Im Rahmen des Bologna-Prozesses wird verstärkt auf Gruppenlernen und Virtualisierung gesetzt. Ziel dieses Beitrags ist eine Aussage über die Effektivität von Gruppenlernen im Virtual Classroom (VC) aus sozialwissenschaftlich-theoretischer Perspektive zu treffen.

Projektet hade sin bakgrund i önskan att tillhandahålla en virtuell träningsmiljö för lärare där de kan öva på sin icke-verbala kommunikation med elever. Före det här projektet hade utvecklingen av träningsmiljön lett fram till ett visualiserings-system för ett tredimensionellt virtuellt klassrum med animerade karaktärer samt ett system för upptagning och igenkänning av användarens rörelser. För att en sådan träningsmiljö skall vara användbar krävs dock att de virtuella studenterna uppvisar ett trovärdigt mänskligt beteende. Den här rapporten avhandlar implementationen av mänskligt beteende i agenterna förkroppsligade i visualiseringssystemet. För detta ändamål användes det BDI-baserade multi-agent-systemet Jason tillsammans med inspiration från personlighetsteorin OCEAN, affektionsteorin OCC och beteendearkitekturen PMFserv. Rapporten avhandlar även resultatet av ett experiment som utfördes för att utvärdera systemet. I experimentet blev 16 testpersoner introducerade för två olika lärar-scenarion, varpå de, för var och en av dessa scenarion, fyllde i en enkät om deras upplevelse. / The project had its background in the desire to provide a virtual training environment for teachers in which they can exercise their non-verbal communication (e.g. gestures and orientation) with students. Prior to this project, the development of the training environment had led up to a visualisation system for a 3D virtual classroom with virtual students and a motion recognition system for capturing and recognising the user's movements. For such a training environment to be useful however, the virtual students need to express believable human behaviour. This report covers the implementation of human behaviour in the agents embodied in the visualisation system using the BDI-based Jason multi-agent simulation platform with further inspiration taken from the OCEAN personality theory, the OCC theory of emotions and the PMFserv cognitive architecture. It also covers the results of an experiment that was conducted to evaluate the system. During this experiment, 16 test persons were introduced to two different teaching scenarios and were asked to fill in a questionnaire about their experience after each scenario.

The Department of Special Education at West Virginia University offers an online graduate certification and/or degree program in six areas of specialization: (a) Autism Spectrum Disorders; (b) Early Intervention/Early Childhood Special Education; (c) Gifted Education; (d) Low Vision/Blindness; (e) Multicategorical Special Education; and (f) Severe/Multiple Disabilities. All courses in all program options are offered entirely online, using a combination of live online class sessions from 5-7 pm Eastern Time on alternate weeks plus multimedia content modules and other learning activities available on demand with scheduled due dates across the semester. Field and clinical experiences are arranged in the students’ home communities, with on-site supervision by local personnel and online supervision by university faculty. Students do not need to come to campus for any part of the program; they apply for admission, register, take courses, complete field and clinical experiences, seek advising, and apply for graduation online and can even participate in the graduation ceremony through a live webcast. Although this program was designed to serve prospective and practicing teachers throughout the state of West Virginia, it also enrolls students from many other states and several international locations.

Im Rahmen des Bologna-Prozesses wird verstärkt auf Gruppenlernen und Virtualisierung gesetzt. Ziel dieses Beitrags ist eine Aussage über die Effektivität von Gruppenlernen im Virtual Classroom (VC) aus sozialwissenschaftlich-theoretischer Perspektive zu treffen.

El proyecto tiene como propósito implementar una solución que permita resolver las consultas académicas, de uso y técnicas del Aula Virtual de la Universidad Peruana de Ciencias Aplicadas (UPC) para integrar y mejorar los procesos de atención del alumno.   El campo de acción, está centrado en el proceso de “Servicio al Alumno” con su subproceso, soporte académico, el cual se encarga de atender las consultas académicas y el subproceso de soporte técnico que se encarga de resolver los incidentes y/o requerimientos técnicos del aula virtual. En la actualidad, estos procesos cuentan con diversos canales, pero se ha identificado que últimamente no cubren en su totalidad los requerimientos de disponibilidad y volumen del alumnado. El principal sustento para el desarrollo del presente proyecto radica en resolver la barrera de inmediatez en estos procesos dejando de lado los canales convencionales (oficinas con horarios de atención limitados, o buzones de correo) por el uso de un nuevo canal de atención personalizado, más eficiente y con un alto porcentaje de disponibilidad que se adicione e integre a los canales y procesos actuales, utilizando los avances en inteligencia artificial y empleando como plataforma de despliegue el aplicativo del Aula Virtual de la UPC. Se espera que la implementación de un nuevo canal de atención virtual impacte positivamente en el nivel de atención y en la percepción general del área por parte del alumnado, y también impulse a que nuevos alumnos apliquen para seguir estudios en la universidad. / The purpose of the project is to implement a solution that allows solving the academic, use and technical queries of the Virtual Classroom of the Peruvian University of Applied Sciences (UPC) to integrate and improve the processes of student care. The field of action is centered on the process of "Student Service" with its academic support sub-process, which is in charge of attending to academic inquiries and the technical support sub-process that is responsible for resolving incidents and / or technical requirements of the virtual classroom. Currently, these processes have various channels, but it has been identified that lately they do not fully cover the availability and volume requirements of the students. The main support for the development of this project lies in solving the barrier of immediacy in these processes, leaving aside conventional channels (offices with limited opening hours, or mailboxes) for the use of a new personalized service channel, more efficient and with a high percentage of availability that is added and integrated into current channels and processes, using advances in artificial intelligence and using the UPC Virtual Classroom application as a deployment platform. The implementation of a new virtual service channel is expected to positively impact the level of care and the general perception of the area by students, and also encourage new students to apply to continue studies at the university. / Tesis

Als Erweiterung des klassischen virtuellen Klassenzimmers wird in diesem Beitrag das Konzept des mobil-virtuellen Klassenzimmers (MVK) erläutert. Dieses basiert hauptsächlich auf einem Tool zur automatischen Analyse des textbasierten kollaborativen Dialogs in virtuellen Praxisgemeinschaften. Der aktuelle Entwicklungsstand des MVK umfasst quantitative empirische Modelle und Befunde zu Expertise, Partizipation und Expertenstatus in Praxisgemeinschaften, zur Akzeptanz der eingesetzten Technologie sowie zur Validität des Analysetools. Zwei Lernszenarien des MVK werden geschildert. Abschließend wird die entsprechende Forschungsagenda präsentiert.

Problem Based Learning (PBL) has been fully or partly adopted by several medical and dental schools throughout the world, but only few attempts have been made to adjust this method to Distance Learning (DL) environments. It appears that the interaction demands of PBL could not be easily facilitated by the technologies used for DL in the past. The recent introduction of Virtual Learning Environments or Virtual Classrooms, is suggested by many as the development that could allow Distance Learning to utilise highly structured collaborative learning methods such as PBL. A literature review and two pilot studies were undertaken, in an attempt to investigate the possibility of adjusting an existing in-classroom PBL model to Internet-based environments for distance learning. There is a strong need of a conceptual theoretical framework and research results to support the function and effectiveness of distance learning in health education. Drop-out rates are still high in all kinds of distance education. Accreditation, team-work and personal contact, appear to be factors of importance for increasing motivation and minimising drop-out rates in distance learning. During the pilot studies it was evident that both postgraduate and undergraduate students were very positive towards the PBL method, as they experienced it while working over the network. However, it is very difficult to introduce inexperienced students to PBL through distance. Students? competence with computers seems to be an important factor for the success of a virtual classroom and their computer literacy has to be objectively assessed prior to any course. Significant differences were identified between in-classroom and over the Internet communication. These differences, although measured in the quantity of interaction, appear to influence the quality and depth of discussion as well. Tutor involvement was higher in the Internet discussions than the in-classroom ones. It was concluded that an entirely Internet-based PBL course is possible, if properly organised. However, such a model might constitute a compromise over the quality standards of in-classroom PBL, at least with the currently available Internet technology. A hybrid approach, which will combine personal contact with network-based interaction, might be the safest and most beneficial option right now. / <p>Note: The papers are not included in the fulltext online.</p>

Impersonal, non-face-to-face contact and text-based interfaces, in the e-Learning segment, present major problems that are encountered by learners, since they are out on vital personal interactions and useful feedback messages, as well as on real-time information about their learning performance. This research programme suggests a multimodal, combined with an edutainment approach, which is expected to improve the communications between users and e-Learning systems. This thesis empirically investigates users’ effectiveness; efficiency and satisfaction, in order to determine the influence of edutainment, (e.g. amusing speech and facial expressions), combined with multimodal metaphors, (e.g. speech, earcon, avatar, etc.), within e-Learning environments. Besides text, speech, visual, and earcon modalities, avatars are incorporated to offer a visual and listening realm, in online learning. The methodology used for this research project comprises a literature review, as well as three experimental platforms. The initial experiment serves as a first step towards investigating the feasibility of completing all the tasks and objectives in the research project, outlined above. The remaining two experiments explore, further, the role of edutainment in enhancing e-Learning user interfaces. The overall challenge is to enhance user-interface usability; to improve the presentation of learning, in e-Learning systems; to improve user enjoyment; to enhance interactivity and learning performance; and, also, to contribute in developing guidelines for multimodal involvement, in the context of edutainment. The results of the experiments presented in this thesis show an improvement in user enjoyment, through satisfaction measurements. In the first experiment, the enjoyment level increased by 11%, in the Edutainment (E) platform, compared to the Non-edutainment (NE) interface. In the second experiment, the Game-Based Learning (GBL) interface obtained 14% greater enhancement than the Virtual Class (VC) interface and 20.85% more than the Storytelling interface; whereas, the percentage obtained by the game incorporated with avatars increased by an extra 3%, compared with the other platforms, in the third experiment. In addition, improvement in both user performance and learning retention were detected through effective and efficiency measurements. In the first experiment, there was no significant difference between mean values of time, for both conditions (E) & (NE) which were not found to be significant, when tested using T-test. In the second experiment, the time spent in condition (GBL) was higher by 7-10 seconds, than in the other conditions. In the third experiment, the mean values of the time taken by the users, in all conditions, were comparable, with an average of 22.8%. With regards to effectiveness, the findings of the first experiment showed, generally, that the mean correct answer for condition (E) was higher by 20%, than the mean for condition (NE). Users in condition (GBL) performed better than the users in the other conditions, in the second experiment. The percentage of correct answers, in the second experiment, was higher by 20% and by 34.7%, in condition (GBL), than in the (VC) and (ST), respectively. Finally, a set of empirically derived guidelines was produced for the design of usable multimodal e-Learning and edutainment interfaces.

The topic of the importance of modern didactic tools in the current conditions of pedagogical practice is considered as contemporary and often discussed. The thesis deals with the question whether the application of modern technology can streamline the work of teachers, including school management and also whether it can become one of the criteria for raising the level of education and organization development. The thesis gives an insight into the ability of school management and other education participants to accept, but also induce changes and innovations in education. It also concerns the issue of schools' open-minded thinking and providing lifelong learning to local community. The thesis attempts to find a mutual relationship between effective application of modern technology, collaboration and the impact on results of entire work. The thesis deals with the use of ICT across different types of schools. The survey should also verify the impact of didactic tools on the quality and results of education by type of school, especially those who participated in the project of Ústi nad Labem Region called Community School (elementary, secondary, special), including feedback. The output of the thesis is summarization, interpretation and completion of the data obtained.

Projektet skapades från viljan att framställa en virtuell träningsmiljö där blivande lärare kan öva och bättra på sin icke-verbala kommunikation när dem undervisar. Projektet funkar genom att fånga användarens rörelser och rendera virtuella agenter på en skärm framför användaren. Att stå framför en statisk skärm och undervisa kan dock inte kännas helt realistiskt. Denna rapport kommer gå igenom implementationen av en huvudmonterad display, mer specifikt Oculus Rift, för att skapa en virtuell verklighet och utökningen av de virtuella agenternas beetende och nya sätt att interagera med agenterna. De täcker även resultaten från experimenten där den nya funktionaliteten blev utvärderad. Experimenten gjordes genom att låta 18 personer testa systemet i både den gamla och nya uppsättningen och sedan fylla i frågeformulär efteråt. / This project was created from the desire to provide a virtual training environment for teachers-intraining to practice and improve their non-verbal communication with students. The project worked by capturing the user’s movements and rendering the virtual agent’s to a screen in front of the user. Standing in front of a static screen to hold a lecture might however not feel entirely realistic. This report covers the implementation of a head-mounted display, specifically the Oculus Rift, to create a virtual reality as well as the extension of the virtual agent’s behavior and new ways to interact with the virtual agent’s. It also covers the results of an experiment where the new functionality was evaluated. The experiment was done by allowing 18 persons to test the system in both the old and new configurations and fill in questionnaires afterwards.