6,209 research outputs found
Exploratory talk within collaborative small groups in mathematics
No full textThis report describes one aspect of a wider research study on exploratory talk within collaborative small groups in secondary mathematics lessons. It outlines students’ views of using collaborative activity to learn mathematics. The fuller research study explores the extent to which exploratory talk occurs in collaborative peer groups in secondary mathematics classrooms
Dispelling the Myths Behind First-author Citation Counts
Get PDFWe conducted a full-scale evaluative citation analysis study of scholars in the XML research field to explore just how different from each other author rankings resulting from different citation counting methods actually are, and to demonstrate the capability of emerging data and tools on the Web in supporting more realistic citation counting methods. Our results contest some common arguments for the continued
use of first-author citation counts in the evaluation of scholars, such as high correlations between author rankings by first-author citation counts and other citation
counting methods, and high costs of using more realistic citation counting methods that are not well-supported by the ISI databases. It is argued that increasingly available digital full text research papers make it possible for citation analysis studies to go beyond what the ISI databases have directly supported and to employ more
sophisticated methods
SemCW: Semantic Collaborative Writing using RST
Get PDFDuring collaborative writing each author works on a copy of the shared document. These copies are then merged to produce the final document. This asynchronous work is supported by several collaborative writing tools. While these tools are excellent at merging and detecting syntactic conflicts, they are not able to easily recognise semantic inconsistencies. This hinders the coherence of the document because while each individual copy might be well constructed, they may not be after the merge. To address this, we investigate the combination of the Rhetorical Structure Theory with Operational Transformation approach. In this paper, we define a data model, a set of operations to manipulate the RST structures and a set of transformation functions. A validity checker alerts the authors to areas in the text with possible semantic lapses in the merged documents
Collaborative gym: A simulation benchmark for multi-robotic tasks
No full textThe design of multi-robot systems has gained increasing attention in recent years. The field of cooperative Multi-Agent Robot Systems (MARS) has shown the potential to provide reliable and cost-effective solutions to a wide range of automated applications. Communication and coordination between autonomous agents require robust and intelligent control systems in order to achieve high-quality performance. This paper presents Collaborative Gym, an open-source, physics-based simulation framework for multi-robot interaction. This simulation environment differs from existing robotic simulation environments in that it is designed to model the interaction between multiple robots. Despite the presence of a large number of single robotic environments, multi-robotic simulation environments for reinforcement learning are rare. Collaborative Gym contains four simulated tasks in which different commercial robots work in collaboration: poking, lifting, balancing, and passing. For each of the four tasks, baseline policies are presented for various combinations of commercial robots which have been trained using reinforcement learning. The study demonstrated that Collaborative Gym is a promising open-source framework for the development of multi-robotic collaborative robotic tasks.https://github.com/gabriansa/collaborative-gymMechanical Engineering | Multi-Machine Engineerin
Assessment of (computer-supported) collaborative learning
Get PDFWithin the Computer-Supported Collaborative Learning (CS)CL research community there has been an extensive dialogue on theories and perspectives on learning from collaboration, approaches to scaffold (script) the collaborative process, and most recently research methodology. In contrast, the issue of assessment of collaborative learning has received much less attention. This article discusses how assessment of collaborative learning has been addressed, provides a perspective on what could be assessed, and highlights limitations of current approaches. Since assessment of collaborative learning is a demanding experience for teachers and students alike, they require adequate computer-supported and intelligent tools for monitoring and assessment. A roadmap for the role and application of intelligent tools for assessment of (CS)CL is presented
Recommended from our members
Framework for effective collaborative working in construction
No full textThe potential benefits of collaborative working in construction projects have yet to be fully realised in the sector. This is in part due to the misunderstanding of the use of the information and communication technologies (ICT) and tools associated with working collaboratively. There are, however, isolated pockets of experts that have realised that in order to fully embrace the potential of collaborative working in their businesses, the role of ICT has to be closely aligned with the people that use it, and should relate to the overall goals of the business. The aim of the Planning and Implementation of Effective Collaboration in Construction (PIECC) project is to develop a decision-making framework that enables organisations to fully integrate ICT and its associated people and business issues into their projects and individual businesses. This paper reports on the development processes used to develop the framework, and its evaluation and testing within the UK construction sector. The paper presents the different processes that should be followed to develop a joint collaboration strategy, and the results and implications of using the PIECC framework to manage collaborative working
Utilising Situational Analysis to Understand Educator-Family Collaborative Partnerships in a Poststructural Case Study
Get PDFThis paper evidences the process of employing Situational Analysis in a poststructural case study that investigated educator-family collaborative partnerships. The author addresses research design decisions that both supported and enhanced the methodology towards the construction of new knowledge. Embedded in the case study across three case sites, three educators and three families participated in a series of observations, interviews, and collaborative mapping to reveal the findings of this project. In filling gaps identified in literature, the study aimed to elucidate the multiple perspectives of stakeholders through observation and interviews, whilst promoting the voice of both families and educators through participatory situational analysis mapping with the researcher. Findings of this study offer opportunities for all stakeholders to deepen their understanding of what enables effective collaborative partnerships in practice. Furthermore, the unique methodological approach to this study adds to the breadth of knowledge in poststructural research possibilities
Information, Competencies and Collaborative Teaching/Learning
Get PDFThe purpose of this paper is to survey the literature about current trends on several issues concerning technical information education including: 1. Information needs, user behaviors, access and availability of engineering information resources. 2. Information competencies as perceived by librarians and teaching faculty. 3. Initiatives encouraging collaborative teaching or learning to enhance the information competency of engineering and technology students. The author examines activities in these three areas, the role of professional societies, and the effect of technology in the classroom. Based on the results of this survey, the author tries to identify the main components in a system of technical communication as it pertains to the education of engineering students. A better understanding of this system can help in developing programs to prepare students in better managing technical information
A narrative-based collaborative writing tool for coherent technical documents
No full textOne important feature of an effective document that makes it easy to read and understand is known as coherence. Technical documents produced collaboratively are often incoherent due to a lack of group consensus and misaligned contributions by the individual authors. However, current document planning techniques and writing tools do not provide explicit support for improving coherence. The goal of this research, therefore, is to develop and evaluate a new technique and tool that helps teams of authors to structure coherent technical documents. The coherence of a document can be attributed to the story (or narrative) it conveys to the reader. If this story is consistent and coherent, the same can be said about the document. A discourse theory such as Rhetorical Structure Theory (RST) that has been developed by linguists helps further to analyse and improve a narrative. RST explains the coherence of a text by virtue of relationships (such as “paragraph A justifies paragraph B”) between parts of the text. This research has combined the ideas from these parallel strands of research to develop a new document planning technique called narrative-based writing. The method involves writing down an explicit précis of the story (called a document narrative or DN) and then analysing it using RST. The DN and RST analysis are then used to structure the eventual document. To extend the usability of narrative-based writing to geographically-dispersed authors, I have designed and implemented a collaborative tool that allows co-authors to edit, analyse and review DNs. The thorough design for the tool uses a combination of three models (conceptual, business process and functional) culminating in a set of functions that enable collaborative narrative-based writing. This dissertation discusses how, in the future, these functions could be incorporated in existing collaborative writing tools. Implementing this tool, albeit in its current prototypic state, has been invaluable in understanding the complexities of modelling and manipulating DNs and RST structures. Initial investigations using the new technique and tool have been positive, encouraging me to continue the research and evaluation in this field
Concept mapping as a collaborative activity: Using concept mapping software in a distributed learning environment
Get PDFAs part of an ongoing study into distributed learning environments, this paper examines the effects of concept mapping software when used as a collaborative learning tool. Preliminary findings are explored in relation to pre-service teachers' endeavour to distribute their learning collaboratively while working with the software in small groups
- …
