Community building and virtual teamwork in an online learning environment

In the world of OTIS, an online Internet School for occupational therapists, students from four European countries were encouraged to work collaboratively through problem based learning by interacting with each other in a virtual semi-immersive environment. This paper aims to explore the issues that there was little interaction between students from different tutorial groups and virtual teamwork developed in each of the cross cultural tutorial groups. Synchronous data from European students was captured during tutorial sessions and peer booked meetings and evidence suggests that communities of interest were established. It is possible to conclude that collaborative systems can be designed, which encourage students to build trust and teamwork in a cross cultural online learning environment. </p

Optimizing plug-in electric vehicle charging in interaction with a small office building

This paper considers the integration of plug-in electric vehicles (PEVs) in micro-grids. Extending a theoretical framework for mobile storage connection, the economic analysis here turns to the interactions of commuters and their driving behavior with office buildings. An illustrative example for a real office building is reported. The chosen system includes solar thermal, photovoltaic, combined heat and power generation as well as an array of plug-in electric vehicles with a combined aggregated capaci-ty of 864 kWh. With the benefit-sharing mechanism proposed here and idea-lized circumstances, estimated cost savings of 5% are possible. Different pricing schemes were applied which include flat rates, demand charges, as well as hourly variable final customer tariffs and their effects on the operation of intermittent storage were revealed and examined in detail. Because the plug-in electric vehicle connection coincides with peak heat and electricity loads as well as solar radiation, it is possible to shift energy demand as desired in order to realize cost savings. --Battery storage,building management systems,dispersed storage and generation,electric vehicles,load management,microgrid,optimization methods,power system economics,road vehicle electric propulsion

An agent-based architecture for managing the provision of community care - the INCA (Intelligent Community Alarm) experience

Community Care is an area that requires extensive cooperation between independent agencies, each of which needs to meet its own objectives and targets. None are engaged solely in the delivery of community care, and need to integrate the service with their other responsibilities in a coherent and efficient manner. Agent technology provides the means by which effective cooperation can take place without compromising the essential security of both the client and the agencies involved as the appropriate set of responses can be generated through negotiation between the parties without the need for access to the main information repositories that would be necessary with conventional collaboration models. The autonomous nature of agents also means that a variety of agents can cooperate together with various local capabilities, so long as they conform to the relevant messaging requirements. This allows a variety of agents, with capabilities tailored to the carers to which they are attached to be developed so that cost-effective solutions can be provided. </p

Assessment and learning outcomes: the evaluation of deep learning in an on-line course

Using an online learning environment, students from European countries collaborated and communicated to carry out problem based learning in occupational therapy. The effectiveness of this approach was evaluated by means of the final assessments and published learning outcomes. In particular, transcripts from peer-to-peer sessions of synchronous communication were analysed. The SOLO taxonomy was used and the development of deep learning was studied week by week. This allowed the quality of the course to be appraised and showed, to a certain extent, the impact of this online international course on the learning strategies of the students. Results indicate that deep learning can be supported by synchronous communication and online meetings between course participants.</p

Collaboration and teamwork: immersion and presence in an online learning environment

In the world of OTIS, an online Internet School for occupational therapists, students from four European countries were encouraged to work collaboratively through problem-based learning by interacting with each other in a virtual semi-immersive environment. This paper describes, often in their own words, the experience of European occupational therapy students working together across national and cultural boundaries. Collaboration and teamwork were facilitated exclusively through an online environment, since the students never met each other physically during the OTIS pilot course. The aim of the paper is to explore the observations that here was little interaction between students from different tutorial groups and virtual teamwork developed in each of the cross-cultural tutorial groups. Synchronous data from the students was captured during tutorial sessions and peer-booked meetings and analysed using the qualitative constructs of ‘immersion’, ‘presence’ and ‘reflection in learning’. The findings indicate that ‘immersion’ was experienced only to a certain extent. However, both ‘presence’ and shared presence were found by the students, within their tutorial groups, to help collaboration and teamwork. Other evidence suggests that communities of interest were established. Further study is proposed to support group work in an online learning environment. It is possible to conclude that collaborative systems can be designed, which encourage students to build trust and teamwork in a cross cultural online learning environment.</p

Agents for educational games and simulations

This book consists mainly of revised papers that were presented at the Agents for Educational Games and Simulation (AEGS) workshop held on May 2, 2011, as part of the Autonomous Agents and MultiAgent Systems (AAMAS) conference in Taipei, Taiwan. The 12 full papers presented were carefully reviewed and selected from various submissions. The papers are organized topical sections on middleware applications, dialogues and learning, adaption and convergence, and agent applications

E-learning challenges faced by academics in higher education

E-learning has become a necessity in higher education institutions and is being deployed in educational establishments throughout the world. Researchers have made much emphasis on its benefits but not much is discussed on the disadvantages of e-learning technology. This paper references some of the research work on the limitations of e-learning technology, categorises it in five challenges that teachers are faced with and suggestions for a successful e-learning outcome. This paper also discusses the use of e-learning technology in Middlesex University and some of the challenges they face. Lastly this paper identifies gaps in e-learning literature and calls for further works on this subject

Mobile learning in a seminar or workshop : a case study for evaluating MOBIlearn2 basic components and their application

Mobile devices are getting more powerful and affordable with a variety of useful tools to support students in their learning. With these advantages, many researchers have considered it very important to integrate the pedagogical and technological strengths of mobile devices into learning especially for higher education. However, the challenge for academic institutions is to understand which applications are suitable to support their learning activities and how best they might use them in and beyond formal classroom. This case study focuses on the evaluation of basic components that make up the MOBIlearn2 application for supporting students attending a one hour seminar or workshop of their choice. We conclude that the application is highly suitable for the students to collect data for their learning and it is essential to include them in the design stage in effort to reveal hidden errors unknown to developer

Computational estimate visualisation and evaluation of agent classified rules learning system

Student modelling and agent classified rules learning as applied in the development of the intelligent Preassessment System has been presented in [10],[11]. In this paper, we now demystify the theory behind the development of the pre-assessment system followed by some computational experimentation and graph visualisation of the agent classified rules learning algorithm in the estimation and prediction of classified rules. In addition, we present some preliminary results of the pre-assessment system evaluation. From the results, it is gathered that the system has performed according to its design specification