Authoring courses with rich adaptive sequencing for IMS learning design

This paper describes the process of translating an adaptive sequencing strategy designed using Sequencing Graphs to the semantics of IMS Learning Design. The relevance of this contribution is twofold. First, it combines the expressive power and flexibility of Sequencing Graphs, and the interoperability capabilities of IMS. Second, it shows some important limitations of IMS specifications (focusing on Learning Design) for the sequencing of learning activities

Simulador de máquinas de Turing para fines didácticos

Se presenta un programa simulador escrito para ayudar a los estudiantes a comprender el concepto de máquina de Turing y a probar y corregir sus diseños de algoritmos con esta máquina. En una primera parte se describe el simulador desde el punto de vista de su uso, en el que cabe resaltar la representación del esquema funcional en la forma de quíntuplas, junto a una serie de opciones de explotación. La segunda y última parte se dedica a las características del programa, ocupación de memoria, representación y manejo de estados internos, simulación de la cinta y otras técnicas propias del programa o del miniordenador en el que aquel ha sido instrumentado

Proyecto eMadrid: metodologías educativas, ludificación y calidad

Esta comunicación presenta un conjunto de trabajos de investigación sobre metodologías docentes, ludificación y calidad realizados en el seno del proyecto eMadrid, de la Comunidad Autónoma de Madrid. En primer lugar se resumen los trabajos realizados en los dos primeros años del proyecto. Posteriormente se presentan las líneas de trabajo previstas para los dos años restantesEstos trabajos se han financiado parcialmente por el proyecto eMadrid (S2013/ICE-2715) de la Comunidad de Madrid, los proyectos FLEXOR (TIN2014-52129-R), RESET (TIN2014-53199-C3-1-R) e iProg (TIN2015-66731-C2-1-R) del Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad, y el proyecto “Adaptación de la metodología PhyMEL a la formación clínica mediante el uso de simuladores” financiado por la empresa Medical Simulato

Some ideas for a collaborative search of the optimal learning path

One of the challenges of adaptive hypermedia educational (AHE) systems is that of adapting the sequencing of learning units presented to the student. One approach is to model the set of possible sequencings with a graph, but the process of designing and maintaining the graph may be tedious and error-prone. This paper presents some ideas to overcome this, inpired by swarm intelligence techniques. Problems that may arise, as well as possible solutions, are presented

Climate change mitigation in China

China has been experiencing great economic development and fast urbanisation since its reforms and opening-up policy in 1978. However, these changes are reliant on consumption of primary energy, especially coal, characterised by high pollution and low efficiency. China’s greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, with carbon dioxide (CO2) being the most significant contributor, have also been increasing rapidly in the past three decades. Responding to both domestic challenges and international pressure regarding energy, climate change and environment, the Chinese government has made a point of addressing climate change since the early 2000s. This thesis provides a comprehensive analysis of China’s CO2 emissions and policy instruments for mitigating climate change. In the analysis, China’s CO2 emissions in recent decades were reviewed and the Environmental Kuznets Curve (EKC) hypothesis examined. Using the mostly frequently studied macroeconomic factors and time-series data for the period of 1980-2008, the existence of an EKC relationship between CO2 per capita and GDP per capita was verified. However, China’s CO2 emissions will continue to grow over coming decades and the turning point in overall CO2 emissions will appear in 2078 according to a crude projection. More importantly, CO2 emissions will not spontaneously decrease if China continues to develop its economy without mitigating climate change. On the other hand, CO2 emissions could start to decrease if substantial efforts are made. China’s present mitigation target, i.e. to reduce CO2 emissions per unit of GDP by 40-45% by 2020 compared with the 2005 level, was then evaluated. Three business-as-usual (BAU) scenarios were developed and compared with the level of emissions according to the mitigation target. The calculations indicated that decreasing the CO2 intensity of GDP by 40-45% by 2020 is a challenging but hopeful target. To study the policy instruments for climate change mitigation in China, domestic measures and parts of international cooperation adopted by the Chinese government were reviewed and analysed. Domestic measures consist of administration, regulatory and economic instruments, while China’s participation in international agreements on mitigating climate change is mainly by supplying certified emission reductions (CERs) to industrialised countries under the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM). The most well-known instruments, i.e. taxes and emissions trading, are both at a critical stage of discussion before final implementation. Given the necessity for hybrid policies, it is important to optimise the combination of different policy instruments used in a given situation. The Durban Climate Change Conference in 2011 made a breakthrough decision that the second commitment period under the Kyoto Protocol would begin on 1 January 2013 and emissions limitation or reduction objectives for industrialised countries in the second period were quantified. China was also required to make more substantial commitments on limiting its emissions. The Chinese government announced at the Durban Conference that China will focus on the current mitigation target regarding CO2 intensity of GDP by 2020 and will conditionally accept a world-wide legal agreement on climate change thereafter. However, there will be no easy way ahead for China.QC 20120424</p

Adaptation of the ACO heuristic for sequencing learning activities

This paper describes an initiative aimed at adapting swarm intelligence techniques (in particular, Ant Colony Optimization) to an e-learning environment, thanks to the fact that the available online material can be organized in a graph by means of hyperlinks of educational topics. In this case, the agents that move on the graph are students who unconsciously leave pheromones in the environment depending on their success or failure. In the paper, the whole process is referred as man-hill, as opposed to the ant-hill metaphor of ACO. The paper presents the system and shows the experimental results obtained. The results show that the approach is a sensible option and provide several hints for future improvement of the system

Objetos de Aprendizaje: Tendencias dentro de la Web Semántica. Publicación trimestral de la red nacional de I+D, RedIris, Vol. 66-67, ISSN: 1139-207X. Centro de Comunicaciones CSIC/RedIRIS

Resumen Una de las actividades más recientes en los desarrollos orientados a la web es la web semántica [1] cuya finalidad es dotar de significado a todas las clases de información sobre la web. Un subconjunto importante de esa información lo representan los objetos de aprendizaje, que son recursos digitales que se pueden reutilizar en diferentes contextos para lograr un objetivo de aprendizaje particular En este artículo se describen las diferentes posibilidades que ofrece la web semántica en cuanto al uso de objetos de aprendizaje y las tecnologías relacionadas con su soporte. Palabras clave: Objetos de aprendizaje, meta-datos, reutilización, web semántica. Summary The semantic Web is one of the most recent activities on the Web-based developments. Its aim is to provide Web information with meaning. An important subset of that information is represented by learning objects, which are digital resources that can be reused in different contexts to obtain a particular learning objective. This paper presents different possibilities offered by semantic Web in relation to the usage of learning objects and their supporting technologies. Keywords: Learning objects, meta-data, reusability, semantic Web. 1.-Introducción Cuando se habla de la economía de objetos de aprendizaje [3] hay que hacer referencia también a sus participantes: los productores y los consumidores. Los productores de objetos de aprendizaje utilizan distintas herramientas de diseño web para crear diferentes clases de objetos de aprendizaje, que se ponen a disposición de los usuarios en Internet a través de los almacenes de objetos de aprendizaje. Por su parte, los consumidores los utilizan para generar nuevo contenido educativo, ya sea a partir de objetos de aprendizaje ya existentes (reutilización) o de otros nuevos creados por ellos mismos. Para acceder a los objetos de aprendizaje los consumidores realizan búsquedas en los almacenes utilizando esquemas de meta-datos. La reutilización de contenido entre sistemas distintos requiere que los objetos de aprendizaje estén estandarizados, por lo que muchas organizaciones dedican sus esfuerzos al desarrollo de estándares 2.-Objetos de aprendizaje dentro de la web semántica Las tendencias de desarrollo de la web semántica se centran en tres áreas aplicadas a la educación: la informática, el diseño instruccional y los sistemas de bibliotecas. Las iniciativas resultantes de la Una de las actividades más recientes en los desarrollos orientados a la web es la web semántica cuya finalidad es dotar de significado a todas las clases de información sobre la web 7

Towards a formalization of digital circuit design

SIGLECopy held by FIZ Karlsruhe; available from UB/TIB Hannover / FIZ - Fachinformationszzentrum Karlsruhe / TIB - Technische InformationsbibliothekDEGerman

Using MOOC Technology and Formative Assessment in a Conceptual Modelling Course: an Experience Report

Online and blended learning are employed by educators in a wide variety of fields, from literature to computer science, from medicine to astronomy. However, online and, specifically, MOOC and SPOC technologies are still not widespread in the field of conceptual modelling. The complex nature of conceptual modelling as a subject to be taught at the university level, as well as the increasing number of students, pose a certain challenge to the modern educators and call for a thorough review of the teaching methods, types of assessment and technologies used to support the learning process. In this paper, we provide an experience report on a redesigned master level university course on conceptual modelling, which employs blended learning approach. We investigate the aspects of students’ behavior, performance and perception of the course, and reflect on the possibilities of transition from a SPOC in the context of blended learning to an exclusively online MOOC. This experience may provide valuable insights for the conceptual modelling educators planning to introduce blended or online learning and/or utilize formative assessment in their pedagogical activities.no ISSNstatus: publishe