A Perspective about the Application of Quality of Context in U-Learning Environments

U-Learning environments collects context information relative to user's preferences and needs, but this information is typically very volatile. For this reason, Quality of Context is aimed at treating this information by applying quality parameters. This chapter aims to help the reader understand how the quality of context information can be treated in U-Learning environments, which are the main theoretical bases, technologies that support them and what are the methods, advantages and disadvantages related to this approach. In addition, specific cases of development and application of technologies and strategies involving Quality of Context are presented to illustrate all the concepts described. The results of usability testing related to the SUS questionnaire showed that the developed environment described in the case of study operated satisfactorily, based on the assessments made by the group of users who tested the modules and their operation.

Effects of Studying Tasks Compatibility with Tablets on Their Acceptance

This chapter addresses the issue of tablets acceptance for studying. An experiment was carried out to test the effects of specific studying tasks experienced by students with no previous experiences with tablets on the perceived usability and usefulness of tablets. Students had to perform a high-compatible task (i.e. navigation/reading task) and a low-compatible task (i.e. writing task) for tablets. Subjective measures of usability, usefulness and use intention were designed to be more specific to the type of task than the classical measures used in the Technology Acceptance Model approach (Davis, 1989). Participants rated their answers before and after performing the tasks with a tablet. The results showed that the perceived usability and usefulness of tablets increased after the high-compatible task while their decreased with the low-compatible task. The findings stressed the need to consider the real user experience and to use more task-oriented measures to investigate the acceptance of mobile devices for studying.

Survey of Students' Perception and the Influence of Learning Style Preferences on Learner's Intention to Use 3D Visualization Instruction

3D visualization specifically has been widely applied in a broad range of fields, including computer science, pedagogy, and so forth. 3D visualization instruction has become the essential tool that uses computer programs to generate 3D representations of manmade objects. For users, 3D visualization instruction can be manipulated, altered and efficiently communicated to others, and it is efficient for teaching and learning. The aim of this study is investigating students' perception toward 3D visualization instruction, and the influence of learning-style preferences on learners' intentions to use 3D visualization instruction. We are trying to develop the experiment which undergraduate students participated in this study, the purpose of which was to investigate the utilize 3D visualization instruction access to the single learning style and multiple learning styles. Data mining technology was employed in this study to identify multiple learning styles. The result showed that high visual and high sensing learning style has potential of using 3D visualization instruction.

Training Infrastructure to Participate in Real Life Institutions

This chapter presents an example of a virtual training scenario that allows trainees to learn the rules of real human institutions before joining them, that is, before having to cope with the consequences of their binding actions in real (serious) settings. The development of the training scenario is based on a combination of Electronic Institutions technology with 3D Virtual Worlds, and is enhanced with tutoring agents that provide assistance services along the training process. The theoretical benefits that result from this approach are demonstrated through an authentic scenario that represents a market (i.e., an institution) devoted to trading water rights. This scenario has been tested with real users, and thus, its benefits have been empirically assessed.

Contributions of Collaborative and Immersive Environments in Development a Remote Access Laboratory

The implementation of remote access laboratories by universities is a growing tendency. Worldwide its implementation has been carried out in different disciplines using different technologies, interfaces and protocols. In this sense, it is logical to conclude that there is no fixed methodology or standard for its implementation, which leads researchers to question its effectiveness and differentiation for learning purposes during lab work. It is equally necessary to mention the importance of using collaborative and immersive environment tools to perform lab exercises with remote access since they complement its use and application. In this chapter, is presented the contributions by the implementation of collaborative and immersive environments in the development of laboratory with remote access from the point of view of its effectiveness and differentiation in learning.

A Three-Dimensional Environment of Personalized Recommendation of Learning Objects to Support Ubiquitous Learning

The advancement of technological resources has provided new possibilities in teaching and learning processes. This progress resulted in an improvement to the Distance Education (DE). However, this type of education still faces the serious problem of circumvention having as a major cause, lack of motivation among students. Thus, the use of new technological trends has been increasingly common with the purpose to provide greater attractiveness for student participation in distance learning courses. Thus, this study aims to propose a multiagent virtual environment in three dimensions to support the recommendation of learning objects in order to improve the teaching and learning processes in DE.

Content Personalized Recommendation Engine to Support an Informal Learning Environment in the Health Context

People with chronic diseases suffer with limitations imposed by their health condition and learn more about the disease helps in improving the quality of life. This is possible because the use in mass of mobile devices and the advent of Web 2.0 tools, which gave rise to the Health 2.0 concept. This search for the construction of knowledge by stimulating citizens to be active and responsible for their health. However, provide contextualized knowledge at the right time, it is not a trivial task due to the diversity of content and user's profiles. The solution to this is to provide informal learning through personalized recommendation of content by providing relevant content to users related to their health. This chapter proposes a personalized recommendation system of content, which includes the union of different recommendation techniques and genetic algorithm, seeking efficacy on the recommendation of the contents to people with chronic diseases aiming informal learning in health.

3D Virtual Learning Environments

Heated debates involving reforms in the educational system are becoming more and more frequent in recent years, mostly due to the increasingly evident shortcomings in the educational system and its difficulties to evolve at the same pace as technological development. Since nowadays people spend much of their time interacting directly or indirectly with technological devices, one can think of using this involvement with educational purposes. Through this interaction people have easy and inexpensive access to a vast amount of information. In this sense, one can think of methodologies to improve education by focusing on the foundations of knowledge rather than the emphasis on the memorization of contents. Therefore, the aim of this work is to propose and validate an interactive content authoring system as well as a virtual classroom where lessons are taught by avatars in an attempt to make learning experience richer and more motivating to students.

Virtual Laboratories Development Using 3D Environments

3D virtual worlds or metaverses are immersion environments that allow the simulation of some real environment characteristics such as sound and gravity. In this chapter we describe the development of a 3D virtual environment as well as its integration with Moodle platform using Sloodle plugin. We discuss related works dedicated to the development of virtual laboratories. We also describe the main software used and how to perform the settings required for the operation of the environment. To introduce the developed software utilization we present a laboratory built for teaching subjects based on multiple intelligences theory defined by Gardner.

Examining the Effectiveness of Hyperaudio Learning Environments

The focus of instructional designers is increasingly shifting towards mobile devices such as smartphones or tablets and their use for learning purposes. These devices not only enable text-based but also audio-based instruction. This chapter presents the concept of hyperaudio, a special type of non-linear auditory learning environment. Contrary to other instructional devices such as hypertext, there is little research on learning with hyperaudio yet. In view of this scientific gap, this chapter aims at examining the effect of non-linear auditory presentation of information in more detail. To begin with, cognitive processes which are crucial for hyperaudio learning are examined. Then, some seminal studies investigating the design of hyperaudio learning environments and their influence on learning processes are presented. Results indicate that non-linear auditory information presentation is not always beneficial in terms of learning outcomes and cognitive load.