The Assessment System implemented in this research has three characteristics. First ItemBank standardization¡Afollow and import IMS QTI specifications. Then, we can reuse ItemBank resource in other platforms which follow IMS QTI specification. Second ItemBank maintainable¡Athrid feedback information for teacher and student . Both implemented in feedback design through the assessment analysis agent.

Structural Health Monitoring (SHM) is the process of monitoring the state of a structure to determine the existence, location, and degree of damage that may exist within the entire structure. A structure’s health or level of damage can be monitored by identifying changes in structural or modal parameters. In this research, the structure’s health is monitored by identifying changes in structural stiffness. The Adaptive Least Mean Square (LMS) filtering approach is used to directly identify changes in structural stiffness for the IASC-ASCE Structural Health Monitoring Task Group Benchmark problem for both Phase I and II. The research focuses primarily on Phase II of the benchmark problem. In Phase II, modeling error and noise is introduced to the problem making the problem more realistic. The research found that the LMS filter approach can be used to detect damage and distinguish relative severity of the damage in Phase II of the benchmark problem in real time. Even though the LMS filter approach identified damage, a threshold below which damage is hard to identify exists. If the overall stiffness changes less than 10%, then identifying the presence and location of damage is difficult. But if the time of damage is known, then the presence and location can be determined. The research is of great interest to those in the structural health monitoring community, structural engineers, and inspection practitioners who deal with structural damage identification problems.

Laser Measurement Systems (LMS) are used in autonomous agricultural vehicles for guidance and obstacle detection purposes. In the particular case of agricultural vehicles, the efficiency of LMS measurements is affected by mechanical vibrations induced by the operation of these machines on uneven terrains. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of a mounting system capable of reducing the transmission of mechanical vibrations to an LMS sensor installed on an agricultural tractor for the purpose of improving the detection accuracy of obstacles during field operation. A stabilization system (SS) was designed for a SICK LMS 291-S14 scanner. The LMS sensor and the SS were installed on an agricultural tractor to scan four objects positioned at known locations in the field. An experimental analysis was carried out to evaluate the detection accuracy of the LMS sensor under different operating conditions: with and without SS; with and without support bars (S); and for different types of terrains (in terms of roughness) and field operating speed. The detection accuracy of the LMS sensor was assessed by determining the difference between the known location of the four objects and their corresponding estimated location from the LMS measurements. The increase of tractor speed had a negative effect on the accuracy of the LMS sensor with an increase in the positioning error of up to 75%. However, it was not possible to establish a clear relationship between terrain roughness and the accuracy of the LMS sensor. The addition of the S systems positively affected the accuracy of the LMS sensor and resulted in a 41% decrease of the average positioning error from 0.340 to 0.201 m. Finally, the used of the SS mounting system decreased the average positioning error by 57% from 0.382 to 0.161 m. These experimental results confirmed the effectiveness of the joint use of the SS and S mounting systems in improving the accuracy of the LMS sensor mounted on an agricultural tractor through a reduction in transmitted vibrations.

Made available in DSpace on 2014-06-12T15:56:10Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 2 arquivo2752_1.pdf: 4894183 bytes, checksum: 84bd88480a7114d246679f1d39a7acf2 (MD5) license.txt: 1748 bytes, checksum: 8a4605be74aa9ea9d79846c1fba20a33 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2010 / Com a crescente sofisticação dos ambientes virtuais de aprendizagem, a aprendizagem online tem à sua disposição recursos que proporcionam um ensino com mais eficácia. É importante ressaltar, que as atividades de colaboração podem ser ampliadas nos ambientes virtuais de aprendizagem, desde que, os elementos de percepção social estejam dispostos e permitam os participantes compartilharem saberes e experiências. A utilização e familiarização de ferramentas tecnológicas, que permitam explorar oportunidades para a colaboração e engajamento dos participantes de diversas formas, conduzem ao aprendizado coletivo. Além, de motivarem a prática das suas habilidades e competências, e de permitirem à re-elaboração e construção conjunta de novos conhecimentos. O presente trabalho tem como objetivo estabelecer requisitos relacionados aos fenômenos de percepção social e de colaboração no LMS Amadeus. Esta pesquisa teve caráter exploratório com abordagem qualitativa. O procedimento metodológico aplicado neste trabalho consistiu na interação com o ambiente, aplicação de questionários, realização de grupo focal, gravação em vídeo e observação. Os participantes são alunos do último ano do curso técnico do IFPE Campus Belo Jardim. Foram identificadas necessidades e os resultados obtidos sinalizam que as funcionalidades dos elementos de percepção social do LMS Amadeus, precisam ser complementadas, e que outros elementos necessitam ser integrados

Submitted by Pedro Henrique Rodrigues (pedro.henriquer@ufpe.br) on 2015-03-05T19:07:58Z No. of bitstreams: 2 dissertacao_MarcelloMello_v_biblioteca_para copiar.pdf: 5055335 bytes, checksum: d5226420881b06550c7a0b747529b316 (MD5) license_rdf: 1232 bytes, checksum: 66e71c371cc565284e70f40736c94386 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2015-03-05T19:07:58Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 2 dissertacao_MarcelloMello_v_biblioteca_para copiar.pdf: 5055335 bytes, checksum: d5226420881b06550c7a0b747529b316 (MD5) license_rdf: 1232 bytes, checksum: 66e71c371cc565284e70f40736c94386 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2012-03-09 / Jogos são capazes de promover habilidades de negociação, planejamento, pensamento estratégico e tomada de decisão (ROSAS, NUSSBAUM, et al., 2003). O aspecto lúdico em atividades didáticas contribui de forma efetiva à aprendizagem (DOMINGOS e RECENA, 2010). O uso das tecnologias deve ser pensado como um instrumento do processo de ensino e aprendizagem (MEC, 2000). Implementar em um LMS (do inglês Learning Management System, ou Sistema de Gestão da Aprendizagem – SGA) a capacidade de utilização de jogos digitais e junto fornecer a capacidade de sintetizar, de forma gráfica, os dados obtidos a partir da interação desses, pode ajudar na avaliação de pontos pedagógicos, contribuindo para a utilização dos jogos digitais como um instrumento real de ensino, não apenas como ferramenta lúdica. Nesse contexto, é importante destacar que o crescimento, tanto do volume de dados como da disponibilidade de diferentes técnicas de visualização, provocam expansão do espaço de pesquisa por um processo de visualização mais eficaz, viabilizando melhorias no acompanhamento do processo de ensino e aprendizagem (CHEN, EBERT, et al., 2009). O presente trabalho propôs-se a sugerir visualizações gráficas, para dados obtidos através da interação de alunos em jogos digitais, utilizados em plataforma de educação, com o propósito de facilitar, para o professor, a avaliação da utilização de tais jogos. Como abordagem adotada, tentou-se encontrar algumas variáveis que descrevem o comportamento de usuários dos jogos digitais, de modo a orientar a concepção da integração dos mesmos com a plataforma LMS Amadeus. Foram prototipadas e implementadas visualizações gráficas, tidas como adequadas, geradas a partir das variáveis encontradas. Após entrevistas com usuários de teste chegou-se a recomendações: cuidado no uso de jargões; prioridade em visualizações que reúnem mais de uma variável; menor poluição de dados visíveis, aliada ao uso de detalhamento com o passar do mouse; detalhamento do significado das variáveis; necessidade de tratamento relacionado a design gráfico. Para os entrevistados, o uso de técnicas de visualização gráfica foi considerado essencial.

This study reports on the development, implementation and evaluation of an online master’s module called Management Information Systems in Education, in the specialization phase in the master’s course in Administration and Management in Education. The pedagogical and practical issues that have to be addressed when teaching with a Learning Management System (LMS) were explored during the evaluation process of the online environment. It was conducted in the form of a design experiment. The online module was built using Moodle software and the study was undertaken at the Faculty of Education of the Eduardo Mondlane University in Mozambique. An evaluation questionnaire with open-ended questions was developed to evaluate the online component of the module. The questionnaires were completed by a sample of seven adult students who were registered for the optional module and their lecturer. Observations on the Moodle site were also conducted. An adaptation of Cronjé’s (2006) model of the four quadrants of teaching and learning was used to develop the conceptual framework. An interpretive analysis of the data plotted the answers to the research questions on the adapted Cronjé model. The findings indicate that the use of an online module designed and delivered through Moodle is recommended because it can be accessed at any time and at any place; it provides the opportunity to collaborate with others virtually; it provides an opportunity to learn more; it is an easy way to study; it is a useful educational package that can be adopted by teachers to supplement the teaching and learning process in schools; it assists in solving many problems related to information management at work; it helps in diversifying the learning activities; and it improves communication possibilities. / Dissertation (MEd (Computer-Integrated Education))--University of Pretoria, 2008. / Curriculum Studies / MEd / unrestricted

Laser Measurement Systems (LMS) are used in autonomous agricultural vehicles for guidance and obstacle detection purposes. In the particular case of agricultural vehicles, the efficiency of LMS measurements is affected by mechanical vibrations induced by the operation of these machines on uneven terrains. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of a mounting system capable of reducing the transmission of mechanical vibrations to an LMS sensor installed on an agricultural tractor for the purpose of improving the detection accuracy of obstacles during field operation. A stabilization system (SS) was designed for a SICK LMS 291-S14 scanner. The LMS sensor and the SS were installed on an agricultural tractor to scan four objects positioned at known locations in the field. An experimental analysis was carried out to evaluate the detection accuracy of the LMS sensor under different operating conditions: with and without SS; with and without support bars (S); and for different types of terrains (in terms of roughness) and field operating speed. The detection accuracy of the LMS sensor was assessed by determining the difference between the known location of the four objects and their corresponding estimated location from the LMS measurements. The increase of tractor speed had a negative effect on the accuracy of the LMS sensor with an increase in the positioning error of up to 75%. However, it was not possible to establish a clear relationship between terrain roughness and the accuracy of the LMS sensor. The addition of the S systems positively affected the accuracy of the LMS sensor and resulted in a 41% decrease of the average positioning error from 0.340 to 0.201 m. Finally, the used of the SS mounting system decreased the average positioning error by 57% from 0.382 to 0.161 m. These experimental results confirmed the effectiveness of the joint use of the SS and S mounting systems in improving the accuracy of the LMS sensor mounted on an agricultural tractor through a reduction in transmitted vibrations.

My thesis is focused on problems of the e-learning in the world (especially with the situation in USA and Europe) and with the situation in Czech republic. The thesis is devided into several parts. The first part is the theoretical introduction. On this place I focus on positive and negative aspects of e-learning, the content and the advantages and disadvangetes of e-learning in constrast with the classic teaching. Technological aspect is very important too, because there is a progress in this area both the technological and organizational view. By studying the theoretical information a reader can get a solid base on the e-learning problems. In the second part of the text, I describe the present situation in this area. Especially the situation in Europe and in North America (Canada and USA). The third part of the text is devoted to the situation on the education systém in Czech republic. I am interested in the situation on primary, secondary and tertiary education. The importance is concentrated also on the legal regulations. In the last two paragraphs, I am interested in the analysis of the Faculty of informatics and statistics, the University of Economics, Prague faculty. I am trying to answer the question if it is possible to establish e-learning on this faculty.

The following report discusses the use of the Blackboard Course Management in terms of overall patterns of activity as recorded in the Blackboard activity database across the whole campus of Brigham Young University during the 2004-2005 academic year. The report contains a set of data represented by tables and graphs that summarize activity, or clicks, in the Blackboard system performed by students, professors, and assistants. The clicks are summarized according to a number of different categories and criteria and analyzed to show interesting patterns of activity. The report is designed to show a general campus wide summary of Blackboard activity and also to briefly explore patterns that may be used as a platform for further detailed research.

The nonlinearities of a nonlinear system can degrade the performance of a closed-loop system. In order to improve the performance of the closed-loop system, an adaptive technique, using a neural network, was developed. A neural network is placed in series between the output of the fixed-gain controller and the input into the plant. The weights are initialized to values that result in a unity gain across the neural network, which is referred to as a "feed-through neural network." The initial unity gain causes the output of the neural network to be equal to the input of neural network at the beginning of the convergence process. The result is that the closed-loop system's performance with the neural network is, initially, equal to the closed-loop system's performance without the neural network. As the weights of the neural network converge, the performance of the system improves. However, the back propagation algorithm was developed to update the weights of the feed-forward neural network in the open loop. Although the back propagation algorithm converged the weights in the closed loop, it worked very slowly. Two new update algorithms were developed for converging the weights of the neural network inside the closed-loop. The first algorithm was developed to make the convergence process independent of the plants dynamics and to correct for the effects of the closed loop. The second algorithm does not eliminate the effects of the plant's dynamics, but still does correct for the effects of the closed loop. Both algorithms are effective in converging the weights much faster than the back propagation algorithm. All of the update algorithms have been shown to work effectively on stable and unstable nonlinear plants. / Ph. D.