IEEE Revista Iberoamericana de Tecnologias del Aprendizaje

This paper describes a learning activity on computational thinking in ethics classroom with compulsory secondary school students (14-16 years old). It is based on the assumption that computational thinking (or better “logical thinking”) is applicable not only to science, technology, engineering, and mathematics subjects but to any other field in education, and it is particularly suit... View full abstract»

This paper proposes to apply data mining techniques to predict school failure and dropout. We use real data on 670 middle-school students from Zacatecas, México, and employ white-box classification methods, such as induction rules and decision trees. Experiments attempt to improve their accuracy for predicting which students might fail or dropout by first, using all the available attribute... View full abstract»

Although several definitions of gamification can be found in the literature, they all have in common certain aspects: the application of strategies, models, dynamics, mechanics, and elements of the games in other contexts than games, and the objective of producing a playful experience that fosters motivation, involvement, and fun. In this paper, our approach gamifying the learning process of a sub... View full abstract»

We developed a proposal of a usability evaluation by the experts of a learning management system (LMS). The instrument is designed on the basis of the general criteria for the heuristic evaluation proposed by Nielsen, as well as on international standards, guides, and recommendations for software quality (ISO 9241 and ISO 9126). We present the results from applying the usability evaluation instrum... View full abstract»

In this paper, we propose the utilization of augmented reality (AR) in a smart classroom (SaCI). The architecture of a SaCI has been proposed in a previous work, based on the paradigm of multi-agent systems. In this paper, we propose an agent that provides services of AR to display and design, among other things, augmented scenarios. In addition, we define an experimental real environment in SaCI ... View full abstract»

This paper discusses how Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) users learn and participate in cooperative environments that promote learning communities within external hypermedia environments, such as the social networks. In order to develop this paper, researchers analyzed the interaction of users enrolled in a course developed under the iMOOC platform, which is based on concepts like connectivism, ... View full abstract»

Computational thinking is a cognitive process that allows generating solutions to problems through the use of skills, such as abstraction, decomposition, and algorithmic design. This paper presents the proposal to evaluate computational thinking of new students to relate knowledge indicated in the subject methodology of programming and to offer an initial environment of learning. This paper descri... View full abstract»

Interest in studying computer science has been extended to children. However, it is unclear which educational method should be used. Teachers need help to tackle this task. Therefore, this paper proposes using metaphors, such as recipe/program (and sequence), pantry/memory, and boxes/variables. It also illustrates the possibility of applying these metaphors to any resource available to the teacher... View full abstract»

This paper describes the development of courses in the field of digital design that use Arduino boards as their main platforms. Arduino offers an intuitive development environment and multiple hardware and software resources that allow rapid development of microcontroller-based projects. However, due to the vast amount of information available, students were losing the capability to design their o... View full abstract»

This paper presents an experiment in which visual programming environments have been used in programming courses aiming at helping students to acquire the competencies of a course on object-oriented programming. This paper is centered on the analysis of the acceptance by the students of this type of environment, as well as its effect on the motivation of the students. The results obtained show dif... View full abstract»

The global economic crisis makes it necessary to increase business competitiveness. Lean is a manufacturing philosophy that deserves the attention of employers and their employees, since its objectives are to increase productivity, reduce waste, and optimize available resources. The 5S method is a lean tool that can improve productivity by improving the organization of the workplace. A brief surve... View full abstract»

This paper presents the application of project-based learning to the course on “Digital Electronic Systems,” taught in the fourth year of the B.Eng. degree in Industrial Electronics and Automation at Universidad de Vigo, Spain. The laboratory assignments and the working methodology are based on two semi-guided projects developed through an incremental process, in which the target sys... View full abstract»

Introductory programming modules are challenging for both the lecturers and students. In previous works, the authors have introduced educational innovations to mitigate these challenges and facilitate learning. This paper presents a further step forward, proposing a learning process enriched with formative feedback. To this end, visual programming environments and educational robots are combined a... View full abstract»

Peer assessment is a form of collaborative learning in which students evaluate learning products prepared by other students. We present the results of an analysis of the assessment of oral presentations by students. A group of students solves a problem, writes a document with the solution, and makes an oral presentation in class to other students. Another group assesses the written document and or... View full abstract»

Excellence is one of the goals of higher education. One possible way to achieve this objective is by applying a culture based on the concepts of quality and innovation. However, the real-world application of these concepts in higher education teaching is a difficult task. In this paper, we present a Web tool to help teachers apply a code of good teaching practice based on the aforementioned concep... View full abstract»

This paper presents the results of applying an educational data mining approach to model academic attrition (loss of academic status) at the Universidad Nacional de Colombia. Two data mining models were defined to analyze the academic and nonacademic data; the models use two classification techniques, naïve Bayes and a decision tree classifier, in order to acquire a better understanding of... View full abstract»

This paper describes the experience during the execution of a project that applied the project-based learning (PBL) methodology for teaching an undergraduate course on image processing at the Universidad de los Llanos. During this project, the learners, the students of electronics engineering and computer science, were able to complement their lectures, process and manipulate images, and build the... View full abstract»

This research describes the method of combining traditional authentication (password and username) with biometric technology, specifically fingerprint authentication. This authentication model is applied in distance education where courses are developed in learning management systems. It introduces the features of distance education as well as the biometric sensor operation. It describes the chang... View full abstract»

This paper presents a proposal for assessing the laboratory sessions of a subject of the first year in computer science degrees. This methodology is based on online short-answer exam questions related to the concepts studied in each session. After analyzing the academic results of a large group of students, we may conclude that this way of evaluating knowledge is precise. The obtained grades neith... View full abstract»

The traditional teaching-learning processes used by Chilean universities are changing. This document describes two innovative strategies applied to teach software engineering (SE) at two universities in Chile. Teaching experiences are part of our ongoing effort to improve the current teaching-learning strategies of SE in the mentioned universities. In this paper, we describe our teaching experienc... View full abstract»

Over the past few decades, there has been a movement to try to incorporate active learning techniques into traditional university classes. The main idea is that traditional classroom learning is very passive with the professor lecturing and the students listening. Active learning tries to engage students with a variety of techniques, which are mainly variations of traditional teaching techniques. ... View full abstract»

With the implementation of digital terrestrial television (DTT) in Latin American countries, and taking into account their ability to develop interactive services, new possibilities have been opened for improved connectivity in rural areas and in those with difficult access by using applications that allow universal information. In order to transfer the existing information from Spain and Europe t... View full abstract»

This paper describes how an educational digital material supports the improvement of skills in the development of algorithms within math problems, which belong to a part of an operative computational thinking, in students of the subject logic programming. This paper reflects how students lack the fundamentals of math and the algorithmic thinking which is required to solve the problems established ... View full abstract»

This paper describes a robotics summer camp that was held at the University of Puerto Rico at Aguadilla Campus (UPR-Aguadilla) during the summer of 2015. This camp gave high school students the opportunity to collaborate with their peers, in a university setting, in the building and programing of robots. The main contribution of this paper is the evaluation of the camp's influence on student enrol... View full abstract»

The application of the information and communication technologies to teaching and learning processes is linked to the development of new tools and services that can help students and teachers. Learning platforms are a clear example of this. They are very popular tools in eLearning contexts and provide different types of learning applications and services. In addition, these environments also regis... View full abstract»

This paper aims to evaluate the Wiki tool on Moodle, according to student performance. Research was conducted with students who were using the virtual learning environment, in which they had engaged in the construction of a collaborative text, showing the importance/consequences of the use of information technologies and communication, in small and medium enterprises in the region of Sant'Ana do L... View full abstract»

The platform contains a functions generator, a multichannel oscilloscope, and a spectrum analyser. A preparatory virtual laboratory is available to the students in addition to the traditional one so that they are encouraged not just to follow the theory but to try some practical exercises. In this way practical sessions in laboratories developed during the academic year can be supplemented by elec... View full abstract»

Every day, more people are interested in learning computer science (CS), either to improve their skill set to apply for new jobs or just for personal growth. The sector of the population looking for instruction on these subjects has increased and diversified. We need new tools that appeal to this wider audience, and game-based learning is one of the most promising approaches at the moment. There i... View full abstract»

Robotics teachers can explore the multidisciplinary formation of the engineering student. The use of an appropriate learning methodology enables the development of transversal skills during this educational process. In this paper, we discuss a new experience with project-based learning involving the design and development of a low-cost robot manipulator with six degrees of freedom, to motivate und... View full abstract»

This paper shows the development of two new experimental exercises that are at the top of the state-of-the-art platforms for setting up, wiring, and measuring electronic circuits online, virtual instrument systems in reality (VISIR), allowing: 1) non-isolated linear regulated dc/dc converter and 2) non-isolated switching-regulated dc/dc converter. Those experiments are part of a new setup in the V... View full abstract»

Self-regulated learning is an active field of research in pedagogy, and a key element in the current European higher education. One of the main problems found by educators in the programs centered in the promotion of self-regulation is that they need to monitor all their students constantly and thoroughly. If the number of students is large, which is typical in higher education, this becomes a pro... View full abstract»

Higher education institutions have multiple technologic subsystems for administrative, pedagogical management, and quality purposes, which gather an immense volume of data from various sources and which do not communicate with each other. The domain of the analytic performances in education emerges from the need to aggregate multiple sources of data, which the complexity of treatment associated wi... View full abstract»

The traditional teaching-learning processes used by Chilean universities are changing. This document describes two innovative strategies applied to teach software engineering (SE) at two universities in Chile. Teaching experiences are part of our ongoing effort to improve the current teaching-learning strategies of SE in the mentioned universities. In this paper, we describe our teaching experienc... View full abstract»

This paper presents the design of an academic level simulation for an industrial plant and the current status of practice activities proposed for an undergraduate course on industrial automation for electronic engineering students. Strongly focused on professional processes and methods, in particular, it deals with the specific activities developed by electronic engineers at the lower levels of th... View full abstract»

In this paper, we describe the special challenges that educational games (also known as serious games) pose for online learning object (LO) repositories. As in all metadata, a tension exists between descriptive power and the effort needed to create these descriptions. This tension is even greater when describing complex, highly interactive multimedia content such as serious games. We consider seri... View full abstract»

Quizzes are among the most widely used resources in Web-based education due to their many benefits. However, educators need suitable authoring tools that can be used to create reusable quizzes and to enhance existing materials with them. This paper presents an online e-Learning authoring tool for creating and integrating reusable quizzes and enhancing existing learning resources with them. The eva... View full abstract»

For the current engineering degrees, it is necessary to design a monitoring process in order to supervise the subject called “Final Degree Project.” This method must be able to manage and evaluate the process of completing the project and submitting the documentation. This paper describes the design of an adaptive method and how to put this mechanism into practice using the learning ... View full abstract»

This paper describes a project-based learning case example developed at the University of Lleida, Spain. This proposal was addressed to third-year engineering students and combines knowledge from computer vision and robotic control to complete an automation project task. The learning target was to develop a computer vision system that must detect a small object placed randomly on a target surface ... View full abstract»

The learning habits of a new generation of students, i.e., those growing up with cell phones, access to social media, and video games, are significantly different from the habits of the educators who are preparing them for the future workplace. The effectiveness of traditional lecture-based classrooms has been questioned by educators, parents, industry, and government. In the field of science, tec... View full abstract»

More than ever, the economic globalization is creating the need to increase business competitiveness. Lean manufacturing is a management philosophy oriented to the elimination of activities that do not create any type of value and are thus considered a waste. One of the main differences from other management philosophies is the shop-floor focus and the operators' involvement. Therefore, the traini... View full abstract»

This paper is aimed at discussing several issues related to the teamwork generic competence, motivational profiles, and academic performance. In particular, we study the improvement of teamwork attitude, the predominant types of motivation in different contexts, and some correlations among these three components of the learning process. The above-mentioned aspects are of great importance. Currentl... View full abstract»

As result of the discussions maintained at the panel session on Software Development for e-Learning of the third workshop on software engineering for e-Learning (ISELEAR'12), several points of view emerged regarding the conception, development, and maintenance of e-Learning solutions. This paper summarizes and confronts these points of view: 1) automated approaches; 2) combination of different met... View full abstract»

Combining learning objects are a challenging topic because of its direct application to curriculum generation, tailored to the students' profiles and preferences. Intelligent planning allows us to adapt learning routes (i.e., sequences of learning objects), thus highly improving the personalization of contents, the pedagogical requirements, and specific necessities of each student. This paper pres... View full abstract»

In order to properly address the issues of today's global world, the importance of engineering students acquiring leadership and professional skills has increased tremendously. In fact, leadership is one of the basic pillars for global economic development. By immersing oneself in an engineering organization or honor society, one learns to cultivate a team-work mentality that will be invaluable in... View full abstract»

Mobile learning is a reality. However, ubiquitous learning approaches are not at a full level of maturity, much of these approaches lacking proposals aiming to provide its practical use. This paper presents an architecture for ubiquitous learning, which employs the paradigm of ontology-based data access (OBDA) for solving problems related to data integration and access of data sources in complex s... View full abstract»

This paper presents an experience based on the use of m-learning in higher education. The application developed aims at learning control sentences in structured programming languages. The objective of this experience is to determine the degree of acceptance and use of Educational Apps for mobile devices among our students, and the perception they have of how this kind of tools helps them to reach ... View full abstract»

In recent years, several institutions have begun to organize outreach activities among high school students. The main objective of these activities is to reverse the trend detected in many countries related to the decrease in the number of students choosing university studies in the field of engineering. This paper shows a set of activities which has been designed within the framework of a project... View full abstract»

The process of learning correct pronunciation can greatly benefit from the twin disciplines of information visualization (InfoVis) and human-computer interaction (HCI). HCI concerns with design, evaluation, and implementation for the ease of use of users, while InfoVis is responsible for representing multidimensional data in a specific information context. The two disciplines can, therefore, compl... View full abstract»

This invited editorial introduces a special section of the IEEE-RITA journal devoted to the INTERACCIÓN’2014, the 15th International Conference on Human–Computer Interaction (HCI) held in Tenerife, Spain, in September 2014. This section includes the revised and extended version of three papers selected in the last edition of this conference. This editorial summarizes the subje... View full abstract»

Multi-agency crisis management represents one of the most complex real-world situations, requiring rapid negotiation and decision-making under extreme pressure. However, the training provided to Gold Commanders (strategic planners) typically lacks the stress of a real crisis, while research tells us that behavior and decision-making are significantly affected by stress. It is, therefore, vital tha... View full abstract»