Ateneo Laboratory for the Learning Sciences

The ALLS Lecture Series
Saturday, 14 October 2017, 9:00 AM
Ateneo de Manila University, F-223
ADMISSION IS FREE

From Learning Standards to Smart Learning Environments: A View of the Challenges of Technology Enhanced Learning Miguel Rodriguez Artacho

The main purpose of TEL has been to provide an adequate support at the right time and with the appropriate means to foster the learning process by means of technology. In the last years we have provide modelization frameworks for learning content as long as improved intelligent analysis of the needs of students at an individualized level. The appearance of IoT and the new scenarios of massive courses introduces new factors and needs in the design of personalized and effective learning situations based on sensible environments, ubiquitous learning and scalable infrastructure. This talk overviews the evolution of TEL and describes some of its current challenges to provide orchestration of services and analytics that makes use of technical and semantic interoperability of the student data.

Dr. Miguel Rodriguez Artacho is an Associate Professor of computer science specializing in technology-enhanced learning and educational modeling languages; computers in education; and ICT-based instructional design. He is also a member of a large European Union-funded project called eMadrid that is interested in all types of technologies as they apply to education.

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Slides are available here: talk 1, talk 2
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The ALLS Lecture Series Thursday
28 September 2017, 3:00 to 4:30
Ateneo de Manila University, F-223
ADMISSION IS FREE

Leveraging an Existing Learning Management  System for Alternative Learning
Mikaela T. Malit

Abstract: Alternative learning is a practical option for interested learners that have not attended or finished formal basic education. In the Philippines, the Department of Education offers many alternative learning and non-formal programs for every kind of Filipino. While there have been initiatives to integrate information and communication technologies (ICT) in these programs, the use of modern ICT has not been fully realized. This study investigated the effectiveness of introducing an existing learning management system (LMS) as a supplement to the Accreditation and Equivalency Alternative Learning System (ALS) program of the Department of Education. The LMS was intended to aid learning and improve performance by enabling online access to learning materials, delivery of real-time feedback through self-checking interactive quizzes, and self-monitoring of learning progress. A dynamic quiz generation plugin was developed and integrated with Moodle to create interactive quizzes from existing static learning materials. LMS use was monitored in an eight-week implementation in two learning centers where learning gains, LMS usage, usability, access, response, and overall experience were assessed. Evaluation of the LMS yielded favorable ratings in usability, and access and response as an online learning environment. Overall, the student and teacher respondents viewed the LMS as a helpful learning tool and encouraged its use in other learning centers and in the future. Feedback and suggestions were also gathered from the respondents during evaluation which can be used to improve the LMS.

Mikaela T. Malit finished her BS in Management Information Systems at the Ateneo de Manila University in 2016. She has successfully defended her MS in Computer Science thesis recently and is expected to graduate by the end of the year. Her research interests are Applied Computing in Education, Learning Management Systems, and E-learning.

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The ALLS Lecture Series
Thursday, 31 August 2017, 3:00 to 4:30
Ateneo de Manila University, F-223

ADMISSION IS FREE

Advances in RGB-camera based hand tracking and gesture recognition
Antonio Rafael Umali

Abstract:
While hand tracking and gesture recognition is relatively easy to perform using specialized equipment and sensors, achieving it in a more human-like manner, that is from pure RGB vision, has proven to be a difficult task. This talk will discuss and focus on real-time methods for hand tracking and gesture recognition using fast feature detection and hand model construction. This talk will also discuss interpreting different hand gestures based on the model state and using them as inputs for various applications.

Antonio Rafael Umali finished his BS in Computer Science, majoring in Interactive Multimedia at the Ateneo de Manila University in 2013. He spent 1 year working at a game development startup, called Skillshot Labs, before moving to the Worcester, Massachusetts to pursue a graduate degree in Computer Science at Worcester Polytechnic Institute in 2014. He graduated with his masters, specializing in Artificial Intelligence and Robotics, in 2016. His graduate master’s thesis was accepted as a publication at ICRA 2017, and was presented last June 2017. Antonio Rafael Umali is currently working at the Ateneo de Manila University as a part time lecturer and project assistant, working on a hand-gesture recognition project.

To register, please fill out this Google form.