A 20-yr database (1997-2017) of co-seismic displacements from GPS recordings in the Aegean area and their scaling with Mw and hypocentral distance

Στην παρούσα εργασία περιγράφουμε και διαθέτουμε μία βάση εξήντα τεσσάρων (64) σεισμικών μετατοπίσεων από τις καταγραφές μόνιμων σταθμών GPS, κατά την εικοσαετή χρονική περίοδο 1997-2017. Οι μετατοπίσεις οφείλονται σε μεγάλους, επιφανειακούς σεισμούς στον Ελληνικό χώρο οι οποίοι προκάλεσαν επιφανειακές κινήσεις (της τάξεως χιλιοστών έως δεκάδων εκατοστών) ανιχνεύσιμες από δίκτυα GPS-GNSS. Στην βάση περιλαμβάνονται δεδομένα μόνιμης μετατόπισης για αποστάσεις μεταξύ 2-132 km από το υπόκεντρο και για 11 σεισμούς με μεγέθη ροπής μεταξύ 5.5≤Mw≤6.9. Αυτά τα δεδομένα είναι χρήσιμα σε γεωλόγους, σεισμολόγους και μηχανικούς επειδή συμβάλουν στην πληρέστερη κατανόηση της μηχανικής των διαρρήξεων, της κατανομής των επιφανειακών παραμορφώσεων μετά από μεγάλους σεισμούς αλλά και σε άλλες εφαρμογές σεισμικής μηχανικής. Επιπλέον, έγινε ανάλυση με πρώτη νόρμα (L1- norm) παλινδρόμησης της απόσβεσης της μόνιμης, οριζόντιας επιφανειακής μετατόπισης συναρτήσει του μεγέθους και υποκεντρικής απόστασης. Βρήκαμε ότι τα δεδομένα μας ταιριάζουν καλύτερα με μία γραμμική συμπεριφορά για αυτό το εύρος μεγεθών. Προτείνουμε δύο εμπειρικές σχέσεις για τον υπολογισμό του σεισμικού μεγέθους βάσει της εδαφικής μετατόπισης και της αποστάσεως από το υπόκεντρο, οι οποίες μπορούν να χρησιμοποιηθούν εφόσον είναι διαθέσιμες επιλύσεις σταθμών σε σχεδόν-πραγματικό χρόνο.We describe and make available a dataset of 64 data points of Global Positioning System (GPS) displacements for significant, shallow earthquakes in Greece during the period 1997-2017. The displacement data can be used by earthquake geologists, engineers and seismologists in an effort to better understand the faulting process, the rupture mechanics, the pattern of ground-motions, and in engineering applications. We include recordings from GNSS networks at near-source to regional distances (2–132 km) for 11 earthquakes between global CMT moment magnitudes (Mw) 5.5 and 6.9. We also model the magnitude scaling properties of peak ground horizontal displacements (PGD and PGD-S) for these events using L1-norm minimisation regression. Our data indicate an almost linear attenuation of seismic strain with distance for this range of seismic magnitudes. We developed a set of relationships based on PGD (in cm) and distance to hypocentre R (in km), which may be used for the rapid estimation of the earthquake magnitude in near real-time.MwPGD = [LOG(PGD) + 8.2849]/(1.6810 – 0.2453LOGR)MwPGD-S = [LOG(PGD-S) + 8.0839]/(1.6793 – 0.2447LOGR

Online sharing of knowledge among in-service teachers for professional development purposes

New technologies and online resources for educational purposes inspire researchers to approach Professional Development (PD) from a different angle with the aim to professionally improve teachers' practices and methodologies. From this perspective, the broad use of online communities of practice (COPs) among teachers seems to be a common training model for in-service professional teachers. The utilization of communities of practice facilitates teachers' sharing of knowledge by creating opportunities for its members to interact and exchange good practices. The present study explores (a) the patterns of knowledge sharing amongst teachers in an official online community for PD purposes and (b) teachers' perceptions and motivation to participate in such online community. Data were collected through the analytics of the online community, in conjunction with questionnaires and interviews with community members. Results demonstrate that the most important motivation of teachers to participate in online community is the opportunity to share knowledge, ideas and successful practices. The paper discusses the potential training model through online communities of practice based on sharing of knowledge, aiming to contribute to PD research, shedding light to new challenges related to the PD of in-service teachers

Investigating technology - enhanced embolied learning in real classroom settings: student's performance and learning gains

Στην εποχή της ραγδαίας τεχνολογικής ανάπτυξης, παρατηρείται μια καθολική προσπάθεια ενίσχυσης και εμπλουτισμού των παραδοσιακών πρακτικών διδασκαλίας και εκμάθησης μέσω διαφόρων τεχνολογικών εργαλείων. H σύγχρονη θεωρία της Ενσώματης Γνώσης (Embodied Cognition), κάτω από την ομπρέλα της οποίας τοποθετείται και η Ενσώματη Μάθηση (Embodied Learning), είναι ακριβώς μια τέτοια προσέγγιση. Η Ενσώματη Μάθηση αποτελεί μια κιναισθητική και πολυτροπική διαδικασία με ποικίλες δυνατότητες για τον εμπλουτισμό της παραδοσιακής εκπαιδευτικής πρακτικής. Η προσέγγιση της Ενσώματης Μάθησης υποστηρίζει την ένταξη του σώματος των μαθητών και της κίνησης στο περιβάλλον της τάξης. Συγκεκριμένα, αυτό το θεωρητικό πλαίσιο τονίζει την αδιάσπαστη σχέση μεταξύ εγκεφάλου, σώματος και περιβάλλοντος και υποστηρίζει ότι το ενεργό ανθρώπινο σώμα μπορεί να μεταβάλει τη λειτουργία του εγκεφάλου και επομένως τη γνωστική διαδικασία. Τα τελευταία χρόνια, η χρήση αναδυόμενων τεχνολογιών σε διάφορα εκπαιδευτικά περιβάλλοντα βασίστηκε στις ιδέες της Ενσώματης Μάθησης προσφέροντας μια σημαντική θεώρηση σχετικά με το πώς το ενεργό ανθρώπινο σώμα μπορεί να επηρεάσει τη λειτουργία του εγκεφάλου και να οδηγήσει τελικά στη μάθηση. Η διερεύνηση διαδραστικών μαθησιακών περιβαλλόντων που προάγουν την εμπλοκή της φυσικής δραστηριότητας και του σώματος κατά τη διάρκεια γνωστικών και μαθησιακών εργασιών είναι ο κύριος στόχος αυτής της μελέτης. Ειδικότερα, μέσω μιας παρέμβασης που περιλαμβάνει διάφορες διαδοχικές φάσεις μικτής μεθοδολογίας, η έρευνα αυτή εστιάζει στη διερεύνηση του τρόπου μέσω του οποίου η Ενσώματη Μάθηση επηρεάζει τη συνολική απόδοση των μαθητών στο αυθεντικό περιβάλλον της τάξης κάτω από διαφορετικές συνθήκες και περιστάσεις. Οι εκπαιδευτικές παρεμβάσεις εξετάζουν, συγκεκριμένα, τη συνεισφορά της Ενσώματης Μάθησης στην ανάπτυξη των κινητικών, γνωστικών και ακαδημαϊκών δεξιοτήτων των μαθητών αλλά και τη συναισθηματική τους κατάσταση κατά τη διάρκεια της παρέμβασης.In the age of technological imperative, massive efforts are underway to enrich traditional teaching and learning practices with technology. Under the umbrella of Embodied Cognition (EC) Theory, Embodied Learning (EL) is one such approach. EL is a kinesthetic, multimodal and playful process that enriches conventional educational practice and provides ways of integrating the physical body and movement into the classroom setting. In recent years, the use of emerging embodied technologies in educational settings has built upon EL ideas to provide some useful insights into how the active body can influence the function of the brain to drive learning. This dissertation looks at EL in different learning contexts and circumstances to see how it can improve the overall performance of students in real classroom settings for specific learning purposes. The study consists of four sequential phases that use data collection and analysis to explore the impact of EL-driven technology on actual classroom practice. In particular, through a multiphase mixed methods approach, this research focuses on investigating how EL impacts student performance (i.e. motor, cognitive, academic, and emotional performance) in authentic classroom environments within different elementary classrooms, including Special Education and General Education context. Results reveal significant gains in students’ cognitive performance -Short-term memory ability (Gsm)- motor skills -Psychomotor ability (Gp) and Psychomotor Speed (Gps)- and academic performance in language and vocabulary acquisition. Findings also show improvements in students’ emotional state, resulting in increased students’ self-confidence and motivation to participate in learning process. The investigation provides a comprehensive understanding of how EL approaches can be integrated into different real classrooms, allowing researchers and teachers to enrich existing learning environments. To that end, the dissertation concludes with important insights and examples for researchers and educators on how they can implement effectively EL-driven technology in real classroom settings, as a part of the classroom curriculum.Complete

Improving students’ learning performance through Technology-Enhanced Embodied Learning: A four-year investigation in classrooms

Embodied Learning (EL) technologies are now used in educational research as an emerging technology that has the potential to influence the function of the brain to drive learning, especially by integrating the physical body into the learning process. This research examines EL in different learning contexts and circumstances to see how it can improve the overall performance of students in real classroom settings. The study consists of four sequential phases that use data collection and analysis to explore the impact of EL on actual classroom practice. A total of 211 elementary students (n = 211) and 21 primary teachers (n = 21) participated in the study. Applying a multiphase mixed-methods approach, the study focuses on investigating how EL impacts student performance in real learning environments within different elementary classrooms, including Special Education (SE) and General Education (GE) contexts. Results reveal significant gains in students’ cognitive performance, motor skills, and academic performance in language. Results also show improvements in students’ emotional state, resulting in increased students’ motivation to participate in the learning process. Overall, this four-year investigation provides a comprehensive understanding of how EL approaches can be integrated into real classrooms, allowing researchers and teachers to enrich their existing practices, taking into account the benefits of including the movement in their teaching and research

Words in action: investigating students’ language acquisition and emotional performance through embodied learning

There is strong evidence that movement and learning are deeply interlinked supporting effective cognitive functioning and thinking. The link between movement and learning constitutes a new pedagogical paradigm in the contemporary field of language learning and specifically in the area of Embodied Pedagogy and learning. Embodied theories argue that body, next to the mind, is an essential factor in the learning process providing a positive impact on children’s academic growth and language development. This pedagogical concept may offer new ways of engaging students in learning by adopting teaching methods based on Embodied Cognition practice. With this in mind, a classroom movement-based learning intervention, called PanBoy, was developed for first and second graders in mainstream elementary schools. A total of 118 elementary students from six authentic classrooms, were involved in a three-month movement-based intervention in a language learning context. Findings based on statistical analysis of psychometric pre–post testing in language, in conjunction with teachers’ interviews, revealed significant gains in students’ academic achievements and showed improvement on students’ emotional engagement in the process. This study discusses the potential of this classroom intervention, based on embodied learning, as a new teaching practice method with low-cost ideas and easy implementation in real-context language environments

Embodied interaction in language learning: Enhancing students’ collaboration and emotional engagement

Embodied interaction enriches conventional educational practice and provides ways of integrating the physical body and movement into the learning process. The Embodied theoretical framework via the use of emerging technologies has significantly changed the direction of teaching allowing learners to be more active and engage in collaborative learning activities. This study investigates students’ performance in a collaborative embodied learning environment using motion-based games within a real classroom language learning context. Participants were 52 elementary students (second and third graders) and five teachers. The analysis is based on a students’ questionnaire, direct classroom observations and semi-structured interviews with participating teachers. Findings indicate that embodied learning interactions enabled students to work more collaboratively engaging them in the learning activities, physically and emotionally. The paper contributes to the HCI community by providing a better and evidence-based understanding of the potential of using embodied technology in collaborative settings within a real classroom environment

Moving bodies to moving minds: a study of the use of motion-based games in special education

From an embodied learning perspective, the active human body can alter the function of the brain and therefore, the cognitive process. In this work, children’s activity using motion-based technology is framed as an example of embodied learning. The present investigation focuses on the use of a series of Kinect-based educational games by 31 elementary students with special educational needs in mainstream schools, during a five-month intervention study. Results based on psychometric pre-post testing in conjunction with games-usage analytics, a student attitudinal scale, teachers’ reflection notes and teacher interviews, demonstrated the positive impact of the games on children’s short-term memory skills and emotional stage. Overall, the study improves our understanding of embodied learning via motion-based technology in teaching and learning with children with special educational needs

Implementing embodied learning in the classroom: effects on children’s memory and language skills

The relationship among bodily movements, cognitive abilities, and academic achievement in children is receiving considerable attention in the research community. The embodied learning approach is based on the idea of an inseparable link between body and mind in learning, aiming for teaching methods that promote children’s active engagement in the classroom. This study implements embodied learning as a part of the classroom curriculum in a real classroom environment using motion-based games. A total of 52 elementary students engaged in embodied learning in-class activities for four months. The data-set included standardized pre-post testing for children’s cognitive and academic performance, general learning analytics from games’ usage, interviews, and observations from the teachers involved. Findings showed significant effects both on children’s cognitive abilities (i.e., short-memory skills) and academic performance (i.e., expressive vocabulary). This article contributes to the educational technology community by providing an example of implementing embodied learning via use of motion-based technologies in a real classroom environment

Comparing a digital and a non-digital embodied learning intervention in geometry: can technology facilitate?

Despite the rapid development of motion-based technologies, their role in embodied learning remains ambivalent. This study aimed at investigating the potential added value of motion-based technologies in the context of geometry elementary education. An explanatory sequential design was adopted, composed of two phases. First, an experiment was conducted: students in the experimental group (n = 15) participated in a digital embodied intervention while students in the comparison group (n = 16) participated in a non-digital embodied intervention, to learn about angles. Quantitative results showed that, while students’ cognitive load was not differentiated, students in the digital intervention outperformed their counterparts in terms of learning gains and emotional engagement. Qualitative analysis of interview data allowed better understanding of students’ engagement and cognitive load supporting the quantitative findings. The authors reflect on these findings and the implications for the use of motion-based technologies in embodied interventions for learning in mathematics