2020
Authors
Cruz, A; Paredes, H; Morgado, L; Martins, P;
Publication
JOURNAL OF UNIVERSAL COMPUTER SCIENCE
Abstract
Virtual worlds, particularly those able to provide a three-dimensional physical space, have features that make them suitable to support collaborative activities. These features distinguish virtual worlds from other collaboration tools, but current taxonomies of the field of Computer-Supported Cooperative Work do not account for several distinctive features of virtual worlds, namely those related with non-verbal communication. We intended to find out how the use of an avatar, gestures, spatial sounds, etc., influence collaboration in order to be able to include non-verbal communication in taxonomies of the field Computer-Supported Cooperative Work. Several cases of collaboration in virtual worlds are analysed, to find the impact of these non-verbal characteristics of virtual worlds. We proposed adding the concept of Presence to taxonomies of Computer-Supported Cooperative Work and contribute with guidance for future taxonomy development that includes it as a new dimension. This new dimension of Presence is subdivided into "avatar" and "physical space" subdimensions. In turn, these are divided into "physical appearance", "gestures, sounds and animations" and "focus, nimbus and aura"; "environment" and "objects / artefacts". This new taxonomy-development proposal may contribute to inform better design of virtual worlds in support of cooperative work.
2021
Authors
Carvalho, D; Rocha, T; Martins, P; Barroso, J;
Publication
INNOVATIVE TECHNOLOGIES AND LEARNING
Abstract
Dyscalculia is a specific neurological affliction that disrupts a person's ability to understand and manipulate numbers. We intend to develop a serious game for children who attend primary school (up to 4th grade) and whose purpose is making the learning of basic mathematics (simple arithmetic) easier, by introducing specific mathematical problems and educational games that stimulate memory, among other aspects. To that end, we undertook a straightforward and preliminary evaluation of the serious game developed and present its results. Indeed, we believe that the findings of our pilot case study can be useful to determine some perceptions that may be vital to understanding the problems with teaching mathematics and the issues students face in this regard.
2022
Authors
Dias, J; Carvalho, D; Paredes, H; Martins, P; Rocha, T; Barroso, J;
Publication
INNOVATIONS IN BIO-INSPIRED COMPUTING AND APPLICATIONS, IBICA 2021
Abstract
This research aims at investigating which web accessibility and usability tools, with the focus on the ones that warrant automation, are available to assess the quality of interfaces for people with disabilities and/or special needs, enabling them to navigate and interact with web and mobile apps. Our search strategy identified 72 scientific articles of the most rated conferences and scientific journals, from which 16 were considered for the systematic literature review (SLR). We found that, despite the existence of various tools either for web or mobile apps, they are not completely effective, covering less than 40% of all the problems encountered. Also, no tool was found capable of adapting the application interfaces according to the type of disabilities that users may present. Therefore, a new tool could be a welcome advancement to provide full accessible and usable experiences.
2022
Authors
Rodrigues, C; Reis, A; Pereira, R; Martins, P; Sousa, J; Pinto, T;
Publication
TECHNOLOGY AND INNOVATION IN LEARNING, TEACHING AND EDUCATION, TECH-EDU 2022
Abstract
The use of mobile conversations is increasing all around the world. A conversational agent (CA) is mostly useful due to the fast response times and their simple nature. Recently, we have seen the development and increasing use of dialog systems on the Web. A conversational agent (CA) is a system capable of conversing with a user in natural language, in a way that it simulates a human dialog. Examples of CA can be found in several areas, including healthcare, entertainment, business, and education. In this paper a state of the art review of these dialog systems is presented, comprising different categories, different approaches and trends. The purpose of this work is to identify and compare the main existing approaches for building CA, categorizing them and highlighting the main strengths and weaknesses. Furthermore, it seeks to contextualize their use in an educational context and to discover the issues related to this task that may help in the choice of future investigations in the area of conversational natural language processing in educational context.
2022
Authors
Cruz, A; Carvalho, D; Rocha, T; Martins, P;
Publication
TECHNOLOGY AND INNOVATION IN LEARNING, TEACHING AND EDUCATION, TECH-EDU 2022
Abstract
Second Life (SL), a widely used Three-Dimensional Virtual World (3DVW), is being used as a tool for eLearning because of its interaction capabilities. On the other hand, accessibility is growing as a requirement for eLearning software tools, mainly because it can be an important factor for the learning process success by the impaired. In this paper we evaluate the accessibility of SL under WCAG 2.0/2.1 principles, and compare it with Moodle, which is a widely used web-based eLearning tool. We found that neither Moodle nor SL complies with accessibility under WCAG 2.0/2.1 rules, but SL does present itself as more accessible than Moodle. Moreover, WCAG 2.0/2.1 has several requirements specific for web pages, although they do not apply to 3DVWs. In this study, we intent to give a step forward towards evaluating emerging 3D virtual environments, like Metaverse, in the context of accessibility in the eLearning tools.
2020
Authors
Huang, YM; Barroso, J; Sandnes, FE; Huang, TC; Martins, P; Wu, TT;
Publication
Lecture Notes in Computer Science (including subseries Lecture Notes in Artificial Intelligence and Lecture Notes in Bioinformatics)
Abstract
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