The Implementation, Deployment and Evaluation of a Mobile Personal Learning Environment

[EN] The application of ICT to learning, the Web 2.0 trends and the widespread use of technologies such as mobile devices make it necessary to provide new solutions to satisfy the needs of learners. Such solutions should treat the students as the centre of the learning process. The students should be able to decide which tools they will use to learn, and the learning institution must consider the behaviour of students in such personal learning activities independently of the location where learning activities are carried out. In addition, learners can choose the type of devices they will use with special attention to mobile technologies. The work described in this paper proposes a service-based approach to defining mobile personal learning environments that facilitates communication with institutional learning platforms. Such an approach is implemented as a proof-of-concept and evaluated via a pilot study to demonstrate that such types of mobile learning platforms are feasible and can increase students’motivation to help them learn

Protected Users: A Moodle Plugin To Improve Confidentiality and Privacy Support through User Aliases

[EN]The privacy policies, terms, and conditions of use in any Learning Management System (LMS) are one-way contracts. The institution imposes clauses that the student can accept or decline. Students, once they accept conditions, should be able to exercise the rights granted by the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). However, students cannot object to data processing and public profiling because it would be conceived as an impediment to teachers to execute their work with normality. Nonetheless, regarding GDPR and consulted legal advisors, a student could claim identity anonymization in the LMS, if adequate personal justifications are provided. Per contra, the current LMSs do not have any functionality that enables identity anonymization. This is a big problem that generates undesired situations which urgently requires a definitive solution. In this work, we surveyed students and teachers to validate the feasibility and acceptance of using aliases to anonymize their identity in LMSs as a sustainable solution to the problem. Considering the positive results, we developed a user-friendly plugin for Moodle that enables students' identity anonymization by the use of aliases. This plugin, presented in this work and named Protected users, is publicly available online at GitHub and published under GNU General Public License

Switching the Magnetic Vortex Core in a Single Nanoparticle

Imaging and manipulating the spin structure of nano- and mesoscale magnetic systems is a challenging topic in magnetism, yielding a wide range of spin phenomena such as skyrmions, hedgehog-like spin structures, or vortices. A key example has been provided by the vortex spin texture, which can be addressed in four independent states of magnetization, enabling the development of multibit magnetic storage media. Most of the works devoted to the study of the magnetization reversal mechanisms of the magnetic vortices have been focused on micrometer-size magnetic platelets. Here we report the experimental observation of the vortex state formation and annihilation in individual 25 nm molecular-based magnetic nanoparticles measured by low-temperature variable-field magnetic force microscopy. Interestingly, in these nanoparticles the switching of the vortex core can be induced with very small values of the applied static magnetic field

Personal Data Broker Instead of Blockchain for Students’ Data Privacy Assurance

Data logs about learning activities are being recorded at a growing pace due to the adoption and evolution of educational technologies (Edtech). Data analytics has entered the field of education under the name of learning analytics. Data analytics can provide insights that can be used to enhance learning activities for educational stakeholders, as well as helping online learning applications providers to enhance their services. However, despite the goodwill in the use of Edtech, some service providers use it as a means to collect private data about the students for their own interests and benefits. This is showcased in recent cases seen in media of bad use of students’ personal information. This growth in cases is due to the recent tightening in data privacy regulations, especially in the EU. The students or their parents should be the owners of the information about them and their learning activities online. Thus they should have the right tools to control how their information is accessed and for what purposes. Currently, there is no technological solution to prevent leaks or the misuse of data about the students or their activity. It seems appropriate to try to solve it from an automation technology perspective. In this paper, we consider the use of Blockchain technologies as a possible basis for a solution to this problem. Our analysis indicates that the Blockchain is not a suitable solution. Finally, we propose a cloud-based solution with a central personal point of management that we have called Personal Data Broker

GDPR Security and Confidentiality compliance in LMS' a problem analysis and engineering solution proposal

We have studied the main Learning Management Systems (LMSs) to comprehend how personal data is processed and stored. We found that all the users' personal information, activity, and logs are stored unencrypted on the server filesystem and databases. A user with access to such resources may have full access to all the personal information and metainformation stored. Therefore, the LMSs are very vulnerable to information leaks in front of targeted hacker attacks due to weak GDPR compliance. In this paper, we analyze this problem from a technical and operational perspective for the open-source market leader LMS Moodle, and we propose a solution and a prototype of implementation

Genome-wide genetic screening with chemically mutagenized haploid embryonic stem cells.

In model organisms, classical genetic screening via random mutagenesis provides key insights into the molecular bases of genetic interactions, helping to define synthetic lethality, synthetic viability and drug-resistance mechanisms. The limited genetic tractability of diploid mammalian cells, however, precludes this approach. Here, we demonstrate the feasibility of classical genetic screening in mammalian systems by using haploid cells, chemical mutagenesis and next-generation sequencing, providing a new tool to explore mammalian genetic interactions.Research in the S.P.J. laboratory is funded by Cancer Research UK (CRUK; programme grant C6/A11224), the European Research Council and the European Community Seventh Framework Programme (grant agreement no. HEALTH-F2-2010-259893; DDResponse). Core funding is provided by Cancer Research UK (C6946/A14492) and the Wellcome Trust (WT092096). S.P.J. receives salary from the University of Cambridge, supplemented by CRUK. J.V.F. was funded by Cancer Research UK programme grant C6/A11224 and the Ataxia Telangiectasia Society. J.C. was funded by Cancer Research UK programme grant C6/A11224. D.J.A. is supported by CRUK. Research leading to these results has received funding from the European Research Council under the European Union's Seventh Framework Programme (FP7/2007-2013) and ERC grant agreement no. (311166)

Moodbile: A Framework to Integrate m-Learning Applications with the LMS.

[ES] Los Sistemas de Gestión de Aprendizaje (LMS) se han generalizado entre la mayoría de los centros de educación y formación. Ya se trata de una tecnología madura, han dejado la vanguardia de la innovación. Los usos educativos de la Web 2.0, los Entornos Personales de Aprendizaje, el aprendizaje basado en el juego y en particular la introducción de los teléfonos móviles y las tabletas en la educación están sucediendo fuera de los límites de los LMS. En este trabajo se propone una manera de integrar los dispositivos móviles y las aplicaciones educativas con el LMS a través de servicios web; Se presenta el proyecto Moodbile que proporciona una extensión de servicios web de Moodle 2.0 para la integración móvil y dos clientes móviles listos para utilizar en situaciones reales.[EN] Learning Management Systems (LMS) have become widespread among most centres for education and training. Being a mature technology, LMS have left the vanguard of innovation. Educational usages of the Web 2.0, Personal Learning Environments, Game-based Learning and particularly the introduction of mobile phones and tablets in education are happening outside the boundaries of the LMS. This paper proposes a way to integrate mobile devices and educational applications with the LMS through webservices; introducing the Moodbile project that provides an extension of Moodle 2.0 webservices for mobile integration and two mobile clients ready to use on real courses

Framework de servicios para facilitar la interoperabilidad entre entornos personalizados e institucionales de aprendizaje

[ES]La aplicación de las Tecnologías de la Información y la Comunicación al aprendizaje proporciona una revolución en el soporte que se utiliza para aprender y enseñar. En especial una de las herramientas más significativas son las plataformas de aprendizaje, que facilitan servicios tanto a profesores como estudiantes para realizar esta tarea. Sin embargo estas plataformas están muy centradas en el curso y la institución y no en las necesidades específicas del usuario y en el aprendizaje a lo largo de la vida. Esto supone que sean necesarios otro tipo de entornos, los entornos personalizados de aprendizaje. Plataformas institucionales y entornos personalizados van a coexistir y eso supone que tengan que interoperar entre sí. En este trabajo se propone la definición e implementación de una arquitectura que, mediante el uso de servicios web y especificaciones de interoperabilidad facilite esa integración. Dicha arquitectura facilita que las funcionalidades de los entornos instituciones sean exportados a entornos personalizados y que la actividad que en ellos se lleva a cabo se refleje en el entorno institucional. De esta forma se va a poder demostrar que la interoperabilidad entre ambos contextos es posible y favorece los procesos de enseñanza/aprendizaje.[EN] Application of Information Technology and Communication learning provides a revolution in the media being used for learning and teaching. In particular one of the most significant tools are platforms learning, which provide services to both teachers and students to perform this task. However, these platforms are very focused on the course and the institution and not on the user's specific needs and learning throughout life. This assumes that other necessary settings, customized environments for learning. Institutional platforms and custom environments will coexist and that means they have to interoperate with each other. in This paper proposes the definition and implementation of an architecture that, using web services interoperability specifications that facilitate integration. This architecture enables the functionality of the institutions environments exported into custom environments and that the activity being carried out is reflected in the institutional environment. In this way you will be able to demonstrate that interoperability between the two contexts is possible and favors the teaching / learning