Teaching UbiComp with Sense

Modern computer science education has to take account of the recent changes towards smart ubiquitous computing devices. In addition, existing programming languages are needlessly difficult for novice programmers to learn concepts. We have developed Sense, an extension to the graphical programming language Scratch, and an associated sensor/actuator board. Together, these will allow novice undergraduate students to quickly develop their own smart devices while learning the fundamentals of programming. Students will first study with Sense in 2011 but developmental feedback has been positive

Teaching UbiComp with Sense

Modern computer science education has to take account of the recent changes towards smart ubiquitous computing devices. In addition, existing programming languages are needlessly difficult for novice programmers to learn concepts. We have developed Sense, an extension to the graphical programming language Scratch, and an associated sensor/actuator board. Together, these will allow novice undergraduate students to quickly develop their own smart devices while learning the fundamentals of programming. Students will first study with Sense in 2011 but developmental feedback has been positive

The Usage and Evaluation of Anthropomorphic Form in Robot Design

There are numerous examples illustrating the application of human shape in everyday products. Usage of anthropomorphic form has long been a basic design strategy, particularly in the design of intelligent service robots. As such, it is desirable to use anthropomorphic form not only in aesthetic design but also in interaction design. Proceeding from how anthropomorphism in various domains has taken effect on human perception, we assumed that anthropomorphic form used in appearance and interaction design of robots enriches the explanation of its function and creates familiarity with robots. From many cases we have found, misused anthropomorphic form lead to user disappointment or negative impressions on the robot. In order to effectively use anthropomorphic form, it is necessary to measure the similarity of an artifact to the human form (humanness), and then evaluate whether the usage of anthropomorphic form fits the artifact. The goal of this study is to propose a general evaluation framework of anthropomorphic form for robot design. We suggest three major steps for framing the evaluation: 'measuring anthropomorphic form in appearance', 'measuring anthropomorphic form in Human-Robot Interaction', and 'evaluation of accordance of two former measurements'. This evaluation process will endow a robot an amount of humanness in their appearance equivalent to an amount of humanness in interaction ability, and then ultimately facilitate user satisfaction. Keywords: Anthropomorphic Form; Anthropomorphism; Human-Robot Interaction; Humanness; Robot Design</p

Introducing TU100 ‘My Digital Life’: Ubiquitous computing in a distance learning environment

In this paper we describe the Open University’s progress towards delivering an introduction to ubiquitous computing within a distance-learning environment. Our work is strongly influenced by the philosophy of learning-through-play and we have taken technologies originally designed for children’s education and adapted them for adult learners, many of whom will have no formal experience of computer science or information technology. We will introduce two novel technologies; Sense, a drag-and-drop programming language based on Scratch; and the SenseBoard, an inexpensive hardware device that can be connected to the student’s computer, through which they can sense their environment and display outputs. This paper is not intended as a detailed discussion of individual technologies (they will follow in time), rather it should serve as an introduction to the Open University’s method of teaching and how we hope to continue to recruit new computer scientists and engineers using novel technologies

What did the Romans ever do for us? ‘Next generation’ networks and hybrid learning resources

Networked learning is fundamentally concerned with the use of information and communication technologies (ICT) to link people to people and resources, to support the process of learning. This paper explores some current and forthcoming changes in ICT and some potential implications of these developments for networked learning. Whilst we aim to avoid taking a technologically determinist stance, we explore the potential for future practice and how some educational and pedagogic practices are evolving to exploit and shape the digital environment. We argue that we can change both the ways in which connections between people (learners and other learners; learners and tutors) are made and the nature of the resources that learning communities (particularly distributed communities) can engage with. In doing this we draw on two strands of work. Firstly, we draw on the ‘IBZL Education’ a UK Open University initiative to develop new scholarship in the context of STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) through which educators are encouraged to think about technological change in the next five to ten years and ways in which we can intervene and shape these developments. We use problem-based learning as an example of a learning experience that can be difficult to implement in a networked learning environment. IBZL identified two broad strands of significant technological development. 'Superfast' broadband networks that are capable of supporting novel applications are being rolled in the UK (and elsewhere). Also, boundaries between the real and virtual worlds are becoming blurred as in the ‘internet of things’ where, for example, RFID tags enable information about the real world to be brought into the virtual one. We use the term ‘artefact’ to describe designed components, whether entirely digital, such as a computer forum, or material, such as a tablet PC. Networked ‘hybrid’ technologies of virtual and material components have may great potential for use in education. Secondly, we illustrate how these changes may be beginning to happen in distance education using the example of TU100 My Digital Life, a new introductory Open University. . TU100 Students use an electronics board in their own homes to work on a programming problem in collaboration other students through a tutor-led tutorial in a web conferencing system. We also note some of the evident complexity that establishing such resources as part of wider infrastructures of networked learning would be likely to involve

The Official Student Newspaper of UAS

UAS Answers -- From the provost: reorient yourself -- UAS Eats: Chia Seeds — A ‘superfood’ -- UAS in Brief -- Schulte Named Fellow in Society for Applied Anthropology -- Accounting students receive AKCPA’s Paul Hagelbarger Scholarship -- Campus Calenda