A Theoretical Accessible Approach for Collaborative Learning in Mobile Devices

[Poster] 3rd. International Conference on Computer Supported Education (CSEDU 2011), 6-8, May 2011, Noordvijkerhout (The Netherlands). Poster session 1, CeLS-12The concept of accessing to the Internet has changed in the last decade. Nowadays, the access to the Internet is more flexible and users are able to surf on it from different Mobile Devices. Then, why not learn through mobile devices as mobile phones? The main aim of this paper is to propose a theoretical model of a web collaborative module for mobile devices. It pretends to provide a list of features that all mobile Learning Management Systems (LMSs) should have in their collaborative modules and how they should be implemented in mobile devices.The work presented in this paper has been partially founded by GEMMA (TSI-020302-2010-141) research project

Chats for all: a user survey to improve chats' interaction

Proceedings of: XIV Congreso Internacional de Interacción Persona-Ordenador (INTERACCIÓN 2013), celebrado en el marco del IV Congreso Español de Informática (CEDI 2013), 17-20 de septiembre de 2013, en Madrid.The use of chats is being increased; however, they cannot be used by everybody because they present accessibility barriers. Previous research works have solved some of these problems, but accessibility problems related to the user interaction have not been solved yet. This work is part of a research which main goals are to provide a model-based accessible chat and a development process strategy to create accessible chats using it. This research is in the analysis phase and the elicited requirements must be validated. Thus, this study aims to validate one of the requirements proposed to improve the chats' user interaction, the Stop Auto-refresh functionality, and to obtain the necessities that users need in a chat. To achieve it, 45 questionnaires and 3 interviews have been carried out by users with diversity of abilities. Finally, it could be underlined that people with visual, motor or learning and cognitive disabilities could found this new feature very interesting and useful.This research work has been partially supported by the research project MA2VICMR (S2009/TIC-1542) and by the project MULTIMEDICA (TIN2010-20644-C03-0)Publicad

Overlapping Chat's Accessibility Requirements between students with and without disabilities due to the mobile limitations

Proceeding in: The 10th International Conference on Mobile Learning 2014.Took place 2014, 28 February, 2, March, in Madrid, Spain. The event Web site at http://mlearning-conf.org/oldconferences/2014/The use of Chats has been extended for mobile-learning (m-learning) environments in the last decade. Students and teachers can communicate in real time and they do not need to wait till their next tutoring date. However, Chats have many accessibility barriers and many students cannot use this collaborative tool. These accessibility barriers affect students with disabilities but students without disabilities can face the same accessibility problems too due to the restrictions and limitations of handheld devices. Previous studies have improved the accessibility of Chats for a specific environment or disabilities but none of them is focused on the limitations that students without disabilities can face when they are using Chats in handheld devices. This is the main aim of this research; specify how the Chats' accessible requirements have been elicited and analyze the benefits that obtained requirements can produce for people without disabilities in m-learning contexts.This research work has been partially supported by the MA2VICMR (S2009/TIC-1542) research projectPublicad

Evaluación con personas reales de un Chat accesible a través de la plataforma UNINNOVA

[Comunicación] CIUD, II Congreso Internacional Universidad y Discapacidad, Madrid, 27 y 28 de noviembre de 2014Vivimos en una era en la que la innovación debería formar parte de la cultura de una sociedad para poder mejorarla, con la necesaria participación de los ciudadanos en el proceso de innovación. Sin embargo, la búsqueda de financiación y de participantes para poder desarrollar y validar una idea puede convertirse en una tarea muy ardua. Como resultado, muchos proyectos de investigación no llegan a concluirse o a poder obtener resultados adecuados desde un punto de vista inclusivo. Con esta motivación surge la Red Universitaria de Innovación en Accesibilidad (Red UNINNOVA) que pone en contacto universidades y usuarios para desarrollar ideas que permiten mejorar la accesibilidad de las Tecnologías de la Información y Comunicación (TIC). En este artículo se realiza una breve introducción a la plataforma UNINNOVA así como una breve descripción de un trabajo de investigación en el ámbito de la accesibilidad: la Tesis Doctoral de Rocío Calvo, obteniendo resultados muy positivos y un conocimiento enriquecedor para la investigación

Large numbers of failure and the risk of educational exclusion

The article gives a descriptive analysis of large numbers of school failure in Spanish lower Secondary Education (dropouts, repetition, rates adequacy), particularly in the failure to obtain a graduate degree as well as students who leave school prematurely. We emphasize the regions of Murcia and Andalusia. Also a section is dedicated to the analysis of figures and data, in particular measures to attend to the diversity. Some of these high rates of school failure are not justified in a country with income levels, with good children´s schooling in Primary and Early Childhood Education and with high rates of University population. Therefore, critical appraisals are formulated to reduce it and get closer to an "educational success for all", as the European Union promotes

Evaluating the Accessibility of Three Open-Source Learning Content Management Systems: A Comparative Study

Learning content management systems (LCMSs) have become increasingly popular in the educational field over the past few years. However, problems in system design can create difficulties in the interactions between LCMSs and an important sector of the user population. The assessment and monitoring of LCMS accessibility are vital for the guarantee of universal accessibility in education. This article presents a comparative study of the accessibility of three web-based, open-source LCMSs: Moodle, ATutor, and Sakai. Results of the study indicate that barriers to accessibility are present in each of the three systems evaluated. A primary aim of the study is to help detect and correct these barriers such that the goal of universal access in educational environments may one day be achieved.This study was partially funded by the Research Network MA2VICMR (S2009/TIC-1542) and by GEMMA (TSI-020302-2010-141) and SAGAS (TSI-020100-2010-184) research projects

User-centered requirement engineering for accessible chats in m-learning

Chat applications are useful synchronous tools in mobile learning (m-learning) environments. However, these tools have accessibility problems which cannot be avoided by students and teachers with disabilities. This paper focuses on detecting these accessibility problems. Specifically, this paper presents the Requirement Engineering (RE) process carried out to obtain the requirements needed to improve the interaction for people who experience problems with the Flow and Rhythm of the conversation in chats. A methodological approach has been followed and Software Engineering (SE) and Human Computer Interaction (HCI) disciplines were combined in order to improve the interaction during the chat.This research was partially supported by the MA2VICMR (S2009/TIC-1542) project. Also, our thanks to all users who took part in the studyPublicad

Disability standards and guidelines for learning management systems: Evaluating accessibility

Currently, the great majority of institutions of higher education use Learning Content Management Systems (LCMSs) and Learning Management Systems (LMS) as pedagogical tools. In order to make these systems accessible to all students, it is important to take into account not only educational standards, but also standards of accessibility. It is essential to have with procedures and well-established method for evaluating these tools, so in this paper we propose a method for evaluating the accessibility of LCMSs and LMS based on a consideration of particular accessibility standards and other technological and human aspects. The method application is for all LMS, in order to illustrate the effectiveness of the evaluation method, we present a case study over the widely-used LMS Moodle1. In the case study, the accessibility of Moodle is evaluated thoroughly from the point of view of visually-impaired persons. The results obtained from the case study demonstrate that this LMS is partially accessible. The evaluation shows that the tool provides poor support to the authors of accessible educational contents.This research work was supported by the Research Network MA2VICMR (S2009/TIC-1542) (see www.mavir.net/), GEMMA (TSI-020302- 2010-141) and SAGAS (TSI-020100-2010-184) research projects.Publicad

Caracterización reproductiva de la raza caprina blanca andaluza : papel de la condición corporal, peso vivo y fotoperiodo

La raza caprina Blanca Andaluza es una raza autóctona calificada como en peligro de extinción y cuenta con un reducido número de criadores, así como con una carencia casi total de datos reproductivos. Por eso, el objetivo de este trabajo ha consistido en determinar las características reproductivas de esta raza. Para ello, se han llevado a cabo 5 experimentos. En el primer experimento el objetivo fue examinar el efecto de la condición corporal (CC) y del peso vivo (PV), independientemente entre sí, en el inicio de la pubertad de chivas nacidas en otoño. Los resultados de este trabajo indican que las chivas de raza Blanca Andaluza, alcanzan la pubertad en su primera época de actividad reproductiva tras el nacimiento, y la CC es un factor determinante en el inicio de la misma. El segundo experimento se diseñó para determinar si la respuesta y los acontecimientos que siguen al tratamiento de sincronización con esponjas intravagina les de progesterona (desarrollo folicular, momento de salida en celo, pico preovulatorio de LH y momento de ovulación) varían en función de la época aplicación y del nivel de CC. Se pudo concluir que la estación del año en el que se realiza el tratamiento de sincronización, ha sido el factor más importante que afectó al resultado de la sincronización. Sin embargo, excepto el incremento de las concentraciones basales de LH en las hembras sincronizadas en anestro estacional y el número de folículos >lcm antes de la ovulación, la CC no modificó ningún otro de los parámetros estudiados. El experimento 3 tuvo como objetivo describir la estacionalidad reproductiva de la raza caprina Blanca Andaluza y determinar si el PV o la CC tienen algún efecto en el control de la misma, así como determinar si hay una efecto compensatorio o aditivo entre estas variables en la modulación de dicha estacionalidad. Los resultados demuestran que las hembras de raza caprina Blanca Andaluza tiene una marcada estacionalidad reproductiva mostrando una época de actividad reproductiva entre agosto y abril y un periodo de inactividad reproductiva entre mayo y julio. Esta actividad reproductiva está claramente modulada por la CC y el PV, independientemente entre sí. En el grupo de cabras que tenían al menos una CC de 2,75 hubo hembras que ovularon durante todo el experimento, incluyendo el anestro estacional. En el cuarto experimento, el objetivo fue determinar el patrón de reproducción estacional de los machos cabríos de raza Blanca Andaluza y conocer si ésta estacionalidad influye en la calidad y congelabilidad del semen. Los resultados obtenidos demuestran que los machos de raza Blanca Andaluza presentan una estacionalidad reproductiva en relación a las concentraciones de testosterona, sin grandes cambios en el comportamiento sexual. Respecto a los resultados de las distintas variables del semen fresco, alcanzaron sus valores más bajos en invierno. Sin embargo, fue en esta estación en la que se obtuvieron los mejores resultados de semen congelado- descongelado. El quinto experimento fue diseñado para comparar los efectos del tratamiento con melatonina exógena (MEL), días cortos (DC, 8h de luz: 16h de oscuridad) y días largos (DL, 16h de luz: 8h de oscuridad) en la actividad reproductiva, motilidad espermática y otras variables reproductivas así como en la congelabilidad del semen. Se pudo concluir que, en los machos caprinos de raza Blanca Andaluza, el tratamiento con 2 meses de DC da lugar a un semen de calidad similar al obtenido con 2 meses de tratamiento con MEL. Respecto a la actividad reproductiva, las concentraciones de testosterona están asociadas al tratamiento al que son sometidos los animales, presentando altas concentraciones durante los tratamientos con DC y MEL y bajas concentraciones cuando en los DL. Por último, el tratamiento con MEL mejora las variables de motilidad del semen fresco pero no la motilidad del semen congelado-descongelado respecto a la registrada en los tratamientos con DL o DC.Nowadays, the Blanca Andaluza goat breed is an endangered local breed with a small number of breeders as well as an almost total lack of reproductive data. Therefore, the main objective of this work was to determine the reproductive characteristics of the Blanca Andaluza goat breed. To achieve these objectives, we have done five experiments. In the first experiment, the objective was to know the effect of body condition score (BCS), independently of bodyweight (BW), on the onset of puberty in Blanca Andaluza female kids born in Autumn. The results of the present work indicate that, Blanca Andaluza female kids reach puberty in their first natural breeding period after birth, and that BCS is a determining factor in the onset of puberty. The second experiment was designed to determine whether the response and the events that follow the synchronisation by intravaginal progestagen sponge treatment (follicular development, the timing of oestrus, the preovulatory LH surge and ovulation) are modified by the moment of application and by the body condition score (BCS) in adult female Blanca Andaluza goats. These results demonstrate that the season at the time of synchronisation was the most important factor affecting the outcome of synchronisation treatment. However, other than increasing the basal LH concentration in the does synchronised during seasonal anoestrus, and the number of follicles >1 cm before ovulation, BCS would appear to have no direct effect on the studied variables. The aim of the third experiment was to describe the seasonal pattern of Blanca Andaluza goats and the influence of BCS and BW as modulators of reproductive activity, and to determine whether there is any additive or compensatory interaction between these variables. These results demonstrate that Blanca Andaluza goats show a marked reproductive seasonality with a breeding season between August and April and an anoestrus period between May and June. This reproductive activity during the year is clearly and independently modulated by BCS and BW. The females that had ovulations during the whole experiment (including the seasonal anoestrus) were in the group with, at least, a BCS of 2.75. In the fourth experiment, the objective was to determine the seasonal reproductive pattern of Blanca Andaluza bucks, and whether this affects the quality of their semen and its freezability over the year. In conclusion, the results reveal that Blanca Andaluza bucks show seasonal reproductive activity in terms of their plasma testosterone concentration, but no clear change in their sexual behaviour was observed. In relation to results of the values of fresh sperm variables, these reached their lowest values during winter. However, after freezing-thawing, winter-collected sperm is the best quality semen. The last experiment was designed to compare the effects of exposure to exogenous melatonin treatment (MEL), short days (SD, 8h of light: 16h of darkness), and long days (LD, 16h of light: 8h of darkness), on reproductive activity, sperm motility and other reproductive variables as well as semen freezability of Blanca Andaluza bucks. In conclusion, the results of the present experiment showed that, in Blanca Andaluza bucks, two months of SD treatment provide semen of a quality equal to that achieved with two months of exogenous MEL treatment. About reproductive activity, testosterone concentrations was associated with the treatment to which the animals were subjected, with high testosterone concentrations recorded during the MEL and SD treatments and low concentrations during the LD treatment. Finally, the MEL treatment improved the fresh semen motility variables, but this did not improve the motility of frozen-thawed sperm over that recorded for either SD or LD treatment

Modal space: a physics-based model for sequential estimation of time-varying shape from monocular video

The final publication is available at link.springer.comThis paper describes two sequential methods for recovering the camera pose together with the 3D shape of highly deformable surfaces from a monocular video. The nonrigid 3D shape is modeled as a linear combination of mode shapes with time-varying weights that define the shape at each frame and are estimated on-the-fly. The low-rank constraint is combined with standard smoothness priors to optimize the model parameters over a sliding window of image frames. We propose to obtain a physics-based shape basis using the initial frames on the video to code the time-varying shape along the sequence, reducing the problem from trilinear to bilinear. To this end, the 3D shape is discretized by means of a soup of elastic triangular finite elements where we apply a force balance equation. This equation is solved using modal analysis via a simple eigenvalue problem to obtain a shape basis that encodes the modes of deformation. Even though this strategy can be applied in a wide variety of scenarios, when the observations are denser, the solution can become prohibitive in terms of computational load. We avoid this limitation by proposing two efficient coarse-to-fine approaches that allow us to easily deal with dense 3D surfaces. This results in a scalable solution that estimates a small number of parameters per frame and could potentially run in real time. We show results on both synthetic and real videos with ground truth 3D data, while robustly dealing with artifacts such as noise and missing data.Peer ReviewedPostprint (author's final draft