Learner-Centered Teaching: A Case Study of its Implementation in Physics and Chemistry Classes in Moroccan High Schools

Following the international call of the learner-centered approach, the Moroccan educational system has undergone a paradigm shift in teaching methods. Physics and chemistry textbooks used in Moroccan high schools highly valorise learning strategies development, self-directed learning, and discovery learning, which promote the learner’s autonomy. This study provides an overview of the learner-centeredness principles, and it is based on data collection which is accomplished using a questionnaire administered to 35 physics and chemistry high school teachers. It focuses on analysing the teachers’ attitudes towardsthis approach. The study shows that majority of the teachers are motivated towards implementing the learner-centered approach, but very few of them rely on both teacher and student-centered teaching simultaneously to cater for students’ learning needs. This paper recommends the use of active learning to cater for a successful educational system

Assessment-driven Learning through Serious Games: Guidance and Effective Outcomes

Evaluation in serious games is an important aspect; it aims to evaluate the good transmission of pedagogical objectives, the performance of student in relation to these objectives defined in the pedagogical scenario, the content of the course and the predefined criteria. However, the effectiveness of learning is under-studied due to the complexity involved to gamify the assessment concept, particularly when it comes to intangible measures related to the progression of learning outcomes, which is among the most important aspects of evaluation in serious games. This paper reviews the literature regarding assessment due to their importance in the learning process with a detailed assessment plan applied on serious game. Then, it presents a framework used to facilitate the assessment design integrated in serious games. Finally, a significant example of how the proposed framework proved successful with corresponding results will conclude the paper

Prospects of implementing xAPI as a solution for progress tracking in a Blended Learning environment

Learning and development is an exciting world of never ending change, challenges, and trends. Businesses are currently attempting to adapt to the rapid digitization of workplaces. Therefore, L&D (Learning and Development) professionals are making learning material available to learners when and where they need it. According to two of “The State of Learning and Development” reports, published by “InSync Training” in 2016 and 2017 [1,2], the L&D industry is experiencing a shift from traditional approaches (e.g. classrooms, multi-day workshops…), to more modern learner-centered approaches (e.g. blended learning, mobile learning…). The aforementioned reports emphasize on the importance of implementing blended learning. It’ a learner-centered approach that matches different parts of the educational content to their most appropriate delivery methods (e.g. classroom interaction, article, video, audio, video game…) and sequences the resulting learning activities into a complete program of instruction. Although it’s currently a very popular trend given its benefits, there are multiple challenges it’s facing. In this article, we’ll explain the different benefits and challenges of blended learning. After that we’ll explore the prospects of implementing the Experience API (xAPI in short), a new open source specification for learning technology published by ADL (Advanced Distributed Learning) in 2013 [3], as a solution to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of blended learning

An embroidered passive textile RFID tag based on a T-matched antenna

This paper addresses the design and fabrication of an embroidered textile RFID tag antenna. The main feature of this design is that we have embroidered an RFID chip on the textile support which avoids the use of metallic wires or soldering. The modeled equivalent circuit of the tag is presented to get physical insight into RFID tag antenna design. The detailed results given in this paper include the effect of the bending and the human body proximity on the antenna performance. It is shown that the bending does not introduce a conspicuous effect on the tags read range while the dissipative characteristics of the human body cause a gain and read range reduction. The proposed design may find applications in wearable devices dedicated to health monitoring applications.Peer ReviewedPostprint (author's final draft

Déchets et économie circulaire : pour une transition vers un nouveau modèle de développement durable au Maroc ?

The aim of this work is to show that the circular economy is a new alternative concept to the traditional linear economy, which aims to throw away everything that can be consumed. The work aims to give renewed interest to this type of economy, which focuses on improving production and consumption patterns and transforming waste into resources in circular loops so that it can be reused again. This circular economy, which has its origins in sustainable development, aims to minimise the excessive use of natural resources, reduce the impact on the environment and improve people's well-being. Through a descriptive and analytical analysis, we address the issue of how the emergence of circular practices can contribute to the sustainable and efficient management of the waste resource in Morocco. Morocco's interest in sustainable development, and more specifically in the management of household waste, is not negligible. Nevertheless, there are several shortcomings in this area that handicap the insertion of the new economic model (the circular economy) in waste management and recovery. Therefore, through this work, we are going to show the link that exists between the circular economy and the management of the waste resource within the framework of sustainable development, and we are going to give some proposals that will make it possible to overcome the dysfunctions of the circular economy.   Keywords: circular economy, household waste, Morocco, sustainable development JEL classification : Q01, Q53, Q56, Q32 Paper type: Theoretical Research L’objectif de ce travail est de montrer que l’économie circulaire est un nouveau concept alternatif à l’économie linéaire traditionnelle qui vise à jeter tous ce qui est consommable. Le travail vise à donner un regain d’intérêt à ce type d’économie qui se penche vers l’amélioration des modes de production et de consommation ainsi de transformer les déchets en ressource selon des boucles circulaires afin de les réutiliser à nouveau. Cette économie circulaire qui tire son origine du développement durable a pour objectif de minimiser l’utilisation excessive des ressources naturelles, diminuer l’impact sur l’environnement et améliorer le bien-être de la population. À travers une analyse descriptive et analytique nous répondons à la problématique qui vise à montrer comment l’émergence à des pratiques circulaires peuvent contribuer à la gestion durable et efficace de la ressource déchet au Maroc. L’intérêt accordé par le Maroc en matière de développement durable et plus particulièrement la gestion des déchets ménagers n’est pas négligeable, néanmoins, il existe plusieurs défaillances en la matière qui handicapent l’insertion du nouveau modèle économique (l’économie circulaire) dans la gestion et la valorisation des déchets. Donc à travers ce travail nous allons montrer le lien qui existe entre l’économie circulaire et la gestion de la ressource déchet dans le cadre du développement durable ainsi, nous allons donner quelques propositions qui permettent de pallier aux dysfonctionnements enregistrés au Maroc.   Mots-clés : économie circulaire, déchets ménagers, Maroc, développement durable Classification JEL : Q01, Q53, Q56, Q32 Type de l’article : Article théoriqu

Implementation of message authentication code using DNA-LCG key and a novel hash algorithm

With the introduction of electronic form of data, the need for an automatic system of security to protect the integrity of data while being transferred from one place to another is required. This is especially the case for a network in which the systems are accessed over a public network or internet. Security mechanisms involve the use of more than one algorithm. They further require that the participants should possess a secret key, which raises issues about creation, distribution and proper usage of these keys. The most effective technique used in provisioning security is Message Authentication Code (MAC) which helps in preserving integrity. MAC involves the use of secret key along with a hash algorithm. In this paper, we present an implementation of MAC using a secret key created by Deoxyribonucleic Acid (DNA) and random output sequence of Linear Congruential Generator (LCG). The hash algorithm used is made more robust by adding complexity to the traditional SHA-160. The presented scheme RMAC (Robust Message Authentication Code) is tested on National Institute of Science and Technology (NIST) test suite for random numbers, avalanche criteria and resistance towards network attacks. The results reveal that the scheme is efficient and is applicable for a variety of security demanding environments