Mario Konecki

Web 2.0 in education and potential factors of Web 2.0 use by students of information systems

This paper analyzes potential uses of Web 2.0 tools in e-learning. Some of the more popular Web 2.0 tools are briefly explained. Self-assessment scales were developed intended to measure various constructs that could be associated with the use of Web 2.0 tools. These constructs were related to higher levels of information literacy, innovativeness, technological curiosity, internet access, stimulating environment, use of the Internet/web for information exchange, etc. The subjects in our study were informatics students, who were highly information literate. The results of our study indicate that all of the investigated constructs are associated with the use of Web 2.0 tools. Conclusions are drawn regarding the use of the results of our research to facilitate the adoption of Web 2.0 tools by students in more advanced e-learning environments.

Monte-Carlo randomized algorithm: Empirical analysis on real-world information systems

New national and regional bryophyte records, 31 L T Ellis, A Alegro, H Bednarek-Ochyra, R Ochyra, A Bergamini, A Cogoni, P Erzberger, P Górski, N Gremmen, H Hespanhol, C Vieira, L E Kurbatova, M Lebouvier, A Martinčič, A K Asthana, R Gupta, V Nath, R Natcheva, A Ganeva, T Özdemir, N Batan, V Plášek, R D Porley, M Randić, J Sawicki, W Schroder, C Sérgio, V R Smith, P Sollman, S Ştefănuţ, C R Stevenson, G M Suárez, B Surina, G Uyar, Z Modrič Surina The Natural History Museum, UK, University of Zagreb, Croatia, Polish Academy of Sciences, Poland, Swiss Federal Research Institute WSL, Switzerland, Università degli Studi di Cagliari, Italy, Berlin, Germany, Poznań University of Life Sciences, Poland, Diever, The Netherlands, Universidade do Porto, Portugal, Russian Academy of Sciences, Russia, Université de Rennes 1, France, 12 Ljubljana, Slovenia, CSIR-National Botanical Research Institute, India, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, Bulgaria, Karadeniz Technical University, Turkey, University of Ostrava, Czech Republic, Cerca dos Pomares, Portugal, Public Institution, Croatia, University of Warmia and Mazury in Olsztyn, Poland, Ludwigsstadt, Germany, Universidade de Lisboa, Portugal, University of Stellenbosch, South Africa, St Anna Parochie, The Netherlands, Institute of Biology Bucharest of Romanian Academy, Romania, Norfolk, UK, Facultad de Ciencias Naturales, Argentina, University of Primorska, Slovenia, Zonguldak Karaelmas University, Turkey, Natural History Museum Rijeka, CroatiaDetermination of development priority of information system subsystems is a problem that warrants resolution during information system development. It has been proven, previously, that this problem of information system development order is in fact NP-complete, NP-hard, and APX-hard. To solve this problem on a general case we have previously developed Monte-Carlo randomized algorithm, calculated complexity of this algorithm, and so on. After previous research we were able to come into possession of digraphs that represent real-world information systems. Therefore, in this paper we will empirically analyze Monte-Carlo algorithm to determine how the algorithm works on real-world examples. Also, we will critically review the results and give some possible areas of future research as well.

Detecting computer code plagiarism in higher education

Rapid development of industry and economy requires quick and efficient education of large amount of theoretical knowledge and practical skills. In computer science, especially in programming, this trend is very noticeable and real experts are needed and hard to create. But new problem has emerged in higher education and its name is plagiarism. In order to prevent this one would have to check all students program codes to find similarities. To do this efficiently a procedure has been designed upon which a certain prototype was developed and tested. We discuss efficiency of this solution and we also mention some other methods and algorithms. We also discuss some other possible usages of this solution and we mention further actions and steps in our research.

Using real projects as motivators in programming education

It is very hard to properly motivate students to learn abstract programming concepts and programming is generally considered as hard. Students tend to fear programming courses and they develop skeptic attitude towards this kind of courses. One of the key factors that contribute to this kind of attitude is abstract nature of programming and the fact that students do not realize why exactly they should gain such knowledge. In this paper an approach that incorporates using real projects to show students the practical outcomes of their learning process in order to motivate them to learn programming is discussed and initial results of its usage are presented and elaborated.

GUIDL IA: An intelligent assistant for aiding visually impaired in using GUIDL

GUIDL (Graphical User Interface Description Language) system has been proposed as an effective aiding technology that enables inclusion of visually impaired computer users into activities of graphical user interface design. GUIDL system implements many aiding concepts that make creation of graphical user interfaces suitable for visually impaired. In order to make GUIDL system even more accessible to visually impaired a GUIDL IA (Intelligent Assistant) is proposed as a mean of providing a more suitable and simpler way of getting help about various parts of GUIDL system. GUIDL IA enables visually impaired to ask questions in the form of natural language compared to browsing through instruction manual which makes getting the right information easier and quicker. GUIDL IA also enables visually impaired to hear the answer through integrated text-to-speech synthesizer that enables more natural pronunciation of given answers. In this paper GUIDL IA is presented and discussed along with the results about its effectives.

Making programming education more accessible for visually impaired

Modern programming paradigms have brought many different challenges for visually impaired programmers. Graphical interfaces have become one of the biggest obstacles for visually impaired programming professionals. The same problems that relate to visually impaired programmers also apply to programming education in which it is very challenging to make educational interfaces accessible for visually impaired and for other students with disabilities. In order to make programming more suitable for students with visual impairment an educational system that enables voice-based control of its elements has been developed for the purpose of their programming education. The results of using this kind of system and its impact on visually impaired students are presented and discussed in this paper.

Handling Sparse Data Sets by Applying Contrast Set Mining in Feature Selection

A data set is sparse if the number of samples in a data set is not sufficient to model the data accurately. Recent research emphasized interest in applying data mining and feature selection techniques to real world problems, many of which are characterized as sparse data sets. The purpose of this research is to define new techniques for feature selection in order to improve classification accuracy and reduce the time required for feature selection on sparse data sets. The extensive comparison with benchmarking feature selection techniques on 64 sparse data sets was conducted. Results have shown superiority of contrast set mining techniques in more than 80% of the analysis on sparse data sets. This paper provides a study on the new methodologies and detected superiority in handling data sparsity.

MIA: A multi-purpose intelligent assistant

Business systems as well as corresponding websites are constantly growing in their complexity and it is harder and harder to use them and find desired functionality or information. Intelligent assistants can be used as a mean of enabling users to find information they seek and to get the answers they require in a way that is quicker and more suited for wider types of users compared to traditional approach because they are not required to know the system in detail but rather to communicate with appropriate intelligent assistant in a more natural language which is similar to talking with their colleagues. Intelligent assistants should be as easy to develop and maintain as possible because of the need to constantly improve them in order to get the intelligent assistants to provide the latest information. In this paper a multi-purpose intelligent assistant (MIA) is proposed and its architecture as well as the perception of various business systems about the usage of such assistant are presented and discussed.