A Bayesian CNN-LSTM Model for Sentiment Analysis in Massive Open Online Courses MOOCs

Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) are increasingly used by learn-ers to acquire knowledge and develop new skills. MOOCs provide a trove of data that can be leveraged to better assist learners, including behavioral data from built-in collaborative tools such as discussion boards and course wikis. Data tracing social interactions among learners are especially inter-esting as their analyses help improve MOOCs’ effectiveness. We particular-ly perform sentiment analysis on such data to predict learners at risk of dropping out, measure the success of the MOOC, and personalize the MOOC according to a learner’s behavior and detected emotions. In this pa-per, we propose a novel approach to sentiment analysis that combines the advantages of the deep learning architectures CNN and LSTM. To avoid highly uncertain predictions, we utilize a Bayesian neural network (BNN) model to quantify uncertainty within the sentiment analysis task. Our em-pirical results indicate that: 1) The Bayesian CNN-LSTM model provides interesting performance compared to other models (CNN-LSTM, CNN, LSTM) in terms of accuracy, precision, recall, and F1-Score; and 2) there is a high correlation between the sentiment in forum posts and the dropout rate in MOOCs.

The effectiveness of web-based technology platforms in facilitating construction project collaboration: a qualitative analysis of 1,152 user reviews

The construction industry accounts for 9% of global GDP. Efforts at addressing construction’s inherent inefficiencies have over the last decade increasingly involved the deployment of web-based collaborative tools. Consequently, much research has been devoted to assessing these platforms; including interoperability, workflow management and technological limits. What has not been considered to date are the views of web-based tool users themselves as to the functionality, potency and usability of the various platforms available on the market. Currently, there are 5,300,000 documented users of web-based collaborative tools. If web-based collaboration is to be further enhanced, the views of users must be known. This study explores this dimension. Financeonline’s top six tools were considered: CoCostruct, PlanGrid, Autodesk BIM 360, Procore, e-builder and Aconex. Around 200 reviews for each tool were collected from ‘Business Software Reviews from Software Advice,’ resulting in a total dataset of 1,152 complete reviews. Text-mining analysis was applied to this dataset, using RapidMiner Studio 7.5. Thirty key terms with a frequency of over 100 occurrences were retrieved; terms such as software, manage, inform, support, easy use, function, track and friendly. These constitute the subject of the reviews. These terms were then analyzed for sentiment qualifiers; either positive or negative. A total of 804 sentiments were positive, 322 negative and 26 neutral. This study thus highlights that while 70% of user reviews of web-based collaborative tools are positive, there remains much room for improvement. Areas for improvement are also indicated by this study.

An empirical study of professional translators’ attitudes, use and awareness of Web 2.0 technologies, and implications for the adoption of emerging technologies and trends

This questionnaire-based study was conducted as a part of an MA Dissertation in the summer of 2010 (Gough, 2010a). It examines the trends within the translation industry which have developed in response to the evolution of the Web from Web 1.0 (the information web) to Web 2.0 (the social web) and places professional translators against the backdrop of these trends. The developments based on the principles of sharing, openness and collaboration associated with Web 2.0 can be seen as affecting the tools used by translators and the processes in which they engage. This study examines professional translators’ awareness and perception of the new open, collaborative tools and processes and the degree of tools usage and process participation. The key findings of this study highlight translators’ vague awareness and insufficient understanding of these trends, marginal use of the open tools and little engagement in the collaborative processes. The underlying factor determining translators’ awareness, perception and the use of these tools and processes is their attitude towards adopting new technologies, with an indication that professionals with innovative attitudes are more inclined to embrace the new trends and developments.

Evaluating a Taxonomy of Textual Uncertainty for Collaborative Visualisation in the Digital Humanities

The capture, modelling and visualisation of uncertainty has become a hot topic in many areas of science, such as the digital humanities (DH). Fuelled by critical voices among the DH community, DH scholars are becoming more aware of the intrinsic advantages that incorporating the notion of uncertainty into their workflows may bring. Additionally, the increasing availability of ubiquitous, web-based technologies has given rise to many collaborative tools that aim to support DH scholars in performing remote work alongside distant peers from other parts of the world. In this context, this paper describes two user studies seeking to evaluate a taxonomy of textual uncertainty aimed at enabling remote collaborations on digital humanities (DH) research objects in a digital medium. Our study focuses on the task of free annotation of uncertainty in texts in two different scenarios, seeking to establish the requirements of the underlying data and uncertainty models that would be needed to implement a hypothetical collaborative annotation system (CAS) that uses information visualisation and visual analytics techniques to leverage the cognitive effort implied by these tasks. To identify user needs and other requirements, we held two user-driven design experiences with DH experts and lay users, focusing on the annotation of uncertainty in historical recipes and literary texts. The lessons learned from these experiments are gathered in a series of insights and observations on how these different user groups collaborated to adapt an uncertainty taxonomy to solve the proposed exercises. Furthermore, we extract a series of recommendations and future lines of work that we share with the community in an attempt to establish a common agenda of DH research that focuses on collaboration around the idea of uncertainty.

Art with Revolution! Political mobilization in artistic practices between 1974 and 1977 in Portugal

This article analyzes the relationship between Portuguese artists and bodies of power and the popular masses after the Revolution of 25 April 1974 and until 1977. The analysis of this period in Portugal will consider the dynamics surrounding socially engaged artistic practices integrated in the public space, within its historic and social framework. The article argues that the Portuguese artistic context under consideration arose from the politicians and artists motivation to bring art and the popular masses closer to the ongoing revolutionary process. In this approach, I identify collaboration as the most frequent attitude used by artists in relation to the political system and population. This approach decreased since 1976, at which time there was an increase in conflict with the political power structures. Regarding the relationship with the population, from that moment on there was also a decrease in the use of collaborative tools and an intensification of transgressive and provocative tools in artisticpractices. These changes will be articulated in the article based on the country’s objective political and social conditions, and their influence on attitudinal nuances identified in the socially engaged artistic practices under analysis.

Designing a Collaborative Virtual Conference Application: Challenges, Requirements and Guidelines

Due to the recent COVID-19 pandemic that has swept the globe, more people are working from home. People use synchronous applications to communicate remotely because they are not able to meet face-to-face. However, few research studies on the issues surrounding the virtual conference application, particularly those that include collaborative activities, have been conducted. The usability study recruited 16 participants (in four groups of four) to communicate synchronously while performing collaborative activities, such as drawing together on a shared screen. According to the findings of the usability study, users do not often use the collaborative tools provided by the current virtual conference application. This is due to low exposure and unfamiliarity with the use of collaborative tools. The findings also show that users frequently do not turn on the web camera due to several reasons, including privacy, connectivity issues, the environment, and background distraction. Turning on the web camera can also cause anxiety due to shyness in front of the camera. However, some participants prefer to turn on the web camera so that they can see each other’s reactions when performing collaborative activities. The article provides several guidelines to assist in the design of virtual conference applications, including a simple familiar intuitive interface to encourage the use of collaborative tools and also introduces the use of virtual avatars as a way to represent oneself during online meetings to allow affective sharing while respecting the privacy of its users.

Emergency remote teaching in higher education: mapping the first global online semester

Due to the Covid-19 pandemic that spread globally in 2020, higher education courses were subsequently offered in fully remote, online formats. A plethora of primary studies began investigating a range of topics exploring teaching and learning in higher education, particularly during the initial semester. In order to provide an overview and initial understanding of this emerging research field, a systematic mapping review was conducted that collates and describes the characteristics of 282 primary empirical studies. Findings reveal that research was carried out mostly descriptively and cross-sectionally, focusing predominantly on undergraduate students and their perceptions of teaching and learning during the pandemic. Studies originate from a broad range of countries, are overwhelmingly published open access, and largely focused on the fields of Health & Welfare and Natural Sciences, Mathematics & Statistics. Educational technology used for emergency remote teaching are most often synchronous collaborative tools, used in combination with text-based tools. The findings are discussed against pre-pandemic research on educational technology use in higher education teaching and learning, and perspectives for further research are provided.

La enseñanza de endemismos mexicanos a través de video documental e infografía, un ejemplo de Aprendizaje Basado en Proyectos

En este proyecto se describe la experiencia durante la aplicación de 2 Tecnologías de la Información: el video documental y la infografía, como medios para adquirir aprendizajes significativos sobre el tema: Endemismos mexicanos: causas, distribución e importancia. Este tema pertenece al programa de Biología IV del bachillerato de la UNAM. Las TIC fueron desarrolladas por los alumnos de quinto año de bachillerato de dos grupos diferentes. La finalidad de este trabajo es que los alumnos emplearán diversas herramientas colaborativas como Google Docs para realizar un proyecto cuyo producto fuera un video documental y una infografía, sobre el tema antes señalado. Los resultados de ambos trabajos aportan evidencias de aprendizaje colaborativo, siendo Google Docs una herramienta útil para el trabajo colaborativo asíncrono. Finalmente, este trabajo aporta dos opciones de productos que el docente puede emplear para desarrollar un tema. Siendo el video y la infografía un producto más significativo para construir el pensamiento crítico, valores y cambios de actitudes. This project describes the experience during the application of two information technologies: video documentaries and infographics, as a means to acquire significant learning on the topic: Mexican endemisms: causes, distribution and importance. This topic belongs to the Biology IV program of the UNAM high school. The ICT were developed by fifth year high school students from two different groups. The purpose of this work is that students will use various collaborative tools such as Google Docs to carry out a project whose product was a documentary video and an infographic on the topic mentioned above. The results of both projects provide evidence of collaborative learning, being Google Docs a useful tool for asynchronous collaborative work. Finally, this work provides two options of products that the teacher can use to develop a topic. Video and infographics being a more significant product to build critical thinking, values and attitude changes.