Educational Robotics and Attention to Diversity: A Case Study

<p style="text-align: justify;">In this study we focus our research on the case analysis of an eleven-year-old boy and his close relationship with technology, specifically robotics. The methodology of the study is experimental in nature, with the aim of improving the subject's attention span through robotics, thereby favouring his educational process and, consequently, his overall development. To this end, the attitudes, and aptitudes that this technological tool has provided the subject with are evaluated over a period of four years. Three data collection instruments were selected: questionnaire, interview, and observation. Among the conclusions we highlight, on the one hand, that the older the age and the greater the interest in robotics, the greater the individual's attention span and greater psychomotor coordination, increasing the improvement in the educational process and in their daily life. On the other hand, robotics is an effective way of orienting knowledge towards the personal and educational sphere and can provide advantages in integral development. </p>

S4 Features and Artificial Intelligence for Designing a Robot against COVID-19—Robocov

Since the COVID-19 Pandemic began, there have been several efforts to create new technology to mitigate the impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic around the world. One of those efforts is to design a new task force, robots, to deal with fundamental goals such as public safety, clinical care, and continuity of work. However, those characteristics need new products based on features that create them more innovatively and creatively. Those products could be designed using the S4 concept (sensing, smart, sustainable, and social features) presented as a concept able to create a new generation of products. This paper presents a low-cost robot, Robocov, designed as a rapid response against the COVID-19 Pandemic at Tecnologico de Monterrey, Mexico, with implementations of artificial intelligence and the S4 concept for the design. Robocov can achieve numerous tasks using the S4 concept that provides flexibility in hardware and software. Thus, Robocov can impact positivity public safety, clinical care, continuity of work, quality of life, laboratory and supply chain automation, and non-hospital care. The mechanical structure and software development allow Robocov to complete support tasks effectively so Robocov can be integrated as a technological tool for achieving the new normality’s required conditions according to government regulations. Besides, the reconfiguration of the robot for moving from one task (robot for disinfecting) to another one (robot for detecting face masks) is an easy endeavor that only one operator could do. Robocov is a teleoperated system that transmits information by cameras and an ultrasonic sensor to the operator. In addition, pre-recorded paths can be executed autonomously. In terms of communication channels, Robocov includes a speaker and microphone. Moreover, a machine learning algorithm for detecting face masks and social distance is incorporated using a pre-trained model for the classification process. One of the most important contributions of this paper is to show how a reconfigurable robot can be designed under the S3 concept and integrate AI methodologies. Besides, it is important that this paper does not show specific details about each subsystem in the robot.

Using Infographics as an Effective Technological Tool With Adult Language College Students

Infographics are like a map of visual information, and they are free great technological tools to teach visual or text content in an easy, enjoyable, engaging way. This chapter highlights the importance of using infographics with university adult learners in face-to-face and online courses. Infographics allow for higher thinking skills such as evaluation and analysis as the designer makes judgments about the content, design, and quality. They also allow for making syntheses as the designer plans and then builds their infographic. The use of higher thinking skills makes learning the materials more effective and more accessible. The chapter focuses on how to enhance learning and teaching by using visuals through infographics. The use of infographics makes teaching more culturally relevant and allows for creativity. The chapter discusses the benefits of infographics and talks about how teachers can use them in their classes. The chapter also provides some sample lessons with different ideas on using infographics and concludes with some recommendations.

161 Biosensor in cardiology. T-care project: a preliminary study on innovative wearable non-invasive telemonitoring system

The demographic trend evolution and the modification of health needs highlight the requirement for a novel organization of the healthcare system. Telemedicine is a technological tool that allows a knockdown of geographic barriers being useful in the management of remote patient assistance. Telemedicine is roughly applied in different cardiology’s areas, from telemetric to implantable devices (loop recorders) in order to monitor cardiac rate, cardiac rhythm variations, and the onset of arrhythmic events. The aim of the present study is to assess the validity of wearable devices (T-shirt equipped with biosensors and bands with photopletimographic system) in monitoring EKG, cardiac rate, and pulse oximetry. We enrolled 38 patients, 25 of whom admitted to the Cardiology Unit, University of Bari. Main characteristics of the sample are listed in Table 1. The difference between traditional monitoring system and wearable biosensors in not statistically significant as shown in Figure 1; therefore the devices tested in this study show a satisfying level of reliability in monitoring cardiac rate, pulse oximetry, QT interval, QRS complexes, and onset of arrhythmic events. However, alerts produced by arrhythmias different from atrial fibrillation are not completely reliable; moreover, the software and the diagnostic algorithm need to be optimized for motion artefacts. For these reasons, results need to be reproduced on a large cohort of patients.

Co-Designing a Virtual Reality Application to Enhance Reminiscence Therapy for Persons with Dementia

Reminiscence therapy for persons with dementia is often being conducted by employing analog media including pictures and videos organized and presented by a caregiver. However, such media lacks the immersive experience to support patient engagement and successful recollection of reminiscence events. Recently, Virtual Reality (VR) is gaining momentum as a potential technological tool to support dementia care due to its increased immersion, presence, and embodiment. Haptic artifacts can be used to enrich reminiscence therapy as part of the multi-sensory stimuli to increase immersion and patient engagement, as well as improving social connectedness and cognitive health. The purpose of this project is to explore the use of VR application to advance reminiscence therapy for persons with dementia. We have prototyped an immersive and non-immersive VR framework that allows caregivers to deliver reminiscence therapy for persons with dementia with varying stages in their disease progression. These reminiscence therapy sessions are built by employing a narrative storyboard and content management through a series of co-designing sessions with content experts at the Geriatric Dementia Unit in Ontario, Canada. A caregiver-led VR framework will be adopted to enable the caregiver to guide the persons with dementia to safely navigate through the interactive VR environment, while allowing the patients to engage with the interactive VR elements using a point-and-pinch gesture approach. We anticipate that the VR experiences hold the potential for improving the interactions between persons with dementia and caregivers, as well as enhancing the reminiscence experiences to promote the maximal therapeutic benefit of patient’s recovery.

Fusing the Jigsaw Method and Microsoft Teams: A Promising Online Pedagogy

The Covid-19 pandemic has triggered a universal disruption over the past year, and has caused unforeseen and formidable changes, but simultaneously has also enthused a digital transformation for educational institutions of all levels. With the upsurge in the usage of digital technologies, some potential caveats should be addressed, in particular, the speculative effective methods, course design and structure. A prodigious deal of reappraising and reimagining the philosophy of what is deemed to be the most familiar is imperative, not only to promote student-centred learning, but also encourage online engagement. Considering the suspension of all face-to-face classes due to the rapid spread of the global pandemic, the purpose of this study was to assess the usability and adoption of the jigsaw method on the web-based platform, Microsoft (MS) Teams for both synchronous and asynchronous teaching and learning. A pre-experimental research design was utilised with one post-test dataset obtained from the post-experiment learning analytics. Subsequently, the usability and adoption of the jigsaw method in MS Teams were evaluated based on the reciprocity of students’ responses towards the design. It is postulated that MS Teams stand out as a promising technological tool to facilitate the integration of the jigsaw method into an online learning environment. It advocates better students engagement and collaboration, and thus leads to the positive impact on students’ performance and enhanced comprehension of course content, specifically the availability of customized MS Teams features; channel and synchronous chat, which are recommended to support an engaged learning ecology.

Application of BIM with IPD in Design for a Construction Project

Integrated Project Delivery (IPD) is a new delivery system that fosters integration of combining design and construction in a collaborative team environment. Building Information Modeling (BIM) is a smart technological tool that make significant advancements in coordinating the planning and construction processes. IPD process with BIM technology allows all building data to maintain in a communicating platform that make all participants share data. In reality, some technical and process obstacles exist, that are hampering full implementation of IPD with BIM in the project. The paper introduced the application of IPD with BIM on the design in a project. The results showed the impact of BIM implementation on IPD mode which can result in improved productivity, better coordination, reduced energy consumption, clash and rework of construction.

Sandtank-ML: An Educational Tool at the Interface of Hydrology and Machine Learning

Hydrologists and water managers increasingly face challenges associated with extreme climatic events. At the same time, historic datasets for modeling contemporary and future hydrologic conditions are increasingly inadequate. Machine learning is one promising technological tool for navigating the challenges of understanding and managing contemporary hydrological systems. However, in addition to the technical challenges associated with effectively leveraging ML for understanding subsurface hydrological processes, practitioner skepticism and hesitancy surrounding ML presents a significant barrier to adoption of ML technologies among practitioners. In this paper, we discuss an educational application we have developed—Sandtank-ML—to be used as a training and educational tool aimed at building user confidence and supporting adoption of ML technologies among water managers. We argue that supporting the adoption of ML methods and technologies for subsurface hydrological investigations and management requires not only the development of robust technologic tools and approaches, but educational strategies and tools capable of building confidence among diverse users.

A Systematic Literature Review of Educational Apps: What Are They Up To?

As the use of Educational Apps rises every day and the population begins its use at an increasingly early age, it becomes relevant to understand the positive and negative aspects of this technological tool. However, the information may seem overwhelming, especially for those starting investigations on this topic. For this reason, a Systematic Literature Review was conducted on 119 published scientific papers, in order to create a work that synthesizes all the recent data about most used keywords, funding aid, authors and publishing journals, just to name a few. Additional data also reveals the need, expressed by authors and backed by their research, to evaluate the effectiveness of the Educational Apps. As an additional point, some solutions are offered to deal with the aforementioned problem, as well as some recommendations for the correct development of applications.

Didactic and technological tool to encourage study in students of the Systems Engineering School at the National University of Trujillo [Herramienta didáctica y tecnológica para incentivar el estudio en los alumnos de la Escuela de Ingeniería de Sistemas de la Universidad Nacional de Trujillo]

The present research aims to analyze and evaluate a didactic and technological tool and see the impact to encourage study in the students of the Systems Engineering School at the National University of Trujillo, during the 2020-II semester. It was possible to implement the Stormboard application for the development of Brainstorming as a didactic strategy through which it is intended to encourage the creative and innovative aspect of students when addressing topics and case studies. Analyzing the results obtained, we can point out that impacts were determined on the level of motivation for the study of students with a value of 8%, as well as the impact on the level of perception of educational services of students was determined in the order of 24% and finally, results of the impact on the level of student satisfaction were obtained in the order of 17%. Finally, it is proposed that these didactic initiatives be taken into account in the academic and institutional policies of the Systems Engineering School of in order to extrapolate the practice to other academic units at the National University of Trujillo.