Online Learning of an Open-Ended Skill Library for Collaborative Tasks

Intelligent robotic assistants can potentially improve the quality of life for elderly people and help them maintain their independence. However, the number of different and personalized tasks render pre-programming of such assistive robots prohibitively difficult. Instead, to cope with a continuous and open-ended stream of cooperative tasks, new collaborative skills need to be continuously learned and updated from demonstrations. To this end, we introduce an online learning method for a skill library of collaborative tasks that employs an incremental mixture model of probabilistic interaction primitives. This model chooses a corresponding robot response to a human movement where the human intention is extracted from previously demonstrated movements. Unlike existing batch methods of movement primitives for human-robot interaction, our approach builds a library of skills online, in an open-ended fashion and updates existing skills using new demonstrations. The resulting approach was evaluated both on a simple benchmark task and in an assistive human-robot collaboration scenario with a 7DoF robot arm

On campus, but out of class: an investigation into students' experiences of learning technologies in their self-directed study

This paper presents an investigation into how students studying at university engage actively with learning technology in their self‐directed study time. The case study surveyed 250 students studying at undergraduate and postgraduate level from a purposive sample of departments within one institution. The study has also conducted focus groups and a number of in‐depth follow‐up interviews with respondents to the survey. In this article we explore three emerging aspects of the learning experience, namely student expectations of the technology, their lecturers' engagement with technology and how the technology might support processes of transition in higher education. One key implication is that more academic guidance is needed on what and how to use the technology effectively for independent learning, even where ICT skills levels are high. The study also identifies the significant role that the lecturer plays in facilitating students' use of technology. The findings of this study will be of interest to those working to incorporate learning technologies more effectively in higher education, in particular for those who are looking to improve the engagement of students in self‐directed learning

Timor leste collaborative project: a short report

This report discusses findings from a small-scale scoping study, which is part of a larger curriculum project—a collaborative venture between staff from the Universidade Nacional Timor Lorosa'e (UNTL) and a New Zealand university. The aim of the wider project is to develop a context-sensitive English language curriculum for students at UNTL who are undergoing pre-service training to be teachers of English as a foreign language in local secondary schools. (Details of the institutional and linguistic context are provided in the appendix.) According to Norton (2000), investment by learners is a key factor in the successful implementation of a new curriculum: "if learners invest in a second language, they do so with the understanding that they will acquire a wider range of symbolic and material resources, which will increase their value in the social world" (Norton, 2000, pp. 165-166). Thus, when designing the curriculum, it is important to ensure that the students will not only understand how to use the specific learning tasks but that it also expands their repertoire of skills and knowledge for application in their subsequent professional and social lives. The report begins by outlining the history and objectives of the project before explaining the specific research questions posed for the scoping study. The means of collecting data will be outlined and examples of the participants' attitudes will be presented based on open-ended questionnaire responses. These findings will be discussed in terms of how they might lead to the design of a curriculum which is internationally-framed and context-sensitive in terms both of its content and implementation. The report will conclude with the further steps that are being taken to move the project to its next phase

Youth and Digital Media: From Credibility to Information Quality

Building upon a process-and context-oriented information quality framework, this paper seeks to map and explore what we know about the ways in which young users of age 18 and under search for information online, how they evaluate information, and how their related practices of content creation, levels of new literacies, general digital media usage, and social patterns affect these activities. A review of selected literature at the intersection of digital media, youth, and information quality -- primarily works from library and information science, sociology, education, and selected ethnographic studies -- reveals patterns in youth's information-seeking behavior, but also highlights the importance of contextual and demographic factors both for search and evaluation. Looking at the phenomenon from an information-learning and educational perspective, the literature shows that youth develop competencies for personal goals that sometimes do not transfer to school, and are sometimes not appropriate for school. Thus far, educational initiatives to educate youth about search, evaluation, or creation have depended greatly on the local circumstances for their success or failure

Effectiveness of academic writing activities and instruction in an academic literacy writing course at the University of Botswana

The purpose of this paper is to report on the University of Botswana undergraduate students’ and lecturers’ perceptions of the effectiveness of academic writing activities and instruction given in Communication and Academic Literacy Skills (COM112) academic writing module. Students (n= 46) and lecturers (n=2) who have taught the course were probed through a questionnaire adapted from (Krause, 2001) on their instruction and assessment of the course. Fifteen (n= 12) Students were also interviewed in a focus group. The data obtained indicated that students and lecturers held different perceptions about the effectiveness of the academic writing activities and instruction. These results have implications for classroom pedagogy in that lecturers need to consider the perceptions and needs of students (Nunan, 1989) if they are to fully adopt a learner centred approach to learning and teaching that is suggested by the University of Botswana (UB) Learning and teaching policy (2008)

Introducing digital literacy skills through IBL: A comparative study of UG and PG business information systems students

This paper reports a comparative study of Inquiry-Based Learning (IBL) at Undergraduate (UG) and Postgraduate (PG) levels at a university in the north west of England. Both student cohorts undertook a professional, legal and ethical module centred on IT. This study focuses on how the different student cohorts approached this style of teaching, and how it impacted on overall student engagement throughout the semester. IBL was introduced in the 2009-2010 academic years; to the UG students in the first semester and the PG students in the second semester. Key observations gained from the study were unexpected in that the UG level students fully embraced the IBL approach, they maintained a high attendance level throughout the semester, and all preliminary and formative assessment work/tasks were eagerly completed. Ultimately, this developed students’ information literacy skills. PG students enjoyed the in-class IBL activities, but actively avoided module preparation and formative assessment work/tasks, and so minimized their opportunities to develop rich digital literacy skills. This study highlights potential enablers required to employ IBL techniques successfully

Promarc: An Online Skills and Projects Marketplace

Technical projects can vary greatly in terms of cost, complexity, and time. Project leads spend a lot of valuable time and energy making sure that their teams are organized and on-task. A major part of their responsibilities includes putting together a team with the right skills in order to maximize efficiency. Having a platform where project leads can quickly find team members with the right skills would save them a lot of stress and trouble. The goal of this project is to deliver such a platform, where users can make posts about their projects and the technical skills that they require, and be connected to an entire network of potential viable team members. Our system consists of a web application connected to a database backend, accessible through different interfaces depending on the credentials of the user. This report will also provide an in-depth analysis on the systems requirements specifications, use cases, data flow, involved actors, architecture, testing procedures, risk analysis, development timeline, final results, and societal impact

Performance of laser assisted micro-milling (laμmill) of titanium alloy using micro ball end mill

Laser assisted milling technique turns to be complicated and unpredictable when the machining size is scaled to micro level. Furthermore, less has been reported on the application of ball end mill in laser assisted micro milling. This study was carried out to evaluate and clarify the machining characteristics of micro ball end mill in laser assisted micro milling of titanium alloy Ti6Al4V. Finite element method (FEM) simulation of preheating was used to determine the machining parameters and the cutting tool to laser beam distance. The performance of laser assisted micro milling using micro ball end mill was evaluated via experimental works using various feed, feed rate, depth of cut and cutting speed. The cutting force, tool wear, chip pattern, burr and machining surface conditions were compared between conventional micro milling and laser assisted micro milling. Machining simulation was also carried out to study and collect the supportive evidence to explain the chips formation mechanisms. The laser heating simulation model was built and validated to determine the cutting tool to laser beam distance. When the feed rates ranging from 52.5 to 210 mm/min, the workpiece temperature at machining region was increased from 128 °C to 178 °C when the cutting tool is located at 0.6 mm from the laser. At this condition, the creation of heat affected zone and melted zone were successfully avoided. This study has proven that laser assisted micro milling reduces the cutting force approximately 5 to 20 %, depending on the feed and depth of cut applied. However, it is also found out that the chip pattern has a strong correlation with tool wear rate and surface roughness. It was observed that loose arc chips were produced at the feed and depth of cut of 3.0 x 10-3 mm/flute and 0.02 mm, respectively. This type of chip is preferable due to less chip blocking, rubbing and chip compression effect. It is also proven that laser assisted micro milling technique is more effective when the workpiece temperature is increased to approximately 250 °C compared to 180 °C