Interactive story authoring: A viable form of creative expression for the classroom

The unprecedented growth in numbers of children playing computer games has stimulated discussion and research regarding what, if any, educational value these games have for teaching and learning. The research on this topic has primarily focused on children as players of computer games rather than builders/constructors of computer games. Recently, several game companies, such as BioWare Corp. and Bethesda Softworks, have released game story creation tools to the public, along with their games. However, a major obstacle to using these commercial tools is the level of programming experience required to create interactive game stories. In this paper, we demonstrate that a commercial game story construction tool, BioWare Corp.’s Aurora Toolset, can be augmented by our new tool, ScriptEase, to enable students in two grade ten English classes to successfully construct interactive game stories. We present evidence that describes the relationship between interactive story authoring and traditional story authoring, along with a series of factors that can potentially affect success at these activities: gender, creativity, intellectual ability, previous experiences with programming, time playing computer games, and time spent online. Results indicate that students can successfully construct sophisticated interactive stories with very little training. The results also show no gender differences in the quality of these interactive stories, regardless of programming experience or the amount of time per week playing computer games or participating in general online activities, although a subset of female students did show a slightly higher level of performance on interactive story authoring. In the educational context of this study, we show that ScriptEase provides an easy-to-use tool for interactive story authoring in a constructionist learning environment.     

Web-based mobile robot platform for real-time exercises

This paper introduces a new vision-based and web-based mobile robot platform. The platform consists of control and communication centers, a mobile robot and real-time support libraries. All activities in the platform are achieved by only computer vision techniques. The platform provides monitoring, tele-controlling and programming for real-time educational exercises and helps to the users to achieve these exercises through a standard web browser without any need for additional support software. The results have shown that the proposed, designed and implemented platform provide amazing new facilities and features to the users (students and researchers) in applying their real-time exercises on web.     

学习分析支持下的教师区域研修平台的设计与实现

学习分析技术发展为教师研修平台构建提供了新的手段和方法.针对当前国内研修平台存在的研修流程控制及过程管理较弱、教师研修活动支持不足、研修活动的绩效分析支持度低等问题,引入学习分析技术,实现研修活动过程管控、教师研修活动支持和研修过程绩效评估等,设计并实现了一个学习分析技术支持下的教师区域研修平台.通过初步应用,平台能较...     

基于无线传感器网络的氯气监测系统设计

基于433 MHz的无线自组网监测系统,设计了恒电位电解式氯气传感器的信号调理电路、信号采集和处理电路、电源管理模块、人机交互界面,搭建了基于星状拓扑的通信平台。解决了无线模块中电池欠电状态对监测带来盲点的问题,完成了环境中氯气含量的实时监测系统软硬件设计。该系统运行稳定,易于扩展,具有广阔的应用前景。     

EOS: a real-time operating system adapts to applicationarchitectures

Rather than dictating the architecture of application software and hardware, a real-time operating system should be flexible enough to adapt to the application's needs. The EOS real-time operating system provides a modular, scalable software platform users can tailor to specific custom hardware architectures. Developers can use minimum configurations of EOS for simple systems or enhance it with their own code for complex systems. Ultimately, we provide a configurable software platform that helps embedded application developers create low-cost, time-effective products     

Mobile learning technology based on iOS devices to support students with special education needs

Students with special education have difficulties to develop cognitive abilities and acquire new knowledge. They could also need to improve their behavior, communication and relationships with their environment. The development of customizable and adaptable applications tailored to them provides many benefits as it helps mold the learning process to different cognitive, sensorial or mobility impairments. We have devised a mobile platform (based on iPad and iPod touch devices), called Picaa and designed to cover the main phases of the learning process: preparation, use and evaluation. It includes four kinds of educational activities (Exploration, Association, Puzzle and Sorting), which can be personalized by educators at content and user interface levels through a design mainly centered on student requirements, whose user profiles can also be adapted. We have performed a pre-experimental study about the use of Picaa by 39 students with special education needs from Spain, including an evaluation based on pre/post testing. The use of the learning platform Picaa is associated with positive effects in the development of learning skills for children who have special educational needs, observing that the basic skills (language, math, environmental awareness, autonomy and social) have been improved. Besides, in many cases they have the opportunity to perform activities that previously were not accessible to them, because of the interface and contents of the activities have been adapted specifically to them. The study also suggests that the repertoire of types of activities provided is suitable for learning purposes with students with impairments. Finally, the use of electronic devices and multimedia contents increases their interest in learning and attention.     

支持信息采集的标准化Web课件制作管理

论述了XML技术在远程教育领域中的一个应用-标准化课件的制作与管理，设计开发了一套基于IMS规范的标准化Web课件制作管理工具，并支持对学生学习信息的自动采集。     

EDUCA: A web 2.0 authoring tool for developing adaptive and intelligent tutoring systems using a Kohonen network

This paper presents a Web 2.0 Learning Environment, for a systematic creation of adaptive and intelligent tutoring systems. Authoring contents is made by a community of users including teachers and students. The tutoring systems adapt the contents according to the best learning style using self-organizing maps (SOMs). The SOM was trained for classifying Felder–Silverman learning styles. The most important advantage of these unsupervised neural networks is that they do not require an external teacher for presenting a training set. The approach was implemented under an authoring tool that allows the production of personalized learning material to be used under collaborative and mobile learning environments. The tutoring systems together with the neural network can also be exported to mobile devices. We present different results to the approach working under the authoring tool.     

基于无线传感器网络的运动训练系统

根据体育训练的应用需求,利用无线传感网络技术设计了一种由嵌入式数据采集终端和数据库服务器组成的运动训练系统。硬件上设计了传感器节点和基站,实时采集运动员的运动参数。软件上设计了节点、基站控制软件及运动数据库管理系统,实现了对运动参数接收、存储、分析。并进行了系统实验,实验结果表明本系统满足体育训练的应用需求,为科学训练决策研究提供了有效工具。     

基于多智能体的区域监控系统

以多个智能机器人协作完成的实时区域监控为应用背景,3个智能车为硬件平台,设计定位算法、通信模型和控制任务,用C#编程语言实现该应用方案。考虑3台智能车保持队形在区域内巡逻,用于保证完整覆盖、设定入侵目标的特征以及发现目标后的行为策略。该实验系统的构建为多智能体系统的理论研究提供了测试平台。     

RFID生产线监控及调度管理系统

针对传统离散制造企业数据采集实时性差、生产管理信息化程度低等问题,引入一种基于RFID技术的监控管理系统。该系统采用RFID技术与软硬件中间件、CAN总线通信及实时数据平台等技术相结合的方法,实现了离散生产过程的实时数据采集、可视化监控和优化调度管理。该系统已成功应用于几家服装企业,显著提高了企业的生产效率、产品质量和管理信息化程度,这对其他离散制造领域具有推广应用价值。     

Accessibility barriers for users of screen readers in the Moodle learning content management system

In recent decades, the use of the Internet has spread rapidly into diverse social spheres including that of education. Currently, most educational centers make use of e-learning environments created through authoring tool applications like learning content management systems (LCMSs). However, most of these applications currently present accessibility barriers that make the creation of accessible e-learning environments difficult for teachers and administrators. In this paper, the accessibility of the Moodle authoring tool, one of the most frequently used LCMSs worldwide, is evaluated. More specifically, the evaluation is carried out from the perspective of two visually impaired users accessing content through screen readers, as well as a heuristic evaluation considering the World Wide Web Consortium’s Authoring Tool Accessibility Guidelines. The evaluation results demonstrate that Moodle presents barriers for screen reader users, limiting their ability to access the tool. One example of accessibility problems for visually impaired users is the frequent inability to publish learning contents without assistance. In light of these results, the paper offers recommendations that can be followed to reduce or eliminate these accessibility barriers.     

An algorithm for automatic checking of exercises in a dynamic geometry system: iGeom

One of the key issues in e-learning environments is the possibility of creating and evaluating exercises. However, the lack of tools supporting the authoring and automatic checking of exercises for specifics topics (e.g., geometry) drastically reduces advantages in the use of e-learning environments on a larger scale, as usually happens in Brazil. This paper describes an algorithm, and a tool based on it, designed for the authoring and automatic checking of geometry exercises. The algorithm dynamically compares the distances between the geometric objects of the student’s solution and the template’s solution, provided by the author of the exercise. Each solution is a geometric construction which is considered a function receiving geometric objects (input) and returning other geometric objects (output). Thus, for a given problem, if we know one function (construction) that solves the problem, we can compare it to any other function to check whether they are equivalent or not. Two functions are equivalent if, and only if, they have the same output when the same input is applied. If the student’s solution is equivalent to the template’s solution, then we consider the student’s solution as a correct solution. Our software utility provides both authoring and checking tools to work directly on the Internet, together with learning management systems. These tools are implemented using the dynamic geometry software, iGeom, which has been used in a geometry course since 2004 and has a successful track record in the classroom. Empowered with these new features, iGeom simplifies teachers’ tasks, solves non-trivial problems in student solutions and helps to increase student motivation by providing feedback in real time.     

Ubiquitous e-Learning With Multimodal Multimedia Devices

The sharable content object reference model (SCORM) is a set of specifications and guidelines for the representation and operation of asynchronous distance learning. Since it was announced in late 1990s, the reference model has been used by software developers and academics in the development of authoring tools, learning management systems, and repositories for distance learning content. To date, most e-learning systems have been based on multimedia and Web technologies on personal computers. Our project, Hard SCORM, advances the field by implementing an integrated system which allows learners to read SCORM-compliant textbooks using multimodal multimedia devices. Hard SCORM employs a pen-like optical character reader device (called Hyper Pen) as an input mechanism. A computer, a personal digital assistant, or a cellular phone can be used for user behavior supervision using the hard SCORM machine. With an authoring tool, specially designed tags are printed in textbooks and recognized by hyper pen for user navigation control. In this way, users can read hardcopy textbooks in a traditional manner while the process of reading conforms to the SCORM specification. Part of the implemented system (Pocket SCORM on PDA) received the 2005 Brandon Hall Excellence in Learning Awards. The system has also been used by an airline company for online security checking and a high school for online mobile learning     

新型现代有轨电车内PM2.5浓度实时监测系统设计

设计了一种新型的基于GPRS的现代有轨电车内PM 2.5浓度实时监测系统.系统包括车载硬件终端和中心平台,车载硬件终端实现对电车内PM 2.5浓度数据采集;中心平台以TCP协议的Socket通信为基础,采用Visual Basic软件设计,能实时显示和记录车内PM 2.5浓度的动态曲线以及历史数据.车载硬件终端与中心平台间采用GPRS网络模块SIM900A通信.该系统通过与车内空气净化器组合使用,可提高车内空气质量.     

区域公司高一致性电力生产远程实时监控系统的建设及应用

基于远程实时监控系统技术和大数据管理理论,某区域分公司在其发电厂（场）信息化建设过程中,建立了一套完全跟发电机组生产监视系统一致的远程监视系统,不仅实现了抓取生产系统中信息的主要数据进行演示和指标统计功能,同时做到了完全远程再现生产过程的实时监视。通过实时的监视发电生产过程,同时融合公司经营在线、燃料调运等信息化管理系统,并结合生产现场重点区域的视频监控,实现了第一时间掌握生产过程的具体细节,为本公司研究生产策略、降低成本、培训提供最直观的平台,助力公司电力生产综合管理水平的再提升。高一致性电力生产远程实时监控系统建设成功后,其良好的应用效果也使其成为了区域分公司展现先进管理思想和管理理念的一张名片,值得其它区域公司甚至是总公司的借鉴和推广。     

Supporting interactive presentation for distributed multimedia applications

In this paper we present IMP, a platform to support the authoring and run-time management of interactive multimedia applications in distributed environments. The multi-level platform model encourages slot-in extensibility to cater for the evolving environment. We illustrate with our prototype platform built above the Cambridge multimedia environment. The authoring model emphasises reusability, tailorability and use of environment features in a uniform way. We have shown the validity of our approach by constructing a variety of application types.     

Intelligent Web-based education system for adaptive learning

This paper depicts a set of integrated tools to build an intelligent Web-based education system. Our purpose is to create a Web learning environment that can be tailored to the Learners’ needs. The Web learning environment is composed of Authoring Tool, Evaluation System, Interactive Voice System and a Virtual Laboratory for programming in Java. All tools use Web Services and have the characteristics of powerful adaptability for the management, authoring, delivery and monitoring of learning content. Part of the decision-making inside the intelligent Web-based education system was made with a multi-agent system.     

An augmented reality-based authoring tool for E-learning applications

In recent years, augmented reality technologies have been a subject of great interest among the scientific community. However, most studies have focused on hardware and software development without particular emphasis on the authoring phase. As a consequence, the authoring process of augmented reality applications is accomplished today through hard-coding of a specific application. This approach, however, requires operators. In the education applications, the hard-coding methods tend to be retained, despite remarkable technological developments in the industrial area. Textbooks are mainly used in educational systems and many educators are very passive about applying new materials. In this paper, we present an immersive authoring tool for education using augmented reality, where applications authorized by our tool interact with the user in order to increase the learner’s interest and reflect various desires of dynamic environment. Our authoring tool consists of a composing tool that can be used to create educational contents, a viewer that plays the content, and an engine to power the tool and viewer.     

基于S3C2410的电子书包设计与实现

本文针对学生书包超重、学习被限制在课堂之内等问题,提出了采用电子书包系统的解决方案,采用ARM处理器S3C2410设计了电子书包的硬件平台,并在这一硬件平台上进行了相应的软件开发。该平台具有成本低、专用性强等优点,为实际应用提供了很好的开发起点。