Teaching Construction in the Virtual University: the WINDS project

This paper introduces some of the Information Technology solutions adopted in Web based INtelligent Design Support (WINDS) to support education in A/E/C design. The WINDS project WINDS is an EC-funded project in the 5th Framework, Information Society Technologies programme, Flexible University key action. WINDS is divided into two actions: ·The research technology action is going to implement a learning environment integrating an intelligent tutoring system, a computer instruction management system and a set of co-operative supporting tools. ·The development action is going to build a large knowledge base supporting Architecture and Civil Engineering Design Courses and to experiment a comprehensive Virtual School of Architecture and Engineering Design. During the third year of the project, more than 400 students all over Europe will attend the Virtual School. During the next three years the WINDS project will span a total effort of about 150 man-years from 28 partners of 10 European countries. The missions of the WINDS project are: Advanced Methodologies in Design Education. WINDS drives a breakdown with conventional models in design education, i.e. classroom or distance education. WINDS implements a problem oriented knowledge transfer methodology following Roger Schank's Goal Based Scenario (GBS) pedagogical methodology. GBS encourages the learning of both skills and cases, and fosters creative problem solving. Multidisciplinary Design Education. Design requires creative synthesis and open-end problem definition at the intersection of several disciplines. WINDS experiments a valuable integration of multidisciplinary design knowledge and expertise to produce a high level standard of education. Innovative Representation, Delivery and Access to Construction Education. WINDS delivers individual education customisation by allowing the learner access through the Internet to a wide range of on-line courses and structured learning objects by means of personally tailored learning strategies. WINDS promotes the 3W paradigm: learn What you need, Where you want, When you require. Construction Practice. Construction industry is a repository of ""best practices"" and knowledge that the WINDS will profit. WINDS system benefits the ISO10303 and IFC standards to acquire knowledge of the construction process directly in digital format. On the other hand, WINDS reengineers the knowledge in up-to-date courses, educational services, which the industries can use to provide just-in-time rather than in-advance learning. WINDS IT Solutions The missions of the WINDS project state many challenging requirements both in knowledge and system architecture. Many of the solutions adopted in these fields are innovative; others are evolution of existing technologies. This paper focuses on the integration of this set of state-of-the-art technologies in an advanced and functionally sound Computer Aided Instruction system for A/E/C Design. In particular the paper deals with the following aspects: Standard Learning Technology Architecture The WINDS system relies on the in progress IEEE 1484.1 Learning Technology Standard Architecture. According to this standard the system consists of two data stores, the Knowledge Library and the Record Database, and four process: System Coach, Delivery, Evaluation and the Learner. WINDS implements the Knowledge Library into a three-tier architecture: 1.Learning Objects: ·Learning Units are collections of text and multimedia data. ·Models are represented in either IFC or STEP formats. ·Cases are sets of Learning Units and Models. Cases are noteworthy stories, which describes solutions, integrate technical detail, contain relevant design failures etc. 2.Indexes refer to the process in which the identification of relevant topics in design cases and learning units takes place. Indexing process creates structures of Learning Objects for course management, profile planning procedures and reasoning processes. 3.Courses are taxonomies of either Learning Units or a design task and Course Units. Knowledge Representation WINDS demonstrates that it is possible and valuable to integrate a widespread design expertise so that it can be effectively used to produce a high level standard of education. To this aim WINDS gathers area knowledge, design skills and expertise under the umbrellas of common knowledge representation structures and unambiguous semantics. Cases are one of the most valuable means for the representation of design expertise. A Case is a set of Learning Units and Product Models. Cases are noteworthy stories, which describe solutions, integrate technical details, contain relevant design failures, etc. Knowledge Integration Indexes are a medium among different kind of knowledge: they implement networks for navigation and access to disparate documents: HTML, video, images, CAD and product models (STEP or IFC). Concept indexes link learning topics to learning objects and group them into competencies. Index relationships are the base of the WINDS reasoning processes, and provide the foundation for system coaching functions, which proactively suggest strategies, solutions, examples and avoids students' design deadlock. Knowledge Distribution To support the data stores and the process among the partners in 10 countries efficiently, WINDS implements an object oriented client/server as COM objects. Behind the DCOM components there is the Dynamic Kernel, which dynamically embodies and maintains data stores and process. Components of the Knowledge Library can reside on several servers across the Internet. This provides for distributed transactions, e.g. a change in one Learning Object affects the Knowledge Library spread across several servers in different countries. Learning objects implemented as COM objects can wrap ownership data. Clear and univocal definition of ownerships rights enables Universities, in collaboration with telecommunication and publisher companies, to act as "education brokers". Brokerage in education and training is an innovative paradigm to provide just-in-time and personally customised value added learning knowledg

Electrocardiogram (ECG/EKG) using FPGA

FPGAs (Field Programmable Gate Arrays) are finding wide acceptance in medical systems for their ability for rapid prototyping of a concept that requires hardware/software co-design, for performing custom processing in parallel at high data rates and be programmed in the field after manufacturing. Based on the market demand, the FPGA design can be changed and no new hardware needs to be purchased as was the case with ASICs (Application Specific Integrated Circuit) and CPLDs (Complex Programmable Logic Device). Medical companies can now move over to FPGAs saving cost and delivering highly-efficient upgradable systems. ECG (Electrocardiogram) is considered to be a must have feature for a medical diagnostic imaging system. This project attempts at implementing ECG heart-rate computation in an FPGA. This project gave me exposure to hardware engineering, learning about the low level chips like Atmel UC3A3256 micro-controller on an Atmel EVK1105 board which is used as a simulator for generating the ECG signal, the operational amplifiers for amplifying and level-shifting the ECG signal, the A/D converter chip for analog to digital conversion of the ECG signal, the internal workings of FPGA, how different hardware components communicate with each other on the system and finally some signal processing to calculate the heart rate value from the ECG signal

E-learning as internationalization strategy in higher education: Lecturer’s and student’s perspective

Purpose – Use of e-learning opens up a whole new range of business expansion and internationalization opportunities for many companies including higher education institutions. The paper seeks to explore the challenges a business college may encounter using e-learning as internationalization strategy. E-learning-related problems are analyzed from two main internal interest groups’ point of view – lecturers and students. The aim of the case study presented in the paper is to find out what are the major challenges from a student and academic personnel perspective using e-learning. This kind of analyses should be the first step introducing e-learning as a strategic tool for business expansion. Design/methodology/approach – Questionnaires, in-depth interviewing and semi-structured group interviews were used to find answers to the posed research questions. Research took place in two phases. In phase one, two types of questionnaires were distributed – Type A to lecturers (ten respondents) and Type B to students (115 respondents), Both types were constructed by the author. In phase two, two in-depth interviews and two semi-structured group interviews were conducted (ten students in one group of interview, eight lecturers in the second group of interview). Findings – The main problem areas for lecturers related to e-learning are: lack of time, lack of interest/motivation, lack of co-operation, compensation system does not take into account the specifics of e-learning and lecturers are concerned about the quality of teaching in a virtual environment. The most problematic of them appear to be lack of time and inappropriate compensation system. Students appear to have interest in e-courses, but the level of knowledge regarding specifics of web-based learning as well as about e-courses offered was unexpectedly low. This is an especially problematic case as open university students were the main target group for whom the e-courses were designed in the first place. Research limitations/implications – The research is based on one case study and thus the conclusions made may not exactly reflect the situation in all universities of Estonia. But due to the shared economic, cultural and historical background, at least to some extent the case study reflects the main problem areas of all Estonian universities using e-learning. Originality/value – The originality of the paper stems from an interdisciplinary approach to e-learning – use of e-learning as a tool for internationalization. The paper presents results of a case study research, conducted in an East-European business college and the results of the study are discussed in respect of historical, social and economic specifics of Estonia.E-learning; Higher education; Students; Academic staff; Estonia

The perceived impact of Technology Enhanced Learning (TEL) across a new pre-registration nursing curriculum

The construction and labelling of a relatively disparate set of university information technology systems as the “Nurse Navigator System” were routed in the principles of broader design research where methodologies of teaching, learning, and assessment were used to drive educational innovation within and between clinical and academic teaching. In terms of pragmatic design and appearance, this was straightforward; however, the theoretical basis of the design was more complex and rooted in core pedagogic design principles. Responding to the outcome of the initial evaluation of the system was therefore critical in the iterative developmental design of the Nurse Navigator System. Evaluation necessitated the collation of data which could tangibly and qualitatively examine whether expectations of such a conglomerate set of information technology criteria were realistic in practice. This pilot period of adjustment was recognized as a time to allow for configuring, fine-tuning, and assessment of purposefulness to the student cohort using it and in keeping with the need to co-construct learning and resource needs of students in practice. Evaluating the effectiveness of the preliminary pedagogic design of the Nurse Navigator System necessitated reliable indicators of engagement and learning. This research methods case study provides an overview of the qualitative evaluation of the impact of the new Nurse Navigator System using anecdote circles as an alternative to Focus Groups

Preparing To Successfully Co-Teach For English Language Learners On The First Day Of School: A Series Of Professional Development Sessions

As the population of the United States continues to grow more and more diverse, schools are adapting to meet the needs of their changing student populations. A common program model for educating English language learners is co-teaching between an ESL teacher and a general education teacher. This paper seeks to answer the questions How can teachers be prepared to successfully co-teach for English language learners on the first day of school? This paper begins by discussing the author’s experience that led to the research question, while also situating the topic in the context of today’s public education system. In order to answer the research question, this paper dives into the the history of co-teaching, co-teaching design, case studies, and research on adult education. The culmination of this research is a five-part series of professional development designed to prepare teachers to effectively co-teach English language learners on the first day of school. The project is rooted in Malcolm Knowles’ theories of adult education that advocate for more choice and agency over learning. The project is also rooted in anecdotal data that has been harvested by a number of case studies. Finally, the paper concludes by reflecting on the process and looking toward the future

Teacher learning of technology-enhanced formative assessment

"Technology-Enhanced Formative Assessment" (TEFA) is an innovative pedagogy for teaching secondary school science or mathematics with "classroom response system" technology. "Teacher Learning of TEFA" (TLT) is a five year research project studying teacher change in the context of an intensive, sustained, on-site professional development (PD) program designed to help in-service teachers learn TEFA. Approximately 39 teachers from three school systems are participating. Participants each receive a classroom response system and take part in a four-day summer workshop, a year of weekly PD meetings at their school, and one or two additional years of action research meetings every three to four weeks. Beginning with one baseline semester before the PD begins and continuing until the end of PD, we collect longitudinal data on participants' perspectives and practice through multiple instruments and methods, including interviews, web-based questionnaires, classroom videotaping, audio-taping of PD meetings, and surveys of participants' students. The data are analyzed and triangulated through a variety of qualitative and mixed-methods approaches in order to construct rich case study narratives of each participant's learning trajectory, and then to perform cross-case analysis in search of common patterns, distinct categories, and the like. Although the intervention, data collection, and analysis are ongoing, we have identified some preliminary findings. Based on these and detailed examination of a few initial case studies, we have developed a tentative model of teacher learning and pedagogical change in the context of sustained PD, which we call "a model for the co-evolution of teacher and pedagogy." The preliminary findings and model have implications for the design of professional development programs for in-service teachers. (Contains 3 figures.

A 3D virtual environment for social telepresence

We examine OnLive Traveler as a case study. Traveler is a clientserver application allowing real-time synchronous communication between individuals over the Internet. The Traveler client interface presents the user with a shared virtual 3D world, in which participants are represented by avatars. The primary mode of communication is through multi-point, full duplex voice, managed by the server. Our design goal was to develop a virtual community system that emulates natural social paradigms, allowing the participants to sense a tele-presence, the subjective sensation that remote users are actually co-located within a virtual space. Once this level of immersive "sense of presence" and engagement is achieved, we believe an enhanced level of socialization, learning, and communication are achievable. We examine a number of very specific design and implementation decisions that were made to achieve this goal within platform constraints. We also will detail some observed results gleaned from the virtual community userbase, which has been online for several year

A Basic Study of Enhancing In-Plant Lifelong Learning Competency

The study aimed at designing an in-plant lifelong learning competency building up framework and suggesting policy alternatives for deploying the designed framework into small and medium enterprises in Korea(SME). In the process of drawing relevant framework elements, previous research done by the researcher and the five case studies including L Group Training Center, H Paper Co., LTD, S bank, and M global company were reviewed. The task of designing the in-house lifelong learning competency framework required systematic linkage between the traditional instructional system design elements and self-directed learning principles as well as application of workplace practices observed from study of the four cases into the designed framework. The work of deploying the framework into Korean SMEs cannot be feasible without provision of government support programs since market principle doesn’t work efficiently in the areas of SME learning competency building. Thus, tasks of designing and deploying need systematic interconnection between theory and practice, on the one hand, while they require Korean government facilitating and incentive supports, on the other one. The study faced the dilemma discussed above. Solution of it was beyond the capacity and the scope of this study, however

Evaluating interactivity design in the context of technology enhanced learning: an overarching case study methodology integrating anecdote circles and surveys as methods of inquiry for nursing curricula

Integrating digital technology and interactivity design to drive the co-construction of social knowledge was embedded in a new undergraduate nursing curriculum. Labelled as the ‘Nurse Navigator System’ (NNS) within the context of this new programme, this element of interactivity design is an ideal opportunity to examine where previous experience and the use of learning technology nurse education are aligned and can potentially be shaped to improve a pedagogic development that has relevance to nursing curricula nationally and internationally. Aim/focus of the innovation: - The Nurse Navigator System was designed for students to iteratively provide feedback on their experiences of bridging the gap between clinical and academic contexts through interactive networks and social knowledge construction (Wu at al, 2016). At its core, and in keeping with social constructivist principles of any inquiry based learning approach, it was designed to ensure students were facilitated in being accountable for their own learning and the identification of their further learning needs (Draper, Clark and Rogers, 2016; Hogaboam et al, 2016). This session provides an insight into the overall implementation of the innovation in practice. The intention of this pedagogic approach was to facilitate and encourage students to become more autonomous in their academic and clinical practice and for them to engage with digital technology as a valuable and recognised part of their reflexive skill set in person centred care. Methods used to assess the innovation: - Pedagogic evaluation involved the adoption of an overarching case study methodology which subsequently permitted the integration of anecdote circles and semi-structured questionnaires as methods. Data analysis was conducted via Framework Analysis (Ritchie and Spencer, 1994). Key findings: - The four salient findings from the framework analysis provided an insight into: 1.Learner/People Interactivity, 2. Learner Interface, 3. Learner Content, 4. Situational Context Intended learning outcomes