This report describes the design, development, and evaluation of the Simple Linear Regression Lesson (SLRL), a web-based lesson that uses visual strategies to teach graduate students the principles of simple linear regression. The report includes a literature review on the use of graphics, animations, and data-driven animations in statistics pedagogy and instruction in general. The literature review also summarizes the pertinent instructional design and development theories that informed the creation of the lesson. Following the literature review is a description the SLRL and the methodologies used to develop it. The evaluation section of the report details the methods used during the formative and summative evaluation stages, including results from a small-group implementation of the SLRL. The report concludes with a review of the product's strengths and weaknesses and the process' strengths and weaknesses.

In this thesis I will propose and test a pipeline for creating in-game animations using motion capture technology, with the aim to export to a 3D game engine, such as UDK or similar. Even though there are already established pipelines for creating in-game animations in the game industry, they are not of public knowledge and dissemination of information is hindered by the severe NDA (non-disclosure agreements) imposed on the studios and artists. I will therefore use my experience with game production and as a student, to research and propose an optimal pipeline for developing in-game animation that may be used by other students, researchers and independent game developers. The methodology used to test the pipeline will be a case study based on the student project Synergy, which I am developing with other third year students also attending the Game design Education at Gotland University.

The thesis focuses on the design of hardware and software prototype of adaptive automotive rear-lighting. Hardware includes a control module and LED module with 150 high brightneess light emitting diodes. These diodes are serve as an adaptive backlight for color LCD display. The device Raspberry Pi 3 was selected as the control element. This device insludes the support of all communications buses which are used in this thesis.

Os tutoriais Estrutura e Estabilidade do DNA e Estabilidade do DNA são produtos da metodologia proposta neste trabalho para o desenvolvimento de tutorias de moléculas com animações interativas 3D, a qual estabelece as cinco diretrizes: i. Selecionar conteúdo de Bioquímica, Biologia molecular e Química; ii. Definir a distribuição do conteúdo e a estrutura do tutorial; iii. Integrar textos, diagramas, tabelas e animações moleculares 3D; iv. Desenvolver as animações integrando diferentes modos de representação 3D; e v. Exibir simultaneamente na página web animação molecular 3D associada com texto, diagrama ou tabela. A metodologia é fundamentada em Princípios de Aprendizagem por Multimídia de Mayer, no intuito de favorecer a aprendizagem da molécula, o que exige mais do que a mera exposição da estrutura molecular em três dimensões, sendo necessária a articulação da estrutura com mídias acessórias (3ª diretriz) para conduzir a exploração guiada e paulatina da molécula. No caso de biopolímeros, como o DNA, o aumento da complexidade estrutural torna mais necessário guiar o aprendiz pela exploração da molécula, sendo preciso explicar as interações químicas entre os monômeros e entre os monômeros com o meio aquoso para que o aprendiz compreenda a estrutura e estabeleça relações desta com as atividades biológicas do DNA. Assim, um dos princípios da metodologia é o estabelecimento de unidades conceituais que exploram gradativamente o biopolímero por meio de um texto constituído por pergunta e resposta e, em seguida, uma animação acionada pelo botão Visualize 3D. A estratégia de apresentar o conteúdo de forma segmentadaobjetiva favorecer o estabelecimento de conexões entre o conhecimento novo, apresentado na unidade conceitual, e os conceitos preexistentes do aprendiz. O texto de cada unidade possui uma organização hierárquica: i. Resposta resumida para a pergunta; ii. detalhamento da resposta; iii. estabelecimento de relação estrutura/atividade biológica. Além disso, existem hiperlinks para explicação adicional sobre conceitos químicos e bioquímico, tais como ligação de hidrogênio, fendas do DNA, etc. Também foram adotados princípios educacionais para a criação das animações. Os recursos utilizados para construção dos tutoriais foram ferramentas do Laboratório Integrado de Química e Bioquímica e estruturas moleculares obtidas do RCSB Protein Data Bank. Para avaliação do potencial instrucional dos tutoriais foram realizadas atividades com alunos de pós-graduação e graduação que responderam a um questionário antes e outro após usar os tutoriais. Também foram conduzidas entrevistas com alunos de graduação no intuito de averiguar a percepção destes sobre a metodologia de desenvolvimento de tutoriais e a aprendizagem com o uso de tutoriais de moléculas. A análise dos questionários evidenciou uma melhoria no desempenho dos estudantes após usar os tutoriais, além de eles considerarem que aprenderam e que gostariam de usar mais tutoriais de moléculas como ferramenta de ensino e aprendizagem, o que é um indicativo do potencial da metodologia proposta neste trabalho. / The \"DNA Structure and Stability\" and \"DNA Stability\" tutorials are products of the methodology proposed in this work for the development of molecular tutorials with 3D interactive animations, which establishes the five guidelines: i. Select contents of Biochemistry, Molecular Biology and Chemistry; ii. Define the content distribution and the structure of the tutorial; iii. Integrate texts, diagrams, tables and 3D molecular animations; iv. Develop the animations integrating different modes of 3D representation; and v. Simultaneously display on the web page 3D molecular animation associated with text, diagram or table. The methodology is based on Mayer\'s Multimedia Learning Principles, in order to favor the learning of the molecule, which requires more than the mere exposition of the molecular structure in three dimensions, being necessary the articulation of the structure with accessory medias (3rd guideline) to conduct the guided and gradual exploration of the molecule. In the case of biopolymers, such as DNA, increasing structural complexity makes it more necessary to guide the learner through the exploration of the molecule. It is necessary to explain the chemical interactions between the monomers and between the monomers with the aqueous medium so that the learner understands the structure and establish relations between this and the DNA biological activities. Thus, one of the principles of the methodology is the establishment of conceptual units that gradually explore the biopolymer through a text consisting of question and answer and then an animation triggered by the button \"Visualize 3D\". The strategy of presenting content in a segmented way aims to favor the establishment of connections between the new knowledge presented in the conceptual unit and thepreexisting ones in the cognitive structure of the learner. The text of each unit has a hierarchical organization: i. Brief answer to the question; ii. detailing the response; iii. establishment of the relation between structure and biological activity. In addition, there are hyperlinks for further explanation about chemical and biochemical concepts, such as hydrogen bonding, DNA grooves, etc. Educational principles were also adopted for the creation of animations. The resources used to construct the tutorials were tools of the Integrated Laboratory of Chemistry and Biochemistry and the molecular structures obtained from the RCSB Protein Data Bank. In order to evaluate the instructional potential of the tutorials, activities were carried out with undergraduate and graduate students who answered a questionnaire before and after using the tutorials. We also conducted interviews with undergraduate students in order to ascertain their perception about the methodology of developing tutorials and the learning with the use of molecular tutorials. The analysis of the questionnaires evidenced an improvement in students\' performance after using the tutorials, in addition they also consider that have learned and would like to use more molecular tutorials as a teaching and learning tool, which is an indicative of the potential of the methodology proposed in this work.

<p>Synthesizing the realistic motion of a humanoid is a very sophisticated task, studied in different research areas. This work addresses the problem to synthetize realistic animations of 3D biped characters in a simulated environment, using genetic algorithms. Characters are represented as a structure of rigid bodies linked each other by 1DOF joints. Such joints are controlled by sinusoidal functions whose parameters are calculated by the genetic algorithm. Results, obtained by testing and comparing several different genetic operators, are presented. The system we have created allows the non-skilled user, to automatically create animations by setting only few key-poses of the characters.</p>

Synthesizing the realistic motion of a humanoid is a very sophisticated task, studied in different research areas. This work addresses the problem to synthetize realistic animations of 3D biped characters in a simulated environment, using genetic algorithms. Characters are represented as a structure of rigid bodies linked each other by 1DOF joints. Such joints are controlled by sinusoidal functions whose parameters are calculated by the genetic algorithm. Results, obtained by testing and comparing several different genetic operators, are presented. The system we have created allows the non-skilled user, to automatically create animations by setting only few key-poses of the characters.

This study investigated the effectiveness of commonly used instructional methods for teaching the phases of the Moon to fifth and sixth grade students. The instructional methods investigated were the use of diagrams, animations, and models. The effectiveness of each method was tested by measuring students' understanding of Moon phases with a pre and post-assessment after receiving instruction with a specific method or combination of methods. These methods were then evaluated for their ability to help students learn essential concepts, reinforce relevant vocabulary and discourage misconceptions. Results showed that students had better scores with less prevalence of misconception when they were taught using two methods instead of one. Students taught with only computer animations had significantly lower scores and a higher prevalence of misconceptions when compared to the other methods. This may be due to some design errors in the animation used in this study. Even though students taught with only computer animations had significantly lower scores, students taught with computer animations followed by instruction with diagrams had significantly higher scores. Why this combination of instruction was more effective for student learning is a question that requires further research.

No. / The University of Bradford has recently pioneered a radical approach to engaging children and young people in learning about technology and the arts, thanks to funding provided by the English Arts Council. Young people engaged with youth services in the Bradford area were invited to take part in innovative performance art and digital media sessions held at the University. The sessions had a tangible output for the young people. The result was four one-minute ¿motion-captured¿ animations containing original music and dance ¿ produced by the participants themselves, with the help of experienced workshop leaders. This was packaged on a DVD which also contained a video documentary about the workshops, filmed as they were taking place by local film-maker and lecturer, David Robison. The participants were also able to take away their work on their mobile phones, video phones and portable Play-stations.

Comment les animations pédagogiques doivent-elles être conçues pour améliorer l'apprentissage? Quels sont les facteurs qui doivent être pris en compte lors de du design des animations? Les récents progrès dans le domaine d'enseignement assisté par ordinateur ont permis de créer des visualisations dynamiques telles que les animations pour présenter des informations dynamiques qui changent au cours du temps et dans l'espace. Cependant, plusieurs recherches ont montré que les animations imposent de lourdes demandes sur les ressources de la mémoire de travail entraînant une diminution des résultats d'apprentissage. En se basant sur une perspective de la charge cognitive, nous avons essayé de manager la charge cognitive imposée par des animations de football à travers l'utilisation de différents designs pédagogiques. Les résultats ont indiqué des interactions significatives entre ces designs et le niveau d'expertise des joueurs, conduisant au phénomène connu sous le nom d'effet du renversement de l'expertise. Selon cet effet, les designs pédagogiques qui sont efficaces pour les joueurs novices peuvent devenir inefficaces, voire même nuisibles pour les joueurs experts. Les résultats soulignent l'importance d'ajuster les designs pédagogiques aux changements du niveau d'expertise du joueur. / How instructional animations should be designed in order to enhance learning? What factors need to be taken into account in the design of animations? Recent advances in computer-based instruction have made it possible to produce dynamic visualizations such as animations to depict dynamic information that change over time and space. However, there has been increasing evidence accumulated that animations often impose significant working memory demands resulting in decreased learning outcomes. Based on a cognitive load perspective, in this thesis, we tried to effectively manage cognitive load imposed by soccer animations through the use of different forms of instructional designs. The results indicated significant interactions between these instructional designs and levels of player expertise, leading to the phenomenon known as the expertise reversal effect. According to this effect, the instructional designs that are effective for novice players may become ineffective or even detrimental for expert players. The findings argue for the importance of tailoring instructional designs to changing levels of player expertise.

Magister Scientiae - MSc / This thesis presents an approach for automatically generating signing animations from a sign language notation. An avatar endowed with expressive gestures, as subtle as changes in facial expression, is used to render the sign language animations. SWML, an XML format of SignWriting is provided as input. It transcribes sign language gestures in a format compatible to virtual signing. Relevant features of sign language gestures are extracted from the SWML. These features are then converted to body animation pa- rameters, which are used to animate the avatar. Using key-frame animation techniques, intermediate key-frames approximate the expected sign language gestures. The avatar then renders the corresponding sign language gestures. These gestures are realistic and aesthetically acceptable and can be recognized and understood by Deaf people. / South Africa