Integration of the Computer Simulation and the Traditional Teaching. A Continuous Classroom Assessment

La Universidad de Berkeley desarrolló el programa PSPICE para simulación de circuitos electrónicos. De hecho, el acrónimo PSPICE hace referencia a ‘Programa de Simulación centrado en la Integración de Circuitos’. El sujeto principal de este artículo es presentar el esfuerzo de un grupo de profesores universitarios en innovación docente: el desarrollo de un material educativo semipresencial que aúna PSPICE y la enseñanza de la electrónica de Potencia. Se ha aplicado este material a una evaluación continua del alumnado.U.C. Berkeley developed the SPICE program to simulate integrated circuits. In fact, the acronym SPICE stands for Simulation Program with Integrated Circuit Emphasis. The aim of this paper is to present a team effort in education innovation: the development of an education material to join the SPICE program to simulate integrated circuits teaching and Power Electronics teaching. A continuous classroom assessment has been developed

Evaluación activa y mejora de la calidad de enseñanza: metodologías e indicadores

En este trabajo se presentan losresultados de una actividad innovadora que ha consistido en la realización de pruebas o ejercicios semanales, que han sido valorados, corregidos y devueltos al alumnado con las anotaciones y recomendacionessuficientes como para evitar, en un futuro, las deficiencias cometidas. Se hace una descripción de la metodología utilizada y cómo, con la información recogida,se pueden generar una serie de indicadores que permiten valorarla evolución general de la clase y establecer una predicción de losresultadosfinales. La experiencia innovadora no ha sido positiva, porque ha supuesto un incremento importante de la dedicación docente, sin que ésta se haya visto recompensada por una mejora en los resultados académicos generales (número de aprobados y porcentaje de presentados), aunque sí se ha percibido cierto aumento en la nota media.In this work, new educational activity results are shown. Each week an exam in classroom is made Evaluation and recommendations of corrected exams are returned to studentsto avoid mistakesin future. This paper describesthe used methodology and how several indicators, that show the global evolution of students and can do a prediction of final academic results, are obtained from collected information. At the end, the activity didn't generate the expected results: there was no improvement in global parameters (passed and presented ratios) although the mean calification of passed students wasslighty higherthan the last year

A new multisensor software architecture for movement detection: Preliminary study with people with cerebral palsy

A five-layered software architecture translating movements into mouse clicks has been developed and tested on an Arduino platform with two different sensors: accelerometer and flex sensor. The archi-tecture comprises low-pass and derivative filters, an unsupervised classifier that adapts continuously to the strength of the user's movements and a finite state machine which sets up a timer to prevent in-voluntary movements from triggering false positives. Four people without disabilities and four people with cerebral palsy (CP) took part in the experi-ments. People without disabilities obtained an average of 100% and 99.3% in precision and true positive rate (TPR) respectively and there were no statistically significant differences among type of sensors and placement. In the same experiment, people with disabilities obtained 97.9% and 100% in precision and TPR respectively. However, these results worsened when subjects used the system to access a commu-nication board, 89.6% and 94.8% respectively. With their usual method of access-an adapted switch- they obtained a precision and TPR of 86.7% and 97.8% respectively. For 3-outof- 4 participants with disabilities our system detected the movement faster than the switch. For subjects with CP, the accelerometer was the easiest to use because it is more sensitive to gross motor motion than the flex sensor which requires more complex movements. A final survey showed that 3-out-of-4 participants with disabilities would prefer to use this new technology instead of their tra-ditional method of access

Stress and heart rate: significant parameters and their variations

The aim of this paper is to identify heart rate parameters with higher significant values when a set of people are performing a task under stress condition. In order to accomplish this, one computer application with arithmetic and memory activities which lets drive the subjects to different stages of activity and stress has been designed. Tests are formed by initial and final rest periods and three task phases with incremental stressful level. Electrocardiogram is measured in each state and parameters are extracted from it. A statistical study using analysis of variance (ANOVA) is done to see which ones are the most significant. It is concluded that the median of RR segments is the parameter to best determine the state of stress.Regional Government of Andalusia (p08-TIC-3631

Envelope filter sequence to delete blinks and overshoots

Background: Eye movements have been used in control interfaces and as indicators of somnolence, workload and concentration. Different techniques can be used to detect them: we focus on the electrooculogram (EOG) in which two kinds of interference occur: blinks and overshoots. While they both draw bell-shaped waveforms, blinks are caused by the eyelid, whereas overshoots occur due to target localization error and are placed on saccade. They need to be extracted from the EOG to increase processing effectiveness. Methods: This paper describes off- and online processing implementations based on lower envelope for removing bell-shaped noise; they are compared with a 300-msmedian filter. Techniques were analyzed using two kinds of EOG data: those modeled from our own design, and real signals. Using a model signal allowed to compare filtered outputs with ideal data, so that it was possible to quantify processing precision to remove noise caused by blinks, overshoots, and general interferences. We analyzed the ability to delete blinks and overshoots, and waveform preservation. Results: Our technique had a high capacity for reducing interference amplitudes (>97%), even exceeding median filter (MF) results. However, the MF obtained better waveform preservation, with a smaller dependence on fixation width. Conclusions: The proposed technique is better at deleting blinks and overshoots than the MF in model and real EOG signals

Kinect as an access device for people with cerebral palsy: A preliminary study

Cerebral palsy (CP) describes a group of disorders affecting the development of movement and posture, causingactivity limitation. Access to technology can alleviate some of these limitations. Many studies have used vision- based movement capture systems to overcome problems related to discomfort and fear of wearing devices. Incontrast, there has been no research assessing the behavior of vision-based movement capture systems in peoplewith involuntary movements. In this paper, we look at the potential of the Kinect sensor as an assistive technologyfor people with cerebral palsy. We developed a serious game, called KiSens Números, to study the behavior ofKinect in this context and eighteen subjects with cerebral palsy used it to complete a set of sessions. The resultsof the experiments show that Kinect filters some of peoples involuntary movements, confirming the potential ofKinect as an assistive technology for people with motor disabilities

Measuring Performance of Virtual Keyboards Based on Cyclic Scanning

This paper presents an exhaustive study into the different topologies of virtual ambiguous keyboards that operate by scanning techniques, analyzing the text entry average time (tc) and the average number of user inputs (UIc) per character. An mathematical model shows that in comparison with unambiguous one, text entry, in multi-tap mode, doesn’t offers better performance,because both tc and UIc are greater in them. Another method of text entry, called Tnk (Text in n keys), offers improvement with respect to unambiguous keyboards. But solely highly ambiguous keyboard (4-keys keyboards) shows a jointly reduction in tc and UIc . Results obtained with the model do to focus on highly ambiguous keyboard. This paper demonstrate, using simulation with extensive text, that character prediction with TnK mode only have better performance than unambiguous keyboard with character prediction in UIc parameter. Another techniques of text entry are also studied.Junta de Andalucía p08-TIC-363

EEG Feature Variations under Stress Situations

The goal of this study is to identify EEG parameters and electrode positions with the highest significant values to differentiate between tasks and relax periods. Different signals were recorded as 12 subjects are doing arithmetic and memory tasks under stress condition. The test consisted of an initial and final 5-minute relax periods and three 4-minute performance phases with increased stress level. q and a bands concentrated mainly features whose variation were significant, and F3 and P4 were the best positions to distinguish between performed tasks and arousal level

Using Industrial Standards on PLC Programming Learning

In this paper, we review aspects relevant to industrial standards related to PLC programming: IEC 61131, IEC 61499 and a work about safety developed by the PLCOpen organization based on IEC 61508. We propose to use these standards in PLC learning to fix a common knowhow that allows one to reduce the gap between industry and education, and between different professionals. We show the application scope of these standards by analyzing the IEC 61131 limits. The IEC 61499 can be introduced in distributed control systems and in complex centralized systems with multiple operating modes. In critical applications, like safety functions, where functional safety is required, the IEC 61508 is a reference model

Integration of multimedia contents in the teaching of electronics : A practical test case in the teaching of digital circuits at the University of Seville

In this paper we present the integration of multimedia contents in the teaching of Digital Electronic Circuits and Computer Structure, of the first course of Computer Engineering at the University of Seville. Different tools for screenshot and video recording have been used for the preparation of audiovisual material, integrated in the learning platform currently used at the University of Seville. Feedback on the prepared material was collected in a survey, showing the interest and utility found by students in the preparation of theoretical and experimental classes with the videos. Successful results have been obtained in the evaluation of students. Suggestions of improvement and further work to be carried out are also described in the paper