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- Development of a mechanical maintenance training simulator in OpenSimulator for F-16 aircraft enginesPublication . Pinheiro, André; Fernandes, Paulo; Maia, Ana Margarida; Cruz, Gonçalo; Pedrosa, Daniela; Fonseca, Benjamim; Paredes, Hugo; Martins, Paulo; Morgado, Leonel; Rafael, JorgeMechanical maintenance of F-16 engines is carried out as a team effort involving 3 to 4 skilled engine technicians. This paper presents the development of a mechanical maintenance simulator for their training. This simulator aims to enable technician training to be enhanced with cooperation and context prior to the training phase with actual physical engines. We describe the requirements that were identified with the Portuguese Air Force, the overall software architecture of the system, the current stage of the prototype, and the outcomes of the first field tests with users.
- SimProgramming : the development of an integrated teaching approach for computer programming in higher educationPublication . Pedrosa, Daniela; Cravino, José; Morgado, Leonel; Barreira, Carlos Manuel Folgado; Nunes, Ricardo Rodrigues; Martins, Paulo; Paredes, HugoComputer programming courses in higher education tend to have high rates of academic failure and students struggle, particularly so in the transition from entry-level programming to advanced programming. Some of the reasons given in the literature relate to the type of teaching approach and the strategies used by students and their attitudes towards computer programming. The literature also mentions that educational approaches are not always appropriate to the needs of students and to the development of skills required in the job market. We developed a teaching approach to try to address some of these issues and support students learning computer programming in the transition from entry-level to advanced computer programming: the SimProgramming approach. This approach was introduced at the University of Trás-os-Montes e Alto Douro (Portugal), within the scope of the course “Programming Methodologies III”, part of the second curricular year of the programmes of studies in Informatics Engineering and in Information & Communication Technologies. We present in detail the origins of the SimProgramming approach, starting from the first trials that introduced, in two iterations, learning activities based on problem-based learning, and up to the third iteration where the current SimProgramming approach was implemented. We describe the reasoning, design and implementation of these three iterations, to show how the approach evolved. The SimProgramming approach is based in four conceptual foundations: business-like learning environment, self-regulated learning, co-regulated learning and formative assessment. For each of these conceptual foundations, we explain the teaching strategies adopted. In SimProgramming, the learning activity process develops in four phases, and students have specific tasks in each phase. We analyse interview data regarding student perceptions about the SimProgramming approach, and registration grids data on team work dynamics and final assessment of the assignment, noting the impact of SimProgramming in student grades. The application of SimProgramming revealed promising evidences in the overall results of student learning in the activities proposed in this approach. The average grades improved, and did the number of students regularly submitting their tasks on schedule. The perceptions of students regarding the SimProgramming approach are very positive: they recommend using it in the following years, and provided some suggestions to improve the approach. We conclude with reflections and recommendations for subsequent development of the SimProgramming approach in its application to the teaching of computer programming and potential for using it in other educational contexts.
- SimProgramming: uma abordagem motivacional para a aprendizagem de alunos intermediários de programaçãoPublication . Nunes, Ricardo Rodrigues; Pedrosa, Daniela; Morgado, Leonel; Paredes, Hugo; Martins, Paulo; Cravino, José; Barreira, Carlos Manuel FolgadoNeste artigo, é apresentada uma pesquisa-ação com o objetivo de motivar os alunos a desenvolverem suas aprendizagens de programação de computadores no ensino superior, particularmente na transição da programação de nível iniciante para a programação avançada. Para alcançar este objetivo, foi desenvolvida uma abordagem motivacional denominada SimProgramming. A partir das reflexões sobre o processo desta pesquisa, conclui-se que SimProgramming em sua aplicação ao ensino de programação de computadores em turmas intermediárias é promissor e ainda apresenta potencial para ser usado em outros contextos educacionais.
- Bringing user experience empirical data to gesture-control and somatic interaction in virtual reality videogames: an exploratory study with a multimodal interaction prototypePublication . Fernandes, Luís; Nunes, Ricardo Rodrigues; Matos, Gonçalo; Azevedo, Diogo; Pedrosa, Daniela; Morgado, Leonel; Paredes, Hugo; Barbosa, Luís; Fonseca, Benjamim; Martins, Paulo; Cardoso, Bernardo; Carvalho, Fausto deWith the emergence of new low-cost gestural interaction devices various studies have been developed on multi-modal human-computer interaction to improve user experience. We present an exploratory study which analysed the user experience with a multimodal interaction game prototype. As a result, we propose a set of preliminary recommendations for combined use of such devices and present implications for advancing the multimodal field in human-computer interaction.
- Motivating students to learn computer programming in higher education: the SimProgramming approachPublication . Nunes, Ricardo Rodrigues; Cruz, Gonçalo; Pedrosa, Daniela; Maia, Ana Margarida; Morgado, Leonel; Paredes, Hugo; Cravino, José; Martins, PauloThis paper presents an action research study aiming to motivate undergraduate students to develop their computer programming learning skills, particularly within the transition from beginner to proficient level. The SimProgramming motivational approach is presented as a didactic proposal for this context. From the results of this iterative research process, we concluded that SimProgramming is a promising tool for teaching computer programming skills in intermediate classes, with potential to be used and/or applied in other educational contexts.
- Enhancing students’ motivation to learn software engineering programming techniques: a collaborative and social interaction approachPublication . Nunes, Ricardo Rodrigues; Pedrosa, Daniela; Fonseca, Benjamim; Paredes, Hugo; Cravino, José; Morgado, Leonel; Martins, PauloTo motivate students to study advanced programming techniques, including the use of architectural styles such as the model–view–controller pattern, we have con-ducted action research upon a project based-learning approach. In addition to collabo-ration, the approach includes students’ searching and analysis of scientific documents and their involvement in communities of practice outside academia. In this paper, we report the findings of second action research cycle, which took place throughout the fourth semester of a six-semester program. As with the previous cycle during the pre-vious academic year, students did not satisfactorily achieve expected learning out-comes. More groups completed the assigned activities, but results continue to reflect poor engagement in the communities of practice and very low performance in other learning tasks. From the collected data we have identified new approaches and recom-mendations for subsequent research.