The Computer Input/Output Subsystem Education in an undergraduate introductory course: a Multiperspective Study

240 p.Tesi hau informatikaren irakaskuntzaren ikerkuntza lerroaren barruan kokatzen da. Oinarri gisa, teknologia, pedagogia eta edukien ezagutza eredua (TPACK model, bere ingeleseko sigletatik) hartzen du. Ikerketa honetan, aipatutako ereduaren osagai bakoitza ikuspuntu desberdin gisa erabilia izan da konputagailuaren S/I azpisistemaren irakaskuntza aztertzeko. Edukien ezagutza osagaiaren ikuspuntutik, testuliburuak, unibertsitateetako programak eta ikerkuntza bibliografia aztertu dira eta gaia irudikatzeko hurbilpen bat baino gehiago badaudela aurkitu da. Teknologiaren ezagutza osagaiaren ikuspuntutik, Nintendo DS makinaren S/I azpisistemaren funtzionamendua aztertu da. Pedagogiaren ezagutza osagaiaren ikuspuntutik, proiektuetan oinarritutako ikaskuntza eta beste hainbat metodologia aktibo ikasi egin dira ondoren aplikatu ahal izateko. Txosten honek azaltzen du nola konbinatu diren osagai horietako ezagutzak bestelako ezagutzak sortzeko: teknologia eta edukien ezagutza, teknologia eta pedagogia ezagutza, pedagogia eta edukien ezagutza, eta azkenik, teknologia, pedagogia eta edukien ezagutza. [EU]Ezagutza berri hauekin konputagailuaren S/I azpisistemarentzako hezkuntza ingurune eraginkor bat sortzeko asmoz. Horretarako pauso hauek jarraitu dira: • Edukiak irudikatzeko hurbilpen bat aukeratzea, • Nintendo DS makina eduki zehatza lantzeko prestatzea eta • Proposatutako teknika pedagogikoen baliozkotzea. TPACK ereduan nolabait ezkutatuta baldin badago ere, hezkuntzarako eredu bat den neurrian, ikasleak ere hartzen ditu ikuspuntu gisa. Eta lan hau TPACK ereduan oinarritzen den neurrian, ikasleak ere hartzen ditu ikuspuntu gisa, eta haien ezagutza aztertu egiten du horretarako. Lan honek informatikaren irakaskuntzaren ikerkuntza lerroan ate asko irekitzen ditu. Izan ere, informatikaren irakaskuntzaren ikerkuntzak konputagailuen S/I aspisistemari ez baitio arreta handirik ipini.[EN]This dissertation is framed in the Computing Education Research area. As background, the Technological, Pedagogical and Content Knowledge framework (TPACK model) has been used. Each construct of the mentioned framework serves as a different study perspective, where the topic analysed is the computer I/O subsystem. From the content knowledge perspective, textbooks, university syllabi and research bibliography have been analysed and different approaches found. From the technological knowledge perspective, the I/O subsystem of the Nintendo DS machine has been studied. From the pedagogical knowledge perspective, project-based learning (PBL), and other active learning methodologies have been learned for its latter application. The dissertation explains how these constructs have been combined into technological content knowledge, technological pedagogical knowledge, pedagogical content knowledge, and finally technological, pedagogical and content knowledge in order to define an effective educational environment for the computer I/O subsystem topic. The following steps are followed: • The selection of a content representation approach, • The preparation of the Nintendo DS machine for its use this the specific content, and • The validation of the proposed pedagogical techniques. Although somehow hidden, the TPACK model, as an educational framework, includes the student as a perspective, and also does this work, with the analysis of students’ knowledge. This work opens many doors in the field of Computing Education Research towards the computer I/O subsystem, which has been barely payed attentio

The Industry and Policy Context for Digital Games for Empowerment and Inclusion:Market Analysis, Future Prospects and Key Challenges in Videogames, Serious Games and Gamification

The effective use of digital games for empowerment and social inclusion (DGEI) of people and communities at risk of exclusion will be shaped by, and may influence the development of a range of sectors that supply products, services, technology and research. The principal industries that would appear to be implicated are the 'videogames' industry, and an emerging 'serious games' industry. The videogames industry is an ecosystem of developers, publishers and other service providers drawn from the interactive media, software and broader ICT industry that services the mainstream leisure market in games, The 'serious games' industry is a rather fragmented and growing network of firms, users, research and policy makers from a variety of sectors. This emerging industry is are trying to develop knowledge, products, services and a market for the use of digital games, and products inspired by digital games, for a range of non-leisure applications. This report provides a summary of the state of play of these industries, their trajectories and the challenges they face. It also analyses the contribution they could make to exploiting digital games for empowerment and social inclusion. Finally, it explores existing policy towards activities in these industries and markets, and draws conclusions as to the future policy relevance of engaging with them to support innovation and uptake of effective digital game-based approaches to empowerment and social inclusion.JRC.J.3-Information Societ

Rapid Prototyping for Virtual Environments

Development of Virtual Environment (VE) applications is challenging where application developers are required to have expertise in the target VE technologies along with the problem domain expertise. New VE technologies impose a significant learning curve to even the most experienced VE developer. The proposed solution relies on synthesis to automate the migration of a VE application to a new unfamiliar VE platform/technology. To solve the problem, the Common Scene Definition Framework (CSDF) is developed, that serves as a superset/model representation of the target virtual world. Input modules are developed to populate the framework with the capabilities of the virtual world imported from VRML 2.0 and X3D formats. The synthesis capability is built into the framework to synthesize the virtual world into a subset of VRML 2.0, VRML 1.0, X3D, Java3D, JavaFX, JavaME, and OpenGL technologies, which may reside on different platforms. Interfaces are designed to keep the framework extensible to different and new VE formats/technologies. The framework demonstrated the ability to quickly synthesize a working prototype of the input virtual environment in different VE formats

New Opportunities for Interest-Driven Arts Learning in a Digital Age

Traditionally in the United States, schools and after-school programs have played a promi-nent part in teaching young people about the arts. Arts education has been waning in K-12 public schools in recent times, however. This is especially true in low-income communities, where public schools have often cut back on arts instruction so they can devote limited public education dollars to subjects such as writing and math that are the focus of high-stakes standardized tests.When we look outside of school, however, we see a strikingly different landscape, one full of promise for engaging young people in artistic activity. What makes this landscape possible is an eagerness to explore that springs from youths' own creative passions -- what we call "interest-driven arts learning" -- combined with the power of digital technology.This report is a step in trying to understand the new territory. It gives a rundown of scholarship in the areas of arts and out-of-school-hours learning; offers a framework for thinking about interest-driven arts learning in a digital age; examines young people's media consumption; provides a survey of youths' creative endeavors online and elsewhere, along with a look at the proliferation of technologies that young people are using in the arts; and concludes with thoughts about challenges and possibilities for the futur

The Invention of Good Games: Understanding Learning Design in Commercial Videogames

This work sought to help inform the design of educational digital games by the studying the design of successful commercial videogames. The main thesis question was: How does a commercially and critically successful modern video game support the learning that players must accomplish in order to succeed in the game (i.e. get to the end or win)? This work takes a two-pronged approach to supporting the main argument, which is that the reason we can learn about designing educational games by studying commercial games is that people already learn from games and the best ones are already quite effective at teaching players what they need to learn in order to succeed in the game. The first part of the research establishes a foundation for the argument, namely that accepted pedagogy can be found in existing commercial games. The second part of the work proposes new methods for analysing games that can uncover mechanisms used to support learning in games which can be employed even if those games were not originally designed as educational objects. In order to support the claim that ‘good’ commercial videogames already embody elements of sound pedagogy an explicit connection is made between game design and formally accepted theory and models in teaching and learning. During this phase of the work a significant concern was raised regarding the classification of games as ‘good’, so a new methodology using Borda Counts was devised and tested that combines various disjoint subjective reviews and rankings from disparate sources in non-trivial manner that accounts for relative standings. Complementary to that was a meta-analysis of the criteria used to select games chosen as subjects of study as reported by researchers. Then, several games were chosen using this new ranking method and analysed using another new methodology that was designed for this work, called Instructional Ethology. This is a new methodology for game design deconstruction and analysis that would allows the extraction of information about mechanisms used to support learning. This methodology combines behavioural and structural analysis to examine how commercial games support learning by examining the game itself from the perspective of what the game does. Further, this methodology can be applied to the analysis of any software system and offers a new approach to studying any interactive software. The results of the present study offered new insights into how several highly successful commercial games support players while they learn what they must learn in order to succeed in those games. A new design model was proposed, known as the 'Magic Bullet' that allows designers to visualize the relative proportions of potential learning in a game to assess the potential of a design

Examining Effects of Technology Level and Reinforcer Arrangements on Preference and Efficacy

Understanding dimensions that influence reinforcement is important for applied behavior analysts. Preference, and reinforcer effectiveness, may change depending upon several dimensions of reinforcement. Two influential dimensions that may influence preference and reinforcer efficacy are response-reinforcer arrangements and stimulus type. Many leisure items used as reinforcers may be classified depending upon technology level (e.g., highly technological items versus non-technological items). In recent years use of highly technological items has increased among individuals with disabilities. When using high- and low-tech reinforcers, reinforcer deliveries may be arranged to occur in a distributed manner (i.e., every response results in a reinforcer delivery), or an accumulated manner (i.e., reinforcers are accumulated and exchanged following completion of all the work). The purpose of this study was to examine the interaction and effects of reinforcer arrangements (i.e., distributed reinforcement and accumulated reinforcement) and technology level of items (i.e., high-tech and low-tech) on preference and reinforcer efficacy with three children with autism. Results demonstrated higher response rates and preference toward accumulated reinforcer arrangements compared to distributed reinforcer arrangements regardless of technology level. Overall, participants’ responding and preference were sensitive to different reinforcer arrangements but were less sensitive to differences in the technology level of the reinforcers used

A retrospective review of educational interventions and innovations using actor network theory. Creating learning designs that develop human capabilities by purposeful assembly of heterogenous actors

A thesis by publication submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements of the University of Wolverhampton for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy.This thesis contributes an approach to learning design for education professionals which can be applied to reform or transform practice through a process of iterative development. The approach can be used by teachers with their class, in a subject area, by a whole institution or system wide, and by researchers as well as curriculum designers. The approach is contextualised, with each potential implementation being different as a result. The ‘retrospective’ approach taken in this thesis stems from agile product development, where a team looks back over recent practice to see how things were done , how they might be done differently in future iterations and what to stop doing. The retrospective was developed using actor network theory to engender reflexivity over the output time period. I adopt various reflexive positions within the text and interestingly, output 8 was instrumental in catalysing the retrospective in this form. My thesis therefore contributes as a model that others might find useful to analyse their practice. The thesis uncovers several positional transformations in my own practice. This includes a movement from tracing cause and effect to mapping wider systems giving insight into how networks are bounded, their borders drawn, power relationships established, and notions of absence, presence and othering are manifested. This wider view enabled a discussion of the purpose of education and the realisation that my practice is situated within both a neoliberal and global economy. The later papers consider ways of acting within this environment, by focusing on the capability approach to determine whether education systems either support or limit possibilities for human flourishing. Focusing on the notion of agency freedom, I connect the capability approach to agile work practices and self-organisation. The thesis concludes with a proposal that flips actor network theory from being an analysis tool to a potential scaffold for agentic learning design, alongside agile product development and capability approach. The scaffold and contribution to knowledge is formed through six principles that combine actor network theory, agile product development, iterative design, and self-organisation through a reflexive positioning. In this way, a purposed actor network can assemble to develop learning environments that recognise freedoms and constraints, but are closer to emancipatory than transmissive

I Am Error

I Am Error is a platform study of the Nintendo Family Computer (or Famicom), a videogame console first released in Japan in July 1983 and later exported to the rest of the world as the Nintendo Entertainment System (or NES). The book investigates the underlying computational architecture of the console and its effects on the creative works (e.g. videogames) produced for the platform. I Am Error advances the concept of platform as a shifting configuration of hardware and software that extends even beyond its ‘native’ material construction. The book provides a deep technical understanding of how the platform was programmed and engineered, from code to silicon, including the design decisions that shaped both the expressive capabilities of the machine and the perception of videogames in general. The book also considers the platform beyond the console proper, including cartridges, controllers, peripherals, packaging, marketing, licensing, and play environments. Likewise, it analyzes the NES’s extension and afterlife in emulation and hacking, birthing new genres of creative expression such as ROM hacks and tool-assisted speed runs. I Am Error considers videogames and their platforms to be important objects of cultural expression, alongside cinema, dance, painting, theater and other media. It joins the discussion taking place in similar burgeoning disciplines—code studies, game studies, computational theory—that engage digital media with critical rigor and descriptive depth. But platform studies is not simply a technical discussion—it also keeps a keen eye on the cultural, social, and economic forces that influence videogames. No platform exists in a vacuum: circuits, code, and console alike are shaped by the currents of history, politics, economics, and culture—just as those currents are shaped in kind

Hand gestures as communication facilitators in design: a research based design study to understand the role of hand gestures during group design communication

The design discipline is reliant on communication as a means to express and share ideas during the creation of products. Design communication can take place in two distinct settings: formal communication presentations and informal interaction communication. Group design communication involves the communication of various attributes of a design. Attributes such as the scale, shape and functionality of a product are communicated. Designers employ various mechanisms including verbal, non-verbal (e.g. hand gestures), and physical tools (e.g. sketches and models) to communicate attributes. Although the verbal and physical tools are commonly used effective tools, hand gestures remain underused. Yet, hand gestures are extensions of the human mind, which may reveal thoughts that verbal communication may not be able to communicate (McNeil, 1992). Hand gestures have the potential to reveal thoughts and if used as an interface mechanism, can augment the information space. As such, hand gestures may facilitate design communication within a group. This study explores the potential of hand gestures as tools in design communication. Moreover; the purpose of this study is to understand how gestures can facilitate the design communication that occurs within a group. A two-phase study was proposed: a research phase and a design phase. During the research phase, ethnographic research in design education environments was conducted to understand what gestures are produced and how they are used during formal and informal design communication settings. The data collected was analyzed and categorized to reveal quantitative and qualitative results. Survey studies were also conducted to validate the hand gesture meaning. The data was used to create design guidelines that directed the design phase, where concepts used hand gestures as interface mechanisms, to augment the experience of a design information exchange. The significance of this project is to generate new knowledge to be applied to the development of more natural technological systems where gestures are used as an alternative to current input devices (e.g. mouse and keyboard) for navigation and manipulation of design material amongst a group. The goal was to improve the communication between designers and their materials and enhance the experience of distributing and receiving design information.M.S.Committee Chair: Winegarden, Claudia; Committee Member: Mullick, Abir; Committee Member: Sanford, Jo