Yoshimi Fukumura

Evaluation of Student's Physiological Response Towards E-Learning Courses Material by Using GSR Sensor

This study aims to evaluate student physiological response towards the e-learning materials. The experiments were conducted by introducing two contracting e-learning materials, i.e., the one is characterized as interactive material and the other is non-interactive one. During the experiment physiological sensor, i.e., galvanic skin response (GSR) sensor was attached to the participant. Furthermore, GSR data were extracted by feature generator, LDA. The purpose of feature extraction is to find preferably small number of features that are particularly distinguishing or informative for the classification process and that are invariant to irrelevant transformations of the data. Finally, several classifiers were performed discriminating student attitude towards e-learning course materials response using GSR sensor data. The results showed that discriminant analysis (DA) and support vector machine (SVM) give high accuracy rate, while the k-nearest neighbor (KNN) give moderate accuracy rate.

Multilingual discussion in metaverse among students from the USA, Korea and Japan

E-learning continues to be used as an educational tool all over the world. However, the typical e-learning systems are sometimes not enough for students to feel a close connection with others. Now engineering education needs to be carried out from a global viewpoint, since there are lots of opportunities for international collaboration in higher education organizations. In this study, we investigated multilingual discussion in Metaverse and its possibility to enhance the skills for international discussion and international characteristics. Students from Edwards-Knox high school in the USA, graduate students from Yonsei University, Korea, and Nagaoka University of Technology (NUT), Japan, participated in this discussion held on the virtual island (owned by NUT) of Second Life. A language grid system was incorporated into the Metaverse system. This made it possible for the discussion to be carried out with and without the translation system. These sessions were carried out and compared with each other. Also the effectiveness of the international discussion project in Metaverse (with the language grid system) was discussed.

An important posting notification function in an intelligent bulletin board system for e-learning

This paper describes a discussion support function on the intelligent bulletin board system (iBBS), which aim to enhance educative effectiveness of e-Learning programs. Bi-directional communication plays an important role in asynchronous e-Learning systems. The authors have proposed the support functions for activization of communication. The paper proposes implementation and improvement for the iBBS, and demonstrates its performance through an experimental evaluation.

US Students Carry out Nuclear Safety Project in a Virtual Environment

Abstract A project about nuclear safety was carried out through e-learning. It was a problem based learning (PBL) activity that took place in Second Life (SL), an online three-dimensional community. The virtual classroom was built on an island owned by Nagaoka University of Technology, Japan. Three students from a high school near Clarkson University participated in this project. A teacher gave them a short lesson about nuclear energy safety and then proposed the problem. The students understood the contents very well and solved the problem through voice chat interactions in SL. They engaged in active discussions and displayed high interest for the safe use of nuclear energy throughout this successful project. The results clearly indicate that this type of PBL class is possible for actual e-learning about nuclear safety and for engineering education.

Nuclear Energy Safety Project in Metaverse

This project for learning nuclear energy safety was carried out through e-learning. Problem Based Learning (PBL) was selected as the educational tool and Metaverse as the class environment. The virtual classroom was built on a virtual island of Second Life owned by Nagaoka University of Technology. Three students from two National Technical Colleges in Japan joined the project. A teacher gave the students a short lecture and proposed the problem. Students understood the contents very well and solved the problem through chat-based discussions in Metaverse. Students’ clear and precise understanding, their high activeness of discussion and high interest for the safety of nuclear energy was apparent throughout this successful PBL class project. The results indicate very clearly that this kind of PBL class was obviously possible for actual e-learning in nuclear engineering and engineering education.

Problem Based Learning for US and Japan Students in a Virtual Environment

Problem Based Learning (PBL) is important for engineering education and has been a tool for creative engineering design. It can enhance creativity and has been used to successfully carry out many experiments in the real world. Researchers in the US and Japan (the authors) are pursuing studies to determine the effectiveness of its use in a virtual environment, one with cutting-edge technology and opportunities for complementary activities between face to face learning and electronic learning. Here students can work from anywhere in the world, at any time, and at their own pace. For this project, student teams from the US and Japan were asked to solve problems in a virtual community. Each team worked independently on a different project. The US team designed and built a car for the future, while the Japan team focused on designing a safe way for using nuclear energy. A discussion about the US team’s successful project is provided.

Online Collaboration Support Tools for Project-Based Learning of Embedded Software Design

The present paper reports the requirements, design, and learning effects of online collaboration support tools for project-based learning (PBL) applied to the development of embedded software. In this research, the authors created a new program that blends face-to-face classes and e-Learning classes. They also developed a computer-supported collaborative learning environment. In the present paper, the requirements for the collaboration support tools for the learning program are clarified through observation of a real PBL course. Based on this observation, an online repository tool and a unified search tool are proposed and implemented. The online repository tool was applied in a trial course blending face-to-face and online activities. Participants in the trial course completed a questionnaire survey. According to the survey responses, the blended learning program is feasible for PBL of embedded software design, and the online repository tool facilitates collaborative activities between learners and is effective for expanding each learnerfs design ability.

Virtual STEM Class for Nuclear Safety Education in Metaverse

Abstract The blend education of e-learning and hands-on activity was carried out, using Metaverse. The topic was picked up, relating to radioactivity, nuclear safety education and STEM education. The students were six 5 th and 6 th graders in an elementary school. The lecture was given to them through the virtual class in Metaverse (Second Life). And then, the hands-on experiments relating to radioactivity were carried out in real life, lead and guided by the teacher in Second Life synchronistically and supported by the teacher in real life sometimes. The questionnaire given to each of students after the hands-on experiments showed very clearly that the project satisfied with the original goals very well, from both viewpoints of STEM education and nuclear safety education at early stage (pre secondary) levels. We concluded that the blend education worked well for STEM education to much extent.

An analysis of learning preferences and e-learning suitability for effective e-learning architecture

In this study, a questionnaire on learning preferences was administered to students who were enrolled in e-learning courses offered by the collaborative project among several higher education institutions and we extracted factors in learning preferences. A strong correlation between the factor loadings (the preference for asynchronous learning and the one for the use of ICT) and the adaptability to e-learning courses was found. As a result of multiple regression analyses, it was found that, to some extent, we could predict the students adaptability to an e-learning course by measuring his/her preferences for asynchronous learning and the use of ICT. Furthermore, based on these analyses, the paper discusses an effective e-learning system that offers learning courses and learning objects that are suitable for particular students.

Eco Car Project for Japan Students as a Virtual PBL Class

Abstract Problem Based Learning (PBL) is a powerful tool for engineering design education. On the other hand, STEM education at pre-college levels is important, particularly for engineering education, to increase and maintain a nations industrial competitiveness. In this paper, virtual PBL in Second Life was carried out for third graders (18 year old students) in some national colleges of technology, Japan. At the beginning of the class, teachers proposed an ill-structured problem for students to solve, like one in real life. The problem was “design your own eco-cars through virtual discussion and make them by prim virtually”. Students as avatars discussed the problem in Second Life using microphones. They designed their own eco-cars using pens and tablets and made virtual cars with prims. After the project was completed, they evaluated their work by offline questionnaires and online talks in the virtual world. All of the results were examined from the viewpoints of the effectiveness for engineering design and STEM education.