the IoT where big data analytics either is already making a significant impact or is on the cusp of doing so. We also discuss social implications and areas of concern.Comment: 33 pages. draft of upcoming book chapter in Japkowicz and Stefanowski (eds.) Big Data Analysis: New algorithms for a new society, Springer Series on Studies in Big Data, to appea

Teaching and Assessing Foreign Language Learning through Apps

Languages change and develop together with human race. As time goes on, languages adapt to human beings’ needs and preferences. This also applies to foreign language learning and teaching processes, which keep on renovating their approaches and teaching methods in order to connect to learners’ needs in modern times. Nowadays, information and communication technologies (ICT) play such an important role in our everyday lives that they have also found their way into this field. This has given rise to constant innovations such as Mobile-Assisted Language Learning (MALL). Although MALL has existed for more than twenty years, it still undergoes changes and even faces some challenges. Currently, apps appear as new ways of approaching foreign language learning and teaching. In this paper, a Systematic Literature Review (SLR) is conducted, in which MALL studies on the use of apps are examined. The purpose of this analysis is to determine if their use is increasing, on the one hand, and, on the other, to present the tendencies these papers reveal. To this end, a total of 35 valid studies published from 2012 to 2015 are thoroughly analysed, focusing on both the different types of learning supported by the apps and on the kind of assessment the papers propose. The results show that the use of apps in MALL is increasing, but also that the type of learning supported by most apps is not very different from that of traditional learning approaches.Las lenguas cambian y avanzan junto con la raza humana, adaptándose a nuestras necesidades y preferencias a medida que el tiempo transcurre. Esta misma idea se puede aplicar a la enseñanza y aprendizaje de idiomas extranjeros, cuyos métodos se renuevan continuamente con el fin de conectar con las necesidades de los alumnos en tiempos modernos. Como resultado del papel tan importante que hoy juegan las tecnologías de la información y la comunicación (TIC) en nuestras vidas, estas han sido integradas en el mundo de los idiomas. Esto ha dado lugar a continuas mejoras como el aprendizaje de idiomas mediante tecnología móvil. A pesar de que esta disciplina nació hace más de veinte años, todavía sufre cambios e incluso se enfrenta a algunos desafíos. Actualmente, las apps se han convertido en nuevas formas de enfrentarse a la enseñanza y al aprendizaje de idiomas. En este trabajo, se lleva a cabo un estudio sistemático de la literatura existente, en el que se analizan publicaciones donde se expone el uso o la presentación de apps con este propósito. El objetivo de este análisis es demostrar que su uso está en aumento, así como estudiar las tendencias que se presentan en ellas. Para ello, se pretende estudiar a fondo 35 estudios válidos publicados entre 2012 y 2015, centrándonos especialmente en los diferentes tipos de aprendizaje que las apps soportan y los tipos de evaluación propuestos. Los resultados obtenidos apuntan que el uso de apps en la enseñanza de idiomas está en aumento, pero también que el tipo de aprendizaje que estas soportan no es muy diferente de aquel propuesto por métodos tradicionales

ECO D2.6 Web 2.0 requirements analysis

ECO sMOOCs are social and seamless and the pedagogical design puts the learner central, taking an active role and learning through interactions and connections with others. The platforms have to provide the features not only support social interaction but promote and enhance these. This deliverable puts forward what features can scaffold interactions, taking into account lessons learned from popular social media.Part of the work carried out has been funded with support from the European Commission, under the ICT Policy Support Programme, as part of the Competitiveness and Innovation Framework Programme (CIP) in the ECO project under grant agreement n° 21127

Evidence Mining Using Course Schedule

Creating evidence from learning big data has become increasingly important as we can use eLearning infrastructure and store learning log digitally. On the other hand, we need to time and effort to create evidence because it is manual. In this paper, we proposed the method to make evidence easier. Especially, we focus on procedure to automatically select the duration of intervention and comparison data based on the course schedule information. We simulated the procedure and confirmed the making a case based on course schedule information. In the discussion part, we mentioned the points that should be further improved for practical use in the future. Through our method, we will democratize the evidence-based practice to all the teachers in schools

Learning analytics platform in higher education in Japan

In recent years, learning analytics has become a hot topic with many institutes deploying learning management systems and learning analytics tools. In this paper, we introduce learning analytics platforms that have been established in two top national Japanese universities. These initiatives are part of a broader research project into creating wide-reaching learning analytics frameworks. The aim of the project is to support education and learning through research into educational big data accumulated on these platforms. We also discuss the future direction of our research into learning analytics platforms. This includes introducing a model in which learning analytics tools and the results of research can be shared between different education institutes

"Tap it again, Sam": Harmonizing the frontiers between digital and real worlds in education

Lifelong leaners are intrinsically motivated to embed learning activities into daily life activities. Finding a suitable combination of the two is not trivial since lifelong learners have to face conflicts of time and location. Hence, lifelong learners normally build personal learning ecologies in those moments they set aside to learn making use of their available resources. On the other hand, the advent of Near Field Communication (NFC) technology facilitates the harmonization in the interactions between the digital world and daily physical spaces. Likewise, NFC enabled phones are becoming more and more popular. The contribution of this manuscript is threefold: first, scientific literature where NFC has been used with a direct or indirect purpose to learn is reviewed, and potential uses for lifelong learners are identified; based on these findings the Ecology of Resources for Lifelong Learning is presented as suitable setup for the scaffolding of learning activities with NFC augmented physical spaces; finally, this ecology is piloted and different learning scenarios are proposed for further extension

Ubiquitous Technology for Lifelong Learners

Nowadays, most people change their career throughout their lives, many times independently on what they learned during their formal education period. Therefore, the necessity to continually keep our skills sharp and up-to-date becomes increasingly important in a rapidly changing job market. The European Commission stressed the importance of lifelong learning as a key challenge for the knowledge society to adapt to the pace in which digital technology is transforming every aspect of people’s lives. Later on, the Commission published a reference framework comprising eight competences to flexibly adapt to a rapidly changing and highly interconnected world. In this thesis, we aim at supporting learners to understand the way they can better learn in-context using technology, therefore we focus on two specific competences, namely, learning to learn and digital competence