Using Cognitive Computing for Learning Parallel Programming: An IBM Watson Solution

While modern parallel computing systems provide high performance resources, utilizing them to the highest extent requires advanced programming expertise. Programming for parallel computing systems is much more difficult than programming for sequential systems. OpenMP is an extension of C++ programming language that enables to express parallelism using compiler directives. While OpenMP alleviates parallel programming by reducing the lines of code that the programmer needs to write, deciding how and when to use these compiler directives is up to the programmer. Novice programmers may make mistakes that may lead to performance degradation or unexpected program behavior. Cognitive computing has shown impressive results in various domains, such as health or marketing. In this paper, we describe the use of IBM Watson cognitive system for education of novice parallel programmers. Using the dialogue service of the IBM Watson we have developed a solution that assists the programmer in avoiding common OpenMP mistakes. To evaluate our approach we have conducted a survey with a number of novice parallel programmers at the Linnaeus University, and obtained encouraging results with respect to usefulness of our approach

A definition, benchmark and database of AI for social good initiatives

Initiatives relying on artificial intelligence (AI) to deliver socially beneficial outcomes—AI for social good (AI4SG)—are on the rise. However, existing attempts to understand and foster AI4SG initiatives have so far been limited by the lack of normative analyses and a shortage of empirical evidence. In this Perspective, we address these limitations by providing a definition of AI4SG and by advocating the use of the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) as a benchmark for tracing the scope and spread of AI4SG. We introduce a database of AI4SG projects gathered using this benchmark, and discuss several key insights, including the extent to which different SDGs are being addressed. This analysis makes possible the identification of pressing problems that, if left unaddressed, risk hampering the effectiveness of AI4SG initiatives

Teaching Computational Creativity

The increasing popularity of computational creativity (CC) in recent years gives rise to the need for educational resources. This paper presents several modules that together act as a guide for developing new CC courses as well as improving existing curricula. As well as introducing core CC concepts, we address pedagogical approaches to this interdisciplinary subject. An accessible overview of the field lets this paper double as an introductory tutorial to computational creativity

IMPRESSIONS OF VIABILITY: HOW CURRENT ENROLLMENT MANAGEMENT PERSONNEL AND FORMER STUDENTS PERCEIVE THE IMPLEMENTATION OF A CHATBOT FOCUSED ON STUDENT FINANCIAL COMMUNICATION

The increasingly competitive modern higher educational environment has forced student services professionals to increase focus on recruitment and retention, which corresponds with an expanding body of scholarly literature and research on retention practices (Moore, Hossler, Ziskin, & Wakhungu, 2008). These large-scale recruitment and retention goals coincide with significant declines in state and federal funding, leaving many financially-limited institutions struggling to balance higher expectations and declining resources. Oftentimes, institutions seek out technological platforms that streamline the workload, while remaining cognizant that selected platforms must appeal to the current student population, the technologically-savvy Generation Z (Castillo, 2018; Stillman & Stillman, 2017). Outside of higher education, chatbots, often presented as AI assistants, have proven their popularity via products like Amazon’s Alexa, Google Assistant, Microsoft’s Cortana, and Apple’s Siri (Dale, 2016). Now, this technology is appearing in higher education, where it has been implemented at several institutions to automate processes and facilitate communication between students and staff (Herndon, 2017). The purpose of this action research study was to evaluate the perceptions, specifically linked to viability, of a chatbot that provides information to Southern Miss students in real-time. This research was focused on student finances and the communications that connect a student to his or her financial information. This research found that there was significant support for financial aid and business services chatbots at USM. Although a chatbot would not alter most respondents’ enrollment plans, a majority of the former student respondents indicated that if an institution implemented a chatbot, they would have a better perception of that institution

Internet of Things. Information Processing in an Increasingly Connected World

This open access book constitutes the refereed post-conference proceedings of the First IFIP International Cross-Domain Conference on Internet of Things, IFIPIoT 2018, held at the 24th IFIP World Computer Congress, WCC 2018, in Poznan, Poland, in September 2018. The 12 full papers presented were carefully reviewed and selected from 24 submissions. Also included in this volume are 4 WCC 2018 plenary contributions, an invited talk and a position paper from the IFIP domain committee on IoT. The papers cover a wide range of topics from a technology to a business perspective and include among others hardware, software and management aspects, process innovation, privacy, power consumption, architecture, applications

Проблеми та шляхи реалізації компетентнісного підходу в сучасній освіті: матеріали ІІ Міжнародної науково-методичної конференції, 20-21 травня 2021 року

Кафедрою педагогіки факультету психології Харківського національного університету імені В.Н. Каразіна ІІ Міжнародну науково-методичну конференцію «Проблеми та шляхи реалізації компетентнісного підходу в сучасній освіті» організовано та проведено в рамках проєкту «Новітні психолого-педагогічні технології навчання» Стратегії розвитку Каразінського університету на 2019-2025 роки та кафедральної НДР «Сучасні технології та методики професійно-педагогічної підготовки фахівців в освітньому просторі закладів вищої освіти»