The Cebu Institute of Technology – University (CIT-University, or less often CIT-U, and colloquially CIT) is a private non-sectarian academic institution in Cebu City, Philippines. The university provides basic and higher education with a foundation in general and technological education. The university was known simply as Cebu Institute of Technology until 2010 when it has attained university status.CIT-U is the first higher educational institution (HEI) in the Visayas and Mindanao classified as Category A (t). This places CIT-U as a mature teaching institution under the CHED-IQuAME framework. IQuAME is the Institutional Quality Assurance through Monitoring and Evaluation, a system of higher education quality assurance and classification.CIT-U is one of only nine schools in the Philippines to be awarded by the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) as a Center of Excellence in Information Technology Education.
Phantom loads, also known as standby power losses, occur when appliances consume electricity even when switched off but are still plugged into a power source [1] [2]. Several studies have emphasized that standby power contributes significantly to cumulative residential energy waste [3] [4]. Phantom loads are estimated to be around two percent of the total power consumption. Although this amount may not seem much individually, collectively, the amount of accumulated energy is significant. Studies conducted in residential settings confirm that phantom loads contribute to measurable electricity losses in typical household environments [5]. As a solution, this study aims to create a device capable of displaying real- time energy consumption and detecting and disconnecting phantom loads. The proposed device is called a Smart Outlet Adapter with Automatic Switch-Off Function and Energy Consumption Meter. The device is composed of a PZEM module and a relay connected to an Arduino Nano microcontroller programmed to calculate energy consumption, detect phantom load, and actuate the relay to cutoff the phantom load. The energy consumed by the load is displayed on a Liquid Crystal Display (LCD) to allow the users to monitor their energy consumption [6]. Results from the experiment conducted show that the proposed device was able to successfully detect phantom load and cut off the current. Additionally, the proposed device was 97% accurate as compared to a commercial energy meter
MoodleQuest is a gamified companion system designed to improve student participation in asynchronous Moodle courses while preserving transparency and institutional trust. Prior studies indicate that timely engagement cues, visible rewards, and structured incentives can enhance learner motivation and course persistence. Research on online learning further shows that near-real-time feedback and multi-factor analytics support higher completion rates and deeper engagement. Guided by these findings, MoodleQuest integrates quests, experience points, badges, leaderboards, virtual pets, and progress indicators to encourage consistent study habits and active interaction with course materials. The system connects to Moodle using secure single sign-on, role-based access control, and web-service integration, enabling data synchronization without duplicate accounts. A Next.js front end and FastAPI middleware provide dashboards that visualize engagement heatmaps, streak patterns, and early warnings for at-risk students. Initial walkthroughs indicate that daily quests and streak-based rewards help learners better understand their effort and maintain learning momentum. Planned pilot studies will further evaluate teacher workload, student sentiment, and privacy clarity to refine pacing, prompts, and tracking controls. While challenges remain in usability and connectivity, MoodleQuest demonstrates a practical and privacy-aware approach to layering gamification onto Moodle while maintaining instructor oversight and institutional trust.
Effective teamwork plays a crucial role in the success of capstone projects, yet many students struggle to form well-balanced groups. Team formation is often done informally, which can result in mismatched skill sets, unclear goals, and uneven participation. To address these concerns, CapstoneConnect was developed as a web-based platform designed to support team formation through predictive matching. This study examines the system’s usability using the EEI framework, with a focus on how it supports student decision-making and collaboration.Usability testing was conducted in person with 36 participants who interacted with the system under three roles: applicants, team leaders, and observers. Participants completed Likert-scale questionnaires assessing engagement, ease of use, and perceived impact, along with open-ended questions that captured user insights and suggestions for improvement. The results show strong overall user acceptance across all EEI dimensions, with mean scores of 4.48 for engagement, 4.62 for ease of use, and 4.44 for impact on a five-point scale. Participants particularly appreciated the visibility of compatibility scores, personality traits, and technical skills, as well as the platform’s overall design.The findings suggest that CapstoneConnect supports more informed team selection and increases students’ awareness of suitable collaborators. At the same time, user feedback highlighted areas for enhancement, including options to change teams when matches are not ideal, greater transparency in the scoring process, and more flexible profile editing without account deletion. Overall, the study demonstrates the usability of intelligent team formation systems in academic contexts and provides practical directions for further refinement.
LexiLearner is an AI-powered e-learning platform designed to enhance the reading comprehension of Grade 6 pupils. It leverages a fine-tuned BART (Bidirectional and Auto-Regressive Transformer) large language model to deliver AI-generated questions for minigames grounded in comprehension skills. This study evaluates LexiLearner's effectiveness using an exploratory design with pretest and posttest data as the primary measure of reading improvement. Results show a 40.5% improvement in test scores, with ROUGE and BLEU metrics validating question quality, confirming the potential of AI-driven tools in elementary reading education.
The lack of learning resources in interactive and accessible learning materials is a hindrance to developing competence in Filipino Sign Language (FSL) and to the inclusion of Deaf/Hard-of-Hearing students in education. This preliminary study conducted a usability and pedagogic evaluation of GesturBee, a gamification based mobile app for supporting FSL learning. A total of fifty participants were selected through purposive sampling; this included hearing students, deaf and hard-of-hearing individuals, and FSL teachers. The study used a combination of standardized tools, such as the post-study system usability questionnaire (PSSUQ), and user experience questionnaire (UEQ). Reliability of internal consistency was confirmed by the use of Cronbach’s alpha. Thematic analysis was used to identify qualitative responses. Findings showed that the Deaf/Hard-of-Hearing group had the greatest usability ratings, and there were high levels of overall user experience satisfaction scores. Teachers also reported a highly positive consensus concerning the instructional value of the application, with an average score of 3.65, which supports achievement of pedagogical goals. However, some limitations related to internet connectivity issues and the need for non-manual signals such as facial expressions were identified. Nonetheless, GesturBee represents a potentially useful, engaging supplementary resource for students to learn FSL.
