Scientific Information Superhighway vs. Scientific Information Backroads in Computer Science

In the current appendix present a first heuristic study about the scientific publications related to computer science and the human factors that make that some contents travel through highways and others in back roads of scientific information. We also present the first elements which generate that parallel information of the scientific work for financial and/or commercial reasons. Finally, a set of rhetoric questions link two decades of experiences in the university educational context, research and development (R&D) and Transfer of Technology (TOT) in the Mediterranean South and make up a first evaluation guide.

Digital Diorama

Digital technologies that increase communication among students/users are viewed as interactive resources for enhancing learning, especially in the field of science teaching. The new digital mission is to produce innovative learning environments and educational tools to enhance the traditional teaching methods still widely used today. The Digital Diorama project reproduces a set of Natural History Museum dioramas for IWBs and other electronic devices. Using the Digital Diorama enhances cooperative learning. This comes from the students/users' explorations of the Digital Diorama and from strategies that we recommend to teachers.

Rendering and Video Games

We present a study of the triad rendering computer made static and/or dynamic images, video games and adult users who interact with a personal computer. Besides, there is a diachronic study of the basic components to design the virtual 3D characters which are included in the video games. The link of the evolution of the interactive games is also analyzed and especially the interactive design characteristics related to the content, navigation, structure and layout. Finally, a table is presented with those components stemming from the rendering of the scenes for the video games, which motivate their fruition by the adult users.

A Multi-Agent Model for Personalizing Learning Material for Collaborative Groups

The use of computer-supported collaborative learning (CSCL) environments in teaching and learning processes has increased during the last decade. These environments have various collaboration, communication and coordination tools that students and teachers can use without depending on the time and place where they are. However, having software tools that support group learning does not guarantee successful collaboration because factors such as insufficient knowledge of study contents can impair learning. The analysis of group interactions should allow teachers to recognize obstacles in the learning process, but when there are a lot of interactions the manual analysis is unfeasible owing to time and effort required. This chapter presents a multi-agent model that personalizes the delivery of learning material when groups of collaborative students manifest lack of knowledge. In addition, this chapter describes results of experiments conducted to evaluate the feasibility of using Lucene for retrieving learning material written in English and Spanish.

Use of Large Multi-Touch Interfaces

This study explores the design considerations and usability factors of using large multi touch interfaces. In this study, an experimental approach incorporating a large multi touch interface environment was used. End user usability test sessions supported with glasses type eye tracker and interview sessions were conducted. The data were collected from one expert and three non-expert users by implementing a task on a military training application. Two analysis methods were used, analysis for eye movement data of users and analysis for interviews. This study revealed that users were generally focusing at the center of the screen while using the large multi touch display. The most common gestures were Tap and Drag which are single touch input gestures. It was easy to adapt to the system by recalling the previous experiences from mobile devices, to manage the area on the screen, and to interact with two hands thanks to display size.

A Psycho-Pedagogical Model for Evaluating Effectiveness of Students' Learning on the Basis of Electronic Visual Rows

The purpose of this chapter is to propose a model that would enable teachers to assess comprehensively the effectiveness of learners` information acquisition in e-learning environment. The main value of the proposed model is its focus on combination of pedagogical conditions and psychological factors of learning to increase the level of information acquisition. In order to study students` acquisition of learning information in dependence upon the form of presentation as well as identification of learners` psychological characteristics, that help the acquisition of material presented in three visual forms (text, charts, comics) the experiment was carried out. On the grounds of the obtained results, the authors suggest guidelines for application of the model in practice.

Cyberbullying

Children and adolescents are actively engaged in a digital world in which blogs, social networking sites, watching videos, and instant messaging are a typical part of their daily lives. Their immersion in the digital world has occurred for as long as they remember, with many not knowing a world without our modern technological advances. Although the digital age has brought us many conveniences in our daily lives, there is a darker side to children's and adolescents' involvement with these technologies, such as cyberbullying. This chapter draws on research from around the world, utilizing a variety of research designs, to describe the nature, extent, causes, and consequences associated with children's and adolescents' involvement in cyberbullying. Concluding the chapter is a solutions and recommendation section in which it is argued that cyberbullying is a global concern, affecting all aspects of society, requiring a whole-community approach.

Humans Versus Computers, Systems, and Machines

The present chapter introduces a new existential philosophy of how computers, systems and machines operate within society, and in terms of the provision, furtherance and/or obstruction of human rights/freedoms and open life-potential(s). We explore the relationship(s) between the design of artificial systems and the existence/form/implementation of democracy; and from the key perspective(s) of individual and collective freedom-of-thought/action. A basic premise is that humans are increasingly disadvantaged as a result of, or slaves to: unfettered automation, objectivity, abstraction and fragmentary thinking; as promulgated/aided by computers/systems/machines. We explain how related processes create conflict/opposition/barriers to/with natural and harmonious socialization activities/processes; and hence strongly influence our collective destiny.

Cartographic Information Off-Line and First Nations

We present the importance of analogical and digital cartography in the reconstruction of the cultural heritage of the first nations. Besides, through the cartographic information and the interactive multimedia systems, we examine the metamorphose of ancient pre-Columbus constructions, whose physical sites were based in the advanced knowledge of those civilizations in astronomy issues. We also present the main stages in the digital cartographic generation for their later use in the multimedia systems. Finally, we sum up the difficulties in the diffusion of certain historic contents compiled in the off-line multimedia supports, in the Internet and in the current social networks.

Facebook, Tele-Collaboration, and International Access to Technology in the Classroom

This chapter explores the results of a study using the well-known social networking site, Facebook, to investigate graduate education students' perceptions on the use of technologies in classrooms around the world. This study was part of a larger project exploring tele-collaboration and the use of online discussions involving graduate students in an online program based in Australia, and students in a graduate Education program at a regional university in Greece. Findings reveal many similarities between the situations and perceptions of the participants from the different countries. They also demonstrated that even when technologies were available in schools, participants identified a critical need for professional development to increase teachers' use of ICT. These findings are relevant to researchers, educators and policy development in terms of implementation of ICT and/or social networking in the language classroom.