Models and instruments for assessing technology enhanced learning environments in higher education

info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Academic analytics: mapping the genome of the University

Higher education institutions have multiple technologic subsystems for administrative, pedagogical management, and quality purposes, which gather an immense volume of data from various sources and which do not communicate with each other. The domain of the analytic performances in education emerges from the need to aggregate multiple sources of data, which the complexity of treatment associated with the ease of mobilizing selected information will make it possible to understand reality and optimize management actions. In this paper, we present the architecture and results achieved in the development of an academic analytics aggregator of multiple sources of data on the educational activity.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Cognitive communication 2.0 in higher education: to tweet or not to tweet?

Research has been fertile in producing studies on pedagogical change and innovation through technology in Higher Education Institutions, namely the integration of the social media in pedagogical practice. However, there is a lack of studies on the integration of the social media in the particular field of lectures. In this context, commonly practiced, the teacher faces a wide audience and feels the need to activate mechanisms of direct instruction, for reasons of economy of time and because it is the most dominant pedagogical model. As a result there is a communication paradigm 1.0 (one-way communication, one-to-many, low or non-existent interaction). In this study, exploratory and quantitative in nature, an approach to the thematic of the exploration of the social media in order to upgrade the cognitive communication from 1.0 to 2.0 (many-to-many, interaction between all the participants) in lectures was made. On the approach to the problem, we explored a PowerPoint presentation with the integration of the micro blogging tool Twitter, as a basis for addressing the characteristics of cognitive communication 2.0. For data collection a questionnaire was designed, based on literature, and intended to evaluate several dimensions of the resource used, namely: i) pedagogical issues, ii) technological aspects, iii) cognitive learning; iv) interactions in the classroom; v) positive behavior in the classroom and vi) negative behaviour in the classroom. The results indicate that students recognize the potential of this tool in the dimensions assessed. Twitter integration in PowerPoint allowed the teacher and the students to read each other’s views and each had the opportunity to contribute to the debate. It also allowed the release of multiple choice questions to the audience, with answers via Twitter and projection of results via PowerPoint. This way, a true cognitive communication 2.0 took place.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

DER in Portugal: state-of-the-art of the two major Repositories in Elementary and Secondary Education

In the last decade, there has been an expansion of Repositories of Digital Educational Resources (DER), funded and stimulated by government authorities and non-profit institutions, in order to publish, collect, distribute and pre-serve DER. In this environment, inspired by the Open Content Movement, it is recognized the importance of the vast heri-tage of DER, produced by the collective intelligence, for pedagogical innovation. Following this trend, in Portugal, about three years ago, two repositories were created at the elementary and secondary education levels: Schools Portal, of Gov-ernment responsibility with a generalist vocation, covering the entire spectrum of the curriculum and the House of Sciences, headed by the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation, which is a private institution of public utility, and dedicated to the areas of natural and exact sciences. In this study the state of the art of these two repositories is presented once they are the ones most visible in Portugal in what concerns the main dimensions that interfere on their quality. The methodology of data col-lection was based on the analysis of the portals from the point of view of the producers and users of the DER of the reposi-tories. The main results and conclusions are presented and considerations about the factors that in the future may contribute to the sustainable improvement of some of the characteristics of the repositories covered in this study are stated.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Digital educational resources repositories in lower and middle education in Portugal: quality criteria in the international context

The thematic of Digital Educational Resources (DER) and digital educational repositories at primary and secondary education levels is of growing centrality in the educational themes in the international debate. In order to make it easier for teachers and students to find the best and relevant learning resources and to encourage teachers’ uptake of innovative materials and learning styles, authorities and/or companies in European countries have launched web based educational repositories. Following this trend, about two years ago, three major institutions in Portugal have launched their repositories: Portal das Escolas (ME), Casa das Ciências (FCG) and BOA (INESC-ID). After examining the state of the art of educational repositories in Europe, it was found that those three Portuguese repositories are not mentioned in recent European reports and so the study here presented seemed to be very relevant. This work aims to develop a descriptive and comparative study, in order to characterize the reality of the Portuguese repositories and compare it with European examples of good practices. To guide this investigation, the following question was theorized: “How are the Portuguese institutional repositories, for primary and secondary education levels, positioned in what concerns international quality criteria?” Our methodology design is a qualitative one and of type i) descriptive, as it is intended to characterize the main Portuguese institutional DER repositories for primary and secondary school education, aiming to assess the key dimensions that affect their quality and ii) comparative since it has in view comparing those repositories with reference European ones. In this sense, Lektion in Sweden and Scoilnet, Portal for Irish Education in Ireland are considered. The study was undertaken from the view of the DER producers and users. As a tool for data collection it was used a framework of analysis built on the Guía para la Evaluación de Repositorios Institucionales e Investigación (GERII), a joint publication of the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation and other organizations in the fields of Education, Science and Technology (Villar et al, 2010). The GERII guide includes a set of guidelines for the creation and evaluation of a repository, bringing together a battery of 31 evaluation criteria, distributed over seven dimensions that any repository must accomplish to meet quality and therefore was considered an excellent basis for our analysis. Comparing the three Portuguese repositories, target of this study, with two reference European repositories in order to contextualize the national reality in the international arena will stand for the Portuguese institutions that hold the repositories as an opportunity for improvement. Thus, Portuguese teachers will have an increased chance to access an eclectic collection of quality resources, in order to diversify their teaching strategies.info:eu-repo/semantics/acceptedVersio

Cognitive communication 2.0 in the classroom - resonance of an experience in higher education

The communication in the classroom is often carried out on a one-to-many basis, with the teacher, before an audience of dozens of students, playing a traditional role. In this context, still commonly practiced, it is pertinent to introduce mechanisms of interaction mediated by technology, since research shows a significant correlation between the use of technology, the time spent in social media and the engagement of students. In fact, literature shows that social media has attracted the interest of academics more likely to use technology in education, who thereby seek new ways to motivate their students to a more active learning. The adoption of cognitive communication 2.0 morphology, in traditional contexts such in communication one-to-many, is a challenge to be overcome. We consider so of great importance creating and evaluating resources and pedagogical practices that are aligned with this new paradigm. In this study, we intend to make a contribution to understanding the problematic of the morphology of cognitive communication in the context of the classroom in Higher Education, with the integration of web 2.0 tools. On the approach to the problem, we have explored a PowerPoint presentation with the integration of the micro blogging tool Twitter, as a basis for addressing the characteristics of cognitive communication 2.0. For data collection a questionnaire was designed, based on literature, and intended to evaluate several dimensions of the resource used, namely: i) pedagogical issues, ii) technological aspects, iii) cognitive learning; iv) interactions in the classroom; v) positive behaviour in the classroom; vi) negative behaviour in the classroom. The goals of this study are: i) to validate the instrument for data collection, ii) to assess the perceptions of students regarding the effects of the resource and pedagogical practices used in the classroom dynamics iii) to set in context and to relate the cognitive communication 2.0 in the classroom with other components of the Hybrid Institutional Personal Learning Environment. This is an exploratory type research, since it seeks to provide a greater familiarity with the problem and to identify dimensions and items to be included in the questionnaire. The data collected will be processed under a quantitative perspective. Considering, therefore, the nature of the study we did not seek to establish correlations between variables, but only to identify trends, using descriptive statistics. It is expected that the results obtained will contribute to the articulation of web 2.0 tools with traditional cognitive communication in the classroom, in such a manner that positive impacts will result in pedagogical and technological effectiveness and thus in students learning achievements.info:eu-repo/semantics/acceptedVersio

Autonomous 3D Exploration of Large Structures Using an UAV Equipped with a 2D LIDAR

This paper addressed the challenge of exploring large, unknown, and unstructured industrial environments with an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV). The resulting system combined well-known components and techniques with a new manoeuvre to use a low-cost 2D laser to measure a 3D structure. Our approach combined frontier-based exploration, the Lazy Theta* path planner, and a flyby sampling manoeuvre to create a 3D map of large scenarios. One of the novelties of our system is that all the algorithms relied on the multi-resolution of the octomap for the world representation. We used a Hardware-in-the-Loop (HitL) simulation environment to collect accurate measurements of the capability of the open-source system to run online and on-board the UAV in real-time. Our approach is compared to different reference heuristics under this simulation environment showing better performance in regards to the amount of explored space. With the proposed approach, the UAV is able to explore 93% of the search space under 30 min, generating a path without repetition that adjusts to the occupied space covering indoor locations, irregular structures, and suspended obstaclesUnión Europea Marie Sklodowska-Curie 64215Unión Europea MULTIDRONE (H2020-ICT-731667)Uniión Europea HYFLIERS (H2020-ICT-779411

Morphological aspects of data processing in school management. The Analytics potential

As ondas de choque da Sociedade de Informação chegaram à Universidade e as plataformas tecnológicas impuseram-se como suportes fundamentais na transformação pedagógica e na gestão das várias dimensões de atuação das Instituições do Ensino Superior (IES). Estas plataformas recolhem um enorme volume de dados que progressivamente têm sido aproveitados para uma análise avançada e no suporte à tomada de decisão informada, nomeadamente através de sistemas de Learn Analytics (centrados em métricas que fornecem informação aos departamentos, professores e alunos sobre questões relacionadas com a organização e funcionamento dos cursos ou atividades de aprendizagem dos estudantes) e Academic Analytics (direcionados para o plano da gestão institucional, visando dotar os diretores e administradores de informação relativa às vertentes financeira, capital humano ou alocação de recursos, podendo ter também uma componente nacional ou internacional na comparação de sistemas). Neste trabalho, apresenta-se o estado da arte da utilização dos sistemas de Analytics na Educação, com exploração de casos práticos da sua aplicação, enfatizando-se os aspetos morfológicos desde o acesso e preparação dos dados até à partilha e tomada de decisão. Paralelamente, são exploradas questões relacionadas com aspetos éticos e implicações na organização e cultura das IES que decorrem da utilização destes sistemas.The shock waves of the Information Society have reached University and technology platforms have imposed themselves as key supports in the pedagogical transformation and management of the different dimensions of the performance of Higher Education Institutions (HEIs). These platforms collect a huge volume of data that has gradually been used for advanced analysis and as a support for informed decision making, in particular through the Learn Analytics systems (focusing on metrics that provide information to departments, teachers and students on issues related to the organization and functions of the courses or students learning activities) and Academic Analytics (directed for the planning of institutional management, to provide the directors and managers with information on financial aspects, human capital or allocation of resources, and may also have a national or international component in comparison of systems). In this paper, we present the state of the art of usage of the Analytics systems in education, with the analysis of practical cases of its implementation, with emphasis on the morphological aspects from access and data preparation to sharing and decision making. At the same time, issues related to ethical aspects are explored, as well as the implications in the organization and culture of HEIs that result from the use of these systems.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Academic analytics: mapping the genome of higher education institutions

Higher education institutions (HEIs) have multiple technologic subsystems for administrative, pedagogical management and quality purposes, which gather an immense volume of data from various sources and which do not communicate with each other. The domain of the analytic performances in Education emerges from the need to aggregate multiple sources of data, which the complexity of treatment associated with the ease of mobilizing selected information will make it possible to understand reality and optimize management actions. In this article, we present the architecture and results achieved in the development of an Academic Analytics aggregator of multiple sources of data on the educational activity.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio