This research aims to provide the users with an experience of learning about tangible heritage items-as symbols of freedom through interactive mobile communication AR app. Some of the 3d models are the exact replicas of the genuine museum items, made with photogrammetry, from the National Historic Museum and the War Museum of Athens and its department in Tripoli. These three museums have collaborated with the University of West Attica for the digitalization of some interesting but unknown to public cultural heritage items. It is conducted in three parts, a preliminary stage of research and item collection, the stage of image target design and the scenario of the usage in many different printed materials as well as the making of AR app and the final stage of launching it. Also, specific material such as worksheets and table games were created as to supplement the learning experience. So, in this paper, there is a synopsis of the concept, the major issues are addressed and the significance of the work is highlighted. Also, the theoretical and methodological approaches pursued are explained and finally data are presented and analyzed.
Mobile networks have evolved a lot in recent years, moving from 2G to 5G. This transition is marked in Africa by a delay compared to the West, especially for 4G. Today, developed countries have deployed 5G either in standalone mode or in non-standalone mode. This deployment allows huge technological advances even if the networks are more and more massive. In this context, SDR (Software-Defined Radio) coupled with SDN (Software-Defined Networking), for the control of deployed equipment, are a major asset to ensure performance and quality of service. Our paper is positioned to help African countries avoid a delay with 5G. To achieve this, we propose an architecture and deployment of 5G in non-standard mode for developing African countries where 4G deployment is in its final stages. This transition from 4G to 5G will be based on SDR technology for a better management of the radio part with a lower cost deployment.
In the context of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic and the increasing digitization of stationary retail, mobile apps in retail (MAR) have gained attention among many consumers. This study examines how the frequency of MAR usage changed before and during the pandemic and how consumers estimate how MAR usage will evolve after the pandemic. Additionally, the role of affinity to mobile devices usage (AMU) in this context is examined. Furthermore, the relevance of pandemic-specific MAR features is elaborated. Based on an online questionnaire with 167 responses, it can be shown that MAR have gained significant relevance in the context of the pandemic and will continue to be an important tool for customers when shopping stationary after the pandemic. A moderating role of AMU cannot be confirmed. Click & collect and online shopping are identified as the most important MAR functions in the context of the pandemic. Information about rules for pandemic compliant shopping doesn't play much of a role for consumers. The results are an important signal for retailers to continue their efforts in digitization and MAR development.
Doping is considered a major threat of modern sport. Since the establishment of the anti-doping system emphasis was placed on the detection and punishment approach in the fight against doping. Recently a shift to education as a preventive tool against doping has been made. In this effort several anti-doping educational interventions have been developed. These interventions have been found modestly effective in educating athletes against doping. To move education, forward a virtual reality game is proposed. Virtual reality has been found effective in changing attitudes, intention and behavior. Therefore, virtual reality can be suitable in addressing the appearance and performance related reasoning underlying the decision making towards the use of performance and appearance enhancing substances. The present paper describes the conceptual basis of VIRAL project that aims to develop the first virtual reality game for doping prevention in competitive and recreational sports. The VIRAL project will a) utilize cutting-edge behavioural science research about the risk and protective factors against doping use to inform the development of an anti-doping virtual reality program, b) use an “open innovation” framework to co-design the anti-doping virtual reality program and c) apply and evaluate the effectiveness of the doping prevention VR program in changing young people’s learning, motivation, beliefs and behaviour towards doping. Overall, the VIRAL project is expected to develop anti-doping educational material that will address the needs of young athletes and will be able to educate against doping through innovative learning pedagogies.
The COVID-19 pandemic plunged academia into a virtual learning environment. Internet became essential in delivering lectures, tutorials, and labs. Implementing experiential learning activities in engineering education became a challenge. This paper presents an approach that allows students to develop experiential learning skills related to IoT in an online lab environment and describes an approach to teaching IoT communication technologies using two electronic boards. These boards allow students to learn IoT concepts such as sensors and interfacing, to develop application using IoT communication technologies, and to run applications on several platforms. The paper describes these boards and their use in labs focused on smart systems, and in advanced-level labs.
This paper presents the design of a serious game on the mathematical foundations of computer hardware, namely the binary system. The work builds on previous research efforts targeting gamification of mathematics. The game enables the players to understand the principles behind the positional number systems, transfer their knowledge of the decimal number system to the binary and explore the mechanisms (algorithms) of the four arithmetic operations. It employs a plot and an appropriate representation that promotes creativity and engagement of players. It offers new learning opportunities, when compared with previous work related to game-based teaching of the binary system. The games surveyed mainly focus on the binary representation of numbers without engaging students in active exploration of arithmetic operations in the binary system. The knowledge developed can be transferred to other number systems and in particular to the decimal system, thus contributing to a deeper understanding of the mechanisms of number representations and arithmetic.
The energy transition in Germany is planned to take place by 2045. It includes the complete abandonment of fossil and nuclear energy sources, a nationwide expansion of renewable energy sources such as solar energy, wind and hydropower as well as the reduction of energy consumption. Those measurements will contribute significantly to the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions. Our work aims to give citizens an intuitive insight into the energy transition and provide a better understanding through visualization and playful, realistic interaction. In this paper, the concept of an educational game for citizens is explained, in which the topic of renewable energies is to be conveyed to them playfully. Particular attention is paid to the calculations necessary for the game logic and the three-dimensional interactive visualization. The 3D environment and the application logic is developed with the virtual reality engine PolyVR and ported for its experience within a web browser. The implementation of this work focuses on wind power and the German province Baden-Württemberg but can be extended analogously for other forms of renewable energies to fully depict the energy transition in Germany.
The present research is in its initial phase and has originated three studies. This meta-study aims to investigate the use of Immersive Web Environments to support pedagogical activities in formal contexts. The general objectives are related to the conceptualization regarding the use and creation of environments suitable for learning contexts, to promote and integrate them and, finally, to search for the most appropriate pedagogical practices for their use. In this article, the conceptualization proposals of the three investigations are described, addressing the ideas and motivations that led to their realization. One of the investigations aims to evaluate the educational potential of immersive web environments in the educational practices of primary and secondary school teachers. In the other, we intend to analyze the interactions between teachers, students, and epistemic objects in an immersive web environment. In the third one, it is intended to analyze the impact and appropriation that students make of immersive web environments, given the fact that they are participating in activities created by them.
A major challenge in the online delivery of engineering courses is the implementation of the lab component. With most campuses being closed due to COVID-19 pandemic, many of the engineering courses’ labs are either cancelled, converted to a totally virtual, or remote lab setting. The paper proposes a novel hybrid virtual-physical laboratories for a control theory course that is delivered online. The virtual labs are implemented using a 3D animated digital twin of a motor. The physical labs are implemented using a low-cost take-home lab kit that was sent to students. The use of the proposed hybrid approach achieves the benefits of both virtual labs and physical labs. Specifically, the virtual labs form a sandbox where the student can safely experiment and try new designs without worrying about damaging equipment. This will also form a gentle introduction to the utilization of the physical labs. The physical labs allow the student to see the actual control system components, and hardware troubleshooting. Both the proposed virtual and physical labs can be performed by the student from home at any convenient time; and the lab is always available to the student through the whole semester. The hybrid virtual-physical labs were utilized in the fall of 2020 within an introductory control theory course offered to a third-year undergraduate students at McMaster University. Based on the students’ feedback, the designed labs were effective within the online course delivery and they provided deep insights and understanding of the concepts that were taught in the class.
Against the backdrop of increasing digitization, many retailers are trying to better reach their existing customers with the help of mobile apps. For the growth of an app and the satisfaction with it, the willingness to recommend this app by existing users is of great importance. This paper develops a structural equation model that relates the willingness to recommend a retailer’s mobile app to consumer perceptions of that retailer, including the role of push notifications as a mediator. The collected data show a significant relevance of the perception of the retailer on the willingness to recommend the app to others. It can be shown that this relationship is partially mediated by the perception of the retailer’s app push notifications. In this respect, all hypotheses stated can be confirmed. Further research questions are proposed and include in particular a validation of the model in other socio-demographic compositions as well as in the context of a field study and the expansion of the model.
Background: Currently, there is a vast number of electronic and mobile devices which serve for self-evaluation purposes. Specifically, wearable technology has been vastly developed in the last years in conjunction with the usage of mobile phones’ applications for the convenience of their users. In the context of the aforementioned, a proper segmentation of the bibliography could emerge the significance of monitoring for preventing unwanted situations in pregnant women’s life. Objective: The research study on pregnant women has emerged from the need of identifying through a new type of micro review (utilizing elements from SALSA and PRISMA), the most important works of self-evaluation in times of Covid-19. Especially, vast concerns are reported from pregnant women’s community to have the same quality of monitoring services and at the same time to be properly guarded against Covid-19. The key question is whether the pregnant can accomplish or not the same results through wearable or/and IoT technologies compared to those of frequent hospital visits. Design: The used databases, in conjunction with specific terms and rules, finally produced 18 viable publications for reviewing. Results: The technologies proved to be not only a key factor for the future of monitoring but even considerably affect in some situations the subject under test. Conclusions: This study focused on determining, amongst others, any impact of this technology on the behavior thus to categorize the various technologies into weighted categories. The results showed in some case considerable impact of these devices on the psychological aspect of the subjects.
The development of the VCDLN (Virtual Community Digital Learning Nusantara) system in the era of the Covid-19 pandemic which is very much needed by educators in remote villages. The objectives of this research include: (1) Development of the VCDLN system mapped in the content developer network. Subjects to serve to learn at Elementary school, Junior High School, and Senior High School in remote areas: (2) Building communities for developing Distance Learning systems in the form of e-learning systems, mobile learning systems, and Blended learning systems; (3) Building Central Community Digital Learning by Community classification; (4) Evaluation Activity Learning from students Through VCDLN as PJJ in Pandemic Era. In this research, the research team will use a Mix Method (Qualitative and Quantitative). These three findings have been implemented through the support of television technology from TVUPI. This VCDLN Learning Model can be an alternative in Distance Learning Services in the Pandemic COVID-19 era throughout Indonesia.
The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the strategic importance of artificial intelligence (AI) to all the governments around the world. However, governments do not seem to have understood to the same extent how AI can be implemented, so they are not taking advantage of its potential. Education plays a critical role in efforts to make future workforces AI-ready. It is an emergency the development of digital skills especially in matters of AI and it becomes clear that in order to ensure that a country has the trained and talented workforce needed to implement artificial intelligence in the economy and society, it is essential to invest in STEM and AI education that can give students the skills and opportunities to pursue a career in STEM. As is well known, creating the next generation of scientists, leaders and entrepreneurs takes time and it’s nurtured over many years, starting at an early age in school. The curricular reform efforts outlined in this paper clearly demonstrate the need to define the journey in ‘AI competences’ in K-12 education that incorporates 21st century skills. The paper explores the AI skills and competences that need to be developed in primary and secondary education and presents some implementations of AI-based interventions in the classroom using voice assistants.
In the last decade, interactive touchscreen devices have become ubiquitous in young children, and toddlers first experience touchscreen technology before two. Although parents have a vital role in developing the home environment as a stimulus for development, they also have conflicting views on the appropriateness of using apps to deliver educational content for assorted reasons. The purpose of the study was to reveal various aspects of children’s smart mobile use at home, such as the frequency of mobile device usage, preferred app types, and parent strategies on apps acquaintance. Three hundred twenty-five parents of kindergarten children took part in this study. The present study revealed that Greek homes are ‘media rich’ homes and that parents seek to support their children’s learning at home via mobile devices. Furthermore, parents lack knowledge about app developmentally appropriateness and need further guidance. We expect the present study’s findings to serve as a reference for researchers leading to better information for parents and creating apps with real educational value for children.
The learning factory developed in the School of Engineering Practice and Technology at McMaster University is an academic entity that focuses on education, applied research and training. One of the current focuses of this learning factory is the integration of Artificial Intelligence (AI) learning models that support the delivery of AI-related curricula. The development and use of applications related to prediction systems are presented, and an approach to develop an AI prediction model for machine health monitoring used for education and training is described. Four small cyber-physical systems that have been designed, built, and put in operation for demonstration and applied research on AI technology topics are described. AI based vision systems for quality monitoring, object detection, gesture recognition, and facial recognition are also described. The readers can contact the authors to get detailed information about the hardware, software modules, libraries and procedures used to teach the neural networks and develop the prediction models.
This paper explores a low-cost experiential learning framework in the aerodynamic design of road vehicles by using scaled models and numerical simulation. Automotive aerodynamics is studied using both computer modeling and experimental analyses using wind tunnel testing. The wind tunnel testing for the automotive application needs enormous facilities. This study demonstrates the use of scaled wind-tunnel testing to familiarize students with the vehicle's aerodynamic shape design. In addition to learning the aerodynamic propensities of a road vehicle, a secondary objective is to have the student become acquainted with wind tunnel operation and instrumentations. In this study, a set of student-center laboratory activities has been developed with a pedagogical methodology based on Kolb's experiential learning theory.
The current paper presents the design and implementation of an online platform for supporting the surveillance monitoring of physical fitness in youth. The platform developed for the needs of EUFITMOS (European Fitness Monitoring System), an Erasmus + project, which aims to encourage participation in sports and physical activities, by supporting the implementation of European Union (EU) policy documents in the field of sports and other relevant policy areas such as guidelines, policy strategies and the implementation of the Council Recommendation on health-enhancing physical activity (HEPA). The importance of having a cross-country observatory for fitness in youth as an indicator and measurement for the population in every country, lead us to collect all the available data which are scarce or even inexistent in some cases, and extract a standardized monitoring system which is accessible by individuals, public health and any other interested authorities and can be utilized for policy initiatives to promote physical activities across countries.
This paper discusses evaluation findings from a digital project-based course in the higher education sector. The evaluated course was developed and taught in the context of the Master’s program for Education at Ludwigsburg University of Education (LUE). It aims at the autonomous project-based planning, execution and critical reflection of educational projects by the participating students. Students in this course work and collaborate with mobile devices in various ways in the course and to carry out their projects in groups and individually. The combination of mobile and project-based learning in the course and the students’ projects offers many options for mobile learning scenarios in the higher education sector. The digital project-based character of the course aims for the interconnection of students with their future work area, their future colleagues and their future students through projects in the field of education. The described interconnections and the resulting collaborations play key roles in the successful realization of the projects. The creative use of mobile learning devices is fundamental for the development of the described interconnections. Thus the empirical study has a special focus on the use of mobile learning devices in the course and the students’ projects. Furthermore, the empirical study focuses on students’ attitudes, practices and preferences towards mobile learning and the use of mobile learning devices in the projects. This focus creates insights, which help to develop new perspectives for mobile learning in the higher education sector.
Voice assessment consists of many methods, amongst them being the Voice Handicap Index (VHI) which is a non-interventional self-reported questionnaire. This research determined and interpreted the cutoff points (COPs) of the Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC) curves (signal processing) of the standardized VHI Hellenic version along with the Greek Voice Evaluation Template (GR-VET). In turn, as mobile applications are of high interest in the community of smart phones, the latter feature has been taken strongly into account for constructing a protocol serving for mobile screening usage. Specifically, a protocol and diagram of a proposed mobile application is introduced in order the latter to act as a screening platform for alerting clinician for probable voice status problems. The probability of developing voice symptoms was almost the same for all the young smokers and nonsmokers participants. Consequently, another asset from this research is the more customizable treatment using the knowledge of the COPs’ history for every smoker in mobile level technology. The smokers’ group exhibited higher overall VHI total score as compared to non-smokers. Important statistical differences were found due to smoking for all VHI’s construct domains with a total COP of 19.50 (sensitivity: 0.852, 1-specificity: 0.108). Another important finding revealed that VHI distinguished the different voice status of smokers compared to nonsmokers. Specifically, if the COP point is lower after a new assessment, then people exhibit progress as their voice appears improved. Moreover, a valuable finding is that smokers exhibit almost the same unified cutoff point as the voice disordered patients (COP = 18.50).
The current paper aims at the development of a mobile educational application for enhancing cognitive and language skills of children with disabilities. During their development, they receive a variety of stimuli that influence and shape these skills. Therefore, they should be helped and supported as much as possible with all available means, such as ICT tools. Additionally, the identification of language and cognitive disorders is a major challenge to special education teachers. It is thus important to develop a specially designed application aiming at the enhancement of skills of children with disabilities and will be available to all stakeholders (special education teachers, children, parents). For the evaluation, an intervention was designed in collaboration with two special education teachers and took place in a training center for children with disabilities in Thessaloniki (Greece), called Redditus. The results were very promising, since children with disabilities greatly improved their skills during the intervention. Moreover, a semi-struc,*tured interview was carried out with the two teachers. They supported that it is useful, simple to use, enjoyable, fun and innovative. Summarizing, the proposed application could be an auxiliary support tool to special education teachers in order children with disabilities to improve their cognitive and language skills.
