This paper presents a proposal of an innovative Architecture for Web Based Education Systems based on: Software Design Patterns, Components, and Multi-Agent System (MAS). The approach improves the Learning Technology Standard Architecture (LTSA), proposed by IEEE. Maintaining compatibility with: Advanced Distributed Learning Initiative - Sharable Content Object Reusable Model (ADL-SCORM). The proposal implements several Software Design Patterns provide solutions for common problems in the development of Web Based Education Systems, focusing on maintenance and change. Another key part of the proposal are IRLCOO components, which allow: conquering complexity, managing change, and maximizing reusability. The Web Based Education Systems are: complex and dynamic, the MAS can model complex and dynamic systems. The IEEE 1484 LTSA has four processes, which are implemented as agents in our proposal: Learner, Evaluation, Coach, and Delivery.
This paper describes the methodology and achievements of an educational training program in development of mobile applications. Following a Problem-Based learning approach combined with agile techniques of software development oriented to user-experience, this internship immersed the students in a real professional environment, with its real market pressure, where they could put in practice theoretical knowledge and have their productions evaluated by real users. The interns experienced the whole process of developing mobile applications, from systematic idea generation to technical implementation and submission for evaluation by the client. With the help of the support team and the pedagogical structure of the program, the interns were able to overcome many challenges and deliver more applications than expected by the client, many of which received high user ratings and specific recognition.
The paper describes a novel approach to higher educational curricula organization that aims to improve the quality and efficiency of learning. The purpose is to ground a model suitable for planning optimal training trajectories in the scope of the effective curricula arrangement based on the new tool called an educational thesaurus. The focus concerns re-evaluation of the curriculum design along with the strengthen role of elearning basing on the conceptual models and structures.
Students in our Software Engineering Bachelor’s/Master’s program had good programming skills, however, wrote technical documents poorly. In order to solve this problem, I have developed a technique to teach writing software engineering documents, focusing on documentation design with mind maps. I used this technique in Introduction to Software Engineering course (SE201) and found out that it will considerably improve quality of student technical writing skills.
The increasing and continuous presence of software products and services consumed daily by the society is gaining momentum with the development of the mobile device market. In this scenario, the demand for trained professionals in specific technologies for mobile platforms like Google Android and Samsung BADA, is growing rapidly. The Problem Based Learning method was used to solve practical and real problems inside a Program for teaching Software Engineering techniques to develop Mobile Devices; this program was inspired in the Medical Residency concept, and is called “Software Residency”, in which students learn by doing mobile applications in a real working environment implemented by a software factory. To execute this approach, a teaching and learning method was defined and applied based on authentic environment and authentic assessment, approach that brought relevant results towards the learning effectiveness in this context.
This paper describes an on-line Statics course developed through Carnegie Mellon’s Open Learning Initiative (OLI), and supported by the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation and by the US National Science Foundation.
This paper is devoted to the investigation of the capability of classroom response systems (clickers) in enabling real-time diagnostic assessment during tutorial sessions. The study involved two hundred and seven students who were divided into five tutorial groups. Clickers were used to conduct the Task Evaluation and Reflection Instrument for Student Self-Assessment (TERISSA) procedure in order to anonymously reveal students' individual evaluations and reflections to the whole class. It was discovered that 62% of the surveyed participants were able to clearly identify the study areas that required their immediate attention and that 54% of the surveyed addressed these learning needs. It was also found that the use of clickers with TERISSA enabled tutors to obtain a real-time evaluation of students' prior knowledge and their misconceptions. Differences in prior knowledge and misconceptions between five tutorial groups were also established.
