A case study for measuring informal learning in PLEs

The technological support for learning and teaching processes is constantly changing. Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) applied to education, cause changes that affect the way in which people learn. This application introduces new software systems and solutions to carry out teaching and learning activities. Connected to ICT application, the emergence of Web 2.0 and its use in learning contexts enables an online implementation of the student-centred learning paradigm. In addition, 2.0 trends provide “new” ways to exchange, making easier for informal learning to become patent. Given this context, open and user-centered learning environments are needed to integrate such kinds of tools and trends and are commonly described as Personal Learning Environments. Such environments coexist with the institutional learning management systems and they should interact and exchange information between them. This interaction would allow the assessment of what happens in the personal environment from the institutional side. This article describes a solution to make the interoperability possible between these systems. It is based on a set of interoperability scenarios and some components and communication channels. In order to test the solution it is implemented as a proof of concept and the scenarios are validated through several pilot experiences. In this article one of such scenarios and its evaluation experiment is described to conclude that functionalities from the institutional environments and the personal ones can be combined and it is possible to assess what happens in the activities based on them.Peer ReviewedPostprint (published version

Implementation and design of a service-based framework to integrate personal and institutional learning environments

The landscape of teaching and learning has changed in recent years because of the application of Information and Communications technology. Among the most representative innovations in this regard are Learning Management Systems. Despite of their popularity in institutional contexts and the wide set of tools and services that they provide to learners and teachers, they present several issues. Learning Management Systems are linked to an institution and a period of time, and are not adapted to learners' needs. In order to address these problems Personal Learning Environments are defined, but it is clear that these will not replace Learning Management Systems and other institutional contexts. Both types of environment should therefore coexist and interact. This paper presents a service-based framework to facilitate such interoperability. It supports the export of functionalities from the institutional to the personal environment and also the integration within the institution of learning outcomes from personal activities. In order to achieve this in a flexible, extensible and open way, web services and interoperability specifications are used. In addition some interoperability scenarios are posed. The framework has been tested in real learning contexts and the results show that interoperability is possible, and that it benefits learners, teachers and institutions.Peer ReviewedPostprint (author's final draft

EST2uni: an open, parallel tool for automated EST analysis and database creation, with a data mining web interface and microarray expression data integration

This article is available from: http://www.biomedcentral.com/1471-2105/9/5[Background] Expressed sequence tag (EST) collections are composed of a high number of single-pass, redundant, partial sequences, which need to be processed, clustered, and annotated to remove low-quality and vector regions, eliminate redundancy and sequencing errors, and provide biologically relevant information. In order to provide a suitable way of performing the different steps in the analysis of the ESTs, flexible computation pipelines adapted to the local needs of specific EST projects have to be developed. Furthermore, EST collections must be stored in highly structured relational databases available to researchers through user-friendly interfaces which allow efficient and complex data mining, thus offering maximum capabilities for their full exploitation.[Results] We have created EST2uni, an integrated, highly-configurable EST analysis pipeline and data mining software package that automates the pre-processing, clustering, annotation, database creation, and data mining of EST collections. The pipeline uses standard EST analysis tools and the software has a modular design to facilitate the addition of new analytical methods and their configuration. Currently implemented analyses include functional and structural annotation, SNP and microsatellite discovery, integration of previously known genetic marker data and gene expression results, and assistance in cDNA microarray design. It can be run in parallel in a PC cluster in order to reduce the time necessary for the analysis. It also creates a web site linked to the database, showing collection statistics, with complex query capabilities and tools for data mining and retrieval.[Conclusion] The software package presented here provides an efficient and complete bioinformatics tool for the management of EST collections which is very easy to adapt to the local needs of different EST projects. The code is freely available under the GPL license and can be obtained at http:// bioinf.comav.upv.es/est2uni. This site also provides detailed instructions for installation and configuration of the software package. The code is under active development to incorporate new analyses, methods, and algorithms as they are released by the bioinformatics community.Partially funded by "Conselleria de Agricultura, Pesca y Alimentacion de la Comunidad Valenciana" and Spanish "Ministerio de Ciencia y Tecnologia" (research grants GEN2001-4885-C05 and GEN2003-20237-C06).Peer reviewe

A genome-wide 20 K citrus microarray for gene expression analysis

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Understanding of genetic elements that contribute to key aspects of citrus biology will impact future improvements in this economically important crop. Global gene expression analysis demands microarray platforms with a high genome coverage. In the last years, genome-wide EST collections have been generated in citrus, opening the possibility to create new tools for functional genomics in this crop plant.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>We have designed and constructed a publicly available genome-wide cDNA microarray that include 21,081 putative unigenes of citrus. As a functional companion to the microarray, a web-browsable database <abbrgrp><abbr bid="B1">1</abbr></abbrgrp> was created and populated with information about the unigenes represented in the microarray, including cDNA libraries, isolated clones, raw and processed nucleotide and protein sequences, and results of all the structural and functional annotation of the unigenes, like general description, BLAST hits, putative Arabidopsis orthologs, microsatellites, putative SNPs, GO classification and PFAM domains. We have performed a Gene Ontology comparison with the full set of Arabidopsis proteins to estimate the genome coverage of the microarray. We have also performed microarray hybridizations to check its usability.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>This new cDNA microarray replaces the first 7K microarray generated two years ago and allows gene expression analysis at a more global scale. We have followed a rational design to minimize cross-hybridization while maintaining its utility for different citrus species. Furthermore, we also provide access to a website with full structural and functional annotation of the unigenes represented in the microarray, along with the ability to use this site to directly perform gene expression analysis using standard tools at different publicly available servers. Furthermore, we show how this microarray offers a good representation of the citrus genome and present the usefulness of this genomic tool for global studies in citrus by using it to catalogue genes expressed in citrus globular embryos.</p

Learning analytics to assess students’ behavior with scratch through clickstream

The construction of knowledge through computational practice requires to teachers a substantial amount of time and effort to evaluate programming skills, to understand and to glimpse the evolution of the students and finally to state a quantitative judgment in learning assessment. This suposes a huge problem of time and no adecuate intime feedback to students while practicing programming activities. The field of learning analytics has been a common practice in research since last years due their great possibilities in terms of learning improvement. Such possibilities can be a strong positive contribution in the field of computational practice such as programming. In this work we attempt to use learning analytics to ensure intime and quality feedback through the analysis of students behavior in programming practice. Hence, in order to help teachers in their assessments we propose a solution to categorize and understand students’ behavior in programming activities using business technics such as web clickstream. Clickstream is a technique that consists in the collection and analysis of data generated by users. We applied it in learning programming environments to study students behavior to enhance students learning and programming skills. The results of the work supports this business technique as useful and adequate in programming practice. The main finding showns a first taxonomy of programming behaviors that can easily be used in a classroom. This will help teachers to understand how students behave in their practice and consequently enhance assessment and students’ following-up to avoid examination failures.Peer ReviewedPostprint (published version

A new set of ESTs and cDNA clones from full-length and normalized libraries for gene discovery and functional characterization in citrus

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Interpretation of ever-increasing raw sequence information generated by modern genome sequencing technologies faces multiple challenges, such as gene function analysis and genome annotation. Indeed, nearly 40% of genes in plants encode proteins of unknown function. Functional characterization of these genes is one of the main challenges in modern biology. In this regard, the availability of full-length cDNA clones may fill in the gap created between sequence information and biological knowledge. Full-length cDNA clones facilitate functional analysis of the corresponding genes enabling manipulation of their expression in heterologous systems and the generation of a variety of tagged versions of the native protein. In addition, the development of full-length cDNA sequences has the power to improve the quality of genome annotation.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>We developed an integrated method to generate a new normalized EST collection enriched in full-length and rare transcripts of different citrus species from multiple tissues and developmental stages. We constructed a total of 15 cDNA libraries, from which we isolated 10,898 high-quality ESTs representing 6142 different genes. Percentages of redundancy and proportion of full-length clones range from 8 to 33, and 67 to 85, respectively, indicating good efficiency of the approach employed. The new EST collection adds 2113 new citrus ESTs, representing 1831 unigenes, to the collection of citrus genes available in the public databases. To facilitate functional analysis, cDNAs were introduced in a Gateway-based cloning vector for high-throughput functional analysis of genes <it>in planta</it>. Herein, we describe the technical methods used in the library construction, sequence analysis of clones and the overexpression of <it>CitrSEP</it>, a citrus homolog to the Arabidopsis <it>SEP3 </it>gene, in Arabidopsis as an example of a practical application of the engineered Gateway vector for functional analysis.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>The new EST collection denotes an important step towards the identification of all genes in the citrus genome. Furthermore, public availability of the cDNA clones generated in this study, and not only their sequence, enables testing of the biological function of the genes represented in the collection. Expression of the citrus <it>SEP3 </it>homologue, <it>CitrSEP</it>, in Arabidopsis results in early flowering, along with other phenotypes resembling the over-expression of the Arabidopsis <it>SEPALLATA </it>genes. Our findings suggest that the members of the <it>SEP </it>gene family play similar roles in these quite distant plant species.</p

Local technology to enhance data privacy and security in educational technology

In educational environments, technological adoption in the last 10 years has enabled a data-driven and decisionmaking paradigm in organizations. The integration of cloud services in schools and universities is a positive shift in the field of learning, but it also presents threats to all academic roles that need to be discussed in terms of protection, privacy, and confidentiality. Cloud storage brings the ubiquity of data to this technical transition and a delusive opportunity for cost savings. In many cases, this suggests that certain actors, beyond the control of schools and colleges, collect, handle and treat educational data on private servers and data centers. This privatization enables the manipulation of stored records, leaks, and unauthorized access. In this article, we expose the possibilities that open from the viewpoint of local technology adoption. We seek to reduce or even totally solve the detrimental effects of using cloud-based instructional and analytical technology, mixing or only using local technology. Technological methods that conform to this alternate viewpoint and new lines of study are also being suggested and created.The research that has given rise to these results has been carried out through funds from the Secretariat of Universities and Research of the Department of Business and Knowledge of the Generalitat de Catalunya and Ramon Llull University, with the project 2020-URLProj-058.Peer ReviewedObjectius de Desenvolupament Sostenible::16 - Pau, Justícia i Institucions Sòlides::16.6 - Crear unes institucions eficaces, responsables i transparents a tots els nivellsObjectius de Desenvolupament Sostenible::16 - Pau, Justícia i Institucions Sòlides::16.b - Promoure i aplicar lleis i polítiques no discriminatòries en favor del desenvolupament sostenibleObjectius de Desenvolupament Sostenible::16 - Pau, Justícia i Institucions SòlidesPostprint (published version

Evaluation and assessment of professional skills in the Final Year Project

In this paper, we present a methodology for Final Year Project (FYP) monitoring and assessment that considers the inclusion of the professional skills required in the particular engineering degree. This proper monitoring and clear evaluation framework provides the student with valuable support for the project implementation as well as for improving the quality of the projects, thereby reducing the academic drop-out rate. The proposed methodology has been implemented at the Barcelona School of Informatics at the Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya - BarcelonaTech. The FYP is structured around three milestones: project definition, project monitoring and project completion. Skills are assigned to each milestone according to the tasks required in that phase, and a list of indicators is defined for each phase. The evaluation criteria for each indicator at each phase are specified in a rubric, and are made public both to students and teachers. Thus, the FYP includes an exhaustive evaluation method distributed throughout the whole project implementation, thereby facilitating project organization for the student as well as providing a clear and homogeneous assessment framework. The methodology for the FYP organization, assessment and evaluation was launched and piloted over two semesters. We believe the experience to be general in the sense that it has been conducted as part of an ICT engineering degree, but may easily be extended to any other engineering degree.Postprint (author’s final draft

Characterization of novel pollen-expressed transcripts reveals their potential roles in pollen heat stress response in Arabidopsis thaliana

Key message: Arabidopsis pollen transcriptome analysis revealed new intergenic transcripts of unknown function, many of which are long non-coding RNAs, that may function in pollen-specific processes, including the heat stress response. Abstract: The male gametophyte is the most heat sensitive of all plant tissues. In recent years, long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) have emerged as important components of cellular regulatory networks involved in most biological processes, including response to stress. While examining RNAseq datasets of developing and germinating Arabidopsis thaliana pollen exposed to heat stress (HS), we identified 66 novel and 246 recently annotated intergenic expressed loci (XLOCs) of unknown function, with the majority encoding lncRNAs. Comparison with HS in cauline leaves and other RNAseq experiments indicated that 74% of the 312 XLOCs are pollen-specific, and at least 42% are HS-responsive. Phylogenetic analysis revealed that 96% of the genes evolved recently in Brassicaceae. We found that 50 genes are putative targets of microRNAs and that 30% of the XLOCs contain small open reading frames (ORFs) with homology to protein sequences. Finally, RNAseq of ribosome-protected RNA fragments together with predictions of periodic footprint of the ribosome P-sites indicated that 23 of these ORFs are likely to be translated. Our findings indicate that many of the 312 unknown genes might be functional and play a significant role in pollen biology, including the HS response