Francesca Bertacchini

An emotional learning environment for subjects with Autism Spectrum Disorder

Numerous studies highlight that serious games, 3D virtual learning environments and Information Communication Technologies can be powerful tools in supporting people affected by Autism Spectrum Disorders. In particular, they can be very effective in helping to recognize and comprehend social behaviours and emotions. In this paper, an authoring system designed and implemented in order to stimulate and to facilitate the understanding of emotions is presented (Face 3D). This software could be a highly appropriate tool for autistic children with high cognitive functions, who are often attracted by technology.

Active Learning in a Robotics Laboratory with University Students

Educational Robotics is a research field aimed at promoting an active engaging learning through the artifacts students create and the phenomena they simulate. In fact, designing, building, and programming a small robot, users discover and learn in a playful and joyful way. Moreover, the constructivist approach fosters the development of creative and critical skills, as well as problem-solving, communication skills, cooperation, and teamwork. This chapter presents the results of a research with university students, carried out at the Universita della Calabria (Italy): an Educational Robotics laboratory has been integrated in a Cognitive Psychology Course in order to examine the kind of learning, workgroup retention, and engagement. Outcomes show that engaging experiences can remarkably enhance students’ learning efficiency and retention of the acquired materials. Moreover, a rich interaction can provide entertaining and appealing experiences capable of promoting learning and understanding.

Coding with Scratch: The design of an educational setting for Elementary pre-service teachers

This work describes the design of a first experience of coding with Scratch, a simple programming language, for pre-service teachers. In particular, the aim of this study has been the investigation of the Scratch programming setting for 58 pre-service teachers, enrolled in a Motor Science course, Degree of Science of Primary Training, at University of Calabria (Italy). The experience has had a duration of 2 months and 4 mentors for instructional interventions have been involved.

Knowledge Sharing for Cultural Heritage 2.0: Prosumers in a Digital Agora

The word “prosumer†indicates the mixture of the terms “producer†and “consumer†: even if the term is almost recent, prosumers were already present in the historical period of ancient Greece and Magna GrA¦cia (between the VII century b.C. and the I century A.D.). In this view, the platform Cultural Heritage 2.0 can be considered a digital “agora†: like the Greek square-marketplace, where there was exchange of goods and ideas, the system allows the gathering of an extensive amount of digital data and an interesting exchange of culture. The aim of this paper is to present Cultural Heritage 2.0, that offers the opportunity to mix heterogeneous contents in unusual amalgams, according to the imagination and design of the users-prosumers in the Web community.

Learning in the Smart City: A Virtual and Augmented Museum Devoted to Chaos Theory

This paper presents a virtual museum introducing the interactive VR and MEMS applications related to the learning of chaos and complexity theory. In this museum, the user can learn the history of the dynamical systems and how to build Chuas circuit, as well as realize artistic artifacts transforming attractors into sounds and music. This environment can be used in the city in order to create new ways of experiencing science, turning physical activities into virtual ones, an important step towards being able to have the museum in the smart city. Moreover, some applications have been developed to work on iPad and iPhone and can be used as a guide in the real exhibitions. A user-centred design strategy with 40 students has been carried out in order to implement the Virtual Museum of Chuas Attractors, aiming at widening the experience in the smart city and allowing a considerable public participation.

Emergence of linguistic-like structures in one-dimensional cellular automata

In this paper we give a summary of some empirical investigations which show high analogies between Cellular Automata and linguistic structures. In particular we show as coupling regular domains of Cellular Automata we find complex emerging structures similar to combination of words, phonemes and morphemes in natural languages.

ImaginationTOOLS™: made to play music

In this paper we present ImaginationTOOLS™ a new musical software useful to generate, analyze and synthesize sounds using mathematical models based on the Dynamical Systems and the Theory of the Chaos. The system allows to build and explore acoustical and musical concepts in a manipulatory way, creating network of object called TOOLS which behave as intelligent agents of different kinds (input, output, processes). By joining a specific agent with other agents, the user builds emergent acoustical/musical 3D graphs, both in synchronous and in asynchronous ways. This process of building musical compositions in a 3D environment in real time embodies the manipulation of objects and gives to the user the possibility to create, by using a process of auditory feed-back, aesthetical choices which well adapt with his/her musical ideas, so reducing the complexity of music composition. We think that the innovative characteristics of the software can really facilitate and improve the musical learning.

ImaginationTOOLS (TM)- A 3D Environment for Learning and Playing Music

In this paper, we present ImaginationTOOLS, a software which uses mathematical models to generate, analyse and synthesize sound and music. User learns in an imaginary 3D-city basic concepts on mathematical models and music by interacting with pedagogical agents; composes in a laboratory room using a manipulatory agent-like interface; listens to music in an immersive room and creates interactive music with ad-hoc designed instruments and performs and shares music on the net. It represents a real advancement on the existing similar scientificallyoriented products available on the market and it is considered a fusion of different music and multimedia technologies, with a strong developmental trend into physical interaction design. It is the first software using 3D interaction in a 3D environment to produce sound and music, extending the potential of musicians by experimenting in the psycho-acoustical domain of sound and overcoming the problems of musical education, with simple interface.

Virtual museums and Calabrian cultural heritage: Projects and challenges.

This work aims at illustrating how Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) could be used to exploit and disseminate Cultural Heritage, providing learning experiences for different targets of users, especially young people. The objective is also to promote and diffuse Calabrian cultural heritage of the ancient Magna Graecia period in a global perspective. The case study of Calabrian Magna Graecia (Italy) is presented, with particular reference to the projects “Virtual Museum Net of Magna Graecia” and “NETConnect”.

Discovery of Regular Domains in Large DNA Data Sets

To analyze large DNA data sets, we hypothesized that the organization of repeated bases within DNA follows rules similar to Cellular Automata (CA). These sequences could be defined as regular domains. By considering DNA strings as a finite one-dimensional cell automated, consisting of a finite (numerable) set of cells spatially aligned on a straight line and adopting a color code that transforms the DNA bases (A, C, T, G) in numbers, we analyzed DNA strings in the approach of computational mechanics. In this approach, a regular domain is a space-time region consisting of sequences in the same regular language (the particular rule of system evolution, which gives rise to a formal language) that creates patterns computationally homogeneous and simple to describe. We discovered that regular domain exists. Results revealed the exact number of strings of given lengths, establishing their limit in length, their precise localizations in all the human chromosomes and their complex numerical organization. Furthermore, the distribution of these domains is not at random, nor chaotic neither probabilistic, but there are numeric attractors around which the number of these domains are distributed. This leads us to think that all these domains within the DNA are connected to each other and cannot be casually distributed, but they follow some combinatorics rules.