Location-based and contextual mobile learning. A STELLAR Small-Scale Study

This study starts from several inputs that the partners have collected from previous and current running research projects and a workshop organised at the STELLAR Alpine Rendevous 2010. In the study, several steps have been taken, firstly a literature review and analysis of existing systems; secondly, mobile learning experts have been involved in a concept mapping study to identify the main challenges that can be solved via mobile learning; and thirdly, an identification of educational patterns based on these examples has been done. Out of this study the partners aim to develop an educational framework for contextual learning as a unifying approach in the field. Therefore one of our central research questions is: how can we investigate, theorise, model and support contextual learning

Contextblogger: learning by blogging in the real world

De Jong, T., Specht, M., & Koper, R. (2007). Contextblogger: learning by blogging in the real world. Proceedings of the ePortfolio Conference. October, 18-20, 2007, Maastricht, The Netherlands. [See also http://hdl.handle.net/1820/1680 ]In this paper we represent one specific instantiation of contextualised mobile social software for learning called contextualised blogging. Contextualised blogging combines the community aspects and flexible content access of a mobile blog with the adaptation to real-world settings made possible by contextualised computing. By combining both social and physical context information, we aim to improve current informal learning approaches. A special kind of data matrix symbols, called semacodes, is used to relate information from a blog to physical objects. The contextualised blogging application in this paper is developed in three steps. First, a conceptual model of the problem domain will be described. Second, a general technical framework based on this conceptual model will be developed. Finally, a specific instantiation of the technical framework called “ContextBlogger” is presented. The paper concludes with a description of the planned evaluation of the software, a summary, and a conclusion of the results so far

Immature stages of Spodoptera eridania (Lepidoptera: noctuidae): developmental parameters and host plants.

This study aimed to detail the temporal and morphological parameters of the immature stages of southern armyworm Spodoptera eridania (Stoll, 1782) with larvae feed on artificial diet, under controlled conditions (25?±?1°C, 70?±?10% relative humidity and 14-h photophase) and gather information about their larval host plants. The viability of the egg, larval, pupal, and prepupal stages was 97.82, 93.62, 96.42, and 97.03%, respectively. The average duration of the egg, larval, pupal, and pre-pupal stages was 4.00, 16.18, 1.58, and 9.17 d, respectively. During the larval stage, 43.44% of females passed through seven instars, observing that the female's development was significant slower than males. The female larvae that developed through six and seven instars exhibited a mean growth rate of 1.52 and 1.44, respectively. Female pupae were significantly larger, exhibiting faster development than males. The rearing method proved to be adequate, providing more detailed observations of the biological cycle, especially at the larval stage, and resulting in an overall survival of almost 85%. Two hundred two plant species belonging to 58 families are listed as natural hosts for S. eridania, mainly including Asteraceae, Fabaceae, Solanaceae, Poaceae, Amaranthaceae, and Malvaceae

A reference model and technical framework for mobile social software for learning

De Jong,T., Specht, M., & Koper, R. (2008). A reference model and technical framework for mobile social software for learning. In I. A. Sánchez & P. Isaías (Eds.), Proceedings of the IADIS Mobile Learning Conference 2008 (pp. 206-210). April, 11-13, 2008, Carvoeiro, Portugal.In this paper we will present a reference model for mobile learning and provide some examples of its application to current literature in mobile social software for learning. The reference model together will form the basis for a technical framework for contextual media for learning that will be also described in this paper. Moreover, we will describe an example of the practical application of the technical framework in the development of the ContextBlogger application. The paper concludes with a summary of the experience we had so far and an outlook on research we plan to do in the future.This paper is sponsored by the European Project MACE that is funded by the European Commission's eContentPlus project, ECP 2005 EDU 038098

Widget, widget as you lead, I am performing well indeed!:Using results from an exploratory offline study to inform an empirical online study about a learning analytics widget in a collaborative learning environment

The collaborative learning processes of students in online learning environments can be supported by providing learning analytics-based visualisations that foster awareness and reflection about an individual's as well as the team's behaviour and their learning and collaboration processes. For this empirical study we implemented an activity widget into the online learning environment of a live fi ve-months Master course and investigated the predictive power of the widget indicators towards the students grades and compared the results to those from an exploratory study with data collected in previous runs of the same course where the widget had not been in use. Together with information gathered from a quantitative as well as a qualitative evaluation of the activity widget during the course, the fi ndings of this current study show that there are indeed predictive relations between the widget indicators and the grades, especially those regarding responsiveness, and indicate that some of the observed differences in the last run could be attributed to the implemented activity widget

CodeSpace

Orientador : Prof. Alexander Robert KutzkeMonografia (graduação) - Universidade Federal do Paraná, Setor de Educação Profissional e Tecnológica, Curso Superior de Tecnologia em Análise e Desenvolvimento de SistemasInclui referênciasResumo : O CodeSpace é uma plataforma virtual destinada a fornecer ao público de língua portuguesa conceitos importantes e códigos completos de programas computacionais de inúmeras linguagens. Além de atender à essa antiga demanda, já que muitos usuários desse tipo de serviço não dominam o inglês, o CodeSpace oferece um conjunto de características que facilitam sua utilização e inspiram o desenvolvimento de uma comunidade comprometida com a difusão dessa área de conhecimento, que é cada vez mais valorizada no mercado. O sistema possui uma interface amigável, um leiaute moderno e responsivo e uma estrutura de navegação intuitiva. O usuário, além de buscar artigos e se comunicar com seus autores, também é inspirado a produzir seu próprio conteúdo, mesmo que seja novato no mundo da programação. Em seu modelo de funcionamento, a própria comunidade cria e compartilha o conteúdo do website, contando, também, com a opção de votar positivamente ou negativamente em cada publicação do portal. A plataforma desenvolvida neste trabalho aparece no horizonte de serviços similares de forma promissora, valorizando o público lusófono, atraindo usuários menos experientes e inspirando, acima de tudo, o compartilhamento de ideias