Nelson Baloian

A collaborative face-to-face design support system based on sketching and gesturing

Mobile and pervasive computing has seen a rapid development in the last years. Portable, handheld computing devices are getting more popular as their capabilities increase. Therefore, people having the need to work on-the-field have now the possibility to be supported by computer technology, for example, garden or building designers. Ad-hoc networking capabilities of handheld devices enable the development of supporting tools for collaborative work anywhere. This paper presents MCSketcher, a system that enables face-to-face collaborative design based on sketches using handheld devices equipped for spontaneous wireless peer-to-peer networking. It is especially targeted for supporting preliminary, in-the-field work, allowing designers to exchange ideas through sketches on empty sheets or over a recently taken photograph of the object being worked on, in a brainstorming-like working style. Pen-based designed human-computer interaction is the key to supporting collaborative work. The gestures-based command input results in a lightweight yet efficient and easy to use interface. Graph structured hierarchical documents help to overcome the problems of a small screen size.

AudioBattleship: blind learners collaboration through sound

A growing number of audio-based applications for blind learners have being produced in the last few years. Many of them focus on the development of 3D audio interfaces to map the entire surrounding space. Other studies center on the impact of sound interaction on cognition by evaluating the usability of these applications. No previous work has centered on using spatialized sound to develop collaborative skills in blind learners. This ongoing research study introduces AudioBattleShip, an interactive audio-based environment to enhance collaboration and cognition in blind learners. AudioBattleship mimics the traditional game battleship for sighted people but without visual cues. A preliminary pilot study has been implemented showing that blind children collaboration can be enhanced through the interaction with spatialized sound.

A Model for a Collaborative Recommender System for Multimedia Learning Material

In a cluster of many servers containing heterogeneous multimedia learning material and serving users with different backgrounds (e.g. language, interests, previous knowledge, hardware and connectivity) it may be difficult for the learners to find a piece of material which fit their needs. This is the case of the COLDEX project. Recommender systems have been used to help people sift through all the available information to find that most valuable to them. We propose a recommender system, which suggest multimedia learning material based on the learner’s background preferences as well as the available hardware and software that he/she has.

Modeling educational software for people with disabilities: theory and practice

Interactive multimedia learning systems are not suitable for people with disabilities. They tend to propose interfaces which are not accessible for learners with vision or auditory disabilities. Modeling techniques are necessary to map real world experiences to virtual worlds by using 3D auditory representations of objects for blind people and visual representations for deaf people. In this paper we describe common aspects and differences in the process of modeling the real world for applications involving tests and evaluations of cognitive tasks with people with reduced visual or auditory cues. To validate our concepts, we examine two existing systems using them as examples: AudioDoom and Whisper. AudioDoom allows blind children to explore and interact with virtual worlds created with spatial sound. Whisper implements a workplace to help people with impaired auditory abilities to recognize speech errors. The new common model considers not only the representation of the real world as proposed by the system but also the modeling of the learners knowledge about the virtual world. This can be used by the tutoring system to enable the learner to receive relevant feedback. Finally, we analyze the most important characteristics in developing systems by comparing and evaluating them and proposing some recommendations and guidelines.

A teaching/learning approach to CSCL

In this paper an integrated system to support an educational process called COSOFT (Computer Support for Face-to-face Teaching) is presented. It is intended for use by authors, teachers and students, who can use it to enhance the traditional ways of working inside and outside the classroom. The scenario for the system is the Computer-integrated Classroom (CiC), which is a traditional classroom in which computer technology has been added to support and enhance traditional teaching/learning activities and to enable new ones. The CiC is equipped with an electronic blackboard for the teacher and a personal computer for each student. The electronic blackboard and the personal computers are connected and to the Internet by a TCP/IP network. COSOFT is especially aimed to support the cooperative/collaborative use of computer based learning material by teachers and students upholding the following activities: presentation of learning material, planning and authoring of lesson units, discussion and cooperative problem-solving, students individual work and problem solving, creation of new material during a lesson, and remote access to the learning material. The system uses open technology and it is extensible, allowing the incorporation of other tools.

Using the cloud to develop applications supporting geo-collaborative Situated Learning

Situated Learning stresses the importance of the context in which learning takes place. It has been therefore frequently associated with informal learning or learning outside the classroom. Cloud technologies can play an important role supporting this type of learning, since it requires ubiquitous computing support, connectivity and access to data across various scenarios: on the field, in the classroom, at home, etc. In this paper we first present the situated learning theory and how we can take advantage of services offered by Cloud Computing to implement computer applications implementing learning activities based on this theory, providing pertinent geographical information and discussion boards. Next we propose a software architecture schema which can be used as a basis for integrating existing cloud services into new applications supporting learning activities. Then we present two examples developed with this approach with its viability and advantages. These are discussed in the concluding chapter.

Interface creation and redesign techniques in collaborative learning scenarios

User interfaces are redesigned for various purposes, like adapting interfaces or meeting new requirements during software creation processes. In the context of learning systems, the aim of interface redesign is to let the student creates his or her own interface corresponding to the abstract concept to be learned, which is reflected in the interface designed. In this article we present an approach to interface redesign in a cooperative learning scenario for cryptographic protocols. We describe an iterative workflow using two different pieces of software for the creation and redesign of interfaces and distributed simulation and evaluate this approach.

Integrating spatial data and decision models in an e-planning tool

We review several decision models to derive six fundamental requirements to collaborative spatial decision-making: perceiving changes in spatial data; retaining interpretation mindsets; externalizing actions and expectancies in spatial data; organizing divergent and convergent working modes; supporting the recognition of situation-action elements; and managing task/pattern structures. A review of the current state of the art shows limited support to some of these requirements, in particular task/pattern and divergent/convergent support. An e-planning prototype was developed to demonstrate the impact of these requirements in collaborative spatial decision-making. Results from a preliminary experiment indicate the prototype enables people to contribute, explain, exteriorize and share their ideas in relation with spatial references.

Mobile, Collaborative Situated Knowledge Creation for Urban Planning

Geo-collaboration is an emerging research area in computer sciences studying the way spatial, geographically referenced information and communication technologies can support collaborative activities. Scenarios in which information associated to its physical location are of paramount importance are often referred as Situated Knowledge Creation scenarios. To date there are few computer systems supporting knowledge creation that explicitly incorporate physical context as part of the knowledge being managed in mobile face-to-face scenarios. This work presents a collaborative software application supporting visually-geo-referenced knowledge creation in mobile working scenarios while the users are interacting face-to-face. The system allows to manage data information associated to specific physical locations for knowledge creation processes in the field, such as urban planning, identifying specific physical locations, territorial management, etc.; using Tablet-PCs and GPS in order to geo-reference data and information. It presents a model for developing mobile applications supporting situated knowledge creation in the field, introducing the requirements for such an application and the functionalities it should have in order to fulfill them. The paper also presents the results of utility and usability evaluations.

Recommender system for contextual advertising in IPTV scenarios

This paper presents a recommender system for contextual targeted advertisement in Video-on-demand scenarios. The proposal arises from a real case of a Japanese company planning to add advertisement to its On-Demand IPTV services. The advertisements consist of icon or text-based links that may be shown before, during or after the playing of the film the customer has selected to watch. The goal of the company is to maximize the number of times customers follow the links to advertised sites because its revenues depends on this. Since only a small portion of the advertising links can be included in a movie, these must be selected carefully. This work proposes a recommender system for selecting the most appropriate advertisement for a certain customer based on the success the advertisement has had in the past among other customers having similar preferences. The paper describes the proposed method, shows the implementation work done so far and describes the remaining work in order to test it in the real scenario.