A Study on the Use of Lecture Recordings in Different Mobile Learning Settings

Lecture recordings represent a convenient means to supplement traditional face-to-face lectures and also to establish pure e-learning scenarios. We provide lecture recordings to our students since roughly one decade by now. The recordings are used by traditional students present at the universitys campus as well as students studying a virtual study path who are not on-site. In the last two semesters we have provided the lecture recordings in different complementary formats: a rich proprietary format based on special presentation softwarewell suited for desktop-PCs, notebooks, and netbooksand a standard video format allowing the use on smartphones and other mobile devices. In this paper we present the results of a survey on the usage of the lecture recordingsespecially considering the mobile use of the lecture recordings and the expected future potential. In particular, the two different student groups involved make these results interesting. In our perception the main finding is that mobile learning using lecture recordings is beneficial in specific situations, but not as a dominant learning model. A perspective can be seen in mobile learning as part of a broader ubiquitous learning scenario

A tethering complex drives the terminal stage of SNARE-dependent membrane fusion.

Membrane fusion in eukaryotic cells mediates the biogenesis of organelles, vesicular traffic between them, and exo- and endocytosis of important signalling molecules, such as hormones and neurotransmitters. Distinct tasks in intracellular membrane fusion have been assigned to conserved protein systems. Tethering proteins mediate the initial recognition and attachment of membranes, whereas SNARE (soluble N-ethylmaleimide-sensitive factor attachment protein receptor) protein complexes are considered as the core fusion engine. SNARE complexes provide mechanical energy to distort membranes and drive them through a hemifusion intermediate towards the formation of a fusion pore. This last step is highly energy-demanding. Here we combine the in vivo and in vitro fusion of yeast vacuoles with molecular simulations to show that tethering proteins are critical for overcoming the final energy barrier to fusion pore formation. SNAREs alone drive vacuoles only into the hemifused state. Tethering proteins greatly increase the volume of SNARE complexes and deform the site of hemifusion, which lowers the energy barrier for pore opening and provides the driving force. Thereby, tethering proteins assume a crucial mechanical role in the terminal stage of membrane fusion that is likely to be conserved at multiple steps of vesicular traffic. We therefore propose that SNAREs and tethering proteins should be considered as a single, non-dissociable device that drives fusion. The core fusion machinery may then be larger and more complex than previously thought

Image Retrieval on Mobile Devices

With the growing number of mobile devices and the access possibility to thousands of images from these devices, the users call for efficient image search techniques for mobile devices. Desktop paradigms cannot be used with the smaller screen sizes, hence it is needful to offer alternative searching and browsing strategies, which are adapted for mobile devices. In this paper we describe our ideas how image retrieval on mobile devices can be accomplished

A Study on the Use of Lecture Recordings in Different Mobile Learning Settings

Lecture recordings represent a convenient means to supplement traditional face-to-face lectures and also to establish pure e-learning scenarios. We provide lecture recordings to our students since roughly one decade by now. The recordings are used by traditional students present at the universitys campus as well as students studying a virtual study path who are not on-site. In the last two semesters we have provided the lecture recordings in different complementary formats: a rich proprietary format based on special presentation softwarewell suited for desktop-PCs, notebooks, and netbooksand a standard video format allowing the use on smartphones and other mobile devices. In this paper we present the results of a survey on the usage of the lecture recordingsespecially considering the mobile use of the lecture recordings and the expected future potential. In particular, the two different student groups involved make these results interesting. In our perception the main finding is that mobile learning using lecture recordings is beneficial in specific situations, but not as a dominant learning model. A perspective can be seen in mobile learning as part of a broader ubiquitous learning scenario

Augmented Indoor Modeling for Navigation Support for the Blind

Abstract- In this paper we present a concept for a wide-ranging indoor navigation support for the blind and people with impaired vision. Parts of this work were realized within a new prototype of an indoor navigation and object identification system for the blind. With the previous orientation assistant it is possible for blind persons to orientate themselves and to detect objects within modeled indoor environments. By pressing keys, the user’s inquiries concerning their environment are acoustically answered through a text-to-speech engine. The previous system’s limitation was that it was necessary to hit an object precisely using a picking ray within a 3D model in order to allow proper object identification. Our new prototype now includes the option to receive augmented navigation hints automatically just by walking in virtual corresponding navigation areas