ShopWithMe!: Collaborative Information Searching and Shopping for Online Retail

We present research on the development and evaluation of a collaborative search and shopping system for online retail tasks based on domain specific product requirements. We describe the design rationale for the system development and inclusion of collaborative features, including search, chat, clip-board, product suggestions, shared views, and shopping cart with a focus on how these features are used for collaborative online retail shopping and information searching and sharing. Our research goal is to understand whether collaborative search tools are useful in supporting actual collaborative online retail shopping tasks for experience goods. We describe system development and report findings from preliminary user studies of the system, using mixed methods analysis, with an emphasis on the qualitative findings. The findings highlight that systems for the online shopping domain can support searching, shared views, and group communication to aid in collaborative shopping for experience goods by improving information sharing among group members. Implications are that ecommerce systems, websites, and web apps should support collaboration based on product types

Design and creation of interactive and manipulative activities for learning university calculus

RESUMEN. Muchos de los estudiantes de primer curso de Universidad encuentran dificultades en la comprensión y utilización de los conceptos matemáticos con los que se trabajan en las asignaturas de Cálculo de los Grados del área de Ciencias e Ingeniería. La enseñanza con tecnología facilita explorar nuevas posibilidades tanto en la comprensión de conceptos teóricos como aplicados al permitir mostrar e interactuar con la información de forma distinta a la que es posible con los tradicionales libros de texto. Este artículo presenta una propuesta de un grupo de profesores de la Universidad de Cantabria que utiliza la web para plantear nuevas metodologías de aprendizaje que estimulen y orienten al estudiante para lograr una mayor autonomía en su progreso académico. Con este fin, se han desarrollado actividades manipulativas e interactivas para promover el trabajo personal del alumno, la utilización de software matemático y las posibilidades multimedia que ofrece la web. Se describe también la experimentación realizada con estas actividades en los cursos 2011-12 y 2012-13 en las asignaturas de Cálculo de los Grados que se imparten en la Escuela de Ingenieros Industriales y Telecomunicación de la Universidad de Cantabria.ABSTRACT. Many first year university students encounter difficulties in understanding the mathematical concepts which are used in Calculus courses in the Science and Engineering Degrees. Teaching with technology allows for new possibilities both in the understanding of theoretical and applied concepts which allows for information to be shown and interacted with in a way that is distinct from traditional textbooks. This article presents a proposal by a group of professors from the University of Cantabria which utilizes the internet to set out new learning methodologies that stimulate and orient the student to achieve greater autonomy in his or her academic progress. To this end, manipulative and interactive activities have been developed which intend to promote the students’ personal work, the use of mathematical software and the multimedia possibilities offered online. It also describes the experience brought forth with these activities in the academic courses of 2011-12 and 2012-13 in the Calculus courses in the Degrees taught in the School of Industrial Engineering and Telecommunications of the University of Cantabria