Title: Can we improve emotional intelligence using somatics and non-verbal communication?

Author(s): RODRIGUEZ-JIMENEZ, ROSA-MARIA

Organisation(s): UNIVERSIDAD EUROPEA DE MADRID, Spain

Presenter(s): RODRIGUEZ-JIMENEZ, ROSA-MARIA

Abstract: The university community agrees on the importance of develop and evaluate generic skills. Generally, general skills and personal growth have been developed applying cognitive rational based methods. Nevertheless, humans make new knowledge through the experience the body provides. In particular, enact-learning can be developed through creative movement and non-verbal communication. As findings in neuroscience prove, to introduce the body work and somatic aspects in learning contexts have positive effects on other brain functions. The ability of the teacher to manage emotions and to communicate effectively are all aspects that affect the work atmosphere, the level of student motivation, and finally, his personal development. The objectives are: • To make teachers more conscious about the importance of the body and the NV communication in the learning-teaching processes. • To introduce some aspects relating body work and NV communication to be applied during the teaching activity. • To share some tools to improve self-knowledge, self-esteem, interpersonal skills and empathy.

Title: Digital Safety in Schools

Author(s): Laugasson, Edmund (1); Lorenz, Birgy (1,2); Klooster, Aare (1,3)

Organisation(s): 1: Tallinn University, Estonia; 2: Pelgulinna Gymnasium; 3: Tallinn School of Economics

Presenter(s): Laugasson, Edmund; Lorenz, Birgy; Klooster, Aare

Abstract: Nowadays school as well society empowers usage of digital devices and internet starting from the first grade. Schools are connected with internet and equipped with different digital devices connected to the internet - computers, laptops, tablets, smartphones etc. Students are often using own devices - the famous BYOD (bring your own device) has been common practice in lots of schools, but some still struggle. This brings the main question into account - how is digital safety ensured and delivered in the schools? Technological settings of software and network devices are important, but crucial role plays people's (students, parents, teachers, school leaders and ICT support) awareness about digital safety and behaviour in internet. In this workshop the participants will discuss rules, regulations, roles, rights and limitations in the area through different cases and learn about the best practices about digital safety in schools.

Title: Practical workshop in competence based e-learning environment

Author(s): Kukk, Vello; Jaanus, Martin; Umbleja, Kadri

Organisation(s): Tallinn University of Technology, Estonia

Presenter(s): Kukk, Vello; Jaanus, Martin; Umbleja, Kadri

Abstract: The workshop participants can work just as students in the interactive web based learning environment ISC solving both practical and theoretical tasks and follow how the system treats students’ progress during learning. Workshop is organized in the following way. Participants register to book a place and lab kit for 1 hour time slots. Current state and prediction of ability levels for up to 1 year are available during workshop and after. The competencies available during workshop are from different areas: electrical circuits, electronics, signals, math, operating systems, microcontrollers, nanotechnology etc. Participants will have early connection to the site; they can login, solve some problems, look into the site (lab), view lab kits, and book their time slots. Available time slots will be determined on the base of booking information one week before conference. Teacher’s views will be available only on site.

Title: Connecting The Teaching Practice Of Coastal Engineering With Challenges Of The Rapidly Changing Environment

Author(s): Soomere, Tarmo

Organisation(s): Estonian Academy of Sciences, Estonia

Presenter(s): Soomere, Tarmo

Abstract: Rapid changes to the environmental forcing factors such as winds, waves, sea level and ice conditions provide a major challenge for the teaching practice of coastal engineering. This paper gives an overview of a selection of recently identified long-term and rapid variations in the properties of winds and waves in the Baltic Sea basin and the possibilities of the reflection of these changes in the university education. These changes, although evident from a variety observational and modelling efforts, are often ambiguous, different in different locations and controversial. For example, the world’s longest records of visual wave observations in 1946–2012 at the eastern coast of the Baltic Sea reveal a substantial decrease in the wave heights until about 1970 and large decadal variations since then whereas a considerable rotation of the usual wave approach direction was identified at one location. The challenge for the teachers is how to properly apply such data for engineering applications such as the evaluation of wave-driven sediment transport or wave energy resources. This often requires overruling standard concepts relying on simple trends and calls for in-depth explanations of the physics and dynamics behind much more complicated structure of the temporal course of decisive variables.

Title: Enhancing the motivation and success of freshman students in interdisciplinary engineering degree programs

Author(s): Mackensen, Elke; Lurz, Claudia; Reichert, Anja; Köbler, Jürgen

Organisation(s): Hochschule Offenburg University of Applied Sciences, Germany

Presenter(s): Lurz, Claudia

Abstract: In this paper a practice and science orientated education concept for freshman students of interdisciplinary engineering degree programs will be presented which shall enhance the motivation and success of freshman students. The education concept is called Fit4PracSis (Fit for Practice and Sciences). The objectives of the Fit4PracSis concept will be achieved by a combination of new courses during the first and second semester of interdisciplinary engineering degree programs. Fit4PracSis has been initially implemented in the interdisciplinary industrial engineering bachelor program of the University of Applied Sciences Offenburg. The outstanding features of the education concept are listed below: 1. Professional and scientific perspectives will be shown during an orientation week and other new courses during the introductory study phase. 2. Freshman students will be early prepared for business and research activities. 3. Freshman students will be early trained in important skills which are necessary for the successful achievement of the final degree and also for business and research activities. 4. Freshman students will be early promoted for autonomous and self-reliant working.

Title: First-year dropout in ICT studies

Author(s): Kori, Külli (1); Pedaste, Margus (1); Tõnisson, Eno (1); Palts, Tauno (1); Sell, Raivo (2); Murtazin, Kristina (2); Altin, Heilo (1); Rantsus, Ramon (1)

Organisation(s): 1: University of Tartu, Estonia; 2: Tallinn University of Technology, Estonia

Presenter(s): Kori, Külli

Abstract: There is a high demand for qualified Information and Communication Technology (ICT) practitioners in the European labor market. In Estonia, the problem is not a low number of ICT students but a high dropout rate. Many of the students who drop out will still enter the labor market and, therefore, more and more ICT workers will not have a degree in ICT. Therefore, is important to understand which characteristics of the candidates should be taken into account, in order to avoid dropout. The aim of this study is to find how it is possible to predict first-year dropout in ICT studies. Data was collected from ICT students who started their studies in school year 2013/2014. They started their studies in Estonia at three higher education institutions and in eight different curricula. Together, these three higher education institutions graduate the vast majority of ICT students in Estonia. Data was collected by using two questionnaires: (1) at the beginning of studies, (2) after the first semester. In addition, some information was collected electronically during the admission process. 301 first-year ICT students filled in the questionnaires. . In addition, information about which students dropped out during the first study year and information about students’ academic achievements was collected from the universities’ student information systems. The results showed that on average, 25% of the ICT students dropped out during the first study-year. It was found that students who dropped out had lower scores in mathematics exam. This means that the score of the mathematics exam is one characteristic that can predict dropout during the first study-year. Mathematics courses are an important part of the first-year ICT studies. At the beginning of the studies there were not many differences in the answers of the students who dropped out during the first semester and those who did not. However, the answers after the first semester showed some statistically significant differences. The students who dropped out during the first year evaluated their interest lower than the students who did not drop out. Also, the students who dropped out answered that the curriculum and the studies (teaching methods, lecturers etc.) met their expectations less than the students who did not drop out. Moreover, after the first semester, the students who dropped out evaluated the probability of finishing their studies and working in the ICT field after finishing to be lower than the students who did not drop out. These results indicated that the students who were about to drop out showed lower motivation after the first semester. It can be concluded that asking questions after the first semester gives information to universities as to who are about to drop out. Based on the information universities can support students to retain them.

Title: Effectiveness of Model-Driven Development Method in Conceptual Modeling Education for University Freshmen

Author(s): Kayama, Mizue (1); Ogata, Shinpei (1); Nagai, Takashi (2); Yokota, Hiroaki (3); Masumoto, Kento (3); Hashimoto, Masami (1)

Organisation(s): 1: Shinshu University, Japan; 2: Interdisciplinary Graduate School of Science & Technology, Shinshu University, Japan; 3: Graduate School of Science & Technology, Shinshu Universiyu, Japan

Presenter(s): Kayama, Mizue

Abstract: We have introduced the MDD method and the domain specific language (DSL) defined by teacher in the conceptual modeling course for university freshmen in their first semester. By using the MDD method, we expect our students to be able to evaluate their own model based on the observation of target device behavior. Also, by using the DSL, we expect the teacher of this course can control the difficulty of the problem solving. With the DSL in our research, teachers can define the vocabulary and shapes to create models for each problem. In this paper, we aim to clarify the effectiveness of the MDD method for improving conceptual modeling quality of university freshmen. To show you this research goal, we quantitatively analyzed state machine diagrams made by students. In this study, we introduce two types of educational procedures with the MDD. One type is the “package MDD (P-MDD)”. In this type, students think the models for all problems on the desk top at first. Then, they check the correctness of their models by using the MDD method. The other type is the “sequential MDD (S-MDD)”. In this type, students think the models for a problem on the desk top. Then, they check the correctness of their models by using the MDD method. After the students confirm the quality of their models, they try to solve next problem. During this analysis, we asked ourselves “How our students are able to improve their own model quality by using the MDD method?”. This is our first research question. After our experiment, we can find the MDD method is quite effective to improve model quality. Moreover, the S-MDD is more effective at the last problem in this course than the P-MDD.

Title: Development of new curriculum for Industrial Engineering Program that meets the curriculum requirements of the ABET and Institution

Author(s): Aoudia, Mouloud (1,2); Abu AlQahsi, Deya Al-Deen (1)

Organisation(s): 1: Northern Border University, Arar, Saudi Arabia; 2: ENSSEA, Algiers, Algeria

Presenter(s): Aoudia, Mouloud

Abstract: The implementation of the assessment and evaluation processes in the Industrial Engineering (IE) Department at Northern Border University (NBU) has identified a number of areas for improvement. The most important one is the necessity for the development of a new curriculum for the IE program. Since the program of IE at the Faculty of Engineering at NBU is seeking for the ABET accreditation, so it must meet all the general and program criteria particularly the ABET's curriculum requirements specifying subject areas appropriate to engineering (Math & Basic Sciences, Engineering topics and General education). At the beginning of the development of the new IE curriculum, the ABET's requirement concerning the curriculum, was not the only constraint that needed to be considered by the faculty of IE department. For instance, the institution (NBU) has adopted a new rule that states that the grades earned by a student in the preparatory year (02 semesters) courses will not be counted in the calculation of the Cumulative GPA for the future curriculum of Bachelor of Science in IE at NBU. This new rule implies that the new IE curriculum should be built on eight (08) semesters instead of ten (10) semesters as was the case with the old IE curriculum. The objective of this paper is twofold: 1) to present and argue in favor of a new IE Curriculum that will prepare, more efficiently, the students to achieve the student outcomes upon graduation and to achieve the program educational objectives during their careers (3 or 5 years after graduation) and 2) to present the methodology followed by the faculty for developing a new curriculum for IE program while considering different constraints.

Title: Towards a Better Understanding of Learning Mechanisms in Information Systems Education

Author(s): Sedelmaier, Yvonne; Landes, Dieter

Organisation(s): Coburg University of Applied Sciences and Arts, Germany

Presenter(s): Sedelmaier, Yvonne

Abstract: Instructors in higher education are regularly faced with the problem that they need to develop a new course, or to adapt an existing one to changed requirements. This is especially true for topics related to information technology (IT) since technological progress is fast in this domain. Information technology also developed into a cross-cutting discipline that affects many other areas. Therefore, IT related topics need to be integrated into curricula also in non-IT study programs. Unfortunately, students in such study programs are often not aware of the role of IT and, consequently, only marginally interested. These constraints make it even harder for an instructor to figure out which contents should be addressed in a course, how they should be arranged, and which didactical approach might be appropriate to convey the contents to the audience such that the understanding is maximized. This is even harder for instructors who are experts in their own domain, e.g. information technology, but do not have a sound background in pedagogy or didactics themselves. Often, instructors are left to their own devices and approach course planning in an ad-hoc and often only loosely systematic way. Many didactical decisions are implicit and not conscious choices. This contribution presents an approach to a more systematic course design, based on concepts from general didactics, in particular Klafki’s Didaktik Analysis. This approach is supposed to work for various types of courses in diverse domains. As a proof of concepts, we successfully applied this approach to redesign a course on information systems in a master program in financial management. Before we present details on this case study on course redesign, we outline the motivation and theoretical underpinning for our approach. A short summary and an outlook to further refinements of our approach will conclude the paper.

Title: Teaching Software Engineering in Schools - On the right time to introduce Software Engineering Concepts

Author(s): Bollin, Andreas; Sabitzer, Barbara

Organisation(s): Alpen-Adria Universität Klagenfurt, Austria

Presenter(s): Bollin, Andreas

Abstract: Software is everywhere – be it in mobile phones, in washing machines, or in cars. With it, the importance of Software Engineering is uncontested, and Software Engineering (SE) is taught all over the world: at Universities, at Colleges, and recently also at High Schools. There are international Software Engineering curricula, standards, and certificates, but there is no manifestation of Software Engineering (and related practices) in the course syllabi at secondary schools. This contribution tries to answer the question about the ideal time to start with Software Engineering at schools and reports on some first results and lessons learned of an experiment introducing Software Engineering principles in the 3rd grade of a vocational high school (higher secondary school).

Title: Conceptual understanding of complex components and Nyquist-Shannon Sampling Theorem: a design based research in Engineering

Author(s): Block, Brit-Maren; Mercorelli, Paolo

Organisation(s): Leuphana University of Lüneburg, Germany

Presenter(s): Block, Brit-Maren

Abstract: The ubiquity of complex components and variables is well-known in all fields of engineering. The didactic importance of complex numbers is emphasized by this fact. Students express the topic to be difficult to comprehend and "imaginary", so to present this topic in an appropriate and student-centered way is of great challenge for each lecturer. The fundamental target of this contribution is to overcome barriers in student´s understanding and, in doing so, to improve the quality of engineering education. Guided by this objective a design-based research was carried out. Theory-based new didactic approaches have been developed in order to increase student´s conceptual understanding of complex arithmetic. In addition, new theoretical insights into the comprehension problems are gained. The research design, the intervention developed and the empirical findings will be presented.

Title: Students’ grading control and visualisation in competence-based learning approach

Author(s): Umbleja, Kadri

Organisation(s): Tallinn University of Technology, Estonia

Presenter(s): Umbleja, Kadri

Abstract: Competence-based learning has become more and more popular lately and it has been applied in many institutions, e.g. [1-3]. There are many different definitions for the term competence. Klarus has defined it as a mix of skills, attitudes and knowledge that makes the employee or graduate successful in society and in his/her profession [4]. Other definition states that by competence, it is denoted as good performance in diverse, authentic contexts based on the integration and activation of knowledge, rules, standards, techniques, procedures, abilities, skills, attitudes and values [5]. In our approach, competence-based learning is defined as a knowledge based methodology which concentrates on measuring what a person can actually do as a result of learning [6]. It contrasts classical topic-based learning where learning is focused on certain topics. As every competence connected to the course is going to be graded separately, some kind of aggregation has to be used to extract the final mark. In our approach, every course consists of a list of competences that should be acquired. Every competence has a weight connect to it and the course reflecting how important it is for the course. In order to personalize learning [9], there is an overlap around 10-20% when summing up all the competences and their weights connected to the course. So in order to get the grade, students do not have to complete all the connected competences and can follow his/her personal needs and interests. E-learning system suggests a grade for a student when it becomes available (enough work done). Then it is student’s choice if he/she continues working or accepts the grade. Using that kind of “grade suggesting” motor, students have the ability to finish the course as soon as they have acquired enough knowledge and are not bound by official exam session dates. This kind of approach and student’s control over their grade also benefits personalized learning as everyone has their own speed of learning and their own goals for the course With described system for “grade suggestion”, it is vital that student is able to understand his/her current state in the course and plan his/her time according to it. The grade suggesting motor offers multiply views for students to follow their process (process meter, radar char, color-coded working field, interactive data viewer) In this paper, we plan to present overview of how competence-based approach affects grade composition and what are the benefits over previous solutions. This kind of approach is unique and fairly uncommon but it is believed to be student friendly and highly motivating as data collected by the system over the years shows. Analysis shows that when student passes the course, their understanding of learned competences is firm and memory model determines that they do not forget what they have learned as easily when using classical “topic-based” learning. Designed new visual views offered for students’ to follow their process offer additional freedom, motivation and information and make this kind of methodology beneficial.

Title: Jigsaw for Problem Solving in Engineering Courses

Author(s): Kousa, Maan A.

Organisation(s): KFUPM, Saudi Arabia

Presenter(s): Kousa, Maan A.

Abstract: Jigsaw is a cooperative style of learning that has been around for over three decades. Started as a technique for bridging ethnic boundaries and including minorities gently within the crowd, jigsaw is now seen as one of the very effective techniques of student-centered learning. Most of the successful stories on Jigsaw come from the fields of social and humanitarian sciences and k-12 education. Only recently there have been some pilot studies on the application of Jigsaw to university level engineering courses. I had the opportunity to apply Jigsaw to several EE courses as a tool for problem solving sessions. The results have been very encouraging. The technique helped me to achieve more than what I planned for. In this short paper I will present my experience with Jigsaw as a problem solving techniques for engineering courses. I will be addressing problem design, tips for home and expert grouping, class management, assessment of the exercise and the outcomes, and learning achievements.

Title: Effectiveness of Clickers on Student Learning of Large Group manufacturing Lectures

Author(s): Hassanin, Hany; Essa, Khamis; Attallah, Moataz

Organisation(s): University of Birmingham, United Kingdom

Presenter(s): Essa, Khamis

Abstract: Large group lectures are still a major teaching approach in higher educational institutes. This is strengthened by the tendency of many universities to increase their student enrollments while having limited resources. One of the key problems with large group lectures is that students more likely to have a low level of engagement and therefore affect student learning performance. It is therefore important to retain a high quality learning by overcome these challenging. Effectiveness of the use of Clickers on student learning performance was an interesting point over the past 10 years. In this study, the use of Clickers in teaching of Fundamentals of Materials B (FOMB) module in large group lectures of a first year undergraduate engineering is introduced. The main aim of FOMB is to introduce various aspects of shaping materials into useful objects. Hence, enhance students’ understanding and knowledge to the manufacturing technology of metals, polymers and ceramics in a single course. This fastpaced nature of the module end up with a low amount of student engagement as the amount of learning deliverable covered in the module has increased to a great extent. In addition, the consolidation of the wide range of manufacturing processes is also encouraged traditional lecture and classical learning approaches. The aim of this study is to create a high level of activity from students and teacher in large group engineering lectures through implementing different approaches within the use of Clickers. It was found that, the use of clickers encourages a more active learning lecture where student engagement is increased and where the lecturer instantly assess the understanding of specific topics explain any misunderstanding which can be revealed with the lecture. As a result, an ideal formative evaluation tool is introduced.

Title: Do Autonomously Motivated Students Benefit from Collaborative Learning Methods?

Author(s): Honkala, Mikko (1); Heikkinen, Sanna (1); Lehtovuori, Anu (1); Leppävirta, Johanna (2)

Organisation(s): 1: Aalto University, Finland; 2: Outotec

Presenter(s): Honkala, Mikko

Abstract: The purpose of this study was to analyze the factors affecting motivation and whether these factors supports students’ autonomy was studied. In order to study the impact of the collaborative learning study arrangements on the students’ motivation, students were interviewed. The data was then analyzed using self-determination theory. The study showed that it is possible to build structured courses utilizing collaborative learning and interactive engagement methods in such a way that it also supports autonomy. The interviews showed that if there is room for autonomously motivated students to choose their approach to work in the groups, the group work engages students through social relatedness

Title: Application of experience achieved in realization of international project for the holistic teaching of undergraduate engineering students

Author(s): Makal, Jaroslaw

Organisation(s): Bialystok University of Technology, Poland

Presenter(s): Makal, Jaroslaw

Abstract: In this paper author describes the assumptions and manners of realization of didactic workshop carried in July 2014 in Bialystok University of Technology (BUT), Poland, with the participation of students and teachers from 4 foreign technical universities. The main purpose of this event was the acquisition of presentation skills of results of realized engineering project. It concerned not only the multimedia presentation but the design of poster and writing the report as well. Author has been familiarized with such form of report at VIA UC (Denmark) during the realization of EXIQ ENG project in the frame of Leonardo Da Vinci (VETPRO) program. Workshops proceed in international group of participants consisted of 20 students and 8 teachers from Czech, Lithuania, Poland and Turkey. Students acquired abilities of communications and cooperation in the international group. They learned how to deliver the elaborated presentation and they processed the poster about executed engineering task. In this paper all activities of the mentioned workshop are described in details (the order and subjects of lectures, the partial problems executed in the technical room, activities connected with the presentation skills, etc.). To achieve good results in this teaching event the different ways of evaluation have been applied. To create the student’s commitment few competitions have been proposed for all participants: regarding to the quality of report including the technical part, activity at technical studio, cooperation between team members and analysis of internal and external factors (so called SWOT analysis); the category of posters regarding the graphic form and clarity of expression and completeness of the task details and utilization of poster space; and in the category of presentation before the auditory. In the opinion of all teachers the students did a very good work during this workshop and they received all planned skills in the communication and presentation of executed technical task. Also in student’s survey (after first week) there have been positive remarks about the advantages of this kind of activities. It is worth to underline that some aspects of team work like self-analysis, necessity to define the internal and external factors connected with the realized project were the significant added values for students and teachers as well. The future plan about the use of these experiences in design of teaching programs have been mentioned in this paper.

Title: Learning basic concepts about analysis of electrical circuits using a calculus worksheet

Author(s): Salinas, Oscar Hilario (1); Ramírez, Efren B (2); Pathiyamattom, Sebastian (3); Jaramillo, Juan A (4)

Organisation(s): 1: Universidad Tecnológica Emiliano Zapata del Estado de Morelos, Mexico; 2: Universidad Autónoma de la Ciudad de México; 3: Renewable Energies Institute, UNAM, México; 4: UPIITA - National Polytechnic Institute

Presenter(s): Salinas, Oscar Hilario

Abstract: A calculus work sheet was used to learn basic concepts about analysis of electrical circuits. Topics like Ohm`s and Kirchhoff`s laws, electrical resistance equivalent, voltage and electrical current divisors and so on, were understood in a practical way making simple tools on the calculus work sheet, like equivalent electrical resistance calculator or a graph showing the relationship between electrical current, electrical resistance and voltage according with Ohm´s law, for instance. Students with nothing of background knowledge about analysis of electrical circuits were able to understand in a deep way the concepts about electrical current transport issues in electrical circuits, starting form zero. The proposal was involve the students getting the knowledge using a simple and free software tool, they had to analyze every result they got and compare with the literature. Working under this simple scenario, students are able to build their own academic electronic tools to leave like an inheritance to other generations.

Title: A Heterogeneous Supercomputer Model for High-Performance Parallel Computing Pedagogy

Author(s): Wolfer, James

Organisation(s): Indiana University South Bend, United States of America

Presenter(s): Wolfer, James

Abstract: To visually illustrate the impact of architecture and communication on parallel computing we created a model supercomputer in the spirit of other engineering models. Combining Raspberry Pi computers with an Nvidia TK1 the resulting machine is distinguished by it’s instructional utility, asymmetric CPU and communication channel speed, and for incorporating current trends in heterogeneous supercomputing. Running Linux, the model supports major high-performance computing software environments, including OpenMP, MPI, and Nvidia’s CUDA. The model architecture includes aspects of heterogeneous, supercomputers such as shared- and distributed-memory MIMD, and 192 CUDA core SIMD-like processors.

Title: Cultivation of Spatial Thinking with Multi-view Projection

Author(s): Xiao, Lifeng

Organisation(s): Beihang university, China, People's Republic of

Presenter(s): Xiao, Lifeng

Abstract: University or college students who study engineering must learn how to reconstruct 3D geometry feature from 2D multi-view projection. In teaching process, students are often depended on their talent of spatial imagination, and cannot achieve the correct spatial thinking ability. In this paper, relationship between projection concept and spatial thinking process is discussed and explored, which can be a help to achieve the exact spatial thinking process with series of effective projection concepts.

Title: A New Method of Assessing the Students using Video Assignments

Author(s): U.S.N, Raju; K V, Kadambari; P, Venkata Subba Reddy

Organisation(s): National Institute of Technology Warangal, India

Presenter(s): K V, Kadambari

Abstract: The paper introduces a new method of submitting the class room assignments by students. The submission of the assignments is done in the form of videos. This method makes all the students of the class to involve themselves 100% in solving and submitting the assignments. At the same time there is very little scope of copying the solutions from their peers. The analysis for this method is done and the results are compared with the common method of submitting the assignments i.e. written submission. The results shows that video assignment are very effective method for student learning capability.

Title: Concept Maps and Linear Systems: Beyond Learning Object

Author(s): Mendes, Renan; Pavani, Ana

Organisation(s): Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Rio de Janeiro, BR, Brazil

Presenter(s): Pavani, Ana

Abstract: This work addresses an extension in the use of Concept Maps in relation to Linear Time-Invariant Systems in some Engineering curricula. The original work concerned the use of Concept Maps to define the granularity of Learning Objects on this discipline. The objective was to develop reusable and shareable Learning Objects. While the work was under development, the potential of Concept Maps to examine curricula containing courses related to Linear Time-Invariant Systems became obvious. Thus the extension to curricula analysis had two goals – identify potential users of the Learning Objects and map redundancies and holes in the curricula. A by-product was an interesting outcome – the mapping of all courseware related to the topics on Linear Time-Invariant Systems available on the Maxwell System, the university Institutional Repository.

Title: Computing Education in K-12 Schools: A Review of the Literature

Author(s): Garneli, Varvara (1); Chorianopoulos, Konstantinos (1); Giannakos, Michail (2)

Organisation(s): 1: Ionian University, Greece; 2: Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU), Department of Computer & Information Science , Norway

Presenter(s): Giannakos, Michail

Abstract: The purpose of this article is to provide a review of research on K-12 computing education approaches in order to summarize the findings, guide future studies and give reflections for the major achievements in the area of CSE in K-12. 47 peer-reviewed articles were collected from a systematic literature search and analyzed based on a categorization of their main elements. Results of this survey show the direction of CSE in schools research during the last years and summarized the benefits as well as the challenges. In particular, textual programming tools form an authentic technology which can support programming concepts learning. There is evidence though that the learning process could be challenging for young students and quite demanding for the teachers. On the other hand, a visual programming language provides young people a positive introduction to computing and can support the successful learning of important CS concepts. Finally, a tangible interface could be inviting, it supports collaboration, and makes programming more enjoyable and attractive, especial to the younger ages. Many recently, developed programming tools and programmable hardware platforms (e.g. .NET Gadgeteer, lilypad Arduino, or MakeyMakey) combined with attractive curriculum (e.g. modeling and simulation) can support a constructivism / constructionism perspective. This is important as constructing tangible artifacts can facilitate students to build their knowledge. Game programming for example is an enjoyable learning experience which supports deeply learning of computer science concepts as well as creative thinking skills. We should mention though some limitations concerning the luck of time, teacher’s competency, and strategies for effective management of students expectations A common teaching methodology in Computer Programming Education is based on a problem – project based approach where a student comes to implement his knowledge by solving a problem or creating a project. A step by step instructional approach ensures the projects’ completion but does not support students’ explorative learning and creativity. There are several alternatives though which manage to deal with the various limitations of formal and informal classes as time. We could mention scaffolding which is an apprenticeship concept where teachers support students in achieving their learning goals. Support and scaffolding provides students a better understanding of various difficult computational and science concepts and practices After reviewing over 47 studies on computing, we can agree that implementing programming lessons in K-12 education could be an enjoyable and effective learning experience. Deciding the programming tools, curricula, and teaching strategy in order to teach computer programming needs many parameters to be considered. The students actively involvement in the learning process according to the constructivism and constructionism principles could benefit students in many ways. We believe that encouraging students in creative sessions with much of scaffolding is a good starting point.

Title: Comparison of Learning Outcomes in a Technology Assisted Inverted Introductory Analog Circuits Lab to a Traditional Lab

Author(s): Hamilton, Ryan Frederick Allen

Organisation(s): Wright State Unviersity, United States of America

Presenter(s): Hamilton, Ryan Frederick Allen

Abstract: During the Spring Semester of 2013 at Wright State University students in an introductory analog circuits class were divided among two types of lab experience. One group experienced a traditional lab class. The other group experienced an inverted lab setting using a NI myDAQ. The two groups took a pre-test and post-test to measure conceptual understanding and both were administered a common lab practicum midterm and final under identical circumstances. Analysis of results showed that the lab experience the student had did not make an impact upon their performance. Whether or not the students were in a traditional lab or an inverted lab was not statistically significant to the measured learning outcomes. The only difference between the two groups was in the amount of time spent on the lab activities. Students in the traditional lab spent less time on the lab activities on average than students using the myDAQ.

Title: Collaborative Learning with Cyber-physical systems

Author(s): Pester, Andreas; Madritsch, Christian; Klinger, Thomas

Organisation(s): Carinthia University of Applied Sciences, Austria

Presenter(s): Madritsch, Christian

Abstract: Modern engineering education faces in the last 5 – 10 years big challenges. On the on-side-hand the switch to the Bachelor-Master education system requires the discussion about the profile of engineers (generalist vs. specialist), on the other-side-hand there is strong need to improve the competences of students in the so called basic subjects (mathematics, physics, informatics, electrical engineering, mechanics etc.). Only with really strong knowledge in basics, future engineers will be able to follow the very fast technological changes in their professional field. There are dramatic changes in technology and science expected by such technologies like cyber-physical systems, 3D printing or Industrie 4.0. On the other side there is a strong need to change the pedagogical methods of learning in education at all, including higher education. Theory and practice in engineering education, and not only there, in the last decade showed, that so called methods of collaborative learning get better and faster achievements than traditional methods, because they are focused to a higher learning motivation of students. This change is underpinned by the possibilities, which open technologies, based on Web 2.0, for networked collaborative learning. But there is a gap for first-year-students, which on the one side would like to be in close contact with all these new technologies in their further professional field, but on the other side should learn basic subjects, which are as usual not so closely related to the field of technology applications. One possibility to fill this gap is the use of so called pocket-labs, based on cyber-physical systems, and to use them systematically in teaching and learning in a series of courses of the first year. Technology, which can be used for this, is delivered from several companies or developed by universities. Such systems are e.g. like Raspberry Pi, Arduino or myDAQ (DAQ = Data Acquisition) and myRIO (RIO = Reconfigurable Input/Output) systems from National Instruments. In the Engineering&IT department of Carinthia University of Applied Sciences (Austria), was taken the decision to start with myDAQ classes in all electronic, mechatronic, mechanical engineering, and computer science classes from the first day. The basic idea is to progress from a classic computer science teaching approach, where the students learns a programming language using extremely simplified and constructed examples, to an environment, where examples are provided by the natural environment like the measurement of ambient temperature in a class room. These examples will allow for a faster and deeper understanding of the relevance as well as the underlying principles of computer science. Furthermore, the link between the abstract example and real-world problems is provided instantaneous.

Title: Fit for Science - A course for teaching to organize, perform and present scientific work in engineering with mobile devices

Author(s): May, Dominik; Ossenberg, Philipp

Organisation(s): Center for Higher Education at TU Dortmund University, Germany

Presenter(s): Ossenberg, Philipp

Abstract: Mobile devices are daily companions for today’s students. Most of them own at least a smartphone or even a tablet PC. In contrast to that the use of such devices for explicit study purposes is less common. That is shown by empiric studies done by the authors over the last two years. The use of smartphones or tablet PCs with the aim to support or even improve the learning experience is seldom. Another important observation that can be made at many universities is, that - even if universities are a place for scientific work and research - the concept how research works and what it means to work in a scientific manner are seldom shown to engineering students. In many cases the bachelor thesis is the first scientific artifact that is worked out by the students. In the light of those two observations the authors designed and implemented a special course for engineering students in order to improve (1) their ability to work scientifically, (2) their skills to use mobile devices for collaboration in scientific con-texts and (3) their scientific writing skills. The course was firstly implemented in summer 2014. The paper explains the course concept, gives information about the feedback and outlines future work to improve the concept.

Title: Turning a Basic Electronics Lab into a Low-Cost Communication Systems Lab

Author(s): Lopez-Martin, Antonio

Organisation(s): Public University of Navarre, Spain

Presenter(s): Lopez-Martin, Antonio

Abstract: A general electronics lab bench including a digital oscilloscope, a computer and a signal generator is transformed into a complete analog communication systems bench. It can be done by employing the software developed by the author and some additional inexpensive off-the-shelf electronics. The full exploitation of the potentials of the existing instruments and their connectivity made additional investment unnecessary. Results of more than a decade using the lab demonstrate the positive impact on student learning.

Title: Teaching Low Power Design with an FPGA based Hands-On and Remote Lab

Author(s): AbuShanab, Shatha (1); Winzker, Marco (1); Brück, Rainer (2)

Organisation(s): 1: Bonn-Rhein-Sieg University of Applied Science, Germany; 2: University of Siegen, Germany

Presenter(s): AbuShanab, Shatha

Abstract: This paper describes a project carried out at the Bonn-Rhein-Sieg University to teach low power digital design structures in laboratory. Low power design has become one of the most essential constraints in the digital systems especially on portable devices. For this purpose, low power design is a topic addressed in electrical and computer curriculums but it also requires laboratory applications. Therefore, this project focuses on preparing the students for the current trends of low power design through realistic applications for the basic theories and principles. The laboratory’s experiments use FPGA as a design platform for implementing student’s digital design. This paper reports on first experiences teaching low power design in lab. The paper focuses particularly on educational impact from students about: (1) overall laboratory’s objectives, (2) experimental exercises of low power techniques, (3) using educational FPGA boards and EduPow board. EduPow board is a developed hands-on board at the Bonn-Rhein-Sieg University that is relatively specific on using various signal image processing applications with directly observed power dissipation of student’s digital algorithm. In general, the assessment of low power design lab shows that the requirements and objectives of this project are fairly satisfied and also the feedback from students' answers indicates that using of EduPow board is more attractive and motivating.

Title: Active Learning in Remote Electrical Drive Laboratory

Author(s): Vodovozov, Valery; Raud, Zoja; Lehtla, Tõnu

Organisation(s): Tallinn University of Technology, Estonia

Presenter(s): Vodovozov, Valery

Abstract: New challenges of remote experimentation have emerged in connection with the student lifestyle changes. The study of the students’ expectations for their learning activities has been conducted, after which an active learning approach to live and personalize their learning experiences has been introduced. The paper focuses on closing the gap between remote laboratory and other learning activities hosted in different educational environments to better provide follow-up and feedback of student progress, creating of authoring tools to personalize online experimentation, and evaluating objective student assessments taking into account that many evaluations today are somewhat subjective since a tutor cannot follow all the students simultaneously. Online access to the remote laboratory has been offered in the academic year 2014/15. After the first running the course setup was tested in a regular manner According to the evaluation, an active learning approach to remote electrical drive labs received good marks from the students and instructors. The results of the lab reports, quizzes, and written final exam have shown high students’ activity. Further remote laboratory enhancement has the potential to significantly reduce obstacles related of cost, time-inefficient use of facilities, inadequate technical support, and limited access.

Title: Remote Security Labs in The Cloud - ReSeLa

Author(s): Gustavsson, Rune (1); Truksans, Leo (2); Carlsson, Anders (1); Balodis, Martins (2)

Organisation(s): 1: BTH, Sweden; 2: IMCS UL, Latvia

Presenter(s): Carlsson, Anders

Abstract: The paper describes a cloud based configurable security lab suitable for educating the next generation of experts in IT security and cyber security. The project ENGENSEC is supported by EU. The paper will address challenges in designing, implementing and maintaining a suitable platform and documentations related to security experiments. Furthermore comparisons of ReSeLa with other approaches such as PlanetLab and EmuLab will be presented as well.

Title: What Is The Role For Collegiate Design Competitions In A Multi-Discipline, Diverse World?

Author(s): Davis, Gregory

Organisation(s): Kettering University, United States of America

Presenter(s): Davis, Gregory

Abstract: Providing students with a real world challenge can be used to motivate them to achieve a higher level of learning. Students must be challenged to study the complex interactions of real engineering systems. Including: • professional standards and organizations, • governmental regulations, • team dynamics, • and societal concerns. All of this must be accomplished while living within tight budgetary and time constraints. In short, students must be afforded the opportunity to practice engineering, learning how to apply the underlying scientific principles to the design of these systems in real world environments. Finally, students need learn to work and compete in a multi-cultural, global environment. Engineering problems are “mixed”; that is they involve interactions between disciplines. For example, Mechanical and Electrical Systems are becoming increasingly intertwined. Unfortunately, engineering disciplines are separated into different departments and schools, or “silos”, within Universities. Further, World Cultures are becoming increasingly “mixed”. Students, are much more likely to come from different cultures, countries, etc. Universities have made increasing efforts to encourage student “mixing”, but the rigors of the academic setting do not always provide adequate opportunities for students to learn to work and socialize together. Often, students gravitate to others who share the same culture and native language. To expedite working on fast-paced technical problems for class, these students often opt to work in groups with others who share these same traits, rather than include others. Student collegiate design competitions offer a way to overcome these challenges. Students, like all humans, are motivated by competition. Students will “do what it takes” in order to become competitive-moving outside of their comfort zones. For example, these competitions often require financial and engineering resources that are beyond what the University provides. Students quickly realize that they must budget time and resources, and devise marketing plans to raise funds and secure donations of equipment and engineering support. These skills are not typically taught in most engineering programs, so these students often turn to students from other programs, often including students from business, marketing, and liberal studies. Often, these competitions draw student from many different cultures and backgrounds. For example, the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) annually conducts a series of design competitions, where students from Universities throughout the world compete, in locations throughout the globe. Finally, many schools integrate these competitions into the capstone design course, but many of these competitions also offer the opportunity for students to work directly with faculty in relevant undergraduate level research. This paper describes the benefits for the students and Universities participating in the Collegiate Design Series competitions. Data is provided which describes the details of each competition, the number of teams involved and the international breakdown. Further, the results of student and alumni surveys are also presented to provide relevant feedback from the participants as to the value of these events.

Title: Project based learning in business intelligence with intervention of companies

Author(s): GHARBI, Sofien; BELLAKHDAR, Hamza; MRABET, Salah Eddine

Organisation(s): ESPRIT, Tunisia

Presenter(s): GHARBI, Sofien

Abstract: Most active teaching approaches in higher education neglects the involvement of industry in academic projects. In this article, we will present our experience in the module of "business intelligence learning project" in which we have married a proposed and coached by professionals project with the PBL approach "project based learning" and the integration of this project in the curriculum of a computer engineer specialized in Business Intelligence. In this project, we worked with five companies that provided us with six projects in the area of business intelligence using new technologies in the market such as big data, data mining and text mining.

Title: The Effects of Listening Agent in Speech-Based On-line Test System

Author(s): Kimura, Hidemasa; Hayashi, Junpei; Demise, Yuichi; Hasegawa, Dai; Sakuta, Hiroshi

Organisation(s): Aoyama Gakuin University, Japan

Presenter(s): Kimura, Hidemasa

Abstract: Speech-based test is a one of the best way to train students’ level of proficiency. However, in e-learning it is difficult for students to maintain their concentration when speaking to a monitor. We propose speech-based online test system employing a human-likely embodied graphical agent as a listener. The developed system consists of user interface, character realization, learning controller. The whole system is developed with HTML5, JavasSript, and WebGL, so that it should be compatible with any modern web-browser. To investigate the effects of the use of the listener agent in speech-based test on learning efficacy naturalness of speech, we will conduct a one-way between-subject design experiment with two groups. In experimental group, participants take a test with a listening agent depicted on a monitor. On the other hand, in control group, participants take a test without the listening agent. Then, the results will be statistically tested using by Student’s t-test.

Title: Assessing Students Approaches in the context of Telecommunications Services Provision

Author(s): Papadakis, Andreas (1); Samarakou, Maria (2); Tselikas, Nikolaos (3); Prentakis, Pantelis (2)

Organisation(s): 1: School of Pedagogical and Technological Education (ASPETE), Greece; 2: Technological Educational Institute of Athens, Greece; 3: University of Peloponnese, Greece

Presenter(s): Samarakou, Maria

Abstract: In this work we specify and develop a framework for assessing the students’ approach in the thematic area of telecommunications service provision, based on Felder learning styles.The framework is designed as an extension on existing engineering design tools, widely used in tertiary education.Artificial neuron networks are employed for the assessment.

Title: Lecture Meets Laboratory - Experimental Experience for Large Audiences: Results of a First Implementation and Recommendations

Author(s): Nofen, Barbara; Temmen, Katrin

Organisation(s): University of Paderborn, Germany

Presenter(s): Nofen, Barbara

Abstract: In this article, the inclusion of practical experiments in a large-scale engineering lecture will be discussed (both positive as well as negative aspects). Recommendations for how best to achieve a successful implementation will be given on the basis of these experiences.

Title: REMOTE LABORATORY NETWORKS BEHAVIOR IN THE LIGHT OF THE SELF-ORGANIZATION PROCESSES

Author(s): SAMOILA, Cornel (1); URSUTIU, Doru (1); REILLY, Rob (2)

Organisation(s): 1: Transylvania University of Brasov, Romania; 2: IEEE Education Society

Presenter(s): SAMOILA, Cornel

Abstract: It is increasingly common practice to use remote laboratories as teaching/learning tools, opening a new pedagogical approach and changing the essence, in many cases, of the teaching process (the latest example is MOOC). This expansion of the theoretical applications into a “community of practices” enables the movement of the student’s experiences from a “classroom only” environment into remote laboratory networks. The student is introduced into virtual environment, hosted by the Internet, thus him/her is exposed to the uncontrollable, non-linear and unpredictable behaviour (the intrinsic properties of any complex system). These phenomena require the addition to the analysis of the pedagogic effect of the remote laboratory networks, of an analysis of the self-organization process and of its results, just as in the case of complex communication systems. The reason for this approach is that remote laboratory networks are a very small part of the existing complex communication systems, such as the WEB or the Internet. Thus the above complex systems will reproduce, at a different scale, their behaviour. Since the study of “complex systems” is still in its very early stages, by this paper the authors only intended to present the first results of an assessment conducted on an existing group of remote laboratory networks. Only after the principles they are governed by are determined, as revealed by the study, we will be able to discuss their further evolution.

Title: Planning and Designing Remote Experiment for School Curriculum

Author(s): Dziabenko, Olga; Garcia-Zubia, Javier

Organisation(s): University of Deusto, Spain

Presenter(s): Dziabenko, Olga

Abstract: This paper describes the planning and design remote laboratory for school curriculum with support of secondary school teachers as a focus group. The pros and cons of different types of laboratories applying in practical context are discussed. The mock-up designed in a paper prototyping format is presented. The results of the performed activity was applied for final development of remote experiment - Archimedes Principles.

Title: CoALa – A Collaborative Analysis Lab for an identification of user parameters for adaptive e-learning systems

Author(s): Lucht, Martina; Breitbarth, Kati

Organisation(s): Fraunhofer IDMT, Germany

Presenter(s): Lucht, Martina

Abstract: The design of intelligent adaptive systems is generally quite complex and expensive because of having to have both a user-specific and a domain-specific definition of adaptive algorithms. In adaption processes, user models are generated based on inductive and implicit approaches like the knowledge-space theory, or with explicit user inputs. While the reliability is limited on the implicit type of user parameter, the validity of explicit user parameters is generally hardly verified. Furthermore, a practical way to evaluate the quality of user parameters is still missing. Additionally, psychological factors of learners’ individual needs and goals are relevant in the learning process and should thus be taken into account for individualisation of distance learning processes. However, psychological factors like motivation and volition are highly distinct in terms of personality and according to the content to be learned. Therefore, an empirical tool is introduced that enables engineers to empirically evaluate the most relevant abstract concepts of users’ motivation and volition as a basis for user modelling.

Title: Online Tools for Making ICT More Attractive for Students to Prevent Dropout

Author(s): Sell, Raivo (1); Rüütmann, Tiia (1); Murtazin, Kristina (1); Kori, Külli (2); Pedaste, Margus (2); Altin, Heilo (2); Kipper, Hants (1)

Organisation(s): 1: Tallinn University of Technology, Estonia; 2: University of Tartu

Presenter(s): Murtazin, Kristina

Abstract: In ICT labor market there is a lack of workers with good ICT knowledge and skills. However, the number on computer science graduates in the European Union has been decreasing since 2006. If all ICT students who start studying ICT in Estonia will graduate as well, then the number of higher education graduates will probably meet the demand of labor market. Unfortunately, many students will drop out of their studies. In Estonia, often the students who drop out still enter the ICT labor market, and therefore, more and more ICT workers do not have a higher education degree. Preventing dropout is becoming increasingly important, since a higher education degree is more valued worldwide. A study carried out in the USA (2000–2005) showed that the importance of a Bachelor’s or higher degree in most ICT occupations had grown. Also, employees with higher education earned more within the same occupation. So, it is more beneficial for students if they finish their studies in ICT. By combining new technology in e-education, our research results offer new ways to prevent dropout and also encourage young people to choose engineering curricula, including various ICT curricula. One of the attractive application in ICT technology is robotics. Robotics is quite a popular among the students and it offers ‘touch and feel’ experience for complex subjects as programming, mathematics and physics. The result of the the programming activity can be immediately turned into real world application. One of the drawback of applying robotics in ICT studies is the relatively high cost of the robotic hardware and other consumables needed for proper robotic course. In recent years several research projects and other activities have been focused on the online experimentation by trying to develop solutions for real remote experimentation in addition to simulated experiments. Remote experimentation in robotics allow to access robotic devices remotely and experiment with programming without limitations in terms of cost and time as well as other resources. The figure below illustrates the user interface of remote lab focusing on the remote programming of microcontroller based system.

Title: Dynamic Publishing and Availability Management of Virtual Machines in Virtual Organization

Author(s): Gueye, Amadou Dahirou (1); Ouya, Samuel (2); Moussavou, Davy Edgard (2); Sanogo, Ibrahima (2); Saliah-Hassane, Hamadou (3); Lishou, Claude (2)

Organisation(s): 1: University Alioune Diop of Bambey, Senegal; 2: University Cheikh Anta Diop of Dakar, Senegal; 3: University of Quebec Montreal, Canada

Presenter(s): Gueye, Amadou Dahirou

Abstract: Nowadays, universities and research institutes are more and more feeling the need to establish collaboration networks for sharing skills, as well as material, human, software and virtualized resources. This refers to the idea of Virtual Organizations (VOs) which allow any user of a member organization to access technological and pedagogical resources available in another partner organization. However, this collaboration, most of the time, raises some concern for member organizations. Indeed, they are afraid not to be able to use their own resources when they need to. Information on resources availability is generally static, provided at a given moment. The presence management of virtual machines with the XMPP (Extensible Messaging and Presence Protocol) protocol presents limitations in the context of a collaborative network. So, the constraints identified in terms of resource sharing, instant availability and restrictions are the main obstacles to setting up such a virtual organization. This paper aims to propose and implement an application that manages dynamic discovery and availability of shared virtual machines. The proposed system manages in real time the presence of a resource and its availability in terms of its occupation or use. The system will also allow a member organization to make its resources available and enjoy priority on its resources in case it needs to use them.

Title: Addressing the Publication Review Criteria for the IEEE Transactions on Education

Author(s): Froyd, Jeffrey

Organisation(s): Texas A&M University, United States of America

Presenter(s): Froyd, Jeffrey

Abstract: This Workshop is aimed to publishing work on scholarship of engineering education in the fields of electrical engineering, software engineering, computer engineering, computer science and other fields within the scope of the interest of IEEE. Participants will be able to: - Explain the three areas of scholarship appropriate for the IEEE Transactions on Education - Select the appropriate area of scholarship for their manuscript submission - Explain the review criteria for each area of scholarship - Evaluate the degree to which potential manuscript addresses each of the review criteria

Title: Curriculum Design for Computer Engineering and Information Technology

Author(s): Impagliazzo, John (1); Durant, Eric (2)

Organisation(s): 1: Hofstra University, United States of America; 2: Milwaukee School of Engineering

Presenter(s): Impagliazzo, John

Abstract: Participants attending this conference workshop will learn about the development of computer engineering as well as information technology curricular reports. They will assist in the revision process to update the joint ACM and IEEE documents known as CE2004 and IT2008, respectively. The objective is to ensure that the new documents, CE2016 and IT2017, are forward-looking summaries of educational practices in their respective fields. Although the workshop will have an overarching purpose, participation will first focus on computer engineering and then on information technology.

Title: A Unified Approach for Assessing Casptone Design Projects and Student Outcomes In Computer Engineering Programs

Author(s): Yousafzai, Jibran Khan; Damaj, Issam; El Abd, Mohammed

Organisation(s): American University of Kuwait, Kuwait

Presenter(s): Yousafzai, Jibran Khan

Abstract: A capstone design project is an extensive piece of work that requires creative activity and thinking. It provides a unique opportunity for students to demonstrate their abilities, skills, and experiences that are attained throughout a bachelor of engineering program. The learning outcomes of capstone projects mostly map to all student outcomes at the program level. This paper presents a unified assessment framework for capstone design courses which allows for sound evaluations of student performance and project qualities in addition to assessing student outcomes. The developed framework comprises criteria, indicators, extensive analytic rubrics, and a summative statistical formulation. The presented course and framework are supported by the results, analysis, and evaluation of a pilot study.

Title: Work in Progress - Automation of a Computer Networking Laboratory

Author(s): Palmer, Neville Tom

Organisation(s): Southampton Solent University, United Kingdom

Presenter(s): Palmer, Neville Tom

Abstract: A dedicated networking laboratory is used by students on a computer networking degree program so that they can undertake practical work without affecting the main University network. Images of the laboratory computers are maintained on a server and deployed when major updates or reconfigurations of the computers are required. Improvements can be made in the configuration and management processes. Automation can help realize some of these improvements. A server based application for automating the networking laboratory, named Remote Configuration Console, has been developed using PowerShell scripts and Microsoft Visual C#. This paper describes the design and development of the application and its effectiveness in improving the configuration and management processes. This paper concludes that the application has been successful in improving the efficiency of processes and that the lessons learned during development can be used to inform the curriculum of the computer networking program itself. Future work will involve investigating how this can be achieved and also validating the results of testing the application during the academic year.

Title: Using Group-Creativity Methods in Engineering Education

Author(s): PECHEANU, Emilia; SUSNEA, Ioan; COCU, Adina; DUMITRIU, Luminita

Organisation(s): University Dunarea de Jos of Galati, Romania

Presenter(s): PECHEANU, Emilia

Abstract: This paper presents the philosophy and the results of a pedagogical experiment on digital creativity, carried out with students of a four year software-engineering bachelor's degree. The experiment put in practice a concept of creativity named iLab - „Innovation Laboratory”. The iLaB concept is based on the idea that human creativity could be significantly increased by three interrelated components: environment, technology and moderation techniques. Environment is a physical space specially designed to stimulate creative thinking and incubation –the temporary break from problem-solving that can result in insight. In this environment, technology is represented by hardware devices and software tools for collaborative work. A dedicated software-application named VBS (Virtual Brainstorming Software), provides a virtual space where users can freely express, during brainstorming sessions, their ideas and attitudes. In an innovation laboratory, moderation is done by trained experts or teachers who facilitate the group-creativity sessions. The main goal of the pedagogical experiment was to find new, original ICT solutions for accessibility, - the degree a product, a service or the environment are available to disabled persons. Development of students’ behavioral skills for creative problem-solving, active listening and critique communication were also taken into consideration as experiment’s goals. The experiment‘s protocol consisted of four steps: the context-description phase, the brainstorming-creativity sessions, the voting session and the results’ analysis phase. In the first step, context description, experts highlighted the ICT products for several types of disabilities: intellectual-learning, sensory-visual and physical-mobility. The presentation, based on knowledge visualization through conceptual maps, aimed to provide students with an overview of the existing ICT tools for social inclusion of disabled persons. During the brainstorming sessions students had unlimited online access to the VBS platform and they could post, debate and comment their ideas on the subject matter. At the end of the brainstorming sessions, students voted the ideas formulated during the creativity session. In the last step, students’ ideas have been analyzed by experts. Quality criteria as: originality, feasibility and utility were taken into consideration in evaluating these ideas. A semantic classification of student’s ideas has been realized by using a mathematical tool, the formal concept analysis. After evaluation, the qualified ideas were considered as potential topics for the practical assignments for students. The group-creativity method permitted to experiment new pedagogical approaches for fostering students’ creativity. The subject „ICTs for disabled people” was destined to connect their learning experiences to current issues in the contemporary society.

Title: Developing ESP study materials for engineering students

Author(s): Frydrychova Klimova, Blanka

Organisation(s): University of Hradec Kralove, Czech Republic

Presenter(s): Frydrychova Klimova, Blanka

Abstract: Nowadays, thanks to internationalization and globalization, university students have an opportunity to study abroad. This is also true for engineering students of the Faculty of Informatics and Management (FIM) of the University of Hradec Kralove, Czech Republic. In order to help them succeed in their foreign studies, teachers of English for Specific Purposes (ESP) try to meet their language needs. Although there exist a number of different ESP textbooks, most of these textbooks, however, due to the complexity of topics and grammar structures, cannot meet specific needs of these students. Therefore the purpose of this article is to discuss some of the issues of ESP materials development. These include, for example, methodological principles and approaches to the ESP materials development and ESP materials production.

Title: Design and Evaluation of Competition-based Hacking Exercises

Author(s): Alashwali, Eman Salem; Ben-Abdallah, Hanene

Organisation(s): King Abdulaziz University, Saudi Arabia

Presenter(s): Alashwali, Eman Salem

Abstract: This paper describes our work in designing and delivering competitive-based small offensive security (hacking) exercises to undergraduate students taking a Computer and Information Security (CIS) course at the Faculty of Computing and Information Technology (FCIT) at King Abdulaziz University (KAU). We designed competition scenarios for two small exercises of known attacks. The first exercise aimed to break the Windows Server 2008 password, and the second sought to break the Wired Equivalent Privacy (WEP) wireless network key (password). We present the competitions scenarios and design, including the required hardware and software in each exercise. We also present the results of a survey conducted to determine students’ sentiments towards these types of exercises and to measure the effectiveness of these exercises in supporting the course’s theoretical concepts from the students’ perspective. The results strongly suggest that the exercises were informative, motivating, stimulating, and enjoyable. The results were encouraging. This work was only the first step for us, and we look forward to creating more challenging competitive-based exercises and rewarding the teams that show superior efforts.

Title: Embedded Linux in Engineering Education

Author(s): Niemetz, Michael (1); Blank, Martin (2); Brunner, Stefan (1); Meier, Hans (1); Fuhrmann, Thomas (1)

Organisation(s): 1: OTH-Regensburg, Germany; 2: Technische Hochschule Nürnberg, Germany

Presenter(s): Fuhrmann, Thomas

Abstract: With the availability of cost effective embedded Linux solutions and increasing complexity of embedded devices because of growing calculation power and communication demand, Linux is getting increasingly interesting as an operating system for the design of embedded control solutions. This is the case for almost all technical applications in electrical engineering like energy distribution systems, high level communication, signal processing or industrial automation. In the engineering master courses, a lecture is offered introducing students to Linux with a strong focus on embedded applications. This paper describes the concept of the lecture including the laboratory set up and gives some examples of embedded Linux projects performed by students.

Title: Teaching Digital System Design on a Unified Computer Engineering Learning Platform

Author(s): Kastelan, Ivan (1); Pjevalica, Nebojsa (1); Teslic, Nikola (2)

Organisation(s): 1: University of Novi Sad, Faculty of Technical Sciences, Serbia; 2: RT-RK Institute for Computer Based Systems, Serbia

Presenter(s): Kastelan, Ivan

Abstract: This paper presents the methods used and experiences gained from teaching a digital system design course on a unified computer engineering learning platform. The learning platform is a result from the E2LP project whose main idea is to provide a unified platform which will cover a complete process for embedded computer systems learning. A modular approach is considered for skills practice through supporting individualization in learning. The main body of the platform is the base board with FPGA connected to a wide range of interfaces – audio, video, communication, memory and user I/O. Additionally the base board can be connected to one extension board via the standardized Mezzanine interface. Extension boards broaden the range of applications of the platform beyond digital system design and allow the platform to be used in the entire computer engineering curriculum. In addition to the technological approach, the use of cognitive theories on how people learn helps students achieve a stronger and smarter adaptation of the subject. One example course in digital system design is presented and experiences gained from applying it during one semester at University of Novi Sad are summarized. The results show the positive acceptance of the platform by students.

Title: Improving the Computing Program Accreditation at Post Soviet Union University

Author(s): Sachenko, Anatoliy (1); Rucinski, Andrzej (2); LaCourse, John (2); Markowsky, George (3)

Organisation(s): 1: Ternopil National Economic University, Ukraine; 2: University of New Hampshire, USA; 3: University of Maine, USA

Presenter(s): Sachenko, Anatoliy

Abstract: With growing competition for engineers who have a broad understanding of global enterprise, academics, business executives, and government officials are demanding a certification program for all countries producing engineers assuring competency. To promote this need, the authors used: the Post-Soviet Union universities as an example where students are rated lower as compared to American and European universities, computer curricula as a dynamically developing area, and the American Board for Engineering and Technology which has been accepted by many countries as the certification tool of choice. It is known that the approaches to accreditation for ABET and the PSU University are different whereby the PSU University such as in the Ukraine the end-point outcomes must meet the state standards; however, ABET assures that university program meets the quality standards established by the profession and in our case study, Computing programs must meet the quality standards set by the computing profession. The accreditation process is similar by using the same tools such a setting standards, internal self-evaluation, independent evaluation, on-campus meetings, a written report, and an final evaluation by a Commission members. However, curricula structuring of different universities from different countries must be conducted to provide compatibility, especially for students transfer. Therefore, a goal of this study is the concept development for computing program accreditation at a PSU University using ontology tools and the ABET experience. Four objectives were proposed: 1) a case study between the University of New Hampshire, the University of Maine, and Ukrainian universities; 2) analyze the ABET accreditation system for the CS/CE programs with the intent to adapt it for the PSU university; 3) develop ontology tools for modeling the topic content across the computing disciplines; 4) outline reforms for ABET accreditation preparation at the PSU university and implement at PSU universities novel methods and techniques used at UNH and UMaine. Finally, we recommend the following: concentrate on the internal evaluation and the completion of the self-study questionnaires using ontology tools whereby the computing body of knowledge into subsets of disciplinary subfields, then into thematic modules, then into topics, and finally into the lowest level of hierarchy. Within the ontology design conceptualization and formalization were key stages. We further recommend using semantic nets and frames for descriptions of declarative knowledge as well as procedural and format-logical models for representation of knowledge. The model for computing curricula reform is a necessity condition for the Computing Program at the PSU University due to the following factors: American students have fewer courses per semester and spend less time in class and on home work than Ukrainian students; the existing Ukrainian computing curricula does not fit the American computer curricula and ABET; there is a substantial difference in the mechanism of optional discipline selection. Also, we recommend considering “computer based prosperity” by including the TQM. It is our hope that the outcomes of this work will have a direct impact on the system of higher education in the Ukraine by producing highly-skilled graduates in computing according to international standards and criteria.

Title: Retaining Talent, Adressing Diverse Requirements: Academic Writing for Engineering Students

Author(s): Janssen, Theresa; Strenger, Natascha; Peters, Franz; Frerich, Sulamith

Organisation(s): Ruhr-Universität Bochum, Germany

Presenter(s): Janssen, Theresa

Abstract: In the light of the anticipated and much-discussed shortage of skilled labor and university graduates in the STEM fields, attracting students for technological studies is an important strategic aim of German universities and engineering faculties. Currently, the so-called “doppelter Abiturjahrgang” (a result of reducing school years from 13 to 12) plays into their hands by releasing twice the amount of high school graduates into the study and work market in Germany. Still, dropout rates among students of engineering sciences are higher than in other subject fields and consequently, universities and employers are losing potential engineering graduates despite the fact that the total number of enrollments increased. Among the factors considered to be responsible for university dropout are lacks of social and academic integration. Furthermore, formats such as mass lectures that are often part of undergraduate studies in engineering prevent teaching approaches that deal with individual requirements of students. However, a more individual approach is what the increasing diversity among university students would call for. Against the backdrop of an increasingly heterogeneous student body, academic writing presents one of the biggest challenges in engineering studies. In order to support students during their first semesters but also in writing their final theses, the project ELLI is currently implementing a multi-level concept to foster academic writing in engineering studies. At the Ruhr-University Bochum, quantitative and qualitative research was done among students and faculty members of the three engineering faculties, based on which a guidebook for writing final theses was developed. Moreover, a seminar for academic writing for undergraduate engineering students was designed, which will take place for the first time in the winter term of 2014.

Title: Unemployed engineering graduates. analysis and support

Author(s): Simonova, Ivana; Poulova, Petra

Organisation(s): University of Hradec Kralove, Czech Republic

Presenter(s): Simonova, Ivana

Abstract: Currently, the unemployment has become a difficult problem as well as one of criteria under which universities are evaluated. Relating to the economic crisis changes in the structure of unemployed graduates appeared. In the past, people 50+ were under the strongest threat. These days/months, the 21 – 30-year category is the largest (27 %, 31 – 40- year category 21 %), i.e. it comprises young adults, mostly latest graduates, just starting their professional careers. Despite the state is going worse in the Czech Republic, the unemployment rate is much higher e.g. in Spain or Greece. From the point of qualification structure most graduates in social sciences belong to unemployed, whereas technical and engineering graduates follow (social science: 2,349 bachelor and 2,341 master graduates; 475 technical bachelor and 996 engineering graduates). Graduates´ success on the labor market is also influenced by geographical location where they apply for job. In Eastern Bohemia, where the University of Hradec Kralove (UHK) is located, the rate is on medium level compared to mountain resorts and former industrial regions (heavy industry, mining). Regional specifics may strongly influence the capacity of labor market and the competitiveness from graduates´ point of view. Despite the above presented data are not positive, engineering students and graduates are in rather good positions. The unemployment rate in technical and engineering graduates in lower than in social sciences and many other field, e.g. health care, agriculture, economy and management, natural sciences etc. Students of the Faculty of Informatics and Management are used to working during their studies, which is finally reflected in low rate of unemployed graduates. Even if this fact seems not so important to graduates in other study programs and institutions, it finally plays the crucial role as the contacts (and skills) students establish during summer jobs and part-time work form the basis for succeeding on the labor market after graduation.

Title: Integrating Engineering Workflow at Early Stages of Higher Education: The French Example

Author(s): Bedjaoui, Nadia (1); Liebgott, Ivan (2); Delaherche, Emilie (1); Schlosser, Joachim (3)

Organisation(s): 1: Mathworks, France; 2: Lycée des Eucalyptus de Nice, France; 3: MathWorks, Germany

Presenter(s): Bedjaoui, Nadia

Abstract: Currently in France, around 130 000 engineers graduate every year with a deficit of about 10 000 engineers per year. There is therefore a need in increasing the number of engineers. Here, we present how recent reforms of the French Education System have motivated innovative teaching approach using simulation tools and experimentation on real life systems, to attract youngsters to pursue engineering education To prepare an engineering degree, the French Higher Education System is composed of five years of curriculum decomposed into two independent entities: • Two first years of curriculum called Preparatory Classes for Grandes Ecoles (CPGE), held either at engineering schools (Integrated Preparatory Classes) or outside the school in completely independent entities. • Three last years of curriculum covering different disciplines and held at engineering schools called Grandes Ecoles. Teaching in Preparatory Classes used to be mainly theoretical, dedicated to master the concepts in Mathematics, Physics, Engineering Science and/or other disciplines according to the chosen stream and prepare for the highly competitive exam to enter Grandes Ecoles. In order to increase the number of Engineers, the French Ministry of Education renovated the science and technology stream at the upper secondary school as well as the scientific Preparatory Classes in order to introduce engineering skills and create vocations at early stages of the curriculum. Due to these changes, engineering education now covers five to seven years. This paper focuses on the engineering science stream of Preparatory Classes which now considers engineering skills as an integrated part of the curriculum and learning outcomes. The new programs focus on preparing students on the six following skills: conceive, model, analyze, experiment, solve and communicate. This aligns with the standards industrial workflow, known as V-cycle or Model-Based Design. To fulfill that, students work in labs equipped with simulation tools and multi-domain real systems. They adopt the engineering workflow by evaluating the deviations between: (a) the desired performances of the system, given by the specifications, (b) the measured performances of the system, obtained from experimentations and, (c) the simulated performances of the system, provided by the simulation model. This approach sets however high demands on the simulation tools used as well as on experimentation. It requires a multi-domain and graphical representation of the system. Moreover, the tool should be able to connect easily to hardware to enable students to experiment and illustrate easily the deviations between simulations and experiments. In this paper, we share our experience in using this innovative approach of teaching Engineering Science with Preparatory Classes students using simulation and low cost hardware. The specific example is on control of a DC motor through simulations using MATLAB® & Simulink® and experiment on LEGO® Mindstorms® hardware. We will also present how this approach was leveraged to be used with more complex systems using multi-domain physical modeling tools, what were the main challenges for teachers in adopting these new tools and what are the curriculum materials developed to address these challenges. Finally, we will show how this new approach did impact the selection process for getting into engineering schools.

Title: Professionalization of computer science studies – project’s results and evaluation

Author(s): Plechawska-Wojcik, Malgorzata; Milosz, Marek; Borys, Magdalena

Organisation(s): Lublin University of Technology, Poland

Presenter(s): Plechawska-Wojcik, Malgorzata

Abstract: The paper presents results achieved through knowledge and experience exchange in the field of professionalization of computer science studies. Results were obtained among Leonardo da Vinci Mobility project. The main aim of the project is to develop methods and documents related to professionalization of Bachelor Degree in Computer Science in LUT by familiarizing with the best European practices in HE professionalization. Lublin University of Technology join the best teaching methods and procedures to prepare guide of vocational training organization.

Title: Learning ESP in engineering education through mobile devices

Author(s): Simonova, Ivana; Poulova, Petra

Organisation(s): University of Hradec Kralove, Czech Republic

Presenter(s): Poulova, Petra

Abstract: Reflecting the latest trends in technical and technological development, mobile devices have become standard didactic means both in foreign language and other subjects’ instruction on all levels of education. The use of wireless, mobile, portable, and handheld devices is gradually increasing and diversifying across every sector of education in both the developed and developing worlds. The mobile learning currently exploits both handheld computers and mobile (smart) telephones and other devices that work on the same set of functionalities. The use of handheld computers is obviously relatively immature in terms of both its technologies and its pedagogies, but it is developing rapidly . This study focuses on the use of mobile devices within teaching/learning English for specific purposes (ESP) in technical (bachelor) and engineering (master) higher education in Informatics and Management-related study programs. Mobile devices were understood to be very small items which users carry anytime anywhere without the electrical supply been required. The research was conducted at the Faculty of Informatics and Management (FIM), University of Hradec Kralove, Czech Republic, monitoring what mobile devices students use for personal and education purposes. Running more than 250 online courses in LMS Blackboard in 2013/24 at FIM, since 2013/14 the Blackboard Mobile LearnTM version 4.0 for Apple and Android devices has been available and piloted. Totally in 21 ESP courses mobile-assisted language learning (MALL) principles were applied. The full versions of courses run traditionally within the LMS, and they were available on mobile devices in the limited extent as well. In other words, the blended learning model is applied which combines the distance form of study in online courses and personalized approach through mobile devices which satisfies the individual time/place preferences and bridges formal and informal learning.

Title: Using Mobile Crowd Sensing to Teach Technology and Entrepreneurship in High Schools: an Experience from Southern Italy

Author(s): Bochicchio, Mario; Zappatore, Marco; Longo, Antonella

Organisation(s): University of Salento, Italy

Presenter(s): Bochicchio, Mario

Abstract: Learning contexts and especially secondary schools are nowadays experiencing a significant boost in a series of crucial and potentially mind-changing trends. Mobile computing, alternative learning paradigms, project-based didactic programs and multi-modal communications are the most significant. The shift from traditional learning perspective is so relevant that both educators, curriculum designers and institutions may cope with these innovations, by progressively absorbing them into their programs. We firmly believe that the actual pervasivity of mobile devices amongst learners can be exploited profitably to enrich and diversify didactic offerings, as well as the ways students participate and learn. More specifically, we identified the socalled Mobile Crowd-Sensing (MCS) paradigm as a viable candidate to introduce students from high schools to pivotal topics such as engineering, Information Technology (IT) and entrepreneurship. Indeed, according to this paradigm, a series of heterogeneous physical quantities can be measured directly via mobile-embedded sensors (e.g., accelerometers, antennas, microphones, gyroscopes, etc.), thus increasing the contextual awareness of their owners without requiring expensive measurement equipment. In this paper, we propose our experience in the Apulia region (southern Italy) by describing a specific project for introducing MCS into pilot schools and local communities. Achievable pedagogical advantages, enabling technologies, institution involvement and expected field trials are examined in details as well.

Title: Teaching Automation and Control with App Inventor Applications

Author(s): Oliveira, Paulo Moura

Organisation(s): UTAD University, Department of Engineering, INESC-TEC Research Center, Portugal

Presenter(s): Oliveira, Paulo Moura

Abstract: This paper presents an experiment concerning the development of two mobile devices applications with the App Inventor 2 for Android operating systems. These applications are intended to support teaching and learning activities in courses of Industrial Automation and Control, particularly concerning logic control, programmable logic controller programming and Process Control. While the reported applications: eLogicum and Automatum are yet in an early development stage, this paper aims to contribute and motivate teachers and students to wider use of mobile devices in the context of university teaching and learning processes. Key issues concerning both applications are reported, focusing in the more relevant development issues concerning the App Inventor 2 use.

Title: Visualizing the invisible - Foundation collapse mechanisms

Author(s): Marques, José Couto

Organisation(s): Universidade do Porto - Faculdade de Engenharia, Portugal

Presenter(s): Marques, José Couto

Abstract: Every civil engineering structure relies on the good performance of its foundation, whose function of safely transmitting load to the ground is carried out away from our eyes. With the purpose of giving visibility to this process this paper describes two IT tools and a small-scale experimental setup that have been developed as learning aids for the study of the behavior and bearing capacity of shallow foundations by Civil Engineering students.

Title: The Project Fair as an Educational Game-based Tool of Students’ Project Activity

Author(s): Mozgaleva, Polina; Gulyaeva, Ksenia; Zamyatina, Oxana; Solovyev, Mikhail

Organisation(s): Tomsk Polytechnic University, Russian Federation

Presenter(s): Mozgaleva, Polina

Abstract: This Modernization of technology requires training of personnel with new competencies and establishment of centers for innovation in education, research, and technologies within the framework of higher education system. According to that tendency Project activity direction was created in the system of Elite Engineering Education in Tomsk Polytechnic University. The key features of the organization of this course are its practice-oriented approach and the immediate outcome presented during the “Elite Engineering Education Project Fair”, which is a set of events aimed at facilitating students’ research and project activity. This article observes event “Elite Engineering Education Project Fair” as a gameficational event interstitial into educational process. The article describes in detail he content of this science and project-oriented occurrence.

Title: Five Years of the Pupils´ Academy of Serious Gaming: Enhancing the ability to study

Author(s): Utesch, M.

Organisation(s): Staatliche Fach- und Berufsoberschule München Technik und Technische Universität München, Germany

Presenter(s): Utesch, M.

Abstract: For five years now we have been inviting highly talented students of the upper vocational schools of Bavaria to the ‘Technische Universität München’ TUM to participate in the Pupils´ Academy of Serious Gaming. The pedagogical approach of upper vocational schools is the practical application of sciences. Based on this approach we enable the participants to change their learning perspective from ‘school student’ to ‘university student’: For two days they take part in a regular course at TUM based on our in-house business game Go4C (http://www.go4c.org). The goal is to learn how to self-assess and develop important aspects of their personal ability to study. This paper presents the Pupils´ Academy and Go4C as a tool to enhance the ability to study at an early stage before leaving school. At the end of 11th grade, we want the students of the upper vocational school to start to imagine themselves as future university students. After the 12th grade, they will sit the final examination and take the German certificate called ‘Abitur’, which grants access to university studies. So the intention of the Pupils´ Academy as a bridge between upper vocational school and university is that the students enhance their ability to study. In more detail this means: To raise the awareness of important aspects of the ability to study with the help of application-oriented learning To inform at full length about the various aspects of the ability to study To personally experience an improvement in one`s own ability to study To offer knowledge at university level additional to the everyday lessons at school and To train study skills. As a particularly suitable tool we use the business game Go4C. With Go4C the students take their chances as top-level managers of the ‘TechniCar Autobank’. By this means Go4C imparts, in an integrated, application-oriented manner, both business administration skills and important aspects of the ability to study: Time management, methods of science, self-competences, teamwork and a clear idea of the studies at university. The successful participants of the Pupils´ Academy are awarded a certificate which is provided by the TUM in cooperation with the ‘Bayerisches Staatsministerium für Bildung und Kultus, Wissenschaft und Kunst’, the Bavarian State Ministry of Education and Teaching, Science and Art. This certificate in combination with the German ‘Abitur’ may help the students to successfully apply to university. We reviewed the effectiveness of the Pupils´ Academy with a computer based questionnaire. All participants rated their own ability to study before and after attending the Pupils´ Academy. We interpreted the results of the survey together with the participants at a workshop held one week after the Pupils´ Academy. e.g.: Results on the aspect 'a clear idea of the studies at university': The survey shows that the Pupils´ Academy prompts the students of the upper vocational schools to get a clear idea of the studies at university. They tell us: “Before the Academy, I thought: ‘I know everything that is important about studying’. Afterwards, I see far more clearly what studying really means.”

Title: Motivation in Engineering Education: A framework supported by evaluation instruments and enhancement resources

Author(s): López-Fernández, Daniel; Alarcón, Pedro Pablo; Tovar, Edmundo

Organisation(s): Technical University of Madrid, Spain

Presenter(s): Tovar, Edmundo

Abstract: The European Higher Education Area (EHEA) has placed the student at the center of education, supposing a shift from a teaching-centered education to a learning-centered education. The concept of competences, transversal and specific for each subject, was introduced as part of a methodology for understanding and comparison of curriculum designed in the framework of the Tuning project. Currently, the student should set objectives, manage the knowledge, update it, continuously learn and be able to adapt him/herself to new and changing situations. Consequently, it is important to evaluate and enhance, in addition to technical competences, other transversal competences such as the motivation due to the described situation increases even more its important role in the university student´s performance. Nowadays, it is clearly established that motivation is one of the key issues for the academic performance of college students and the success of higher education, especially in the case of students of Engineering degrees, where the difficulty it poses can result in the student a sense of low self-efficacy which hinders their motivation and increases the levels of absenteeism and dropping out to worryingly high levels. Therefore, in recent years, several theoretical and practical studies have provided findings and resources to meet and stimulate engineering student motivation. For some time there are tools like the MSLQ, the Zoller test or the MAPE- 3, useful to conduct motivation researches. But these instruments are not particularized for the engineering students and their motivational particularities invite to develop new tools to help take understanding and stimulating their motivation. Good example of this are motivation instruments recently designed for engineering education like the MAE, focused on the motivational attitudes of engineering students, or the EMQ-B, focused on the strategies that engineering teachers can do to motivate their students. However, the identified instruments are not very useful directly to the students because they don´t provide them self-diagnosis in motivation aspects neither learning resources nor personalized training plans useful to develop its motivation. This is especially important in the EAHA context described above, where the student has an active role in its learning process. Consequently, it is necessary to define and validate frameworks specifically designed for engineering students composed by instruments and resources that help them to understand and improve their motivation, such as diagnosis instruments, recommendation systems, online learning resources or blended training plans. In this line, the main objectives of this contribution are: i) To provide a motivational framework supported by instruments and resources to evaluate and enhance the motivation of engineering students; ii) To use and empirically validate the motivational framework with engineering students.

Title: E-Testing Question Development Technologies and Strategies

Author(s): Gusev, Marjan; Ristov, Sasko; Armenski, Goce

Organisation(s): Ss. Cyril and Methodius University, Macedonia, Former Yugoslav Republic of

Presenter(s): Ristov, Sasko

Abstract: Although, there are a lot of e-Testing technical solutions on the market, we face with a problem of question development. Generating sufficient assessment content is a big challenge, especially using the open source learning materials and delivery of Massively Open Online Courses (MOOC). In this paper we present several technologies and strategies to develop a large set of questions and assessment content. Two systems are analyzed, the conventional one mostly using the multiple-choice questions and the system with interactive images.

Title: Inquiry-based learning perspecive of Human Computer Interaction course

Author(s): Kostoska, Magdalena; Ackovska, Nevena

Organisation(s): Univ. Sts Cyril and Methodius, Macedonia, Former Yugoslav Republic of

Presenter(s): Kostoska, Magdalena

Abstract: This paper describes the results and the experience of introducing inquiry-based learning for project assignments of Human Computer Interaction (HCI) course. For the past six years around 600 students have enrolled this course. As part of this course the students are challenged to use the state-of-the-art technologies and create different kind of useful software products, having in mind the human computer recommendations. This course also stresses the interface needs for different kinds of target groups, especially people with disabilities or some kind of cognitive, mental or physical limitations. The paper presents a evaluation methodology and the results obtained from usage of inquiry-based (IB) learning for the practical part of the course. The results show that the students conducted many researches and were constantly encouraged to ask questions, to find answers and to improve their projects. Using the IB learning the students tend to work in smaller groups. However they challenge themselves and are prepared to face challenges, to discover new knowledge and to apply the technologies they know in order to create new values. It is also interesting that the interest in working with specific target groups tends to rise. This shows that IB learning encourages the students’ natural curiosity and motives them to investigate further in order to create better IT tools for a specific user.

Title: Starter-Project for First Semester Students to Survey Their Engineering Studies

Author(s): Rothe, Irene

Organisation(s): Bonn-Rhein-Sieg University of Applied Sciences, Germany

Presenter(s): Rothe, Irene

Abstract: To give students studying Electrical or Mechanical Engineering at the Bonn-Rhein-Sieg University of Applied Sciences a smoother beginning, three weeks in the first semester are used for project-based learning and self-learning exercises. The project-based learning part is used to do short-term projects (1 to 3 days) to motivate all the different subjects engineering students study during their time at the university. This paper presents a three full-day course of the winter term 2012 and 2014 using LEGO Mindstorm robot kits to give students an easy access to programming, algorithms, sensor technology, robotics and much more. First day: introduction lectures, build a first robot and get used to the Lego-Mindstorm tool kit. Second day: try to win a parcour which includes 6 different tasks. Third day: work on a self-directed task, present this task in front of the other students.

Title: Work in Progress: TwittING project. Using Twitter in Engineering Education

Author(s): Etxegarai, Agurtzane; Fernandez, Elvira; Eguia, Pablo; Torres, Esther; Buigues, Garikoitz

Organisation(s): University of the Basque Country UPV/EHU, Spain

Presenter(s): Etxegarai, Agurtzane

Abstract: This paper presents TwittING project, which aims to use Twitter as an educational tool for engineering students. The background of the project was the positive experience of a lecturer team with a Classroom Response System (CRS) based on clickers. TwittING aims to use Twitter as a question-based learning tool, but also as a dynamic platform for the peer-to-peer communication and learning assessment. Preliminary results regarding the experience of both students and lecturers are presented in this paper

Title: Impact of students’ preferences on the design of online laboratories

Author(s): Mujkanovic, Amir (1); Garbi Zutin, Danilo (1); Schellander, Martin (2); Oberlercher, Gernot (3); Vormaier, Markus (4)

Organisation(s): 1: Carinthia University of Applied Sciences, Austria; 2: Höhere Technische Bundeslehranstalt Mössingerstraße, Klagenfurt, Austria; 3: Höhere Technische Bundeslehr- und Versuchsanstalt, Villach, Austria; 4: Höhere Technische Bundeslehranstalt, Wolfsberg, Austria

Presenter(s): Mujkanovic, Amir

Abstract: Online laboratories have been proved to be an effective tool to bridge gaps between theory and practice particularly in situations not covered by traditional hands on laboratories. Together with secondary school students we aim to develop the laboratory setups and a novel approach to seamlessly plug these setups to the cloud and therefore make them available to other peers. Students will strongly be involved in the research. This is important as it might illuminate new insights into the requirements of the young learners and the teachers using and developing these laboratories. This paper proposes a novel approach to develop software components that might ease the provision of laboratory equipment in online portals. The anticipated results of this research include better understanding of students’ preferences for the design of online laboratories.

Title: Work in Progress: mobile technology for teaching in higher education

Author(s): Poletti, Giorgio

Organisation(s): Università di Ferrara, Italy

Presenter(s): Poletti, Giorgio

Abstract: This The interactive and multimedia device as well as technologies evolve and it is important that this development is used in the processes of teaching and learning in higher education and university education with the philosophy of the device-independent and mobile-learning. The rapid evolution of technology the methodological reflections lead to an approach BYOD/BYOT (Bring Your Own Technology / Bring Your Own Technology) but with an interesting perspective: BYOB (Bring Your Own Behaviour). The research and testing of a model that can support and supplement teaching in higher education and university using the added value provided by the technologies is of paramount necessity; the definition of a model is needed to get out of a process of continuous experimentation and propose a flexible model but a "definitive" in the founding principles.

Title: Mechatronics and robotics as motivational tools in remote laboratories

Author(s): Carro Fernandez, German; Carrasco Borrego., Ramon; Plaza Merino, Pedro; Cañas Lopez, Maria Angeles; Sancristobal Ruiz, Elio; Castro Gil, Manuel; Mur Perez, Francisco

Organisation(s): UNED (Spanish University for Distance Education), Spain

Presenter(s): Carro Fernandez, German

Abstract: In the present times of crisis training is essential, and with that all disciplines that looking to upgrade knowledge and to allow workers to increase their skills to find a job, improve where they already have or start a freelance career. For engineering disciplines this is even more important for the speed at which new technologies are developed and because competition is not only in the products themselves, but also on the knowledge and adaptability. This paper shows how the use of mechatronics and robotics in distance education can be a motivational tool to promote retraining of people of different ages (students, workers, students-workers, unemployed) who with minimal training in engineering want to boost their careers or start new ones.

Title: Task-based Programming Learning

Author(s): Figas, Paula; Bartel, Alexander; Hagel, Georg

Organisation(s): University of Applied Sciences Kempten, Germany

Presenter(s): Bartel, Alexander

Abstract: Task-based learning (TBL), also known as task-based language learning (TBLT) or task-based instruction (TBI), is an approach, which is based on authentic tasks. As the name suggests, the approach is mainly used in the context of foreign language pedagogy. Still, the question remains whether this approach can be used for learning programming languages, too. This paper is about possibilities and limits of using the TBL-approach with undergraduate students to learn programming. The paper presents fundamentals of the TBL-approach and illustrates how it can be adopted for learning an object oriented programming language.

Title: Teaching Computing for non-IT students

Author(s): Mironova, Olga; Vilipõld, Jüri; Amitan, Irina; Saar, Merike; Rüütmann, Tiia; Vendelin, Jelena

Organisation(s): Tallinn University of Technology, Estonia

Presenter(s): Vendelin, Jelena

Abstract: Every area of life today is powerfully affected by the explosion of new information technologies, robotics, biotechnology and the increased blending of invention with scientific discovery. What professionals know and can do are critical resources for the society today. The purpose of present-day engineering education is to provide learning, which is required by students to become successful specialists or educated workers with technical skills, social awareness and knowledge of innovation. A combined set of knowledge and attitudes, based on technologically complex and sustainable products, processes and systems, is essential to strengthening productivity, entrepreneurship and excellence in the society. Accordingly, we should improve the quality and nature of education. Thus, the objective of engineering education today is to educate students to be knowledgeable in technical fundamentals.

Title: A new challenge in the Electronics teaching/learning process for the Industrial Design Engineering Bachelor. An interactive educational tutorial

Author(s): Trujillo Aguilera, Francisco David; Sotorrío Ruiz, Pedro Juan; Pozo Ruz, Ana; Martín Vegas, Francisco Javier

Organisation(s): Universidad de Málaga, Spain

Presenter(s): Trujillo Aguilera, Francisco David

Abstract: The adaptation of new curricula to the European Higher Education Area implies a radical change in the teaching/learning process: it is necessary to get students more involved as well as to promote their independence and active participation. The fast-growing technological development, the increasing use of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) and the advent of e-learning technologies make possible the achievement of this change. It is described a powerful interactive electronics educational tool, which can be embedded in a web page in order to simplify its use by the university students. The results obtained by means of a test demonstrate the benefits of the use of this tutorial and the increase in the motivation students.

Title: Designing Specialized Management Education for Egineers: The Case of the Univetsity of Nicosia

Author(s): Ktoridou, Despo

Organisation(s): University of Nicosia, Cyprus

Presenter(s): Ktoridou, Despo

Abstract: Today’s businesses continuously seek innovative engineer-managers not only to design engineered systems but to manage them. In addition Engineering graduates spend the majority of their time in management functions. Within this context, the author of this theoretical paper describes and explains the philosophy and foundation that underlies the new Master of Science in Engineering Management at the University of Nicosia and also provides evidence for the program’s evaluation by three experts from industry and academia. The results of the study suggest that higher educational institutions should design such specialized management dedication programs for engineers who wish to recognize and evaluate market opportunities and understand the enterprise formation process

Title: Building Excellence in Engineering Education in India

Author(s): Tulsi, PK; Poonia, MP

Organisation(s): NITTTR, India

Presenter(s): Tulsi, PK

Abstract: The country has become a permanent member of Washington Accord in the year 2014 and to begin with, it has become mandatory for TIER-I institutions to seek accreditation of programmes, which will facilitate international recognition of qualification and the mobility of students of engineering institutes across the globe. In other words, engineering institutions need to strive for continuous improvement in the various sub-components of the system namely, input, resources-physical, information, human, financial and energy, curriculum and instructional processes, management, output, interaction with world of work and feedback mechanism. India has third largest system of education in place but still faces problems of access, equity and quality. The major challenges before the country include: converting demographic advantage to demographic dividend, increasing Gross Enrolment Ratio (GER) at higher and technical education level, providing equal access to technical education in different states & diverse groups, providing competent human resource for manufacturing sector, rural development & transformationand infrastructure development.Technical education system comprises of 8462 institutions offering degree in engineering and technology and 3524 institutions offering diploma in engineering and technology with an intake capacity of 3.4 million students. These institutions are facing severe criticism due to decline in quality. Government of India has taken a number of initiatives in this direction. For example, these initiatives include making National Board of Accreditation an independent organization from the regulatory body AICTE, launch of mission teacher and training, sub-mission on polytechnics under coordinated action for skill development, providing impetus to National Mission on Education through ICT etc. to improve the quality of higher and technical education in the country. Strategies need to be adopted at institute level to improve quality and build excellence such as improving curriculum and instructional processes, linkages with world of work, optimal utilization of resources, creating research culture, formulating staff development policy etc. in the system of technical institutions.The paper attempts to highlight strategies that can help the institutes to improve quality and strive towards excellence.

Title: Randomness Impact in Digital Game-Based Learning

Author(s): Al-Hammadi, Mariam (1); Abdelazim, Abdelrahman (2)

Organisation(s): 1: The American University of the Middle East, Kuwait (AUM); 2: The American University of the Middle East, Kuwait (AUM)

Presenter(s): Al-Hammadi, Mariam

Abstract: This research reports the findings of experiments conducted in Kuwait to explore how randomness in educational engineering video games can assist autistic children in experiencing randomness and developing their cognitive behaviors. The experiments are based on an engineering educational application that was implemented based on random numbers and by using the Stroop effect theory. Different scenarios for implementing the experiments were carried out and comparisons were performed. The results show significant improvement in autistic children’s ability of paying attention, memorizing, reacting to random processes, and managing parallel information.

Title: How Students and Teachers react to an AR free puzzle game: preliminary tests

Author(s): Urbano, Diana; Chouzal, Maria de Fátima; Restivo, Maria Teresa

Organisation(s): University of Porto, Portugal, Portugal

Presenter(s): Urbano, Diana

Abstract: This Work in Progress (WIP) paper analyzes the motivation of high school students and teachers to use a free online Augmented Reality (AR) application as a tool for learning/teaching direct-current (dc) circuit basic concepts. The work also analyzes how students predict, observe and explain phenomena, such as open/closed circuit and parallel and series components. The results show that such an application is considered to be illustrative of the AR technology, easy to use and motivating to learn and to teach dc circuits. The results also support the idea that, with this application, students’ difficulties and misconceptions can be easily detected and clarified. The authors believe that such tool has great potential in the context of the modern teaching and learning methodologies.

Title: Systematic Assessment of Student Outcomes in Mathematics For Engineering Students

Author(s): kadry, seifedine

Organisation(s): American University of the Middle East, Kuwait

Presenter(s): kadry, seifedine

Abstract: Student outcomes are statements that describe the attributes; skills and abilities that students should have and be able to do by the time of graduation. For quality assurance evaluation, these outcomes must be assessed. In order to evaluate the level to which an outcome is met, it is necessary to select some courses where the outcome is covered. Course objectives must be linked to the student outcomes and define in terms of measurable performance indicators. Using just two outcome as an example, this paper presents a systematic approach to assess directly and indirectly student learning outcomes in Mathematics through differential equation course, by define appropriate measurable performance indicators, build up assessment rubrics, collect and analyze data for possible recommendations and improvement.

Title: Game Technogies in Teaching “Mathematical Modeling”

Author(s): Zamyatina, Oxana; Mozgaleva, Polina; Goncharuk, Yulia; Marukhina, Olga

Organisation(s): Tomsk Polytechnic University, Russian Federation

Presenter(s): Zamyatina, Oxana

Abstract: The paper examines the applicability of implementing gamification in the disciplines of fundamental and professional cycles of training engineering students. It also gives an example of development of mechanics, dynamics, and content of a game for the “Mathematical modeling” discipline.

Title: Educational Innovations That Promote Student Engagement In Engineering

Author(s): Farrell, Stephanie

Organisation(s): Rowan University, United States of America

Presenter(s): Farrell, Stephanie

Abstract: Evidence from years of educational research calls for a paradigm shift from traditional, teacher-centric methods to learner-centered practices. Knowledge acquisition and cognitive development are increased when pedagogy and delivery are designed to promote student engagement. This keynote talk will highlight several types of educational innovations that promote student engagement in engineering, provide examples of educational innovations from the author’s institution and from universities around the world, and discuss their educational benefits over traditional methods. The adoption of educational innovations lags behind the awareness of the innovations and the evidence that supports their adoption, and this talk will address some of the barriers to closing that gap. Finally, recommendations for overcoming those barriers will be presented, drawing on the author’s experience.

Title: Using a SPOC to flip the classroom

Author(s): Martínez-Muñoz, Gonzalo; Pulido, Estrella

Organisation(s): Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Spain

Presenter(s): Pulido, Estrella

Abstract: In this paper we analyze and compare the student performance between two consecutive editions of a first year undergraduate course on Data Structures and Programming. The main difference between both editions lies in the introduction of online video contents and the use of a flipped classroom scheme. In this context, we have observed an improvement in the success rate of students of 5%. More importantly, the dropout rate has decreased from 9% to 3.3% and their satisfaction with the course has improved. Our main conclusion is that integrating a SPOC into face-to-face education can improve both the student performance and their satisfaction with the course as well as reduce the dropout rates.

Title: Semester of Code: Piloting Virtual Placements for Informatics across Europe

Author(s): García-Peñalvo, Francisco J. (1); Cruz-Benito, Juan (1); Conde, Miguel Á. (2); Griffiths, David (3)

Organisation(s): 1: GRIAL Research Group, Research Institute for Educational Sciences, Department of Computers and Automatics. University of Salamanca, Spain; 2: University of Leon, Spain; 3: University of Bolton, United Kingdom

Presenter(s): García-Peñalvo, Francisco J.

Abstract: VALS (Virtual Alliances for Learning Society) European-funded project (40054-LLP-L-2013-1-ES-ERASMUS-EKA) has the aim of establishing sustainable processes to build knowledge partnerships between Higher Education (HE) and companies to collaborate on resolving authentic business problems through open innovation mediated by the use of Open Source Software (OSS). To achieve it, the VALS approach is to leverage virtual placements of informatics students in companies in order to foster entrepreneurial skills and attitudes, and to make use of the results to establish new learning and teaching methods. This result in the Semester of Code methodology and pilots, a sustainable set of methods and processes for creating and managing virtual placements, and for integrating these into innovative teaching and learning strategies. This Semester of Code (SoC) initiative allows students of degrees of computer science addressing real business problems raised by companies and OSS Foundations, and get rewards from resolving them reflecting it in their formal education. The first pilots for this initiative are being performed between September 2014 and June 2015. The SoC initiative itself consists of two action lines, one on managing the entire process, and another on the computer system that will support the achievement of this initiative with all stakeholders. This paper describes the main points of the Semester of Code workflow for the pilot tests, as well it describes the main issues, data and first results of the first pilot performed, which is being performed now and until january 2015, with special attention to the details of the pilot process and the weaknesses and strengths detected in it.

Title: Playful Learning in Academic Software Engineering Education

Author(s): Soska, Alexander (1); Wolff, Christian (2); Mottok, Jürgen (1)

Organisation(s): 1: OTH Regensburg, Germany; 2: University of Regensburg, Germany

Presenter(s): Soska, Alexander

Abstract: Within this thesis, we present our suggestions why playful learning in software engineering education is useful to mediate generic competences in academic teaching. Therefor we identified competences which are addressed by playful learning and mapped them to demanded generic competences in software engineering. Due to the well compliance, we analyzed current implementations of playful learning and their design regarding the mediation of required soft skills. Based on the lack of effective implementation, we close our paper with an exemplary design for playful learning.

Title: Software Engineering Project Simulation in Student Entry Phase of Computer Scientists-to-be

Author(s): Thurner, Veronika; Böttcher, Axel; Schlierkamp, Kathrin; Zehetmeier, Daniela

Organisation(s): Hochschule München, Germany

Presenter(s): Thurner, Veronika

Abstract: Many programs of study within the STEM-area (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) confront their students with several terms worth of fundamental classes before entering into any serious problems of their domain, thus integrating and using these fundamentals. Of course, all these fundamental skills are necessary for the engineering professional's everyday work life. However, from the students' perspective, it is not always obvious how this collection of fundamentals fits together and integrates into a competence profile that is meaningful for job requirements later on. To remedy this situation, we devised a software engineering project simulation that runs future computer scientists through the essential tasks of the software development life cycle, i.e. requirements definition, design, implementation and test, right at the beginning of their studies. This project allows us to confront our students quickly with typical core tasks of computer scientists-to-be. Thus, students experience quickly their own lack of knowledge, as compared to what would be necessary to solve the project task in a satisfactory way. This not only motivates students to keep up their studies. In addition, this experience will help them to integrate the different snippets of knowledge provided during their later studies into a big picture.

Title: The Case for Teaching “Tool Science”. Taking Software Engineering and Software Engineering Education beyond the Confinements of Traditional Software Development Contexts

Author(s): Wolff, Christian

Organisation(s): University of Regensburg, Germany

Presenter(s): Wolff, Christian

Abstract: In this paper the need for tool science, a discipline dedicated to the problem of developing, selecting, adapting and teaching about software tools for research is discussed. Starting from a general description of this field a short overview on the state-of-the-art is given. Core problems for tools research are discussed and several open research issues are identified like the need for case studies in research tool usage or making economic benefits of better usability and user experience for research tools evident. In addition, aspects of teaching concepts for tool developers and users outside the core disciplines of computer science and software engineering are presented.

Title: GridKa School - Teaching Information Technologies since 2003

Author(s): Weber, Pavel; Heiss, Andreas; Nilsen, Dimitri; Jung, Christopher; Meyer, Joerg; Tao, Jie; Schaeffner, Ingrid; Ernst, Melanie; Hartmann, Thomas; Pfeiler, Christoph-Erdmann; Petzold, Andreas

Organisation(s): Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, Germany

Presenter(s): Weber, Pavel

Abstract: The emergence of new information technologies like grid computing, cloud computing and big data in the last years requires their efficient adoption by diverse scientific communities with different backgrounds. For successful and efficient application of these technologies and associated software tools, it is highly advisable to provide the user communities with a general overview of the existing technologies on the market, their core functionality, the range of possible applications and further development. In addition it is important to provide the scientists with practical experience on usage of computational software tools and methods. GridKa School is an annual international computing school which aims to provide its participants the latest and the most prominent overview on cutting edge information technologies with respect to the needs of their research communities. Hosted by one of the largest scientific data centers in Europe, adopting its computational resources and expert knowledge for the education purposes, GridKa School provides excellent possibilities to gain the skills on the deployment and application of advanced software tools and techniques. For more than ten years the school has been offering a forum for scientists and technology leaders, experts and novices to facilitate knowledge sharing and information exchange. The target audience are different groups like graduate and post-graduate students and researchers from different fields of science and industry. This presentation describes the unique concept of the school, the continuous development of its curriculum and the successful organization structure. It argues the benefits and challenges of the chosen educational approach which has been emerged based on the many years of teaching experience at GridKa School.

Title: Positive Experience of the Project Gamification in the Microprocessors and Microcontrollers Course

Author(s): Ristov, Sasko; Ackovska, Nevena; Kirandziska, Vesna

Organisation(s): Ss. Cyril and Methodius University, Macedonia, Former Yugoslav Republic of

Presenter(s): Ristov, Sasko

Abstract: This paper presents the positive experience of the project gamification in the microprocessors and microcontrollers course for computer science students. The project gamification improved the course additionally to its previous improvements. The average grade is improved with the whole grade, and more than 60% of students achieved maximum grade 10. This improvement leads towards enrolling to other elective hardware based courses in the upper semesters. Additionally, two diploma theses are developed this year, for the first time at the faculty, whose main topics are Microcontrollers games.

Title: Implicit learning by means of a knowledge based engineering system

Author(s): Hagenreiner, Thomas (1,3); Engelmann, Grazia (1,2); Köhler, Peter (3)

Organisation(s): 1: BMW AG, Germany; 2: University of Dresden; 3: University of Duisburg-Essen

Presenter(s): Hagenreiner, Thomas

Abstract: Three-dimensional CAD-models are representing the foundation of modern product development in all kinds of branches. Even medium-sized and small-scale enterprises use powerful CAD-software, as they offer a huge possibility to increase the efficiency in the development process. Hence, learning the handling of such programs is part of many different engineering studies. The depth of education is varying from the learning of the basic functions of solid- and surface-modeling up to advanced techniques of automated product modeling. However, investigations show, that the potential of the provided software is only used rudimentarily. Furthermore, the continually progressing development of those software-systems demands a constant learning process of the users, to ensure that they are capable to exhaust the full potential. Due to the fact, that this causes high monetary and temporary effort, it is not practiced in most companies. Goal of this paper is to state an approach, how the application of modern virtual tools can be used for efficiency enhancement, without demanding specific know-how (concerning the construction methods as well as the particular component) of the user. Therefore, a Knowledge Based Engineering System (KBES) is introduced, which includes the necessary product- and process-knowledge, which can be accessed by the user according to the respective situation. The introduced KBE-system is representing the basis for studies according to the implicit learning effect, which can be obtained through such an expert system. A volunteer study (already started) shall proof this learning effect and help to investigate how inexperienced users can be introduced to a new construction task and be able to work as fast as possible productive with a high efficiency and data quality. The current work is part of a research project of the development department for exterior lighting of the BMW AG in collaboration with the Institute for Product Engineering of the University Duisburg-Essen.

Title: Learning Experiences within Authentic Demonstrations : Research Project Demonstrations at Viksu 2014 Camp

Author(s): Jokinen, Esa; Rajamäki, Jyri

Organisation(s): Laurea University of Applied Sciences, Finland

Presenter(s): Jokinen, Esa

Abstract: Learning by Developing (LbD) is a pedagogical strategy of Laurea University of Applied Sciences (UAS). It is a cultural framework and model of learning that was created in a social and collective process in 2002-2007. Its authentic integrative student-centered approach actualized in research project demonstrations that were held in Viksu 2014 camp. These demonstrations were designed by the students in co-operation with the camp organization and MACICO (Multi-Agency Cooperation in Cross-Border Operations) project partners. Data collected during the camp will result in five theses. Common to these studies was the LbD based approach to use students in developing solutions to real-life problems and testing them in an authentic environment. Through demonstrations as student work this was taken to the extreme, since data collection happened in really short period of just a couple of days. This emphasizes the meaning of preparation: all the needs of participating organizations had to be taken in account and the plan evolved during the process. In this kind of work students have been supplied with huge responsibility and expectations, since the participating organizations have invested money and other resources and are expecting to gain useful results. In this study this subject is discoursed from the perspective of the students: How students experiences the responsibility and expectations given? How they cope with the expectations? What kind of competencies students describe they have gained through the process of creating these demonstrations? Research data will consist of students narrative interviews of their learning achievements and challenges during the learning process while creating demonstrations and analyzing the data gathered during the demonstrations.

Title: Reconstructing students’ subjective theories on self-directed learning - A qualitative research approach in Software Engineering Education

Author(s): Knörl, Susanne; Schroll-Decker, Irmgard; Mottok, Jürgen; Soska, Alexander

Organisation(s): OTH Regensburg, Germany

Presenter(s): Soska, Alexander

Abstract: Considering the claim of furthering self-directed learning in higher education in general and in Software Engineering education in particular, this paper deals with a new approach on understanding and facilitating self-directed learning. This approach involves the concept of subjective theories, which are expected to influence students' self-directed learning. Therefore this paper presents the intended qualitative research design for reconstructing these subjective theories and for developing ways of integrating them in dicactical situations in higher education.

Title: Interaction skills in personal management of technicians

Author(s): Dobrovska, Dana; Andres, Pavel

Organisation(s): Czech Rechnical University in Prague, Masaryk Institute of Advanced Studies, Czech Republic

Presenter(s): Andres, Pavel

Abstract: The lack of communication skills among the technical community of engineers, computer specialists, and other specialists with a technical background is notorious. Engineering education often focus on teaching and training hard facts. Hard facts are relatively easy to teach and test. Soft skills are not sufficiently neither in engineering, or in technical teacher preparation. The fundamentals of how people work and interact should be taught, practiced, and evaluated at all levels of pre-graduate technical study.

Title: Design of flexible cost-efficient International Engineering Curricula at Public University of Navarre

Author(s): Sanchis, Pablo; Lopez-Martin, Antonio; Perez-Artieda, Gurutze; Gubia, Eugenio; Barrenechea, Edurne; Astrain, David; Lopez-Taberna, Jesus; Morato, Daniel; Matias, Ignacio R.

Organisation(s): Public University of Navarre, Spain

Presenter(s): Sanchis, Pablo

Abstract: The need for stablishing International Programs at the universities is particularly relevant in the case of the Engineering Degrees. In a context of progressive industrial globalization, the new engineering students have to be not only competent in technical aspects but also exhibit good skills in terms of foreign languages and intercultural knowledge. In order to attract new students, and particularly the best of them, the Schools of Engineering propose every year an increasing number of International Curriculum Programs. However, the design of these Programs is not an easy task. The need for organizing both a specific enrolment and separate classes makes the design of these Programs very expensive and therefore difficult to implement for small and medium-size universities. In order to avoid these problems, specific cost-efficient International Curriculum Programs have been designed and set up in the School for Industrial and Telecommunications Engineering of the Public University of Navarre (UPNA). These programs do not imply an extra cost for the University and are highly flexible to changes in the number of students interested every year. The results since the Programs were implemented are very satisfactory and show their high effectiveness in terms of reduced costs, positive academic results and high interest of the students.

Title: “24 hours of innovation”: a Trans-Pyrenean Challenge Initiative

Author(s): Perez-Artieda, Gurutze; Astrain, David; Goicoechea, Javier; Gubia, Eugenio; Sanchis, Pablo; Lopez-Martin, Antonio; Barrenechea, Edurne; Lopez-Taberna, Jesus; Morato, Daniel; Matias, Ignacio R.

Organisation(s): Public University of Navarre, Spain

Presenter(s): Sanchis, Pablo

Abstract: The goal of the 24 hours of innovation challenge is to encourage student teams from French and Spanish universities around the Pyrenees to find creative solutions to challenges put forward by participating companies. The initiative is presented and analyzed in this paper as an efficient way to promote creativity and innovation in the new engineering students.

Title: Online documentation approach for assisted system engineering and assessment in student projects

Author(s): Praks, Jaan (1); Kestilä, Antti (1); Tikka, Tuomas (1); Komu, Maria (2)

Organisation(s): 1: Aalto University, Finland; 2: Finnish Meteorological Institute, Finland

Presenter(s): Praks, Jaan

Abstract: Preparation of engineering student for modern work life needs constant development of teaching methods. New teaching frameworks like Model of Integrative Pedagogy attempt to bring together ad emphasize all key components of professional expertise, such as theoretical knowledge, practical knowledge, self-regulative knowledge, and socio-cultural knowledge. I practice most of those aspects can be covered in the project based learning supplemented with theoretical lecture courses. Therefore increasing amount of student projects around the world give engineering students valuable hands-on experience and provide opportunity to practice teamwork skills. However, a real engineering project needs systematic documentation for project communication and tools for system engineering to keep the project focused and productive. This is not easy to achieve in highly dynamic student projects with variable skill and motivation level students. The project documentation is a challenge especially in longer projects, where the team is changing and the experience is leaving the project. In this paper we describe a light online documentation approach which was developed for a student satellite project but is applicable to wide variety of engineering projects. The documentation integrates work reports, collaboration, student assessment, knowledge accumulation and rigorous system engineering tools to meet both teaching and project needs. The approach is based loosely in documentation practices in space technology projects. The proposed approach allows flexible schedules in student team, assessment of the results and accumulation of the experience gained by previous teams.

Title: Problem-based Learning Environments in moodle: Implementation Approches

Author(s): Ali, Zeyad (1); Al-Dous, Khulood (2); Samaka, Mohammed (3)

Organisation(s): 1: Qatar University, Qatar; 2: Qatar University, Qatar; 3: Qatar University, Qatar

Presenter(s): Samaka, Mohammed

Abstract: Abstract—Problem-based learning (PBL) educators resorted to developing their own environments even with existence of comprehensive Learning Management Systems (LMS). They realized that both commercial and open source systems were designed with traditional lecture-based instruction in mind. The systems lack the features and scenarios required by the inherently collaborative, dynamic, and timely pedagogy. The presence of several PBL flavors and models added more complexity to the development process preventing any single environment from being unanimously recognized by the PBL community. In this paper, we review and discuss the implementation approaches that were used in developing PBL environments in the open-source LMS moodle. We focus on the instantiation methodologies, scaffolding, customizability, features, and flexibility. We go over a wide range of PBL implementations starting from the basic ones that used whatever features available without adding any new functionality. We then browse two moodle environments that implemented a particular PBL model. Finally, we discuss a two environment that used scripting in two different forms, one benefitted from a standard like IMS Learning Design (IMS-LD) and the other made use of a specially developed PBL Domain-Specific Modelling Language (DSML).

Title: A Novel Design of Management Senior Project for Engineering Students

Author(s): kadry, seifedine

Organisation(s): American University of the Middle East, Kuwait

Presenter(s): kadry, seifedine

Abstract: The senior project course for engineering students has a vital role in enhancing the “learn by practice” education engineering students in any university. The senior project course is, usually, a two semester course. This short time frame, poses challenges for both students and faculty. Students have to achieve the outcomes of the project to a certain extent and the faculty has to manage, follow up and evaluate efficiently the work of their students individually and by group. One common problem in senior project is the missing of the control during the visit of the students to a company for project preparation purpose. In this paper, we propose a new and efficient design of follow up for faculty to manage properly and evaluate effectively the individual progress of the students during the preparation of their senior projects and to avoid “free riders” situation. Our idea is based on the mobile technology to track the students’ progress, meeting, and visiting industry and so on. The proposed idea is helpful to avoid free-riding students also provides instructors with solid evidence of the student progress.

Title: Educational Decision-Making About Curriculum Development, Environments and Economics of Education

Author(s): Läänemets, Urve; Rüütmann, Tiia

Organisation(s): Tallinn University of Technology, Estonia

Presenter(s): Rüütmann, Tiia

Abstract: Informed decision-making for specification of educational policy at global, regional or local levels has become increasingly complicated due to the changes we are facing culturally, economically and productively in the 21st century. Intellectual capital, both individual and social, which is expected to be developed by lifelong learning approach is also considered to be an active force in creating economic growth and welfare in all societies. Accordingly, abilities and skills to produce, develop and manage knowledge and innovations are of crucial significance for all modern societies. Information technologies have changed processes and environments and earlier forms of organization with established patterns and hierarchies are not implementable in the times of fast and unpredictable changes. However, social mobilities of different kind require new competencies. The same questions asked about functioning of educational systems have to be given new answers. A decision-making model was compiled based on works of Taba, Tyler, Lundgren, Pinar, Autio et al.The model can serve as basis for economic calculations, and if turned upside down , it can be used for analysis of how realistic it is to achieve the aims initially set. It is of special meaning for planning and design of engineering education where educational resources deserve particular attention. Detailled overview of the design of the model and its implementation in curriculum development, learning environments and economics of education will be given in the article.

Title: Promoting creativity and innovative thinking in software engineering teaching: a case study

Author(s): González, Carina

Organisation(s): Universidad de La Laguna, Spain

Presenter(s): González, Carina

Abstract: In this paper, we present an hybrid educative methodological approach to promote creative and innovative thinking in software design and development, and at the same time, to promote the development of transversal and professional skills. So, we combine teaching and learning strategies based on projects (PBL), computer supported collaborative learning (CSCL), design thinking (DT), visual thinking (VT), gamestorming (GS) and gamification techniques. Moreover, we present a case study applying this methodology to teach software engineering.

Title: Development of an educational tool for Control Engineering

Author(s): Rêgo Segundo, Alan Kardek; Cocota, José Alberto Naves; Ferreira, Diógenes Viegas Mendes

Organisation(s): Federal University of Ouro Preto, Brazil

Presenter(s): Rêgo Segundo, Alan Kardek

Abstract: On this work, a device was made in order to help the visualization by the student of a PID temperature control and thus fix the concepts learned in the classroom. This device was built primarily with a PIC18F4550 microcontroller, a mini cooler from a PC, a heat resistor, LM35 temperature sensors, liquid crystal display, USB connector, transistors, LEDs, potentiometers, resistors and capacitors. The USB connection is responsible for recording the microcontroller firmware (bootloader mode), through communication equipment with a computer, and to supply the system. The heat resistor provides heat to the system. On the other hand, the cooler has the function of removing heat from the system. The liquid crystal display helps the student to check the temperature, the constants of the controller (Kp, Ki and Kd) and the set point temperature or the cooler voltage. The potentiometers provide the option to run the system in open loop, that is, they serve to make the control of the heat supplied by the heat resistor and the cooler voltage manually. Both the heat resistor and the cooler are controlled via transistors switched by PWMs (Pulse Wide Modulation). A computer program was developed in C Sharp language to display the temperature over time measured by the sensors. The program also is used to adjust the constants Kp, Ki and Kd of the controller and the temperature set points. The program of the microcontroller is designed in two ways: (i) perform control of the voltage applied to the cooler and apply a constant voltage in the heat resistor, and (ii) perform the manual control on the voltage applied on the heat resistor and also on the cooler. This work allows the student to learn in practice the control actions when the controller parameters are changed, contributing to improve the acknowledgment of Control Engineering.

Title: Low cost SCADA system for education

Author(s): Rêgo Segundo, Alan Kardek; Cocota, José Alberto Naves; Hilário, Rárisson Queiroz; Gomide, Vinícius de Oliveira; Ferreira, Diógenes Viegas Mendes

Organisation(s): Federal University of Ouro Preto, Brazil

Presenter(s): Rêgo Segundo, Alan Kardek

Abstract: A prototype based on SCADA system was developed as a result of the final project of the discipline entitled Applied Microcontrollers to Control Engineering and Automation. This course has Project Based Learning (PBL) methodology. The prototype has a drive unit and a computer program. This device was developed using a PIC18F4550 microcontroller and various electronic components: resistors, capacitors, LEDs, among others. The computer program was developed using programming language C Sharp (C #) in Visual Studio development environment. The interface between the program and the device is performed via USB communication. This prototype is now used in the discipline mentioned in order to teach practical lessons about embedded systems projects, USB communication, data acquisition and supervisory systems. As all stages of the project were presented to the students in a very detailed way and its development was performed on a real application, the students showed a lot of interest about this tool during the last school year.

Title: Continuum-focused Methodology for Information Systems Research and Development

Author(s): Pirinen, Rauno

Organisation(s): Laurea, Finland

Presenter(s): Pirinen, Rauno

Abstract: The indent of this study is to describe the continuum-focused methodology to the field of Information Systems Research and for utilization of outcomes of diverse research approaches related to: understanding, innovating, demonstrating, building, testing, improving, experiencing, evaluating, implementing, and disseminating. The study is addressed to the collective research and development in integrative way and for solution development over disciplinary silos. The main remark of this study is that continuums and path dependency are imperative in the progress which begins with research and continues towards innovations, such as new or improved artifacts, e.g., models, concepts, solutions, products, systems, services, or methods.

Title: Development of a xAPI Application Profile for Self-Regulated Learning: Requirements for capturing SRL related data

Author(s): Manso-Vázquez, Mario; Caeiro-Rodríguez, Manuel; Llamas-Nistal, Martín

Organisation(s): University of Vigo, Spain

Presenter(s): Llamas-Nistal, Martín

Abstract: In recent times, self-regulated learning (SRL) is becoming very popular and there are numerous research studies on its application in formal education. On the other hand, the use of technology in education is still increasing, and applying technology to enhance selfregulated learning will become an important matter soon. Nowadays, the functionalities offered and the data recorded from LMSs and current learning software is not suitable to allow a SRL approach. Our goal is to improve the possibilities of (learning) software to actually support this type of learning. We studied self-regulated learning theory, learning strategies and their implementation in real contexts in order to know how to offer this support within a piece of software. We analyzed this and created a set of requirements for software to support learning strategies. At the same time, we are focused on easing the development of specific tools or functionalities. In this paper we deal with monitoring in self-regulated learning oriented software. Self-regulation of learning implies planning, forethought, task analysis, monitoring, control, self-evaluation and reaction. Self-monitoring is one most important parts in selfregulation in general, and so it is in learning. Monitoring properly allows students to reflect about their actions, strategy use, time spent, etc. To do this, students have to record their actions and reflect about how to improve their learning process: by improving how they do their learning tasks, by refining goal definitions, by choosing another strategy, etc. They need to analyze all this data and reflect about it. This data will help us with two important matters: 1. Supporting the student’s self-monitoring: providing them with information extracted from processed data about their actions in order to ease self-monitoring and enhance self-reflection; offering recommendations for strategies, resources, etc. 2. Supporting the educator’s monitoring: monitoring the students when using a SRL approach is very time consuming. With proper data it will be easy for teachers and educators to know if their students are self-regulating properly (planning tasks, defining their goals, monitoring their own activity, reflecting on their actions to improve their methods, using strategies correctly, etc.). Educational software doesn't record the data needed to allow SRL monitoring and standards like xAPI don't have statemets suitable for many SRL actions. In this paper we present an analysis of xAPI from the selfregulated learning needs point of view, focusing on how we can record all the actions derived from the implementation of self-regulated learning strategies. The results of this research will provide a framework for educational software developers that will allow them to produce suitable traces to support self-regulated learning.

Title: Standardized Enriched Rubrics to support competency-assessment through the SCALA methodology and dashboard

Author(s): Rayon, Alex; Guenaga, Mariluz; Longarte, Jon Kepa

Organisation(s): University of Deusto, Spain

Presenter(s): Rayon, Alex

Abstract: Information and Telecommunication Technologies have altered the way of working, changing in consequence the demand of workforce profile that includes the non-routine and cognitive competencies. These are the 21th century’s capabilities, characterized by abstract skills such as teamwork, time management, creativity, negotiation, etc. Accordingly, universities have emphasized competencies as central elements for students’ development, evolving from a content-based towards a competency-based educational model. On the other hand, Hattie [1] pointed out that one of the most influential elements that affect students are formative evaluation and feedback. In the same line, the OECD’s Innovative Learning Environments report [2] focuses on students’ engagement and feedback as key elements to improve modern learning environments. Thus, it seems worthwhile to monitor students’ activity while resolving tasks in competency-assessment contexts for assessment purposes. We have designed and developed SCALA (Scalable Competence Assessment through a Learning Analytics approach), a gathering and processing system that helps to analyze educational data from technology-rich environments to support competency-assessment through enriched rubrics. This system implements the whole life-cycle of a learning analytics process [6]: selection, capture, aggregation, process, use and refine. Actions performed by the learner are collected and stored; these data is filtered and processed. SCALA uses an Extraction-Transformation-Load sequence that gathers data from different educational web technologies through a set of web services. Later, data is analyzed and visualized to detect patterns that help to define the current situation of each learner. In this paper, we present results obtained from an experiment done with 30 students and 2 professors where the goal is not only to visualize learning activities’ metrics in a dashboard (SCALA-Dashboard), but mine them using analytics techniques for the discovery of students’ patterns and metric relations in technology-rich learning environments.

Title: A Conversational Case Based Reasoning Approach to Help Teachers in Solving Professional Problems

Author(s): Choppin, Baptiste (1); Condamines, Thierry (1); El Hajji, Driss (2)

Organisation(s): 1: Laboratoire MIS, Université de Picardie Jules Verne, France; 2: Laboratoire SIA, Faculty of Science and technology, Fez, Morocco

Presenter(s): Choppin, Baptiste

Abstract: Due to a lack of professional training, teachers often face difficulties arising from their professional practice, and it is not easy for them to get help without using Web. But it’s well known that this type of tool isn’t very efficient for problem solving within a community of practice. So we propose to use a Case-Based Reasoning (CBR) approach not only to allow teachers to help each other solve their problems but also to capitalize on the knowledge exchanged in solving these problems. This paper presents our approach, the case model and the process we propose for solving a new problem.

Title: Development of a Pedagogical Content Knowledge Model for Computer Science Teacher

Author(s): Margaritis, Melanie (1); Magenheim, Johannes (1); Ohrndorf, Laura (2); Schubert, Sigrid (2); Berges, Marc (3); Hubwieser, Peter (3)

Organisation(s): 1: University of Paderborn, Germany; 2: University of Siegen; 3: Technical University of Munich

Presenter(s): Margaritis, Melanie

Abstract: This paper deals with the first results of the development of a competence model focused on pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) for computer science (CS) teachers, developed by the project group “Competences for Teaching Computer Science” (short KUI). The project was founded in summer 2012 and is funded by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) until 2015. By means of this competence model we want to figure out what PCK CS pre-service teachers should have to teach CS in class.

Title: Pedagogical Content Knowledge A Comparative Study between CS Pre-Service Teachers and Experienced Teachers

Author(s): Margaritis, Melanie (1); Magenheim, Johannes (2)

Organisation(s): 1: University of Paderborn, Germany; 2: University of Paderborn, Germany

Presenter(s): Margaritis, Melanie

Abstract: This study is based on a collaborative project called “Competencies for Teaching Computer Science” (short KUI) that aims to identify competencies for teaching computer science in schools. In this paper, we describe the results of an interview study to determine pre-service teachers’ and experienced teachers’ pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) in Germany to figure out how far these competencies differ from each other. The interview study is one part of our research study, which includes the measurement of PCK using different kind of interviews and video-recordings.

Title: The Dependence Pedagogy Approach

Author(s): Kalagiakos, Panagiotis

Organisation(s): Hellenic American University, Greece

Presenter(s): Kalagiakos, Panagiotis

Abstract: I. INRODUCTION The Multicultural school of Athens is a rich source of data derived by our 206 refugee students coming from countries of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Our goal was not to develop a wiki instance to use as a content source, but to provide a solution that will operate and contribute within the frame of the Dependence Pedagogy concept originated in our school. Wiki as a collaborative free format tool contributes to knowledge synergy; the latter is important as it becomes a curriculum tool along with content sites, animation schemes and learning games, all, developed by the students. We are using technology in a way that makes our students producers of artifacts worthwhile publishing and spreading. In our school reusability is valuable. II. MULTICULTURAL LEARNING THROUGH ENGAGEMENT The multicultural school of Athens is a school dedicated to the education of young refugees. Currently, the school has 206 students coming from 18 countries. All of them are either war or economic refugees with emotional and psychological scarves. The situation faced by the instructors had been very frustrating and hostile. To change the environment into a synergistic and collaborative one, a set of actions were designed and implemented that aimed into turning the students into the main actors of the scene and bridging cultural differences investing on the Dependence Pedagogy schema. The papers “Multicultural Pragmatic Learning Through Total Students' Engagement”, presented in ITHET 2013 and “Dependence Pedagogy in a Multicultural School” submitted in SAMI 2014 portrayed our efforts to a) shift from traditional lesson plans and programs to attention-grabbing learning, and b) to introduce Reusability and establish a DP school environment [1], [2], [4], [5]. The students got trained in developing and publishing learning sites and produced content related to specific topics within our curriculum. So subjects like geography, citizenship, nature, history, mathematics etc, got enriched with content produced by our students. A generous assessment strategy was designed to evaluate and reward all these efforts. All the knowledge produced by our community, constitutes a strategic asset that must be stored, shared and managed. We consider wiki a knowledge management tool that combines a) a content management system which can be used to manage learning objects that can be searched and categorized, and b) a form of groupware, used to enhance communication and collaboration. Wiki pages can be initiated by anyone and changed by anyone. The combination of a content management system and a collaboration system into one system is significant and different. This new tool allows for content to be worked on collaboratively and produced at the same time. We treat our wiki solution as the Library of Reusable Components treating as such, however, new roles and behaviors has been introduced in our school such as the Reusability Quality Assurance Group (RQAG), quality cost estimators, quality assessment, and wiki administration. In this paper we are describing our reuse model in relation to our wiki solution.

Title: Pedagogy Sharing in the PROMIS Tempus Project

Author(s): Bardou, Daniel (1); Merceron, Agathe (2); Adam, Jean-Michel (1); Milosz, Marek (3); Toppinen, Arto (4); Kapocius, Kestutis (5); Ripphausen-Lipa, Heike (2)

Organisation(s): 1: University of Grenoble Alpes, Grenoble, France; 2: Beuth University of Applied Sciences, Berlin, Germany; 3: Lublin University of Technology, Lublin, Poland; 4: Savonia University of Applied Sciences, Kuopio, Finland; 5: Kaunas University of Technology, Kaunas, Lithuania

Presenter(s): Bardou, Daniel

Abstract: The PROMIS Project is an ongoing EU Tempus Project for setting up ISC (Informatics as a Second Competence) Master's degrees in Central Asia. We are more specifically concerned with ensuring the vocational aspect of studies and tightening the relationships between companies and universities in this project. To meet these goals we mainly propose to base the curricula organization on both reverse teaching and apprenticeship. As we also want the degrees to be part of an international network many tasks of the project are dedicated to sharing and discussing pedagogical materials and methods between European and Central Asia partners. This paper is organized as follows. We set the context of the PROMIS Project in section I and reverse teaching issues in section II. Section III is dedicated to the organization of pedagogical workshops to share common material and expertise on teaching the core courses of Master's degrees.

Title: Be an Engineer right from the start

Author(s): Reith, Dirk; Bachmeier, Claus; Groß, Iris

Organisation(s): Bonn-Rhein-Sieg University of Applied Sciences, Germany

Presenter(s): Groß, Iris

Abstract: At the Bonn-Rhine-Sieg University of Applied Science, Germany, students in the department of Electrical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering and Technical Journalism (EMT) are offered a practical project work in their first semester. Herein they shall learn to collaborate with other in teams, that combine electrical and mechanical engineering students, to prepare them for typical future working situations. Quite a variety of projects are offered by the staff to train the students in engineering’s thinking; the most fascinating of them, however, is the development and construction of a so-called Rube Goldberg Machine. A Rube Goldberg Machine, named after an American cartoonist, is a machine that will conduct a series of entertaining steps, using many different physical effects in a domino cascade, in order to fulfill a basically simple task. In this contribution, we will show how the project is organized, what is expected from the students and which learning outcomes are reached.

Title: eLearning infrastructures for co-operative degree programmes in Europe

Author(s): Boehringer, David

Organisation(s): Universität Stuttgart, Germany

Presenter(s): Boehringer, David

Abstract: This article discusses the challenges co-operative degree programmes that are offered by European universities bear for the existing eLearning infrastructures of the universities. Interfaces of Learning Management Systems are insufficient to support the required workflows and the handling of the virtual identities of the students is all but trivial. Existing solutions are compared and the chosen solution, the CampusConnect infrastructure, explained for the special case of the degree programmes of KIC InnoEnergy.

Title: Virtual Internships as an Innovative learning technique

Author(s): Cortesão, Marta Filipa; Medeiros, Ana Rita; Icen, Deniz; Morciano, Elia Alessandro

Organisation(s): Board of European Students of Technology

Presenter(s): Morciano, Elia Alessandro

Abstract: Interning has become an important system to bring students, companies and universities closer. It has also become one of the first preferences of students when it comes to complementing their education. However, in a globally connected world, mobility is a great value, being required by most professionals the availability and ability to integrate it in their jobs. In this way, the concept of virtual internships is being developed, as an innovative approach to improve European Engineering Education (EEE). Board of European Students of Technology (BEST) is a continuously growing, non-profit and non-political students’ organisation, bridging universities, students and companies. Aiming to bring the development of EEE closer to students, BEST has been playing an active role since 2009 in the establishment and improvement of virtual internships in Europe. This has been happening mainly by two ways: i) the organization of Events on Education (EoEs), each gathering the opinions of approximately 20 European students of technology on educational matters; ii) the participation in both Enterprise-University Virtual Placements (EU-VIP) and Promoting Virtual Mobility in Placements (PROVIP) thematic networks, under the Lifelong Learning Programme of the European Commission. Thus, we present the outcomes of several EoEs in EEE conferences, disclosing the students’ point of view regarding two main ideas: the concept and implications of virtual internships in Europe, and a set of guidelines for the communication between stakeholders during virtual internships. Students’ input was gathered using a range of facilitation methods during EoE sessions, such as Open-Space Technology (OST), World Café, and other discussion group techniques. As a result, students found virtual internships to be an effective way of applying their academic knowledge in a modern corporate environment, regardless of the intern physical or financial limitations. Students believe that virtual internships represent an opportunity to experience a multicultural environment as well as to improve both their soft and technical skills. This would not only make students more prepared when it comes to choosing a career, but also improve their chances of employment. Interestingly, students saw virtual internships as a selling-point of companies or organizations, as it would represent a modern approach. It also became evident that, in general, universities either don’t facilitate students’ access to internships, or the integration with their study-programme is not well-structured. Although students believe the requirements of virtual internships would not be very different from the ones of a real-life internship, there are two main topics that might have to be improved and well maintained. These are constant communication and feedback between company-intern-university, which will guarantee the flow of knowledge and allow constant evaluation of the stakeholders’ performance. With our work we’ve concluded that virtual internships are seen by European students as an important and innovative approach in the development of EEE. In this way, BEST will continue to play its role as an educationally involved students organization, striving to integrate students’ opinions on the establishment process of virtual internships in Europe.

Title: Implementing gamification techniques into university study path – a case study

Author(s): Laskowski, Maciej

Organisation(s): Lublin University of Technology, Poland

Presenter(s): Laskowski, Maciej

Abstract: By definition, gamification means using the mechanics and techniques known from various kinds of games (including board games, role-playing or computer games) in order to increase user’s involvement in performing various types of activities in non-gaming context, especially if those activities are considered boring or routine [1]. The mail goal of gamification is to change the task for the user to complete into some kind of a game by adjusting it into a specific structure in order to define both the game objectives and rules. Huizinga [2] defines a game as a voluntary activity intentionally separated - as "less serious" - from the “everyday” world. An activity that absorbs player in a full and intense way and not related to any king of material benefit. Game requires player to play it in a specific time and place and to do it according to the established order and rules. The majority of gamification case studies focuses on courses which are quite easy to gamify or are gamified naturally, e.g. video games development [3]. The problem of implementing gamification techniques into less game-oriented courses is still underdiscussed in the literature. In order to check, whether gamification is applicable to different subjects, author decided to implement some of the gamification techniques into two different courses – software engineering and service-oriented architecture during two academic years 2011/2012 and 2012/2013. During those courses, author was supervising over 150 students, divided into groups of 15 persons each. Some of those groups had simple gamification techniques implemented in their study path, while the progress of others was graded in a traditional, standard way. In addition to ‘normal’ course, each group was given a problem or a set of problems to work on. Some topics were doubled, although students in the competitive groups were not aware of it. The project topics cover different fields, varying from small social networking sites to systems for store management. Students were supposed to create a solution for given problem by the end of semester. After the courses were completed, the results obtained by all of the groups were compared considering several factors: number of absences, grades, the punctuality and compliance of the projects with the specification, etc. Since the courses spanned over two academic years and covered different fields of knowledge as well as had different difficulty levels, each course was analyzed separately. The analysis shows some improvements in students’ results in gamified groups in comparison to those non-gamified, although the gamification process has to be designed and implemented carefully, as simple addition of points, badges and leaderboards to didactic process may not be sufficient. The article also proposes several solutions for future gamification implementations. REFERENCES [1] Tkaczyk P., „Grywalizacja. Jak zastosować mechanizmy gier w działaniach marketingowych”, Helion 2012 (in Polish) [2] Huizinga J. “Homo ludens: a study of the play-element in culture”. Beacon Press, 1955 [3] Sheldon L., “The Multiplayer Classroom: Designing Coursework as a Game”, Cengage Learning PTR, 2011

Title: Knowledge Based Educational Framework for Enhancing Practical Skills in Engineering Distance Learners

Author(s): Chennam Vijay, Venkatesh; Lees, Mel; Chima, Parmjit; Chapman, Craig; Raju, Pathmeswaran

Organisation(s): Birmingham City University, United Kingdom

Presenter(s): Chennam Vijay, Venkatesh

Abstract: The concept of online-education in engineering science subjects like mechanical and automotive is still in its infant stage. As laboratory plays a vital role in engineering curriculum, delivering these programs and evaluating them have been the two major challenges for universities running distance mode engineering program. In order to overcome these challenges; an automated instructional system with more granularity in capturing and retrieving the domain experts knowledge is required. This paper presents a concept of knowledge-based educational (KBEd) framework and method in capturing, mapping, reusing and automating the knowledge of on-campus laboratory instructor for imparting and assessing engineering practical skills in off-campus engineering learners. By adapting knowledge-based engineering (KBE) method that are been applied in manufacturing industries for capturing knowledge from the domain experts in automating the manufacturing process.

Title: Reports from the eMadrid Network about Blended Learning

Author(s): Delgado Kloos, Carlos (1); Fernández Manjón, Baltasar (2); Cobos, Ruth (3); Robles, Gregorio (4); Tovar, Edmundo (5); Rodríguez-Artacho, Miguel (6)

Organisation(s): 1: Universidad Carlos III de Madrid, Spain; 2: Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Spain; 3: Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Spain; 4: Universidad Rey Juan Carlos; 5: Universidad Politécnica de Madrid; 6: UNED

Presenter(s): Delgado Kloos, Carlos

Abstract: Special Session Overview

Title: Computer programming as an educational tool in the English classroom

Author(s): Moreno-Leon, Jesus (1); Robles, Gregorio (2)

Organisation(s): 1: Programamos.es, Spain; 2: Universidad Rey Juan Carlos, Spain

Presenter(s): Moreno-Leon, Jesus

Abstract: Computational thinking, a problem solving method that uses computer science techniques, has recently become mainstream as many governments and major Internet companies are promoting programming skills among children. However, little is known about how programming affects other aspects of life beyond the acquired programming skills. In this regard, this paper summarizes the work done in the school San Diego and San Vicente (Madrid, Spain) during the third quarter of the year 2013/2014, where we conducted a study with four groups of students in 4th and 5th grade to measure to what extent the use of computer programming in English classes can be an interesting educational tool with a positive impact on the learning outcome of the students. The results show that the groups working with programming activities improved more than the groups using traditional resources. Moreover, when asked via surveys at the end of the study, most students felt that coding was a positive influence, not only for learning English, but for developing other important skills as teamwork and learning to learn.

Title: Mixing and Blending MOOC Technologies with Face-to-Face Pedagogies

Author(s): Delgado-Kloos, Carlos; Muñoz-Merino, Pedro J.; Alario-Hoyos, Carlos; Estévez Ayres, Iria; Fernández-Panadero, Carmen

Organisation(s): Universidad Carlos III de Madrid, Spain

Presenter(s): Delgado-Kloos, Carlos

Abstract: The emergence of MOOCs has boosted the use of educational technology in all possible contexts. How can MOOC affordances, such as rich multimedia content, interactive exercises, and social networks, be harnessed in face-to-face education? In this paper, we present some experiences carried out at Universidad Carlos III de Madrid that combine MOOClike content in on-campus courses. We believe that this is the most promising and useful way to use the affordances of technology in education

Title: Requirements for educational games in MOOCs

Author(s): Freire, Manuel; Martínez-Ortiz, Iván; Moreno-Ger, Pablo; Fernández-Manjón, Baltasar

Organisation(s): Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Spain

Presenter(s): Fernández-Manjón, Baltasar

Abstract: MOOCs are disrupting educational technology by democratizing access to high quality courses offered by some of the most prestigious universities. However, due to low entry cost and multiple other factors, MOOCs suffer from low retention rates: making MOOCs more interactive and engaging is therefore an important goal. Educational games provide environments that mix both immersion and quick feedback cycles, and we consider that games also have the potential to improve interaction and assessment in MOOCs environments; indeed, many game-like simulations have already been successfully applied within MOOCs in domains such as electronic circuits (schematic circuit simulator) and biology (foldit, eyewire). In this work, we analyze multiple such experiences and propose a catalogue of best practices that should be met for successful integration of educational games into MOOC platforms

Title: Towards a Learning Analytics Approach for Supporting discovery and reuse of OER. An approach based on Social Networks Analysis and Linked Open Data

Author(s): Piedra, Nelson (1); Chicaiza, Janneth (1); López, Jorge (1); Tovar Caro, Edmundo (2)

Organisation(s): 1: Universidad Técnica Particular de Loja, Ecuador; 2: Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, Spain

Presenter(s): Tovar Caro, Edmundo

Abstract: The OER movement poses challenges inherent to discovering and reuse digital educational materials from highly heterogeneous and distributed digital repositories. Search engines on today’s Web of documents are based on keyword queries. Search engines don’t provide a sufficiently comprehensive solution to answer a query that permits personalization of open educational materials. To find OER on the Web today, users must first be well informed of which OER repositories potentially contain the data they want and what data model describes these datasets, before using this information to create structured queries. Learning analytics requires not only to retrieve the useful information and knowledge about educational resources, learning processes and relations among learning agents, but also to transform the data gathered in actionable e interoperable information. Linked Data is considered as one of the most effective alternatives for creating global shared information spaces, it has become an interesting approach for discovering and enriching open educational resources data, as well as achieving semantic interoperability and re-use between multiple OER repositories. In this work, an approach based on Semantic Web technologies, the Linked Data guidelines, and Social Network Analysis methods are proposed as a fundamental way to describing, analyzing and visualizing knowledge sharing on OER initiatives

Title: Towards learning resources rankings in MOOCs: A Pairwise based Reputation Mechanism

Author(s): Centeno, Roberto; Rodriguez-Artacho, Miguel; García-Loro, Felix; Sancristóbal, Elio; Díaz, Gabriel; Castro, Manuel

Organisation(s): UNED, Spain

Presenter(s): Rodriguez-Artacho, Miguel

Abstract: Reputation systems have been showed as effective mechanisms for capturing and extracting the global view a society has about some entities. Traditionally, these systems are based on capturing users’ opinions through quantitative evaluations given by numerical ratings. However, it has been demonstrated that mapping opinions to numerical values might entail biased problems, skewing the reputation of some entities. In this work, we present our proposal for dealing with such problems, based on capturing opinions through comparative evaluations. Besides, we state that this mechanism can be successfully applied in MOOCs, in order to estimate the reputation of learning resources, allowing us to provide students/users with better resources

Title: Towards MOOCs scenaries based on Collaborative Learning Approaches

Author(s): Claros, Iván; Echeverria, Leovy; Cobos, Ruth

Organisation(s): Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Spain

Presenter(s): Claros, Iván

Abstract: The MOOCs offers technologies which emerge as an alternative to support the blending of face-to-face pedagogies and virtual activities. However, a blended learning experience is influenced by several factors, such as: the student's attitude to learn; a well-known learning script; and interactions and group dynamic. This article proposes MOOCs scenarios based on the experience of two collaborative approaches implemented by the authors. These experiences are gathered in three aspects: methodological; technological; and educational practice. In conclusion, this article highlights a lack of services related with social interaction, monitoring and intervention by the instructors; without such services, the MOOCs technologies hardly support blended learning experiences

Title: Successful Integration of Practical Cisco CCNA in the Computer Networks Design Course Course

Author(s): Ristov, Sasko; Spasov, Dejan; Gusev, Marjan

Organisation(s): Ss. Cyril and Methodius University, Macedonia, Former Yugoslav Republic of

Presenter(s): Ristov, Sasko

Abstract: This paper presents a new curriculum for the Computer Networks Design (CND) course for computer science students. We have developed an adaptive curriculum, which introduces two CISCO CCNA 3 (LAN Switching) and 4 (WAN Technologies) courses instead of existing (regular) tutorials and laboratory exercises. The students can choose whether they would like to learn the course with more practice or more theoretically. The evaluation of several years show much better results for the students that follow the course through CISCO practical exercises, rather than those that follow the course regularly.

Title: Using social learning in network engineering curricula

Author(s): Sousa-Vieira, María-Estrella; López-Ardao, Jose-Carlos; Fernández-Veiga, Manuel; Rodríguez-Pérez, Miguel; López-García, Cándido

Organisation(s): University of Vigo, Spain

Presenter(s): Sousa-Vieira, María-Estrella

Abstract: It is commonly accepted that contemporary cohorts of students witness and experience the benefits of information technologies in their learning processes. The so-called ``digital natives'' acquire, as a consequence of their early exposure to these technologies, different patterns of work, distinct attention conducts, new learning preferences and, generally, better skills for learning and working within rich online social contexts. So, it seems reasonable that the traditional education systems evolve, and shape their practice to leverage those new patterns. Though online social networks (OSNs) stand as a powerful tool to extend existing online learning management systems (LMSs) by using them as a gateway to OSNs, LMSs do not exploit fully the advantages of an active social environment for reinforcing the learning experience. The user has no possibility to interact with other students and weave personal bonds to learn from them, or to pose activities that possess informal patterns. In addition, those software platforms seldom offer virtual spaces for undertaking work in teams. We report in this paper the design, development and use of a software platform (SocialWire) based on Elgg which enlarges and adapts the basic features of an OSN in order to be useful for very general learning environments. SocialWire was purposely designed to include the networking learning paradigm as a complement to conventional, more formal learning activities and forms to display content, but taking games and social meritocracy as conducting threads. To that end, the software allows the creation, assessment and reporting of a range of collaborative activities based on social interactions among the students, and offers a reward mechanism by means of ranking and reputation. We argue that this approach is helpful in increasing the students' motivation, besides improving the learning experience and performance. We have been running the platform since 2012 as a companion tool in several undergraduate and master courses. In this work we shown the results obtained in an undergraduate course about computer networks. Different tests confirm that the impact on learning success is statistically significant, and positive. In our view, this give experimental support to the benefits enclosed in this approach, and also helps to identify some ways to improve it.

Title: Reengineering of Computer Science Curriculum According to Technology Changes and Market Needs

Author(s): Milosz, Marek; Lukasik, Edyta

Organisation(s): Lublin University of Technology, Poland

Presenter(s): Milosz, Marek

Abstract: IT is always characterized by a great variability. Especially recently these changes have gained apogee. The developed and spread new technologies such as: Internet, mobile, cloud computing and social media require the acquisition of new skills by ICT industry employees. The “previous” computer science specialties are still demanding. There are still a need for specialists in administration systems, data bases or C++ /Java programmers. So the main questions arise: how it is possible for so rapidly growing market to provide high educated specialists and what actions should Higher Education perform in order to adapt the teaching processes to the current ICT companies requirements. In this paper the authors try to answer these extremely important questions. This paper is organized as follows. The new ACM-IEEE Computing Curricula 2013 in context of changes is presented in section I. Section II presents ICT industry in EU needs, lack of ICT specialists and methods of acquisition the information about required competences. Section III is dedicated to the reengineering of existing CS curricula using the EU founds and describes the project and its implementation.

Title: Hardware-software synergy for ICT student motivation

Author(s): Ackovska, Nevena; Kostoska, Magdalena; Ristov, Sasko

Organisation(s): Ss. Cyril and Methodius University, Macedonia, Former Yugoslav Republic of

Presenter(s): Kostoska, Magdalena

Abstract: A specific pattern is registered where students choose to work on demanding hardware projects, but also to support them with high-level software solutions. That is, they enroll into three completely divergent courses: Microprocessors and Microcontrollers (MM), Software Architecture and Design (SAD) and Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) course. Every course has specifics and challenges. The MM course teaches the students about the concepts and usage of microcontrollers in building real-time hardware systems, the SAD course trains the students to apply appropriate software pattern in real situations, while the HCI course uses user-centric approach and inquiries the user’s specifics and accommodation to her/his needs. This means that a special attention is given to the system in focus. We were motivated to pay a special attention for these students and their needs. Therefore, we were challenged to propose interdisciplinary projects within the upper HCI course for the students that have already successfully taken the MM and SAD courses. These projects should be then upgraded into a final diploma thesis. Creation of these synergy projects will satisfy the students’ willingness for gaining extended computer science knowledge, rather than profiling them into one specific area.

Title: eCity: Virtual City Environment for Engineering Problem Based Learning

Author(s): Caeiro Rodríguez, Manuel (1); Llamas Nistal, Martín (1); Rodríguez Bermúdez, Melisa (1); Vaz de Carvalho, Carlos (2)

Organisation(s): 1: Universidade de Vigo, Spain; 2: ISEP

Presenter(s): Llamas Nistal, Martín

Abstract: An engineer requires specific personal, social and professional competencies. Some of these competencies are not being fully developed by the traditional teaching/learning methods. Problem Based Learning (PBL), especially when supported by Virtual Learning Environments (VLE) has been demonstrated to successfully develop those competencies in many cases. This document collects and synthesizes exemplary cases and contextualizes the use of urban simulators as a VLE to support PBL in Engineering in order to allow a precise environment specification for the eCity platform. The main objective of the eCity project is to design, develop and validate a pedagogical methodology, supported by an online, collaborative, city-development simulation engine (Simcity like) that stimulates the integration and continuous exploitation of Problem Based Learning in engineering schools but, at the same time, fosters the interest in Engineering in secondary school students.

Title: Cyber Security Education as a Tool for Trust-building in Cross-Border Public Protection and Disaster Relief Operations

Author(s): Rajamäki, Jyri

Organisation(s): Laurea University of Applied sciences, Finland

Presenter(s): Rajamäki, Jyri

Abstract: Public protection and disaster relief (PPDR) operations are more and more dependent on networks and data processing infrastructure. Incidents such as natural hazards and organized crime do not respect national boundaries. As a consequence, there is an increased need for European collaboration and information sharing related to public safety communications (PSC) and information exchange technologies and procedures - and trust is the keyword here. According to most studies and interviews carried out within the Multi-Agency Cooperation in Cross-Border Operations (MACICO) project, the topic “trust-building” could be seen as the most important issue with regard to multi-agency cooperation. Cyber security should be seen as a key enabler for the development and maintenance of trust in the digital world.It is important to complement the currently dominating “cyber security as a barrier” perspective by emphasizing the role of “cyber security as an enabler” of new business, interactions and services - and recognizing that trust is a positive driver for growth. Public safety infrastructure is becoming more and more dependent on unpredictable cyber risks. Everywhere present computing means that PPDR agencies do not know when they are using dependable devices or services and there are chain reactions of unpredictable risks. If cyber security risks are not made ready, PPDR agencies like all organizations will face severe disasters over time. Investing in systems that improve confidence and trust can significantly reduce costs and improve the speed of interaction. From this perspective, cyber security should be seen as a key enabler for the development and maintenance of trust in the digital world, and it has the following themes: security technology, situation awareness, security management and resiliency. Education is the main driver for complementing the currently dominating “cyber security as a barrier” perspective by emphasizing the role of “cyber security as an enabler”.

Title: The EOLES course - The first accredited full online undergraduate course in Electronics and Optics for Embedded Systems

Author(s): Gericota, Manuel (1); Ferreira, Paulo (1); Barataud, Denis (2); Andrieu, Guillaume (2); De Craemer, Renaat (3); Cristea, Mihai (4); Benachenhou, Abdelhalim (5); Ankrim, Mohammed (6); Bouchlaghem, Karim (7); Fidalgo, Andre (1)

Organisation(s): 1: School of Engineering - Polytechnic of Porto, Portugal; 2: Université de Limoges, Limoges, France; 3: KU Leuven University, Ostend, Belgium; 4: University Politehnica of Bucharest, Bucharest, Romania; 5: University of Mostaganem, Mostaganem, Algeria; 6: University Cadi Ayad of Marrakech, Marrakech, Morroco; 7: University of Kairouan, Kairouan, Tunisia

Presenter(s): Gericota, Manuel

Abstract: The EOLES (Electronics and Optics e-Learning for Embedded Systems) course, a 3rd year Bachelor degree in Electronics and Optics for Embedded Systems, is the most prominent result of the EOLES project, a 3-year European TEMPUS project involving 15 institutions, four from Europe and eleven from the North African countries of Algeria, Morocco, and Tunisia [1]. The project started in October 2012 and is scheduled to end in October 2015. The project joints the expertise of the European partners in such areas as eLearning 2.0 tools and virtual and remote labs, with the priorities defined by North African governments of developing higher education in advance engineering fields like optics, analogue and digital electronics, and embedded systems. The course was prepared during the first two years of the project and comprised several steps, namely: • Program definition; • Technical units content and schedule definition; • Functional eLearning 2.0 framework definition; • Development of the virtual and remote labs; • Preparatory courses for instructors and technicians; • Course accreditation. The course is aimed at students already possessing 120 ECTS (European Credit Transfer System) units obtained in the physics and/or electrical engineering areas and willing to develop their skills in the fields of electronics and optics. The training is entirely conducted in English, allowing students to substantially improve their English skills, a fundamental tool in technological areas. The course is delivered full online using eLearning 2.0 [2-3] synchronous and asynchronous tools, allowing students to be part of a “virtual learning community” and empowering team work, even if the team members are physically separated by thousands of miles. An innovative remote laboratory based on virtual experimentation and modelling and simulation platforms, and on remotely operated real instrumentation equipment installed in different universities is used by students to acquire essential practical skills. In the end, successful students receive a joint diploma recognized in the European Higher Education Area (EHEA). The first edition of the course started in the middle of September 2014, within the project time so its progress may be closely monitored by all project partners. Thus, any arising problems may promptly be identified, any necessary adjustments immediately introduced and the results rapidly evaluated.

Title: A pressure cooker – coaching framework for teaching soft skills in engineering education

Author(s): Schoenmaker, Rob; Verlaan, Jules; Hertogh, Marcel

Organisation(s): Delft University of Technology, Netherlands, The

Presenter(s): Schoenmaker, Rob

Abstract: Civil engineering projects increasingly involve a wide range of stakeholders with diverse interests and multidisciplinary teams. This means that engineers need soft skills to deal with these teams and stakeholders. This need is internationally recognized. The question for technical universities is “How to educate these soft skills to engineering students?” The Dutch Construction Management and Engineering (CME) master is a main contribution to this need. The course Collaborative Design and Engineering (CDE) is one of the courses. This course focuses on the soft skills and attitude. However, feedback indicated that the course did not meet expectations and the students graded the course very low. The course needed a radical redesign. This paper describes the redesign and resulting framework of the course. The two design principles of the course are constructive alignment and activated learning. The idea is not to lecture the skills as ‘dry stuff’ from textbooks, but to create circumstances in which the skills become necessary. Theory can then be introduced at the time the students need it. As a counteracting balance for the stressful circumstances we provide coaching. The resulting course is based on a ‘pressure cooker – coaching’ framework and centres on a large group assignment. The pressure cooker part creates a situation in which the students will experience stress. The students of different nationalities and backgrounds are divided in large, randomly selected teams. We introduced a mix of group and individual assignments to create tension between students. The group assignment is large and complex with an overload of information and a lack of time. External assessors create additional pressure. A 360-degree peer feedback creates additional pressure. The coaching part provides structure and balances the pressure. Students are guided through of their assignments. Theory on the necessary soft skills is introduced in three workshops that actively engage the students this will be done in workshops. Later on in the course consultation and progress meetings help to keep the students on track. We provide the theory on skills and attitude based on the circumstances the students experience during this course: e.g., Belbin, Leary, Johari window, stages of group development and giving/receiving feedback. Theoretical analysis shows that the ‘pressure cooker – coaching’ framework fulfills the requirements of constructive alignment of a university course. Practical analysis, using an online questionnaire for student feedback, shows a consistent high score over the last three years. We consider the ‘pressure cooker – coaching’ framework broadly applicable and is at least successful enough to continue its application in our CDE course. Because the course requires a lot of self-organising and self-initiative from the students the consensus among our peers is that this framework is not applicable for undergraduates. The framework of the course is satisfactory, but the elements can be improved. We consider introducing more theoretical depth and psychology. The challenge is to integrate this in the course without violating our idea of ‘no dry stuff’ and ‘action learning’

Title: Flow Paths: A standalone tangible board system for creating educational games

Author(s): Barredo, Alejandro; Garaizar, Pablo

Organisation(s): University of Deusto, Spain

Presenter(s): Barredo, Alejandro

Abstract: Flow Paths is a system for creating interactive block-based educational games. Unlike other tangible solutions, Flows Paths do not rely on additional technology such as cameras, video projectors or mobile devices. The Flow Path's board consists of a matrix of connection slots managed via an Arduino microcontroller capable of sending and receiving information to the blocks connected to it. Using i-shaped and l-shaped blocks, players can create flows from one point (flow source) to another point (sink or terminator). Each block has a multicolor LED that indicates whether it is stacked properly and if it is within the flow or not. The cover story, goals, and difficulty level of educational games made with this block-based system can be redefined dynamically. Players can replace scenario sheets provided with RFID tags to suit their interests and learning needs.

Title: Web-based Avatar Represented Lecture Viewer toward Interactive e-Lecture Performed by 3D Avatar

Author(s): Takeuchi, Akihiro; Hasegawa, Dai; Sakuta, Hiroshi

Organisation(s): Aoyama Gakuin University, Japan

Presenter(s): Takeuchi, Akihiro

Abstract: To introduce interactivity in e-learning, html5 and JavaScript have been widely used for years. And recent advancements of WebGL, a graphic library that works on modern browsers, enable us to draw animations of a fully human-like embodied computer graphics character on web-browser. With these technologies, web-based video-based e-learning could be more interactive. We propose Interactive e-Lecture, where lecturers’ motions and audio are captured in 3D by a motion capture system, then a 3D avatar interactively performs the lecture. The advantage of the use of computer graphics character to perfume lectures instead of videos is that e-learning designers can introduce interaction into the e-learning. For example, by controlling the avatar’s head and eye movements according to the results of face-recognition, the eye-gaze behavior could be realized. We recorded 3D motions of a lecture performed by a volunteer with a motion capture system, and created a small lecture data. We also developed a web-based viewer that can process the 3D motion data and draw a lecture performed by a 3D avatar on a web-browser.

Title: Platform for Teaching Communication Systems Based on Open-Source Hardware

Author(s): Dobrilovic, Dalibor (1); Stojanov, Zeljko (2); Odadzic, Borislav (3); Sinik, Vladimir (4)

Organisation(s): 1: University of Novi Sad / Technical Faculty "Mihajlo Pupin" - Zrenjanin, Serbia; 2: University of Novi Sad / Technical Faculty "Mihajlo Pupin" - Zrenjanin, Serbia; 3: University of Novi Sad / Technical Faculty "Mihajlo Pupin" - Zrenjanin, Serbia; 4: University of Novi Sad / Technical Faculty "Mihajlo Pupin" - Zrenjanin, Serbia

Presenter(s): Dobrilovic, Dalibor

Abstract: Today the Engineering education in the field of Computer science and Information technology has the greatest challenge. This challenge is shaped with the rapid growth of communication system usage and appearance of the new technologies. Currently, there is a variety of emerging technologies such as: Bluetooth Low Energy, IEEE 802.15.4, ZigBee, 6lowWPAN, etc. In order to enable easy and fast implementation of those technologies in University courses, the building of the low-cost, flexible and scalable platform with support of these technologies is required. This paper presents approach in building platform for teaching communication systems based on open source hardware. The evaluation of this platform is presented in this paper as well.

Title: Teaching algorithms: visual language vs flowchart vs textual language

Author(s): Giordano, Daniela; Maiorana, Francesco

Organisation(s): University of Catania, Italy

Presenter(s): Maiorana, Francesco

Abstract: There is a strong movement asserting the importance for quality education all over the world and for students of all ages. Many educators believe that in order to achieve this, 21st century skills have to be taught and that digital literacy should be coupled with rigorous Computer Science principles and computational thinking. Along this direction this work will describe a didactic experience in an initial programming course by describing the context, pedagogical approach, content of the course, technologies used, research questions addressed, experimental design adopted, data collection and analysis and the main conclusion supported by qualitative and quantitative data.

Title: Design of Lab Exercises for Teaching Energy Efficient Digital Design

Author(s): Schwandt, Andrea; Winzker, Marco; Abu Shanab, Shatha

Organisation(s): Bonn-Rhein-Sieg University of Applied Sciences, Germany

Presenter(s): Schwandt, Andrea

Abstract: A responsible use of the remaining energy resources gets more and more important. Thus an important goal of modern education should include the study of the impact on the environment. A contribution towards this goal is teaching how to reduce the power consumption of electronic devices. Such a reduction has several benefits but a main effect is the preservation of energy resources. To achieve this goal it is necessary to sensitize especially young engineering students to be considerate towards the environment. Therefore a state-of-the-art curriculum must consider the implementation of sustainability. The focus of this contribution is on the implementation of the learning objectives of the course “Energy Efficient Microelectronic Systems” in the hands-on labs. The article describes the concept of lab exercises designed to support the students’ understanding of low power techniques and introduces a concept for the laboratory equipment.

Title: A Survey on the Usage of Online Labs in Science Education: Challenges and Implications

Author(s): Heintz, Matthias (1); Law, Effie Lai-Chong (1); Manoli, Constantinos (2); Zacharia, Zacharias (2); van Riesen, Siswa A.N. (3)

Organisation(s): 1: University of Leicester, United Kingdom; 2: University of Cyprus, Nicosia, Cyprus; 3: University of Twente, Enschede, The Netherlands

Presenter(s): Heintz, Matthias

Abstract: To provide teachers and students with more usable, desirable and useful online labs, the foremost step is to understand their existing usage patterns and experiences with such labs. This step was implemented with two online surveys, one targeting teachers and the other students. Altogether 915 respondents from 23 European countries were involved. Results indicate that the prevalence of online labs adoption was generally low and that the users had positive experiences despite some challenges such as difficult access (domain-specific labs) and language barrier (English user interface). Among others, a significant implication is to create a repository (portal) where resources can be used and shared with ease and enjoyability.

Title: The AppComposer Web Application for School Teachers: A Platform for Translating and Adapting Educational Web Applications

Author(s): Rodriguez-Gil, Luis (1); Orduña, Pablo (1); Bollen, Lars (2); Govaerts, Sten (3); Holzer, Adrian (3); Gillet, Denis (3); López-de-Ipiña, Diego (1); García-Zubia, Javier (1)

Organisation(s): 1: DeustoTech, University of Deusto, Spain; 2: University of Twente, Netherlands; 3: École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, EPFL, Switzerland

Presenter(s): Orduña, Pablo

Abstract: The AppComposer is a software tool aiming to assist educational application developers to create web applications that can be customized and translated to different languages by teachers, in the context of the European Go-Lab project. Following certain guidelines, developers can create applications that will be adapted by teachers in a unified user interface, and they can later on use the adapted version with their students. Since the guidelines for internationalization are the standard approach used in OpenSocial, even external applications can be translated without contacting the original owner. This contribution is focused on explaining the use cases of this tool.

Title: An Investigation with European Science Teachers on how to Characterize Remote and Virtual Labs

Author(s): Tsourlidaki, Eleftheria (1); Zervas, Panagiotis (2,3); Sotiriou, Sofoklis (1); Sampson, Demetrios (2,3)

Organisation(s): 1: Ellinogermaniki Agogi, Greece; 2: Department of Digital Systems, University of Piraeus, Greece; 3: Information Technologies Institute, Centre for Research and Technology Hellas, Greece

Presenter(s): Tsourlidaki, Eleftheria

Abstract: Taking into account the plethora of Remote and Virtual Labs (RVLs) that are currently available online, a key problem has emerged from the need of science teachers to be able to find and select them for their lesson plans, in an efficient and effective way. The most common way to facilitate this process using web technologies is to (a) characterize RVLs with appropriately selected educational metadata and (b) to build a web repository that collects the metadata descriptions of RVLs following a common metadata schema and offers search and retrieve facilities. In our previous works we have proposed: (a) a metadata schema for describing RVLs and (b) a web-based repository that stores RVLs based on the proposed metadata schema. In this work, we present the results of an investigation with 93 European school science teachers that was performed in the framework of a major European Initiative namely, the Go-Lab Project. The aim of the study is to identify which metadata elements are considered important by science teachers when they are searching for RVLs that will support their daily teaching activities within the context of their lesson planning.

Title: Virtualizing testbed resources to enable remote experimentation in online telecommunications education

Author(s): Marquez-Barja, Johann M. (1); Kaminski, Nicholas (1); Paisana, Francisco (1); Tranoris, Christos (2); DaSilva, Luiz A. (1,3)

Organisation(s): 1: Trinity College Dublin, Ireland; 2: University of Patras, Greece; 3: Virginia Tech, USA.

Presenter(s): Marquez-Barja, Johann M.

Abstract: In this paper we present Trinity College Dublin's approach towards empowering online telecommunications engineering education by enabling hands-on remote experimentation on its wireless testbed. Moreover, in order to offer a flexible testbed, capable of fulfilling the different and particular requirements of experimenters, TCD has created a framework that allows the virtualization of its testbed resources to create experimentation units to be used by remote experimenters/learners. Furthermore, we present the FORGEBox platform that offers an environment and resources to create online material capable to access the virtualized and physical testbed resources for incorporating experimentation into HTML-based online educational material.

Title: Many faces of a logistician – findings from cluster analysis of university curricula in logistics

Author(s): Niine, Tarvo; Koppel, Ott

Organisation(s): Tallinn University of Technology, Estonia

Presenter(s): Niine, Tarvo

Abstract: It is difficult to present a detailed and agreed definition of logistics. The more into details one would delve, the more confused the researcher might get – where does logistics start and where does it end? This paper studies higher education in logistics with focus on undergraduate studies to carry out comparative quantitative analysis and reach better understanding on how logistics unfolds on that level. The main questions asked in this paper concern the extent of agreed core in logistics that would be reflected by common denominators across curricula. Could a typology of logistics curricula be created through clustering and if so, what are such “many faces of a logistician”? On the level of curricula in the general field of logistics, there are multiple ways to combine training programs with different focus to cater for various interests and needs. Some curricula relate to regional or even to some international standard, others do not. Some try to cover a wider variety of topics, others go into more detail in chosen aspects or leave certain topic matters even untouched. In some cases, one could observe the title “logistics” being used without additions or specifications and then discover that such title is not the most appropriate choice judging by actual content. In short, the picture is less clear than it could be. A key to successful comparative curricula analysis is to have an objective point of reference. We have analysed the current field of logistician competency models and found that there are significant gaps and mismatches between almost any given pair. Based on 6 most widely known competency models and certification programmes, we created a meta-model of logistics knowledge areas with an aim to use it as a tool for quantitatively and objectively evaluate logistics curricula from outsider’s perspective. Our model consists of 20 knowledge areas of logistics spanning five distinct levels, with each of the 20 sections being comprised of 10-15 topics in carefully selected level of detail. This allows us to measure curricula, run conventional non-hierarchical cluster analysis on curricula data and find the most common ways of positioning curricula in logistics. In our paper, we present the results of analysis being carried out with 35 general “logistics” curricula. It appears some curricula are distinctly transport-focused, other more focused on both general and specific elements on business administration and much less on transport, yet others put emphasis on engineering and technology areas and trade off business management viewpoints. The data also suggests a few substantial topical gaps across the educational landscape in logistics. The cluster approach can be used to better understand the education in the field as well as present universities with better means of knowingly positioning their programme and developing specific skill profiles of logistics specialists.

Title: Engineering intelligent logistics – developing a competence model for logistics systems engineer

Author(s): Niine, Tarvo; Koppel, Ott

Organisation(s): Tallinn University of Technology, Estonia

Presenter(s): Niine, Tarvo

Abstract: Logistics is by nature an interdisciplinary field of study. In terms of natural sciences and engineering, logistics topics range from mathematical optimisation of order delivery, inventory and distribution networks to dealing with physical and chemical properties of cargo and thirdly to designing physical handling systems and supporting IT-systems. From the viewpoint of business administration, logistics is often treated as a cross-functional integration concept that is aimed at coordinating business functions priorities and developing processes that would better match existing demand with available supply. Based on our research of university curricula as well as international competence standards and certifications in logistics, it is our observation that the field of logistics education is on average biased towards favouring business administration aspects. The largest proportion of logistics curricula are focused on business administration with only selected engineering topics touched and then usually focusing on case studies how technology benefits the organisation rather than how to actually create and develop such technologies. Similar gap can be observed on the level of competence models and standards in logistics. There are many treatments relating to engineering, but, as far as we are aware, not one modernised central one. We argue that further refining of logistician’s expected competences from multiple viewpoints would allow for better conceptual clarity and diversity of specialists needed by the society. This paper observes this problem more closely and aims at synthesising an integrated and interdisciplinary approach to engineering aspects of modern logistics in a form of a modern competence profile for a position we feel is best called “logistics system engineer”. For that purpose, we present an analysis of competence requirements of various topical certification programmes, align them with competences expected from a professional in the field of systems engineering and adding foundational meta-competences on top of profession-specific competences. In our interpretation, logistics systems engineering view merges the aspects of networks, technological systems and ICT and offer integrated approach to engineering in logistics. There is another term that we see suitable for this field – intelligent logistics. The practical implication of such a competence model is to utilize it first in logistics curriculum development and also present it as a local occupational standard. The goal of our described competence profile is to offer a way to differentiate education programs and skill profiles in the field of logistics, for all these cases where just generic “logistics” is not specific enough, but more specific functional approaches leave aside the interdisciplinary nature of logistics engineering.

Title: An Open Access Minimum Automatic Task Generation Live Feedback System for Electrical Engineering

Author(s): Vollrath, Joerg

Organisation(s): University of Applied Science Germany, Germany

Presenter(s): Vollrath, Joerg

Abstract: An open online electrical engineering automatic task generation tool with minimum hardware requirements and programming effort is presented. This system can be run on portable Linux access points with php or on a linux web server. Users can do the tasks with handheld devices or PCs also as live feedback system. A novel feature is a pre task submission userid management system allowing open access to all problems and selected evaluation of results. Results of use for problems in a basic electrical engineering class are presented. The openness of the system allows reusability, customization and easy task creation in HTML and evaluation. Data analysis gives professor feedback about proficiency of students.

Title: Education in Bioengineering and Medical Informatics in the Western Balkan Region: Fostering New Study Programs

Author(s): Devedzic, Goran (1); Shepherd, Duncan (2)

Organisation(s): 1: University of Kragujevac, Serbia; 2: University of Birmingham, UK

Presenter(s): Devedzic, Goran

Abstract: Until recently the fields of Bioengineering (BE) and Medical Informatics (MI) in the Western Balkan (WB) region were recognized, yet insufficiently, only for limited research activities, projects and scientific results. Just a few universities in the WB region offer modules or courses that are related to BE and MI, usually incorporated in the engineering study programs, such as electrical or mechanical engineering. Faculties of medical sciences traditionally were closed for inter- and multi-disciplinary joint appearance. Furthermore, aforementioned modules or courses didn’t have any formal accreditation and qualification identification. Therefore, in the order to fulfill the gap between research, clinical and industrial needs, and education in the fields of BE and MI University of Kragujevac (Serbia) initiated in 2011/2012 a dedicated curriculum development and engaged the major universities in the WB region (namely, in Serbia, Montenegro, and Bosnia and Herzegovina) to join in a systematic action of dedicated study programs creation. The initiative resulted in Tempus project “Studies in Bioengineering and Medical Informatics - BioEMIS”, funded by the European Commission’s the Education, Audiovisual and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA). The aim of this report is to present the new offer of study programs in the fields of BE and MI in the WB region at bachelor, master and PhD levels. These are the result of transfer of good EU practices, in the first order, and additionally tuned with guidelines set by leading higher education institutions worldwide.

Title: Experimental Setup to Explore the Propulsion Motor Drive Testing for Battery Electric Vehicles

Author(s): Rassõlkin, Anton

Organisation(s): Tallinn University of Technology, Estonia

Presenter(s): Rassõlkin, Anton

Abstract: This paper describes an experimental setup for research and exploring the propulsion motor drives of battery-fed electric vehicles (BEV). Effective setup composition and its components are discussed. With experimental setup described in this paper, durability and functional tests can be procured to the customers. Multiple experiments are performed in the form of steady-state system exploring, acceleration programs, multi-step tests (speed control, torque control), load collectives or close-to-reality driving tests (driving simulation). Main focus of the functional testing is on the measurements of power and energy efficiency and investigations in driving simulation mode, which are used for application purposes. In order to enable the examination of the drive trains beyond standard modes of operation, different other parameters can be studied also.

Title: Assignments, Assessment and Feedback in Engineering Graphics Courses

Author(s): Kukk, Peeter (1); Heikkinen, Sanna (2)

Organisation(s): 1: Estonian National Defence College, Estonia; 2: Aalto University, School of Electrical Engineering, Finland

Presenter(s): Kukk, Peeter

Abstract: An assignment analysis was carried out according to Bloom’s taxonomy for basic and advanced Engineering Graphics courses. Assignments for the first basic course cover the first three levels of Bloom’s taxonomy: remembering, understanding and applying, with some elements of creativity. Assignments for the advanced course cover the upper three levels of Bloom’s taxonomy: analyzing, evaluating and creating. To stimulate student interest in purposeful learning it is essential to strike a balance between student engagement and the courses’ learning outcomes as determined by the curriculum. To achieve these goals the following course structure possibilities were analysed: creative elements in assignments; continuous and formative assessment with two-phase feedback; premium grading points; and external motivators.

Title: Engineering Students' Attitude towards Engineering Ethics Education

Author(s): Balakrishnan, Balamuralithara

Organisation(s): Sultan Idris Education University, Malaysia

Presenter(s): Balakrishnan, Balamuralithara

Abstract: In this paper, a study was conducted to assess Malaysian engineering students’ attitude towards socio-ethical issues which they learned through engineering ethics subject that is taught in the engineering programme. Engineering ethics covers the scope of engineering standards and how these standards should be applied in daily engineering practice Engineering ethics combines societal, economic and environmental factors in order to produce a set of rules that could lead an engineer to make decisions that protect the public interest regardless of any pressures that they may encounter while serving for corporate organization. This study is important since attitude towards socio-ethical issues among engineering students is not a well-researched area especially in Malaysia. Attitude towards socio-ethical issues among engineering students is pivotal since socio-ethics is one of the core element in engineering profession, thus, positive attitude could build an engineer who is responsible not only in his/her profession but also to the society and environment. A quantitative evaluation via questionnaire was administered to 50 final-year engineering students of Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman, Malaysia to assess the students’ attitude towards socio-ethical issues in engineering. All participants were in their final semesters before graduation and from various engineering disciplines. The findings of this study also showed that the students’ attitudes towards socio-ethical issues related to engineering are low due to less emphasis being put forward by faculty of this study on the socio-ethical issues in the undergraduate engineering programme. It is clear that the socio-ethical education was not effective enough to achieve its objectives in producing socio responsible engineers. Thus, some new strategies were proposed in teaching socio-ethical subject in engineering programmes to enhance the positive attitude towards socio-ethical issues among the engineering students.

Title: Project Based Engineering School (PBES): an implementation experience with very promising results

Author(s): Terrón-López, María-José; García-García, María-José; Gaya-López, Maria-Cruz; Velasco-Quintana, Paloma-Julia; Escribano-Otero, Juan-José

Organisation(s): Universidad Europea de Madrid, Spain

Presenter(s): Terrón-López, María-José

Abstract: The Polytechnic School of the Universidad Europea de Madrid (UEM) started during 2012/2013 its "Project Based Engineering School" (PBES). This consists on the application of the Project-Based Learning (PBL) methodology in all its degrees. The students developed in each academic year a comprehensive project covering partially the content of several courses; different teachers were involved in each project. How was made the implementation of this process is explained in this paper. Positive results of the first evaluation were obtained at the end of the academic year that include further development of key skills , a deeper understanding of the specific skills and an increasing on motivation of students and teachers. There were also identified some areas for improvement. This article will show the results (both qualitative and quantitative) obtained after the year of experience and the conclusions after analyzing them.

Title: Curriculum development of higher engineering education by mass customization----A case study at Shaoxing University China

Author(s): Ye, Feifan

Organisation(s): Shaoxing University, China, People's Republic of

Presenter(s): Ye, Feifan

Abstract: A case study at Shaoxing University, China, is presented in this paper to show how the principle of mass customization is employed in curricula reform in order to improve the agility of higher engineering education in an ever-changing age.

Title: Aspects Relating to Didactics and the Problem of the Knowledge

Author(s): Cujba, Tiberiu Octavian

Organisation(s): University "Stefan cel Mare" Suceava, Romania

Presenter(s): Cujba, Tiberiu Octavian

Abstract: Some aspects relating to didactics and the problem of the knowledge are presented in this paper, given the evolution of concepts, from Didactica Magna to Postmodern Didactics. This evolution was exemplified through three stages: traditional didactics, modern didactics and postmodern didactics. The problem of knowledge belongs to philosophy, respectively gnoseology or epistemology. From scientific knowledge to the knowledge of school type, is reached through a process called Didactics Transposition by Chevallard in 1982. The concept evolved into Anthropological Didactics Transposition by Chevallard in 2012. and Theory of Didactic Situations by Guy Brousseau in 1986. Others scientists as well as teachers of educational psychology Lee S. Shulman or teachers of psychology, computers science, mathematics Punya Mishra and Mathew J. Kholler, which launched other theories values, such as Pedagogical Content Knowledge PCK or developed, initially concept making it to form the Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge TPCK. After a short description of these theories the paper presents the personal contributions on graphic representation of curriculum intentionally and curriculum tested. For exemplifying the new method are presented two applications suggestive. Definition paradigm, as designating a model, was used in the book The Structure of Scientific Revolutions, published in 1962. The author Thomas Kuhn completes the definition of paradigm, following the impact produced on the scientific community, in Postscript, published in 1970. Three personal contribution using specific methods and learning mechanisms from engineering education are presented for a better understanding of this aspect. The paradigms of the curriculum use to guide Postmodern Didactics. The conclusions of this study which put face to face didactics with the knowledge problem are presented at the end of the paper.

Title: On The Role of Challenging Math Problems in the Discrete Mathematics Courses

Author(s): Mihova, Marija; Jovanov, Mile; Stankov, Emil

Organisation(s): Faculty of Computer Science and Engineering, Ss. Cyril and Methodius University in Skopje, Macedonia

Presenter(s): Jovanov, Mile

Abstract: Mathematical talent must be identified through a range of measures that go beyond traditional standardized tests. Moreover, specially gifted students have less inspiration for solving easy problems. In order to identify such students and inspire them to increase their knowledge, at our institution we have introduced challenging problems within the first-year undergraduate course named “Discrete mathematics”. The objective of these challenges is to stimulate and cultivate interest in solving hard problems, to increase the level of mathematical understanding of the students, as well as to evaluate their problem solving and logical reasoning skills. In this paper we will present our motivation to introduce such challenging problems and we will analyze the impact and importance of this approach through the results we have achieved in our 3 years of experience.

Title: A New Model for Collaborative Learning of Programming Using Source Code Similarity Detection

Author(s): Stankov, Emil; Jovanov, Mile; Kostadinov, Bojan; Madevska Bogdanova, Ana

Organisation(s): Faculty of Computer Science and Engineering, Ss. Cyril and Methodius University in Skopje, Macedonia

Presenter(s): Stankov, Emil

Abstract: Teaching programming typically requires assessment of programming codes submitted by students (as solutions to practice or exam exercises). The task becomes particularly difficult if the number of students enrolled in the programming course being taught increases to more than 100 – in such situations the evaluation cannot be done manually in a reasonable amount of time. Also, the feedback for the students is impossible. The need for fast assessment of programming codes has led to the development of automated grading systems. As opposed to most systems that check each program’s output for some predefined test cases in order to assess its correctness, in our previous work we introduced a new model for semiautomatic student source code assessment [1]. Here, based on the ideas of that model, we propose a new model for collaborative learning of programming in case when there are a large number of students involved in the system, i.e. enrolled in the programming course.

Title: The Europe Code Week (codeEU) initiative: Shaping the skills of future engineers

Author(s): Moreno León, Jesús (2); Robles, Gregorio (1)

Organisation(s): 1: Universidad Rey Juan Carlos, Spain; 2: Programamos.es

Presenter(s): Moreno León, Jesús

Abstract: The second edition of the Europe Code Week (codeEU) [1], to be held between 11 and 17 October 2014, will bring together millions of children, parents, teachers, employers and policy makers in order to make programming more visible, to demystify the bad reputation linked with programming (especially among certain groups), and to bring together people with different motivations to learn from each other. The main objective is to bring programming to the youngest, for which more than 1,000 events will be organized in 38 countries during the whole week, including workshops on introduction to programming using visual languages like Scratch [2] or App Inventor [3], courses to create web pages, motivational talks about the importance of this discipline, robot programming demonstrations or meetings with industry leaders.

Title: Software Mangineeringment

Author(s): Tomer, Amir

Organisation(s): Kinneret Academic College, Israel

Presenter(s): Tomer, Amir

Abstract: Software Engineers are often promoted to management positions, based on their engineering excellence, lacking management knowledge, which is not always part of their undergraduate SE program. Moreover, very early in their career software engineers face management issues, when they are required to meet budget and schedule, to assess potential risks, to make make/buy decisions or to maintain effective communications over globally-dispersed teams. These combined jobs may be referred to as “Software Mangineeringment”. General Project Management education does not equip these engineers with enough relevant practice for the software domain. This article describes an undergraduate course which combines the general project management theory and practice with software-specific practices. The course framework is the guide to Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK® Guide), which includes 42 projects management processes organized categorized into 9 Knowledge Areas. The course extends these processes with many practices taken from a large variety of software engineering resources. The course is also delivered as an industrial seminar targeted at software managers in their initial management steps.

Title: Just-in-Time-Teaching Experience in Software Design Pattern Course

Author(s): Tao, Ye (1); Mottok, Jürgen (2); Hackenberg, Rudi (2)

Organisation(s): 1: Qingdao University of Science and Technology, China, People's Republic of; 2: Laboratory for Safe and Secure Systems, LaS³, Ostbayerische Technische Hochschule (OTH ) Regensburg

Presenter(s): Hackenberg, Rudi

Abstract: Teaching design patterns in computer science introductory sequence is more difficult than learning it. We present a Just-in-Time-Teaching (JiTT) practice in Software Design Patterns course targeted to entry level students. We proposed a model that combines JiTT concepts with didactic considerations, preparation materials, in-class sessions and post-lecture assignments. We have effectively used this approach to teach two undergraduate classes. The paper also presents the results of a survey conducted to identify the effectiveness of the JiTT activities through warm-up questions, class-wide discussions, experiments and exercises.

Title: FAST Learning: A New Didactic Method in Software Engineering

Author(s): Zalewski, Janusz; Gonzalez, Fernando

Organisation(s): Florida Gulf Coast University, United States of America

Presenter(s): Zalewski, Janusz

Abstract: A new didactic method is proposed and described, called FAST, which is an acronym from Follow Accomplishments of Senior Teams, to attract to the discipline students in low level courses and reduce attrition rates. In essence, the method relies on bringing software engineering student teams from senior project courses, who have accomplished some significant results in their classes, to demonstrate and showcase their projects in introductory courses in software engineering and in other STEM disciplines. Students in lower level courses, with assistance of instructor, then analyze the projects specifications, designs, and implementations, and find out about the principles and specific details of software development on a real case study, which is available at hand. Then, depending on each project’s scope, an instructor in a lower level course may choose one of the techniques, such as a demo, exercise, assignment, or even experiment, to enforce learning and motivate the students to increase their chances of staying in the degree program or even switching to the software engineering program from other majors. Typical software projects involved in the first edition of FAST learning were on robotics, wireless sensor networks, microcontrollers, data acquisition for solar plants, and others. These activities definitely engaged students in lower level courses and caused significant excitement about prospects of learning in higher level courses and pursuing careers in software engineering.

Title: A New Problem Based Blended Learning Approach in Software Engineering

Author(s): Kuhn, Martina (1); Gold, Carolin (2); Abke, Jörg (2)

Organisation(s): 1: THM - University of Applied Sciences, Friedberg, Germany; 2: University of Applied Sciences Aschaffenburg, Germany

Presenter(s): Kuhn, Martina

Abstract: The development of competencies and also the usage of e-learning and distance education in higher education are key aspects of the Bologna Process. Through the use of e-learning, individual learning styles (e.g., different learning conditions, speeds and pathways) and competence orientation can be supported and promoted. The combination of traditional classroom teaching and self-study as well as the use of information and communication technologies promise a better quality of teaching. As a result a variety of projects were launched to develop new teaching and learning arrangements while optimizing existing approaches. In this paper we present a blended learning concept for a Software Engineering course. The course design and the different components used are explained in detail. This is done in order to support further improvements in terms of activation and motivation as well as competency promotion of learners. Therefore, a proven teaching and learning concept is further developed by the addition of e-learning methods to obtain a blended-learning concept.

Title: Discovering the Essence of Software Engineering - an Integrated Game-Based Approach based on the SEMAT Essence Specification

Author(s): Pieper, Jöran

Organisation(s): IACS Institute of Applied Computer Science, University of Applied Sciences Stralsund, Germany, Germany

Presenter(s): Pieper, Jöran

Abstract: Software processes and Software Engineering (SE) methods belong to those knowledge areas which are challenging to be taught intuitively accessible. The specification “Kernel and Language for Software Engineering Methods (Essence)” [1] claims to deliver an approach to consolidate all essential dimensions of SE-endeavors into an universal compact and actionable kernel. This paper describes the characteristics of the Essence specification with respect to its suitability for use in academic SE education where students get introduced to the world of SE methods and software processes. To enable a deep understanding of the Essence concepts in an academic setting a suitable approach is needed. The integrated approach presented in this paper introduces students stepwise into the concepts of Essence. It lets them explore the concepts in a virtual simulated game environment and finally deploy them in real world SE endeavors. Thereby an efficient and engaging learning arrangement supports the active construction of knowledge. It encourages active exploration, enables the viewing of the learning object from different perspectives and promotes articulation and reflection in social interchange early in the learning process. Key objectives of this approach are to sensitize students for the diversity of dimensions that have to be taken into account in a SE endeavor, to provide a valuable guidance for using SE methods inside and outside of their curriculum and to enable students to transfer their newly acquired knowledge to other contexts.

Title: Measuring Software Engineering Competencies

Author(s): Studt, Reimer (1); Winterfeldt, Götz (2); Mottok, Jürgen (3)

Organisation(s): 1: University of Applied Sciences Landshut, Germany; 2: Deggendorf Institute of Technology; 3: OTH Regensburg

Presenter(s): Studt, Reimer

Abstract: Measuring competencies may serve as a feedback mechanism as well as a judgment device for a lecturer. As measuring every competency from a catalogue of competencies is not very viable, the to-be-measured competencies are grouped in competency profiles. Further, assessment practices are shown and applied to a study program. A discussion of useful practices concludes this contribution.

Title: Energy Use, Green IT Practices and Entrepreneurship in Higher Engineering Education and Research in Developing Nations

Author(s): Uhomoibhi, James

Organisation(s): Ulster University, UK, United Kingdom

Presenter(s): Uhomoibhi, James

Abstract: Africa is home to diverse sources of natural energy (solar, wind, waves, geothermal, oil and gas, and other forms of natural mineral resources). Despite having access to this wealth of energy sources, it remains an established fact that the continent is still referred to as the Dark Continent with little or virtually not enough power for electricity, water, communication and other infrastructures necessary for economic development and sustained growth. There has been call for inclusion of entrepreneurship in engineering curriculum and a review of green IT practices across different nations in the continent. This paper focuses on Nigeria and examines approaches to energy use, green IT practices and role of entrepreneurship in promoting innovation and creativity in higher engineering education and research. It has been reported that a reasonable amount of capital can be saved when businesses adopt efficient measures. In order to achieve this, development of a sustainable Green IT plans are required; such as energy conservation, green procurement, recycling, virtualization, governmental regulations, optimization of the IT infrastructures as well as proper awareness strategies are necessary. This paper identifies and investigates the various challenges and dangers posed by poor or inefficient IT practices, the role of entrepreneurship in engineering education and practice. We explore sustainable strategic IT approaches to overcoming Greening Issues which could have potential impact on economy. A survey of data from a range of studies show that capitals and assets saved through the various measures could facilitate the implementation of solutions to address some of the existing problems related to green IT practices for improved efficiency and sustainability. Current engineering education curriculum has a lot to benefit from the inclusion of entrepreneurship in its content aimed at promoting innovation and enhancing creativity. This would prepare the graduate engineer to be employable globally whilst contributing to the nation’s economic and sustainable development.

Title: Engineering professors' conceptions of assessment. An important variable for Engineering education

Author(s): Fimia-León, Yoilán (1); Libotton, Arno (2); Questier, Frederik (2); Moreno-Campdesuñer, Ileana (1)

Organisation(s): 1: Universidad Central "Marta Abreu" de Las Villas, Cuba; 2: Vrije Universiteit Brussel

Presenter(s): Fimia-León, Yoilán

Abstract: Teachers’ conceptions of assessment in Cuban higher education were surveyed with the intention to answers the following research questions: RQ1. Which of the existing models of teachers’ conceptions of assessment best fits the Cuban higher educational context? RQ2. Is the model for teachers’ conceptions of assessment statistically invariant taking into account if teachers work or not in engineering education? RQ3. Which are the teachers’ conceptions of assessment in Cuban higher educational context? Evidences have been found allowing the selection of an analytic model relating four conceptions of assessment (i.e., improvement, irrelevant, student accountability, and school and teachers accountability) to describe how teachers in Cuba understand the learning assessment process. In that sense, the model seems to be superior to other models by allowing the interpretation beyond the classical and dichotomist conception of assessment (i.e., positive versus negative, formative against summative, etc.). The instrument used to collect the data was the Teachers’ Conceptions of Assessment Inventory (CoA-IIIA). It allows identifying the relationship among conceptions related in the model but also the strength of each belief inside its constituent conception. Additionally, the model showed to be invariant for teachers who work in engineering education and those who not. The analysis process identified the teachers’ conceptions by examining the purpose inter-correlation, their associated factors and their mean scores. This information can help to predict future performances of professors inside the Cuban current framework or guide the development of new policies that move Cuban higher education to answer the current demands of actual society and also the demands of the learning assessment process itself.

Title: Pre-conditions for Efficient m-Learming

Author(s): Poulova, Petra; Simonova, Ivana

Organisation(s): University of Hradec Králové, Czech Republic

Presenter(s): Simonova, Ivana

Abstract: Didactic principles defined and verified by Jan Ámos Komenský (Johann Amos Comenius) in 17th century have been applied not only in the ´traditional´ way of engineering educationn running mostly in the face-to-face form, but they have been reflected in the ICT-supported process of instruction – e-learning. Currently, the time came we focused on the topic of m-learning and m-learning didactics. After more than a decade the ´traditional´ e-learning means (mainly computer at workplace) have been being replaced by mobile devices (MD). Identically to e-learning, IT competences and literacy are required, both from the students and teachers. And, students are a jump ahead of teachers. Therefore, the same process of acquiring didactic competence in mobile devices-supported teaching/learning will be required. Above all, the technical development economic availability and private ownership of mobile devices have prepared suitable conditions for their implementation into various industries, educational process included.

Title: Practice of peer-review and the innovative engineering school

Author(s): Isoc, Dorin (1); Isoc, Teodora (2)

Organisation(s): 1: Technical University of Cluj-Napoca, Romania; 2: iSinergic Ltd, Cluj-Napoca, Romania

Presenter(s): Isoc, Dorin

Abstract: In order to better adapt the engineering school to engineering requirements, we insist to endow the instruction with continuous peer-review procedures (professional opinion). Acting as a cybernetic mechanism inside of instruction process, the research suggests many technical details in order to cover a secondary teaching level connecting the students’ set. This teaching level is built as a set of “training lens” where students are integrated during the training process. Using this new connecting technique the teacher becomes more and more a coach and the students are more effective and professionally independent.

Title: On Analyzing the Effectiveness of Just-in-Time-Teaching

Author(s): Böttcher, Axel C.H.; Kämper, Andreas; Thurner, Veronika

Organisation(s): University of Applied Sciences Munich, Germany

Presenter(s): Kämper, Andreas

Abstract: Just-in-Time-Teaching (JiTT) is an activating teaching method that is highly popular in today's university education systems. In this paper, we use the experience we made using JiTT during two semesters to analyse the effectiveness of this teaching method.

Title: Knowledge Transfers between Research Consortium, Higher Education Institution and World of Work

Author(s): Pirinen, Rauno

Organisation(s): Laurea, Finland

Presenter(s): Pirinen, Rauno

Abstract: One of the emergent functions of higher education institution is to increase knowledge transfers between international research consortium, higher education institution, world of work, and government. In this study, knowledge transfers in an externally funded research, such as research consortium’s related new knowledge dissemination were addressed as interest and innovation promoter. Here, a new knowledge transfers activates networked expertise in regional-national-global scale. This study included innovation enabler analysis, research consortium process analysis, and R&D related learning process analysis in the perspective and for progress of higher education institutions.

Title: Redefining Best Practices in Company Internships

Author(s): Lopez-Martin, Antonio; Sanchis, pablo; Perez-Artieda, Gurutze; Gubia, Eugenio; Morato, Daniel; Astrain, David; Barrenechea, Edurne; Lopez-Taberna, Jesus; Matias, Ignacio R.

Organisation(s): Public University of Navarre, Spain

Presenter(s): Lopez-Martin, Antonio

Abstract: Initiatives aimed to promote best practices in company internships in the emerging EHEA are presented. They have been implemented in the new curricula of the School of Industrial and Telecommunications Engineering of the Public University of Navarre. They imply a redefinition of the way these actions were formerly designed. The most salient features of the new approach are the key role played by the acquisition of competences, focus on learning objectives and a more comprehensive grading system.

Title: On Feedback Techniques for the Evaluation of Teaching Effectiveness

Author(s): Thurner, Veronika; Böttcher, Axel; Kämper, Andreas

Organisation(s): Hochschule München, Germany

Presenter(s): Böttcher, Axel

Abstract: Experience shows that in our teaching, we do not always reach students exactly in the same way we intended. Instead, students might develop misconseptions, might not understand what we thought that we taught, or even might not listen at all, and so on. Therefore, we need ways and means to gain feedback on the effectiveness of our teaching on an adequate time scale, which will enable us to adapt our teaching approach, if necessary, before term is over. Gaining and aggregating feedback always involves a certain amount of work and effort on the lecturer’s side. As time is scarce, lecturers’ wish to gain as much benefit from the feedback as possible. To support this intention, we collected and categorized a variety of different feedback techniques to help chose a suitable approach for one’s specific needs.

Title: Learning by Research and Development in Perspective of Peer-group Mentoring

Author(s): Rajamäki, Jyri; Paro, Jukka

Organisation(s): Laurea University of Applied sciences, Finland

Presenter(s): Paro, Jukka

Abstract: The research question of this case study is observe the educational functionality of research and development related (R&D) learning in externally funded (R&D) projects in perspective of peer-group mentoring. In this study, educational functionality of integrative learning approach called learning by R&D for regional-global research collaboration in externally funded R&D project integrated with vocational teacher studies was investigated.

Title: Mobile learning and its potential for engineering education

Author(s): Poulova, Petra; Klimova, Blanka Frydrychová

Organisation(s): University of Hradec Králové, Czech Republic

Presenter(s): Klimova, Blanka Frydrychová

Abstract: The recent arrival of technological devices such as smart phones or tablets has had an enormous impact on the whole society. The young generation cannot imagine their living without them any more. All these changes undoubtedly are reflected in all spheres of human activities including learning. Therefore the purpose of this article is to discuss the concept of m-learning, the most common mobile devices students have at their possession and their potential for higher education. This is done both in theory and practice which is based on a small-scale empirical survey.

Title: Collaborative Learning from Mobile Crowd Sensing: a Case Study in Electromagnetic Monitoring

Author(s): Longo, Antonella (1); Zappatore, Marco (2); Bochicchio, Mario (2)

Organisation(s): 1: DidaLab, University of Salento, IT, Italy; 2: Set-Lab, University of Salento, IT, Italy

Presenter(s): Zappatore, Marco

Abstract: Digital technologies and mobile devices (e.g., smart phones, tablets, etc.) are widespread among learners, who can access a great quantity of digital information and exhibit an unprecedented level of familiarization with powerful mobiles. These devices can act as sensing devices on the one hand, thus dramatically enlarging the scope of traditional monitoring campaigns, and, on the other hand, as effective tools to allow learners to participate actively and collaboratively to large-scale experimental and monitoring activities. We propose a system capable of measuring, storing and assessing ElectroMagnetic (EM) field levels sensed by a great number of mobiles thanks to their on-board antennas. This approach allow us to offer a scientific learning environment based on opportunistic Mobile Crowd Sensing (MCS) [2] for both schools, academic and life-long learning education to improve collaborative learning amongst peers by engaging them into extensive sensing activities directly on site.

Title: Mobile devices, another teaching tool in the engineering classroom

Author(s): Menchaca, Iratxe; Romero, Susana; Guenaga, Mariluz

Organisation(s): University of Deusto, Spain

Presenter(s): Menchaca, Iratxe

Abstract: New technologies have broken into the daily activities of the classroom, both in secondary school and in higher education grades. However, there are technologies such as mobile devices that are not having enough coverage or confidence from the educational community. In many schools the use of mobile devices is forbidden because they are considered a threat for the concentration of students in the classroom. Many teachers and parents still consider mobiles only as a tool for communication and entertainment, as well as a risk. This is one of the main barriers to adopt Mobile Learning as a learning strategy in education. Even in higher levels of education, there are still teachers who are reluctant to use these resources in their classrooms. This paper presents a review of the opportunities offered by the integration of mobile devices as a teaching resource in the classroom and even outside the school. According to the theories of ubiquitous learning, these devices promote meaningful and long learning experiences. They also promote continuous learning, because once the student leaves the classroom, and thanks to these devices, he or she continues living new learning experiences. We describe some use-cases and evidences of Mobile Learning experiences carried out in different grades at the Faculty of Engineering in the University of Deusto (Bilbao, Spain). For example, students were asked to take pictures with the mobile device and integrate them in a report as evidence; make videos that show how they have developed a project, which is impossible to show in real time; take pictures of complex exercises with many equations and upload it to a site, instead of using a scanner; record laboratory tests; use the mobile as a resource for risk management through the use of instant messaging and video conferencing to overcome setbacks when working in groups, etc. In these experiences, mobile devices have been integrated in classroom activities and have been satisfactory for both students and teachers. This approach intends to show how the integration of mobile devices in learning activities previously planned, contextualized, and with their specific objectives, can be a meaningful experience, rewarding and beneficial for students learning. The challenge is to teach students to take advantage of their available technology to generate learning experiences. In fact, recently in the PISA report it has highlighted the inability of young people using mobile devices to learn.

Title: Learning in Higher Education by European Framework Projects. Laurea’s study module: “International innovation work of information systems”

Author(s): Rajamäki, Jyri

Organisation(s): Laurea University of Applied sciences, Finland

Presenter(s): Rajamäki, Jyri

Abstract: The Framework Programmes (FPs) for Research and Technological Development (R&TD) are funding programmes created by the European Union/European Commission to support and foster research in the European Research Area (ERA). International R&TD projects play an increasing part in many organizations’ R&TD investments. Technology developers of all organizations (industrial companies, small and medium-sized enterprises, research organizations, universities, governmental agencies, etc.) should know how the European innovation system works. In Laurea University of Applied Science’s study module “International innovation work of information systems”, both students and teachers work as a part of an international research consortium. During the study module, all participants (students and teachers) learn (1) how to act as a part of the European innovation system, and (2) latest substance know-how in the field of information systems.

Title: Work in Progress - Automation of a Computer Networking Laboratory

Author(s): Palmer, Neville Tom

Organisation(s): Southampton Solent University, United Kingdom

Presenter(s): Palmer, Neville Tom

Abstract: A dedicated networking laboratory is used by students on a computer networking degree program. Images of the laboratory computers are maintained on a server and deployed when major updates or reconfigurations of the computers are required. Improvements can be made in the configuration and management processes. Automation can help realize some of these improvements. A server based application for automating the networking laboratory, named Remote Configuration Console, has been developed using PowerShell scripts and Microsoft Visual C#. This paper describes the design and development of the application and its effectiveness in improving the configuration and management processes. This paper concludes that the application has been successful in improving the efficiency of processes and that the lessons learned during development can be used to inform the curriculum of the computer networking program itself. Future work will involve investigating how this can be achieved.

Title: Work in Progress: Approach to Modeling and Optimizing the Content of IT Education Programs

Author(s): Shukhman, Alexander E.; Belonovskaya, Isabella D.

Organisation(s): Orenburg State University, Russian Federation

Presenter(s): Shukhman, Alexander E.

Abstract: This article describes an approach to modeling and optimizing the content of IT education programs on the basis of professional competency system and professional standards.

Title: Work in Progress: Embedded Computer Engineering Learning Platform Capabilities

Author(s): Žagar, Martin; Frid, Nikolina; Knezović, Josip; Hofman, Daniel; Kovač, Mario; Sruk, Vlado; Mlinarić, Hrvoje

Organisation(s): FER, Croatia

Presenter(s): Žagar, Martin

Abstract: Provided unified learning platform, which is developed as a main goal of our ICT FP7 - Collaborative Project: Embedded Computer Engineering Learning Platform enables modular approach in education of computer engineers. It helps engineering education personnel to transform passive listener’s students into active learners, thus stimulating students to actively participate in the learning process. Furthermore, this platform shall introduce a flexible and extendable learning environment for upcoming technologies in embedded systems, thus providing a long lasting educational solution for academia. This work in progress article describes capabilities of our learning platform.

Title: Work in Progress: Multi-displinary curriculum review of Engineering Education: UCL’s Integrated Engineering Programme.

Author(s): Mitchell, John E.; Bains, Sunny; Nyamapfene, Abel; Tilley, Emanuela

Organisation(s): UCL, United Kingdom

Presenter(s): Mitchell, John E.

Abstract: Pressure from industry, professional bodies and students for a reform to the curriculum and delivery style of engineering education has been mounting for a number of years. Although there have been many excellent individual initiatives, developments that span a whole school or faculty, encompassing a number of disciplines and departments are rare. This paper describes a curriculum development programme across the UCL faculty of engineering sciences in the UK. It describes the motivation for change and some of the approaches adopted.

Title: Work in Progress: Teaching EM Diffraction via Virtual Tools: “The WedgeTOOL”

Author(s): Uslu, Mehmet Alper (1); Apaydın, Gökhan (2); Sevgi, Levent (3)

Organisation(s): 1: Dogus University, Turkey; 2: Zirve University, Turkey; 3: Okan University, Turkey

Presenter(s): Uslu, Mehmet Alper

Abstract: A useful wedge diffraction package has been introduced for the illustration and visualization of time- and frequency-domain numerical methods (Finite Difference Time Domain, FDTD, and Method of Moments, MoM) results, as well as analytical High Frequency Asymptotics (HFA) approaches. A MatLab package (WedgeTOOL) is developed for diffraction modeling on the classical non-penetrable wedge problem.