Providing equitable education through personalised adaptive learning

Educators around the globe are striving to promote equity in their classrooms by adopting adaptive learning systems to provide customised learning resources and tools to help the learners achieve mastery at their own pace. This personalised approach goes a long way in closing the divide between students' socioeconomic status and special needs. Over the years, the advancement in technology offers more sophisticated adaptive technologies. It aggregates data such as students' prior knowledge and academic performances to predict and better adapt the learning paths. This paper presents the evaluation of adaptive technologies for personalised learning and the vision of a Personalised Adaptive Learning and Assessment (PALAS) system for Higher Education. This vision could be an imperative piece supporting Singapore's ‘National AI Strategy’, set to focus on personalised education through adaptive learning and assessment.

FORMATION OF ENERGY EFFICIENT SYSTEMS FOR PROVIDING ABIOTIC FACTORS IN ADAPTIVE TECHNOLOGIES OF CULTIVATION OF UTERINE ENTOMOCULES

Energy-efficient systems that will enable the implementation of abiotic conditions - important components of adaptive technologies, such as air temperature, relative humidity, air mobility, lighting levels, etc., must meet the requirements of environmental friendliness and minimize economic and energy costs. This requires the use of modern energy efficient technologies, equipment and devices. The purpose of the research is the development of a system for providing abiotic factors in the implementation of adaptive technologies for crops of guaranteed quality, characterized by resource savings and environmental safety. Methods. Analysis of the introduction of technologies and equipment in the process of cultivation of uterine entomocultures, which will increase the efficiency of technological processes of entomoproduction production. Results. The key abiotic factors in adaptive technologies of cultivation of uterine cultures are determined. Technologies, equipment and devices for their provision are studied and the initial requirements to the energy efficient systems consisting of them are formed. Conclusions. The analysis showed the advantages of using film contact devices and ultrasonic ones for energy treatment in adaptive technologies of cultivation of uterine entomocultures in terms of energy efficiency by almost 20% and efficiency by 15%. To ensure the required type and level of lighting, it is recommended to use incandescent lamps and LED lamps. Nozzles with nozzles and perforated panels are defined as distributive elements for air supply, which will almost double the efficiency of using the potential of the air prepared by the microclimate system.

Technology-Based Decision Making in Inclusive Education

Technology-based decisions in education are made on a daily basis. For some students, inclusive education is impossible without assistive and adaptive technologies. A study was conducted using the method “focus groups with one moderator”. The discussions explore the decision-making process for technology-based learning and the advantages and disadvantages of technology-based learning. The method provides an opportunity for individual and group intellectual and praxeological reflection on the discussed issues. The reflexive processes in the respondents allow to deduce the levels of their digital competence. The qualitative research was conducted with 65 inclusive teachers from secondary school and high school. The teachers participating in the study were selected according to a basic criterion: to make technology-based decisions for the implementation of inclusive processes in school. The main aspects for future analysis are mobility, accessibility, functionalities of technologies, application of the model of technology-based learning in inclusive education and factors that influence the decision-making process for choosing different spaces of technology-based learning. By making technology-based decisions the respondents create conditions for self-reflection about the application of technologies for the implementation of the processes of inclusive education. Reflexive analysis for technology-based decisions leads to increased intellectual, personal and praxeological reflection in the respondents. As a consequence of the increased manifestations of reflection in the respondents, conditions are created for personalized teaching and personalized learning in students, and personalized learning in turn paves the path of inclusive processes.

Technological maps of adaptive technologies of cultivation of food potato (on the example of the Kaluga region)

Purpose of research. Development of scientifically and economically sound technological maps for the cultivation of food potatoes based on modern adaptive technologies used in the Kaluga region. Research methods. Typical technologies for the production of food potatoes were developed by leading scientists of the Kaluga Research Institute of Agriculture. Technological maps are calculated for two types of technologies: basic and with elements of Dutch, based on the methods of M. A. Bunkov, V. M. Golovach, as well as E. V. Fastova, O. A. Kovalenko, N. G. Belova. The economic efficiency of production is calculated on the basis of the methods of V. R. Boev and I. G. Ushachev. Results. According to the technological maps and calculations carried out, when cultivating food potatoes on an area of 100 hectares, 946 normosmen will be required according to the basic technology, and with elements of the Dutch one – 906 normosmen. For the production of 1 c of potatoes according to the basic technology, with a planned yield of 40 t/ha, it will take 581.6 rub. (in 2020 prices), with elements of the Dutch technology – 590 rub. The economic efficiency of potato production according to the basic technology, depending on the specified yield parameters (from 350 to 450 c/ha), varies from 67.5 to 124.2 %, and according to the technology with elements of Dutch – from 64.5 to 120.6 %. Scientific novelty. For the first time in terms of Kaluga region, the calculation scientifically and economically sound model routings of potato cultivation of food-based adaptive technologies, the use of new cultivars, highly productive mechanized units, as well as science-based system application of mineral fertilizers and means of plant protection, for the production of competitive on the domestic and foreign food market products.

Towards an engineering theory of evolution

Biological technologies are fundamentally unlike any other because biology evolves. Bioengineering therefore requires novel design methodologies with evolution at their core. Knowledge about evolution is currently applied to the design of biosystems ad hoc. Unless we have an engineering theory of evolution, we will neither be able to meet evolution’s potential as an engineering tool, nor understand or limit its unintended consequences for our biological designs. Here, we propose the evotype as a helpful concept for engineering the evolutionary potential of biosystems, or other self-adaptive technologies, potentially beyond the realm of biology.

DYNAMICS AND OPERATING CYCLES OF VIBRATORY-PERCUSSIVE SYSTEMS INVOLVED IN IMPLEMENTATION OF ADAPTIVE TECHNOLOGIES

The study discusses serviceability of pneumatic and hydraulic percussion machines within robotic drilling systems. The newly designed action charts of percussion machines allow varying flow data of the machines versus properties of the medium being treated, which enables technological adaptability of the machines. Simulation modeling of the operating cycle dynamics in ITI SimulationX made it possible to determine dynamic parameters of vibratory-percussive systems. The research findings prove designability of such machines.

Scientific substantiation on land reclamation in the cryolithozone of Yakutia in the context of climate change

The review presents data from studies on climate change in the Arctic and subarctic regions of Russia It is showed, that climate changes unevenly within different regions and seasons. In Yakutia there is a tendency of more frequent events, such as: unexpected spring floods, summer-autumn rain floods, heavy precipitation in winter and other phenomena resulted in hydrodynamic accidents at low-pressure water management structures as well as water supply decrease for reclamation purposes. Takin into account the results of the analysis, it can be assumed that the adaptive technologies application under conditions of climate change in order to increase water availability in the rural areas of both Yakutia and Subarctic zones is a fundamental direction of scientific research in the field of land melioration in the cryolithozone of Yakutia in the context of climate change, which requires research updating to improve methods, new technical, constructive and technological solutions in hydraulic amelioration.

Field germination and preservation of grain sorghum plants depending on the row-spacing width and the seeding rate

The results of two-year research on the complex effect of different options of row-spacing width and the seeding rate on field germination and preservation of grain sorghum hybrids plants are presented. Problem statement. The conservatism of agricultural products producers, as well as the lack of adaptive technologies for growing sorghum, is a limiting factor of enlargement of sorghum sowing areas. That is why improving the technology of sorghum growing, which forms high and stable yields under arid conditions, is a relevant task at the current stage of country's agricultural sector development. The aim of the research was to determine the influence of various options of combining the seeding rate and row-spacing width on field germination and preservation of grain sorghum plants under conditions of the Northern Steppe of Ukraine. Research methods. Research on study the influence of three row-spacing width – 35, 45 and 70 cm and four options of the seeding rates of 100, 140, 180 and 220 thousand pieces/ha on field germination and preservation of sorghum plants of Svat and Flagg hybrids were held in 2019, 2020 on the basis of Farming Enterprise "Dyunis" of Kreminsk District, Luhansk Region. The area of sown and accounting plots was 40.0 and 30.0 m2, respectively. Research results. In experiments we have noted the tendency to increase field germination, under condition of the seeding rate increases and row-spacing widening. The influence of the studying options of the seeding rate and row-spacing on plant preservation was significantly higher than on field germination. On the crops of both hybrids, the influence of the seeding rate to a greater extent manifested on the options with row-spacing of 70 cm. Thus, with an increase in the seeding rate from 100 to 220 thousand pieces/ha, the plant preservation on the options with 35 cm row-spacing decreased by 3.5 %, while on the options with 70 cm row-spacing – by 6.7 %. There was no significant difference between the plant preservation indicators obtained on the options with row-spacing of 35 and 45 cm. With the widening of the row-spacing to 70 cm, this indicator significantly decreased. Conclusions. The studied element of the cultivation technology provided certain changes in the indices of field germination of seeds and the safety of sorghum plants. More influence they have on the safety of the plant, since the start of the growing competition between the plants is much less. An increase in the seeding rate caused a significant decrease in plant preservation, and to a greater extent with an increase in the seeding rate from 180 to 220 thousand pieces/ha. In the seeding rate from 100 to 180 thousand pieces/ha, there was no significant variation in the survival rates of sorghum plants. There was virtually no difference between the survival rates of sorghum plants in variants with row spacing of 35 and 45 cm, which indicates that within the boundaries of these row spacing, the competition between plants does not change significantly. Key words: row-spacing width, seeding rate, sorghum, hybrid, field germination, plants preservation.

The Without Frontiers Digital Literacy Project

Good practices for the accessibility of people with Special Needs, through assistive and adaptive technologies. The Biblioteca Municipal Aquilino Ribeiro, of Vila Nova de Paiva, develops an integrated system of services, in public and private partnership which associates: inclusive conversion of computer posts at a Documentation Centre, Itinerant Library and School Library (with technologies of augmentative communication, voice synthesis, optical character recognition and universal interface design); acquisition and edition of Digital Talking Book and website accessibility content under DAISY specifications; an official training and certification program in ICT basic skills. We draw the outline.