Sofoklis Sotiriou

Human factors and qualitative pedagogical evaluation of a mobile augmented reality system for science education used by learners with physical disabilities

Technology-enhanced learning, employing novel forms of content representation and education service delivery by enhancing the visual perception of the real environment of the user, is favoured by proponents of educational inclusion for learners with physical disabilities. Such an augmented reality computer-mediated learning system has been developed as part of an EU funded research project, namely the CONNECT project. The CONNECT project brings together schools and science centres, and produces novel information and communication technologies based on augmented reality (AR) and web-based streaming and communication, in order to support learning in a variety of settings. The CONNECT AR interactive learning environment can assist users to better contextualize and reinforce their learning in school and in other settings where people learn (i.e. science centres and home). The CONNECT concept and associated technologies encourage users to visit science centres and perform experiments that are not possible in school. They can also build on these experiences back at school and at home with visual augmentations that they are communicated through web-based streaming technology. This paper particularly focuses on a user-centred evaluation approach of human factors and pedagogical aspects of the CONNECT system, as applied to a special needs user group. The main focus of the paper is on highlighting the human factors issues and challenges, in terms of wearability and technology acceptance, while elaborating on some qualitative aspects of the pedagogical effectiveness of the instructional medium that AR technology offers for this group of learners.

Assessing the Wearability of Wearable Computers

In terms of mounting a computer on the body, the computers weight, size, shape, placement and method of attachment can elicit a number of effects. Inappropriate design may mean that the wearer is unable to perform specific tasks or achieve goals. Excessive stress on the body may result in perceptions of discomfort, which may in turn affect task performance, but ultimately raises issues of health and safety. This paper proposes a methodology for assessing the affects of wearing a computer in terms of physiological energy expenditure, the biomechanical effects due to changes in movement patterns, posture and perceptions of localised pain and discomfort due to musculoskeletal loading, and perceptions of well- being through comfort assessment. From ratings of these effects the paper proposes 5 levels to determine the wearability of a computer.

The optical module for the NESTOR neutrino telescope

NESTOR is a deep-sea water Cherenkov neutrino detector now under construction for deployment in the Mediterranean off Greece. Its key component is an optical module employing a photomultiplier tube with a 15 in. hemispherical photocathode in a transparent glass pressure housing. Extensive tests have been made on the sensitivity, uniformity, time resolution, noise rates and mechanical properties of the module: several test deployments have been made at sea.

The Open Discovery Space Portal: A Socially-Powered and Open Federated Infrastructure

During the past years, several open educational resources (OERs) initiatives around the world have been developed, which aim to create and share digital educational resources in the form of learning objects (LOs) that are openly licensed and available online for everyone to use. These initiatives have contributed in building and sustaining web-based repositories which are called learning object repositories (LORs). However, with many LORs implemented and maintained independently, valuable LOs are scattered over different LORs and it might be difficult for end users to easily access them. A suggested solution towards addressing this issue is to create infrastructures that enable the discovery and identification of LOs across different LORs. As a result, several federated infrastructures have been developed and are currently operating online. Within this context, a prominent European initiative has been launched, namely the Open Discovery Space (ODS) portal, which aims to (a) build a federated infrastructure for a super-repository on top of existing LORs and federated infrastructures and (b) provide social features for building and sustaining web-based educational communities and communities of best teaching practices from 2,000 European schools. To this end, the aim of this book chapter is to present the architecture of the ODS portal, as well as its current implementation and future plans.

From Learning Objects Repositories to Learning Design Repositories: The COSMOS Learning Design Repository

During the past years sharing and re-use of digital science education resources became a mainstream activity among science education communities. These resources bare the potential to support technology-enhanced science education by enabling science education teachers to improve their day-to-day science teaching. On the other hand, it has been identified that science education teachers could benefit from their participation in communities of best science teaching practices by sharing, not only digital educational resources, but learning designs that reflect their pedagogical practice. This has lead to efforts on moving beyond web-based repositories of digital educational content towards the development of web-based repositories of learning designs. Nevertheless, sharing learning designs requires tools and strategies, so as to facilitate the representation of these learning designs in a commonly understandable manner between humans and machines. To this end, we present the design and operation of the COSMOS web-based repository of Learning Designs for supporting Science Education Teacher Communities.

NESTOR: A status report

NESTOR is an underwater neutrino astrophysics laboratory to be located in the international waters of the southwest of Greece. The first phase of this experiment is the construction and deployment of one hexagonal tower consisting of 168 optical modules, with effective are of 20000m2 for E ⩾ TeV neutrinos. Over the past few years detailed studies of the site have been carried out while many tests have been performed. The current status of the preparation of the experiment and the future plans will be presented.

COSMOS: An Advanced Scientific Repository for Science Teaching and Learning

COSMOS initiative aims to create an experimental laboratory for students and teachers in order to improve science instruction by expanding the resources for teaching and learning in schools and universities and by providing more challenging and authentic learning experiences for students. The project builds upon the state of the art developments as regards the interoperability architectures and metadata standards and the latest evolutions in learning technologies to perform an extended validation on the effectiveness and the efficiency of the proposed approach in the science teaching and learning.

Status of NESTOR, a deep sea neutrino telescope in the Mediterranean

In the last few years a great interest has been expressed for the construction of a Neutrino Astroparticle Physics Laboratory in the Mediterranean. The NESTOR collaboration made important progresses and plans soon to deploy in deep sea a detector with ∼ 104 m2 effective surface. This detector will be able not only to demonstrate the validity of the experimental approach but also to start data collection and then real Neutrino Astrophysics. The status of the preparation of the experiment and the future programs are described.

Open Access to Science Education Resources and Learning Designs in Europe

Over the past years a large amount of digital science education resources became available for open access through web-based repositories. These resources have the potential to support technology-enhanced science education by enabling science teachers to improve their day-to-day science teaching. Nevertheless, it has been identified that science teachers could benefit from their participation in communities of best science teaching practices by sharing, not only digital educational resources, but also learning designs that represent their pedagogical practice. This hasled to efforts on moving beyond web-based repositories of digital educational resources towards the development of web-based repositories of learning designs. Within this framework, the aim of this paper is to provide an overview of three (3) European initiatives, which aim to support and facilitate open access to Educational Resources and Learning Designs in the field of Science Education, namely, the Open Science Resources Repository, the COSMOS Repository and the PATHWAY Coordination and Support Action.

Using advanced technologies to connect schools to science museums

Field trips in science centers and museums are often isolated from the school curriculum, missing the opportunity to link fun to science learning. This research describes the efforts to enhance the students and teachers experience when visiting a science center or museum. Broadband technologies are used to support students? activities before and after the visit to the science centre and mobile and wearable technologies are used to visualize invisible phenomena while the students visit the science center.