Semantics-supported cooperative learning for enhanced awareness

Awareness is required for supporting all forms of cooperation. In Computer Supported Collaborative Learning (CSCL), awareness can be used for enhancing collaborative opportunities across physical distances and in computer-mediated environments. Shared Knowledge Awareness (SKA) intends to increase the perception about the shared knowledge, students have in a collaborative learning scenario and also concerns the understanding that this group has about it. However, it is very difficult to produce accurate awareness indicators based on informal message exchange among the participants. Therefore, we propose a semantic system for cooperation that makes use of formal methods for knowledge representation based on semantic web technologies. From these semantics-enhanced repository and messages, it could be easier to compute more accurate awareness

Collaborative explicit plasticity framework: a conceptual scheme for the generation of plastic and group-aware user interfaces

The advent of new advances in mobile computing has changed the manner we do our daily work, even enabling us to perform collaborative activities. However, current groupware approaches do not offer an integrating and efficient solution that jointly tackles the flexibility and heterogeneity inherent to mobility as well as the awareness aspects intrinsic to collaborative environments. Issues related to the diversity of contexts of use are collected under the term plasticity. A great amount of tools have emerged offering a solution to some of these issues, although always focused on individual scenarios. We are working on reusing and specializing some already existing plasticity tools to the groupware design. The aim is to offer the benefits from plasticity and awareness jointly, trying to reach a real collaboration and a deeper understanding of multi-environment groupware scenarios. In particular, this paper presents a conceptual framework aimed at being a reference for the generation of plastic User Interfaces for collaborative environments in a systematic and comprehensive way. Starting from a previous conceptual framework for individual environments, inspired on the model-based approach, we introduce specific components and considerations related to groupware

The AIPO Society: Present and Future Trends

This paper presents an overview of the international Asociación Interacción Persona-Ordenador (AIPO), a growing society related to HCI and focused on the Spanishspeaking community. AIPO is aimed to support HCI related activities both in the academia and the industry, connecting hundreds of millions of potential members.Project ADACO (TIN2004-08000-C03-03

Analysis on formal and informal qualifications in Iberoamerica: challenges for online learning

. La formación del profesional UX constituye un desafío al ser altamente interdisciplinar. En este artículo se analizan las principales iniciativas formales, informales y profesionales del profesional UX en Iberoamérica. Además, se presenta una serie de tópicos, contenidos y competencias que deben ser considerados en el diseño de la formación UX así como los retos actuales de la formación en un espacio global online interdisciplinar e internacional. The training of the UX professional is a challenge as it is highly interdisciplinary. This article analyses the main formal, informal and professional initiatives of the UX professional in Iberoamerica. In addition, a series of topics, contents and competencies that must be considered in the design of UX training are presented, as well as the current challenges of training in a global, interdisciplinary and international online spac

Collaborative work as a didactic strategy for teaching/learning programming: a systematic literature review

La incorporación del trabajo colaborativo en cursos de programación ha sido identificada como una estrategia potencial que podría maximizar la participación de los estudiantes y tener un impacto positivo en el aprendizaje. En las fuentes consultadas no se ha encontrado un estudio dirigido a recopilar y analizar los resultados de investigación sobre este tema utilizando un método sistemático. Para tratar de llenar este vacío, se realizó una revisión sistemática de literatura con el objetivo de resumir los estudios sobre el uso del trabajo colaborativo como estrategia didáctica para la enseñanza/aprendizaje de la programación. Inicialmente, mediante la búsqueda en cuatro bases de datos de publicaciones científicas, se obtuvieron 95 estudios publicados en los últimos cinco años. Luego de un cuidadoso análisis de cada uno de ellos, se verifica que 40 coinciden con los requerimientos de la revisión, análisis que dio como resultado la síntesis de once Técnicas de Aprendizaje Colaborativo (TAC) que llevan a la práctica la estrategia, que a su vez agrupan a 19 denominaciones comunes de estrategias encontradas en los documentos, es decir, las estrategias o técnicas colaborativas asociadas a cada estudio. La revisión arrojó también una cantidad importante de aportes de la comunidad investigadora que sientan una base importante para trabajos futuros, dejando en claro que el trabajo colaborativo se consolida cada vez más como una estrategia didáctica válida y pertinente, no solo en la enseñanza/aprendizaje de la programación, sino también en otras áreas del conocimiento incluyendo las ciencias de la computación.The incorporation of Collaborative Work into programming courses has been identified as a potential strategy that could maximize student participation and have a positive impact on learning. In the consulted sources, no study has been found to collect and analyze the results of research on this subject using a systematic method. To try to fill this gap, a systematic literature review was conducted with the aim of summarizing the studies on the use of Collaborative Work as a didactic strategy for teaching/learning programming. Initially, through a search in four (4) databases of scientific publications, 95 studies published in the last five (5) years were obtained. After careful analysis of each one of them, only 40 were found to meet the review requirements. This analysis resulted in the synthesis of eleven (11) Collaborative Learning Techniques (CLT) that implement such strategy. Subsequently, they were grouped into 19 common names of strategies found in the documents, i.e. the collaborative strategies or techniques associated with each study. The review also showed a significant amount of contributions from the research community that constitute an important basis for future work. This demonstrates that Collaborative Work is increasingly consolidated as a valid and relevant didactic strategy, not only in programming teaching/learning, but also in other areas of knowledge including computer science

CodES: visualization tool for developing algorithmic thinking

CodES (CODificación con Entradas y Salidas) es una herramienta de visualización que basa su accionar en el artefacto más simple de análisis computacional que es el diagrama de entrada/salida, con el propósito de generar procesos de abstracción para el diseño y escritura de algoritmos, permitiendo que el estudiante centre su atención en comprender el problema a solucionar mediante sus elementos esenciales y a la vez intuir desde un inicio la interfaz computacional a construir con sus diagramas de diseño y codificación. CodES fue validado utilizando un enfoque cuantitativo, con investigación de tipo descriptiva y mediante diseño experimental con grupo de control y pos prueba, además, se utilizó una técnica paramétrica para comprobar la diferencia estadística existente entre datos obtenidos en el proceso investigativo, que junto con un test de usabilidad y una técnica de seguimiento ocular permitieron sugerir el uso de CodES en un primer curso de programación de computadoresCodES (CODification with Inputs and Outputs) is a visualization tool that bases its action on the simplest artifact of computational analysis, which is the input and output diagram, for the purpose of generating an abstraction process for algorithm design and writing, for the student to focus on first understanding the problem to be solved through its essential elements while intuiting the computational interface to be built and their respective design and coding diagrams from the outset. CodES was validated using a quantitative approach with descriptive type research and by experimental design with control group and post-test. In addition, a parametric technique was used to check the statistical difference between data obtained in the research process which together with a Usability test and an Eye-tracking technique, suggested the use of CodES in a first computer programming cours

Libro de trabajo digital, un modelo para apoyar la colaboración

Partiendo de la inquietud por desarrollar nuevas herramientas para el soporte a la colaboración en los entornos educativos actuales, este artículo presenta la arquitectura y resultados experimentales de un conjunto de nuevas herramientas para el soporte a la colaboración basada en la metáfora de Libro Digital de Trabajo, en escenarios de Evaluación Colaborativa. La plataforma utilizada para su implementación fue TabletPC, por cuanto ofrece una interacción basada en esquemas más cercanos al usuario y acorde con la metáfora de diseño propuesta. Los prototipos desarrollados permitieron verificar la validez de esta propuesta como modelo para sistemas de soporte al trabajo en grupo con la integración de mecanismos de Awareness, mientras constituye un referente tecnológico para el desarrollo de nuevos sistemas groupware sobre plataformas TabletPC

Method of Measuring the Perception of users on E-Learning systems of Educational Centers and Institutions

Es importante que los usuarios/alumnos de un sistema E-learning se sientan satisfechos con el entorno y la interfaz. Estos entornos deberían contar con métodos de evaluación de calidad y mejora. Del mismo modo se hace necesario garantizar que las medidas y los valores de los indicadores sean repetibles y comparables entre las diferentes instancias de evaluación de la calidad. En este trabajo se propone un método de Medición de Calidad, en el dominio de E-Learning, para proveer una medida parcial tanto en la Usabilidad (QE) como en la Satisfacción (QinU) que permita evaluar y, en el futuro, poder mejorar la calidad en las mismas. Este método de detección de la percepción de los usuarios arrojará una medida parcial de Usabilidad y Satisfacción, debido a que en este trabajo no están consideradas todas las sub características indicadas en la ISO 25010 y en el modelo 2Q2U, sino mas bien solo se consideran las características de índole subjetiva que permitan la evaluación por medio de cuestionarios o entrevistas con el usuario. Como resultado de la Medición y Evaluación se especificarán requerimientos No Funcionales de aspectos de una aplicación E-Learning, particularmente atributos de Atractividad y Estética de la Interfaz, en cuanto a Usabilidad, y Placer y Confort en cuanto a SatisfacciónSatisfaction of users/learners E-learning system with the environment and interface is important. These environments should have methods of quality assessment and improvement. Similarly it is necessary to ensure that measures and values of the indicators are repeatable and comparable between the different levels of quality assessment. This paper presents a method of measuring quality, in the domain of E-Learning, to provide a partial measure both usability (QE) and Satisfaction (QinU) to assess and, in the future, to improve quality the same. This method of detecting the perception of users will give a partial measure of usability and satisfaction, since in this work are not considered all sub features specified in ISO 25010 and the 2Q2U model, but rather only considered the characteristics subjective measures that permit evaluation through questionnaires or interviews with the user. Nonfunctional aspects of an E-Learning application will be result of the Measurement and Evaluation, particularly Attractiveness attributes and Estheticians Interface, in usability, and pleasure and comfort in satisfactio

Multicultural aspects in HCI-curricula

In the developing of any kind of interactive and information applications, multicultural aspects, usually, have not been considered. Therefore, people need to adapt to the interfaces instead the opposite, interfaces adapting themselves to the user characteristics. Designing products for international users all above the world is a non solved challenge and will be one of the main goals for future marketing strategies. HCI area has experimented a growth that has occurred as a result of the generalization of computer use and of problems which originate from use by people who are not specifically trained in these appliances. Despite this growth, multicultural aspects in many cases are not included in the HCI Curricula. In recent years, diverse symptoms have expounded that the Ibero-American market is growing very fast to incorporate professionals with HCI backgrounds and solid knowledge about User Centred Design methods. Indeed, these kind of professionals are currently required when developing or localizing interactive systems in this particular scenario. In this paper, we describe the experience of starting the first HCI master in Spanish language for the wide Spanish speaking context held in the University of Lleida (Catalonia, Spain), where we have included specific courses including the multicultural aspects. They will orient the students to have in mind cross-cultural factors when developing international interfaces. In many cases, even it implies adapting evaluation techniques such as usability heuristics traditionally used in HCI courses.This paper was partially supported by the Microsoft Research Project Fund, Grant R0308LAC00