Effective Computer Programming Instruction for pre-University Albanian Students

The relationship between pre-university students and technology is frequently overrated.While we receive glowing reports about how young people are knowledgeable aboutcomputers, the truth is that their knowledge is typically about computer content and themanipulation of applications. Young students too often treat the actual programming andunderstanding of computers as a sort of magical mystery.In this paper we look at a new Albanian initiative to identify and nurture the mosttalented of our pre-university students. In particular we look at contributions to the goalof making Albanians the most talented programmers in this area of Europe.The study addresses the issue of how to get young people interested in programmingby focusing on non-syntactic procedures. The authors consider two programmingenvironments that teach through the use of objects and problem solving skills

Using Assistive Technologies in Autism Care Centers to Support Children Develop Communication and Language Skills. A Case Study: Albania

In this paper, we propose the use of the smart environment based on Internet of Things (IoT) and P2P technology as a form of assistive environment in autism care centers to support children develop communication and language skills. We are going to propose the use of the smart environment in Albanian Regional Center for Autism in Tirana, Albania. The smart environment is proposed as an assistive environment for this center in order to support students’ learning during the time that they come to the center for support. Our proposed system uses JXTA-Overlay platform and SmartBox device to monitor the children and create P2P communication between children, caregivers and therapists. Various visual systems, such as objects, photographs, realistic drawings, line drawings, and written words used with assorted modes of technology can support engaged learning and then can increase and maintain the concentration of children with ASD during learning

Factors in Mobile Game Design

Mobile is the fastest growing area for computer gaming. Fueled by the every growing sales of handheld devices, the increasing comfort of gamers with their devices, larger screens and availability of casual games, mobile games offer the developer an area of rapid growth. In this paper we report on the commencement of research that attempts to identify the key development concepts for a mobile game. Gamers’ locus of controlis examined to determine the extent to which this personality trait impacts both interest level and type of game. We consider two mobile games, Grand Theft Auto and Edge, in an attempt to isolate the important design characteristics for this medium

Software agents in large scale open e-learning: a critical component for the future of Massive Online Courses (MOOCs)

(c) 2014 IEEE. Personal use of this material is permitted. Permission from IEEE must be obtained for all other users, including reprinting/ republishing this material for advertising or promotional purposes, creating new collective works for resale or redistribution to servers or lists, or reuse of any copyrighted components of this work in other works.MOOCs or massive open online courses are a recent trend in online education. They combine online resources with social tools and have unique challenges due to the large number of simultaneous participants. This paper analyzes some of the challenges in the areas of MOOC design, delivery and assessment. Then the authors present an approach using software agents to overcome some of the challenges that have been identified, as well as optimize efficiency, reduce costs, and ensure the pedagogical effectiveness and educational quality of large scale online learning courses. This paper is a first step towards research in the usage of software agents in massive online courses that we hope will shed more light on potential real life applications.Peer ReviewedPostprint (author's final draft

Developing National Digital Library of Albania for Pre-university Schools: A Case Study

While the concept of digital library (DL) is well perceived and applied in developed countries, it is still a big challenge to the developing nations. There are great disparities, known as digital divide between developed countries and developing countries in terms of electronic resource funding, availability, and accessibility. DL, together with the information retrieval (IR) system, is believed to be an effective way to mend the gap of digital divide. This paper will employ a real case to discuss the significance of developing a national level of digital library for pre-university schools of Albania, the challenges of designing such information system both economically and technologically, and considerations of designing the digital library

A Proposed Framework for Combining Smart Environment and Heuristic Diagnostic Teaching Principles in Order to Assess Students’ Abilities in Math and Supporting Them During Learning

In this paper, we propose the use of the smart environment based on Internet of Things (IoT), P2P technology and Heuristic Diagnostic Teaching principles for identifying learning abilities in mathematics and creative traits for students that are diagnosed within Autism Spectrum disorder (ASD). Many children with autism are highly interested and motivated by smart devices such as computers and touch screen tablets. These types of assistive technology devices get children with autism to interact, make choices, respond, gain new communication skills and create P2P communication between children, caregivers and therapists. Our proposed system uses JXTA-Overlay platform and SmartBox device to support students during their learning process by getting and maintaining their concentration on a given task. We propose to evaluate children’s ability in math using the Heuristic Diagnostic Teaching principles. Our new system combined with various visual systems, such as objects, photographs, pictures, realistic drawings, line drawings, and written words, can be used with assorted modes of technology, as long as the child can readily comprehend the visual representation. Vocabulary skills, mathematics skills and other life skills can be taught through our proposed system. We propose to use different assessment tools to learn about students’ ability in math

An IoT-Based System for Supporting Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder

In this paper, we implement and evaluate the performance of a new system based on Internet of Things (IoT) and P2P technology for supporting learning and improving the quality of life for children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). Many children with autism are highly interested and motivated by smart devices such as computers and touch screen tablets. These types of assistive technology devices get children with autism to interact, make choices, respond, and tell parents what they are interested, need, think, and maybe even feel. Our proposed system uses JXTA-Overlay platform and Smart Box device to monitor the children and create P2P communication between children, caregivers and therapists. Various visual systems, such as objects, photographs, realistic drawings, line drawings, and written words, can be used with assorted modes of technology, as long as the child can readily comprehend the visual representation. Vocabulary skills, mathematics skills and other life skills can be taught through our proposed system. We evaluated the effect of our system during study sessions of children diagnosed with ASD. The experimental results show that our system teaches new skills to children with ASD and the Smart Box increases the concentration of children during studying

A Smart Environment and Heuristic Diagnostic Teaching Principle-Based System for Supporting Children with Autism during Learning

In this paper, we propose the use of the smart environment based on Internet of Things (IoT), P2P technology and Heuristic Diagnostic Teaching (HDT) principles for identifying learning abilities in mathematics and creative traits for students that are diagnosed within Autism Spectrum disorder (ASD). Our new system is combined with various visual systems, such as objects, photographs, pictures, realistic drawings, line drawings, and written words, and can be used with assorted modes of technology, as long as the child can readily comprehend the visual representation. We propose to use different assessment tools to learn about students\u27 ability in math. Vocabulary skills, mathematics skills and other life skills can be taught through our proposed system