Low-cost portable text recognition and speech synthesis with generic software, l

The final publication is available at link.springer.comBlind persons or people with reduced eyesight could benefit from a portablesystem that can interpret textual information in the surrounding environment and speakdirectly to the user. The need for such a system was surveyed with a questionnaire, and aprototype system was built using generic, inexpensive components readily available. Thesystem architecture is component-based so that every module can be replaced with anothergeneric module. Even though the system makes partly incorrect recognition of text in aversatile environment, the evaluation of the system with five actual users suggested that thesystem can provide genuine additional value in coping with everyday issues outdoors.Peer reviewe

Multi-faceted support for MOOC in programming

ABSTRACT Many massive open online courses (MOOC) have been tremendously popular, causing a stir in academic institutions. The most successful courses have reached tens of thousands of participants. In our MOOC on introductory programming, we aimed to improve distinctive challenges that concern most of the open online courses: allowing and requiring the participants to be more active in their online learning ("flipped-classroom"), demanding them to go deeper than typical CS1 course, and added incentives for participant retention by treating the course as a formal entrance exam to CS/IT degree. Our Extreme Apprenticeship (XA) method for programming education appeared to be successful in an online environment as well

Framework for evaluating believability of non-player characters in games

Computing Reviews (1998) Categories and Subject Descriptors: I.2.1 Artificial Intelligence: Applications and Expert Systems — games J.4 Social and Behavioral Science — psychology, sociologyWe present a framework for evaluating believability of characters in first-person shooter (FPS) games and look into the development of non-player character’s user-perceived believability. The used framework is composed of two aspects: firstly, character movement and animation, secondly, behavior. Examination of three different FPS games yields that the newer the game was, the better the believability of characters in the game. Moreover, the results from both the aspects of the framework were mutually balanced through all games examined

Why Using Robots to Teach Computer Science can be Successful Theoretical Reflection to Andragogy and Minimalism

Categories and Subject Descriptors K.3.1 [Computers and Education]: Computer Uses in Education – collaborative learning; K.3.2 [Computers and Education]: Computer and Information Science Education – computer science education, self-assessmentTo help students understand subjects such as theoretical aspects of computation, algorithmic reasoning and intelligence of machines, a number of publications report experiments to teach these topics with the help of Lego Mindstorms robots. In the publications, the researchers report how they have created various ways to approach the issues either in Computer Science or in Artificial Intelligence. The reported results of the experiments are based on the learning outcomes, the feedback from the students, and the perceived informal observations (i.e. “feelings”) of the instructors. But can anyone else benefit from the reportedly positive outcomes of the experiments? To give an answer to that question, this paper analyses the reported results through two support theories. The two theories chosen for this, andragogy and minimalism, are concerned with adult learning and how teaching adults should be approached. When reflecting the results of the four teaching experiments to the suggestions drawn from the theories, a more comprehensive answer to why the experiments have been successful can be given. The four teaching experiments analysed here were in many ways similar to each other. A connection to the chosen support theories was straightforward to make. Besides describing the artefacts of teaching with the robots, a deeper discussion on this teaching approach is provided. For an instructor, all these observations offer more concrete evidence about beneficial factors of teaching with robots

Admitting Students through an Open Online Course in Programming: A Multi-year Analysis of Study Success

Since 2012, part of computer science student body at the University of Helsinki has been selected by using a massively open online version of the same introductory programming course that our freshmen take. In this multi-year study, we compare study success between students accepted through the online course (MOOC intake) and students accepted through the traditional entrance exam and high school matriculation exam based intake (normal intake). Our findings indicate that the MOOC intake perform better in computer science studies when looking at completed credits and grade point average, but there is no difference when considering other courses. Retention among the MOOC intake is better than among the normal intake. Additionally, students in the MOOC intake are more likely to complete their capstone project and Bachelor's thesis in the studied time-frame. However, the MOOC intake makes the already skewed gender balance more pronounced.Peer reviewe

Framework for Distributed Special Needs Education Using an Agent-Based Learning Environment

r more teachers and several learners. The environment can be distributed over a local-area network. The framework is designed to support the learning and teaching processes of each individual learner and teacher. One of the goals is to divide the responsibility of the teaching between a computer and a human teacher. There are customized agents for each learning environment participant. The agents belong to various classes according to environment users. Every learner has his/her own learner agent, teacher has his/her teacher agent etc. The agents communicate with other agents and modify the teaching and learning processes. Learner agents can, for example, provide exercises and additional material to learners when needed. Other agents, e.g. neuropsychologist agent and therapist agent, can gather information for corresponding authorities. The environment is planned to be open so that various topics can be taught and learne

Enhancing Groupwork with Social Navigation in Collaborative Learning Environment

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On the Relationship between Learners' Orientations and Activity in CSCL

In this paper we analyse data from a self-rated questionnaire together with statistics of the learners' real activity in a collaborative learning environment called EDUCOSM. Besides being of theoretical interest, the manifestation of self-perceptions in actual behavior is important for the development of better support facilities. For example, correct interpretation of both questionnaire and log data is likely to be necessary for partially automated group formation. This paper focuses on motivation and social abilities. The results suggest that group formation carried out without any supporting information from the system does not always lead to good results