Learning and Collaboration Technologies. Learning and Teaching : 5th International Conference, LCT 2018, Held as Part of HCI International 2018, Las Vegas, NV, USA, July 15-20, 2018, Proceedings, Part II

This two-volume set LNCS 10924 and 10925 constitute the refereed proceedings of the 5th International Conference on Learning and Collaboration Technologies, LCT 2018, held as part of the 20th International Conference on Human-Computer Interaction, HCII 2018, in Las Vegas, NV, USA in July 2018. The 1171 papers presented at HCII 2018 conferences were carefully reviewed and selected from 4346 submissions. The papers cover the entire field of human-computer interaction, addressing major advances in knowledge and effective use of computers in a variety of applications areas. The papers in this volume are organized in the following topical sections: designing and evaluating systems and applications, technological innovation in education, learning and collaboration, learners, engagement, motification, and skills, games and gamification of learning, technology-enhanced teaching and assessment, computing and engineering education.

Analyzing the usability of the WYRED Platform with undergraduate students to improve its features

[EN]The WYRED ecosystem is a technological ecosystem developed as part of WYRED (netWorked Youth Research for Empowerment in the Digital society), a European Project funded by the Horizon 2020 program. The main aim of the project is to provide a framework for research in which children and young people can express and explore their perspectives and interests concerning digital society. The WYRED ecosystem supports this framework from a technological point of view. The WYRED Platform is one of the main software components of this complex technological solution; it is focused on supporting the social dialogues that take place between children, young people and stakeholders. The ecosystem, and in particular the Platform, are already developed, but it is vital to ensure the acceptance by the final users, the children and young people mainly. This work presents the usability test carried out to evolve the Platform through the System Usability Scale. This usability test allows the identification of the weaknesses of the Platform regarding its characteristics, also allowing the corresponding improvement of the WYRED Platform, and it will serve as a reference for further usability testin

Método para la evaluación de usabilidad de sitios web transaccionales basado en el proceso de inspección heurística

La usabilidad es considerada uno de los factores más importantes en el desarrollo de productos de software. Este atributo de calidad está referido al grado en que, usuarios específicos de un determinado aplicativo, pueden fácilmente hacer uso del software para lograr su propósito. Dada la importancia de este aspecto en el éxito de las aplicaciones informáticas, múltiples métodos de evaluación han surgido como instrumentos de medición que permiten determinar si la propuesta de diseño de la interfaz de un sistema de software es entendible, fácil de usar, atractiva y agradable al usuario. El método de evaluación heurística es uno de los métodos más utilizados en el área de Interacción Humano-Computador (HCI) para este propósito debido al bajo costo de su ejecución en comparación otras técnicas existentes. Sin embargo, a pesar de su amplio uso extensivo durante los últimos años, no existe un procedimiento formal para llevar a cabo este proceso de evaluación. Jakob Nielsen, el autor de esta técnica de inspección, ofrece únicamente lineamientos generales que, según la investigación realizada, tienden a ser interpretados de diferentes maneras por los especialistas. Por tal motivo, se ha desarrollado el presente proyecto de investigación que tiene como objetivo establecer un proceso sistemático, estructurado, organizado y formal para llevar a cabo evaluaciones heurísticas a productos de software. En base a un análisis exhaustivo realizado a aquellos estudios que reportan en la literatura el uso del método de evaluación heurística como parte del proceso de desarrollo de software, se ha formulado un nuevo método de evaluación basado en cinco fases: (1) planificación, (2) entrenamiento, (3) evaluación, (4) discusión y (5) reporte. Cada una de las fases propuestas que componen el protocolo de inspección contiene un conjunto de actividades bien definidas a ser realizadas por el equipo de evaluación como parte del proceso de inspección. Asimismo, se han establecido ciertos roles que deberán desempeñar los integrantes del equipo de inspectores para asegurar la calidad de los resultados y un apropiado desarrollo de la evaluación heurística. La nueva propuesta ha sido validada en dos escenarios académicos distintos (en Colombia, en una universidad pública, y en Perú, en dos universidades tanto en una pública como en una privada) demostrando en todos casos que es posible identificar más problemas de usabilidad altamente severos y críticos cuando un proceso estructurado de inspección es adoptado por los evaluadores. Otro aspecto favorable que muestran los resultados es que los evaluadores tienden a cometer menos errores de asociación (entre heurística que es incumplida y problemas de usabilidad identificados) y que la propuesta es percibida como fácil de usar y útil. Al validarse la nueva propuesta desarrollada por el autor de este estudio se consolida un nuevo conocimiento que aporta al bagaje cultural de la ciencia.Tesi

Adjustment and early retirement intentions of the older workers in the Croatian public sector

Croatian population and, consequently, Croatian labour force is rapidly ageing. With ageing comes the change in abilities e.g. decreasing productivity and declining cognitive ability. In the modern world, new applications of technologies transform requirements of jobs, thus workers have to adjust to those novelties. The problem is that older workers are ‘digital immigrants’ who started using a Personal Computer (PC) later in their lives, often during employment, so they had to change their approach to work i.e., they had to adjust to different requirements of today’s jobs. Required adjustments accompanied by decreasing abilities may lead to early retirement. The authors have investigated the influence of 1) the need to adjust to the requirements of today’s jobs (approximated by requirements to use a PC) and 2) the ability to adjust to the requirements of today’s jobs (approximated by ratings of PC skills) on early retirement intentions of population aged 50+ employed in the Croatian public sector. A logistic regression model in the context of complex samples was created by the authors, whereby both analysed variables were found to be related to the early retirement intentions. Finally, those who were required to use a PC and thus to adjust to changes were more likely to want to retire early than employees who did not have the same obligation. Those with low PC skills, i.e. employees whose ability to adjust was low, were also more likely to retire early than those who have adjusted better

Adjustment and early retirement intentions of the older workers in the Croatian public sector

Croatian population and, consequently, Croatian labour force is rapidly ageing. With ageing comes the change in abilities e.g. decreasing productivity and declining cognitive ability. In the modern world, new applications of technologies transform requirements of jobs, thus workers have to adjust to those novelties. The problem is that older workers are ‘digital immigrants’ who started using a Personal Computer (PC) later in their lives, often during employment, so they had to change their approach to work i.e., they had to adjust to different requirements of today’s jobs. Required adjustments accompanied by decreasing abilities may lead to early retirement. The authors have investigated the influence of 1) the need to adjust to the requirements of today’s jobs (approximated by requirements to use a PC) and 2) the ability to adjust to the requirements of today’s jobs (approximated by ratings of PC skills) on early retirement intentions of population aged 50+ employed in the Croatian public sector. A logistic regression model in the context of complex samples was created by the authors, whereby both analysed variables were found to be related to the early retirement intentions. Finally, those who were required to use a PC and thus to adjust to changes were more likely to want to retire early than employees who did not have the same obligation. Those with low PC skills, i.e. employees whose ability to adjust was low, were also more likely to retire early than those who have adjusted better

Análisis de integración de soluciones basadas en software como servicio para la implantación de ecosistemas tecnológicos educativos

[ES]Una de las principales características de la actual Sociedad del Conocimiento reside en el valor del conocimiento como un recurso activo en cualquier tipo de entidad, desde instituciones educativas hasta grandes corporaciones empresariales. La gestión del conocimiento surge como una ventaja competitiva de tal forma que las entidades dedican parte de sus recursos a desarrollar su capacidad para compartir, crear y aplicar nuevos conocimientos de forma continuada a lo largo del tiempo. La tecnología, considerada el motor, el elemento central, en la Sociedad de la Información, pasa a convertirse en un soporte para el aprendizaje, para la transformación de conocimiento tácito en explícito, de conocimiento individual en grupal. Internet, las tecnologías de la información y la comunicación y, en particular, los sistemas de información pasan de ser elementos que guían el desarrollo de la sociedad a ser herramientas cuyo desarrollo está guiado por las necesidades de gestión del conocimiento y los procesos de aprendizaje. Los ecosistemas tecnológicos, considerados como la evolución de los sistemas de información tradicionales, se posicionan como sistemas de gestión del conocimiento que abarcan tanto la componente tecnológica como el factor humano. En el caso de que la gestión del conocimiento esté dirigida a apoyar fundamentalmente procesos de aprendizaje, el ecosistema tecnológico se puede denominar ecosistema de aprendizaje. La metáfora de ecosistema, que proviene del área de la biología, se utiliza en diferentes contextos para transmitir la naturaleza evolutiva de procesos, actividades y relaciones. El uso del concepto ecosistema natural se aplica al ámbito tecnológico para reflejar un conjunto de características o propiedades de los ecosistemas naturales que pueden transferirse a los ecosistemas tecnológicos o ecosistemas software con el fin de proporcionar soluciones, las cuales deben estar orientadas resolver los problemas de gestión del conocimiento. A su vez, estas soluciones tienen que adaptarse a los constantes cambios que sufre cualquier tipo de entidad o contexto en el que se despliega algún tipo de solución tecnológica. A pesar de las ventajas que ofrecen los ecosistemas tecnológicos, el desarrollo de este tipo de soluciones tiene una mayor complejidad que los sistemas de información tradicionales. A los problemas propios de la ingeniería del software, tales como la interoperabilidad de los componentes o la evolución del ecosistema, se unen la dificultad de gestionar un conocimiento complejo y la diversidad de personas involucradas. Los diferentes retos y problemas de los ecosistemas tecnológicos, y en particular de aquellos centrados en gestionar el conocimiento y el aprendizaje, requieren mejorar los procesos de definición y desarrollo de este tipo de soluciones tecnológicas. La presente tesis doctoral se centra en proporcionar un marco arquitectónico que permita mejorar la definición, el desarrollo y la sostenibilidad de los ecosistemas tecnológicos para el aprendizaje. Dicho marco estará compuesto, principalmente, por dos resultados asociados a esta investigación: un patrón arquitectónico que permita resolver los problemas detectados en ecosistemas de aprendizaje reales y un metamodelo de ecosistema de aprendizaje, basado en el patrón, que permita aplicar Ingeniería Dirigida por Modelos para sustentar la definición y el desarrollo de los ecosistemas de aprendizaje. Para llevar a cabo la investigación se han definido tres ciclos siguiendo el marco metodológico Investigación-Acción. El primer ciclo se ha centrado en el análisis de varios casos de estudio reales con el fin de obtener un modelo de dominio del problema. Se han analizado ecosistemas tecnológicos para la gestión del conocimiento y el aprendizaje desplegados en contextos heterogéneos, en particular, la Universidad de Salamanca, el grupo de investigación GRIAL y el proyecto europeo TRAILER (centrado en gestionar el conocimiento informal en instituciones y empresas). Como resultado de este ciclo se han detectado una serie de características que debe tener un ecosistema tecnológico y se ha definido un patrón arquitectónico que permite sentar las bases del ecosistema, dando solución a algunos de los problemas detectados y asegurando la flexibilidad y adaptabilidad de los componentes del ecosistema con el fin de permitir su evolución. El segundo ciclo se ha centrado en la mejora y validación del patrón arquitectónico. Los problemas detectados en el ciclo anterior se han modelado con la notación Business Process Model and Notation. Para ello, se han agrupado los problemas relacionados con procesos de gestión del conocimiento similares y posteriormente se ha realizado para cada conjunto de problemas un diagrama con un alto nivel de abstracción. Después, para cada uno de los diagramas, se han identificado una vez más los problemas a resolver y se ha definido un nuevo diagrama aplicando el patrón. Esto ha permitido validar el patrón arquitectónico y sentar las bases para su formalización. Por último, el tercer ciclo ha planteado el Desarrollo Dirigido por Modelos de ecosistemas tecnológicos para la gestión del conocimiento y el aprendizaje. En concreto, se ha definido un metamodelo de ecosistema de aprendizaje basado en el patrón arquitectónico planteado en el ciclo anterior. El metamodelo se ha validado a través de una serie de transformaciones modelo a modelo automatizadas mediante reglas de transformación. Para poder llevar a cabo dicho proceso, se ha definido un metamodelo específico de plataforma que proporciona un conjunto de recomendaciones, tanto tecnológicas como humanas, para implementar ecosistemas de aprendizaje basados en software open source. El metamodelo de ecosistema de aprendizaje y el metamodelo específico de plataforma para definir ecosistemas basados en software open source proporcionan las guías necesarias para definir ecosistemas de aprendizaje que resuelvan los principales problemas detectados en este tipo de soluciones software. Los tres casos de estudio reales que se han desarrollado para validar los resultados obtenidos a lo largo de los ciclos de Investigación-Acción, en especial, el patrón arquitectónico para modelar ecosistemas de aprendizaje, el metamodelo de ecosistema de aprendizaje y el metamodelo específico de plataforma para definir ecosistemas basados en software open source, permiten afirmar, como conclusión más general, que es posible mejorar la definición y el desarrollo de los ecosistemas tecnológicos enfocados en gestionar el conocimiento y los procesos de aprendizaje. Más concretamente, el uso de ingeniería dirigida por modelos, sustentada sobre una sólida propuesta arquitectónica, permite definir ecosistemas de aprendizaje que evolucionan y se adaptan a las necesidades cambiantes del entorno y de los usuarios, así como resolver un conjunto de problemas comunes identificado en este tipo de soluciones tecnológicas

Políticas de Copyright de Publicações Científicas em Repositórios Institucionais: O Caso do INESC TEC

A progressiva transformação das práticas científicas, impulsionada pelo desenvolvimento das novas Tecnologias de Informação e Comunicação (TIC), têm possibilitado aumentar o acesso à informação, caminhando gradualmente para uma abertura do ciclo de pesquisa. Isto permitirá resolver a longo prazo uma adversidade que se tem colocado aos investigadores, que passa pela existência de barreiras que limitam as condições de acesso, sejam estas geográficas ou financeiras. Apesar da produção científica ser dominada, maioritariamente, por grandes editoras comerciais, estando sujeita às regras por estas impostas, o Movimento do Acesso Aberto cuja primeira declaração pública, a Declaração de Budapeste (BOAI), é de 2002, vem propor alterações significativas que beneficiam os autores e os leitores. Este Movimento vem a ganhar importância em Portugal desde 2003, com a constituição do primeiro repositório institucional a nível nacional. Os repositórios institucionais surgiram como uma ferramenta de divulgação da produção científica de uma instituição, com o intuito de permitir abrir aos resultados da investigação, quer antes da publicação e do próprio processo de arbitragem (preprint), quer depois (postprint), e, consequentemente, aumentar a visibilidade do trabalho desenvolvido por um investigador e a respetiva instituição. O estudo apresentado, que passou por uma análise das políticas de copyright das publicações científicas mais relevantes do INESC TEC, permitiu não só perceber que as editoras adotam cada vez mais políticas que possibilitam o auto-arquivo das publicações em repositórios institucionais, como também que existe todo um trabalho de sensibilização a percorrer, não só para os investigadores, como para a instituição e toda a sociedade. A produção de um conjunto de recomendações, que passam pela implementação de uma política institucional que incentive o auto-arquivo das publicações desenvolvidas no âmbito institucional no repositório, serve como mote para uma maior valorização da produção científica do INESC TEC.The progressive transformation of scientific practices, driven by the development of new Information and Communication Technologies (ICT), which made it possible to increase access to information, gradually moving towards an opening of the research cycle. This opening makes it possible to resolve, in the long term, the adversity that has been placed on researchers, which involves the existence of barriers that limit access conditions, whether geographical or financial. Although large commercial publishers predominantly dominate scientific production and subject it to the rules imposed by them, the Open Access movement whose first public declaration, the Budapest Declaration (BOAI), was in 2002, proposes significant changes that benefit the authors and the readers. This Movement has gained importance in Portugal since 2003, with the constitution of the first institutional repository at the national level. Institutional repositories have emerged as a tool for disseminating the scientific production of an institution to open the results of the research, both before publication and the preprint process and postprint, increase the visibility of work done by an investigator and his or her institution. The present study, which underwent an analysis of the copyright policies of INESC TEC most relevant scientific publications, allowed not only to realize that publishers are increasingly adopting policies that make it possible to self-archive publications in institutional repositories, all the work of raising awareness, not only for researchers but also for the institution and the whole society. The production of a set of recommendations, which go through the implementation of an institutional policy that encourages the self-archiving of the publications developed in the institutional scope in the repository, serves as a motto for a greater appreciation of the scientific production of INESC TEC

The impact of emotions on student participation in an assessed, online, collaborative activity

There is growing recognition of the importance of emotions in academic online learning contexts. However, there is still little known about the role of emotions in social and collaborative online learning settings, especially the relationship between emotions and student participation. To explore this relationship, this study used a prospective longitudinal research design to follow 46 distance learning students throughout a 3-week assessed, online, collaborative activity. This approach allowed the fluctuating and dynamic aspects of emotions to be explored as well as the relationship between emotions and student participation in the collaborative activity. Self-report data were gathered using a semistructured online diary at five time points throughout the task (once at the start of the collaborative activity, three times during the activity, and the final entry after the activity had finished). Findings revealed that learners generally perceived pleasant emotions (such as relief, satisfaction and enjoyment) to have positive impacts, or no impact, on participation, whereas unpleasant emotions (such as anxiety, frustration, and disappointment) were generally perceived to have negative impacts, or no impact, on participation. Interestingly, however, anxiety, and to a smaller extent frustration, were perceived by a number of students to have positive impacts during the activity. To conclude this paper, implications for educators are highlighted

Resilient design for London's elevated social spaces: exploring challenges, opportunities, and harnessing interactive virtual reality co-design approaches for community engagement

In the face of escalating urban density, the emerging concept of elevated urban spaces such as sky gardens and roof gardens is becoming a compelling requirement for human well-being in the process of densification. These spaces have gained additional significance in light of the adaptability and resilience required during the Covid-19 pandemic. This research explores the challenges and opportunities related to the design and management of such spaces, with a specific focus on London. A novel facet of this investigation is the application of Virtual Reality (VR) technology as a co-design tool, aimed at enhancing public engagement and the overall design experience of these spaces. The study emphasizes two particular urban locales in London: the Sky Garden and Crossrail Place, chosen for their unique design characteristics, public accessibility, and popularity. These case studies allow for an in-depth examination of critical design aspects such as accessibility, people flow control, pinch points, user experience, and the spectrum of activities that these spaces can accommodate. To create more sustainable and inclusive environments, the study leverages VR technology to bridge the gap between the physical and virtual worlds. This approach is aimed at understanding the impact of this integration on architectural and urban design processes, specifically in terms of design decision-making and its implications for the sustainability and longevity of public places. The adopted methodology is a phenomenological qualitative approach employing the Participatory Action Research (PAR) method. This involved direct observational studies, walk-along interviews with 33 visitors at each site, VR exploratory experiments with the same number of participants, and follow-up semi-structured interviews. Observations were conducted before, during, and after the Covid-19 pandemic, providing a comprehensive perspective on the unique challenges influencing the design and management of elevated urban spaces. The results indicate that VR, as a co-design tool, effectively promotes interactive public participation in the design process. The VR experiments facilitated users to identify design limitations and suggest improvements, even among participants who had not physically visited the sites. The concerns and needs identified through VR closely mirrored those expressed by actual users of the spaces. The findings also offer a comparative analysis of human activities, circulation patterns, and design considerations in both physical and virtual environments, highlighting the potential of VR technology for designing sustainable public spaces in a post-pandemic world. This research contributes threefold: (a) it furnishes theoretical input by establishing guidelines for the design of elevated social spaces, and provides empirical input by suggesting a range of design and planning considerations for developing active, pleasant, and resilient elevated social spaces; (b) it offers methodological input through the development of a multidisciplinary pragmatic framework for assessing the use of VR as an interactive co-design tool; and (c) it presents a comparative analysis of two advanced interactive VR approaches – Building Information Modeling (BIM) and gamification techniques – to enhance public engagement in public and social space design

ATHENA Research Book, Volume 2

ATHENA European University is an association of nine higher education institutions with the mission of promoting excellence in research and innovation by enabling international cooperation. The acronym ATHENA stands for Association of Advanced Technologies in Higher Education. Partner institutions are from France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Lithuania, Portugal and Slovenia: University of Orléans, University of Siegen, Hellenic Mediterranean University, Niccolò Cusano University, Vilnius Gediminas Technical University, Polytechnic Institute of Porto and University of Maribor. In 2022, two institutions joined the alliance: the Maria Curie-Skłodowska University from Poland and the University of Vigo from Spain. Also in 2022, an institution from Austria joined the alliance as an associate member: Carinthia University of Applied Sciences. This research book presents a selection of the research activities of ATHENA University's partners. It contains an overview of the research activities of individual members, a selection of the most important bibliographic works of members, peer-reviewed student theses, a descriptive list of ATHENA lectures and reports from individual working sections of the ATHENA project. The ATHENA Research Book provides a platform that encourages collaborative and interdisciplinary research projects by advanced and early career researchers