José Bidarra

This paper presents a study about narratives in music videos. It discusses the arrangements of audiovisual languages from settings established by characteristics of the media, emphasizing the role of platforms for the diffusion of information and entertainment such as You-Tube. It highlights a dialogue within cinema's own language and shows that, in contemporary scenarios, music videos actually tell stories. It is argued that contemporary music videos, in great majority, increase the duration of music, with pauses, performances of characters, insertion of dialogues and other structuring elements that are not typical of the classic and conventional paradigms of a language. For our purposes, the objects of this study are the music videos of Canadian filmmaker Xavier Dolan. The theoretical foundation is established through authors involved in debates around a culture of convergence, transmedia storytelling and interactions among the audiovisual languages. Resumo Este artigo apresenta um estudo sobre as narrativas em videoclipes. Discute-se os ar-ranjos das linguagens audiovisuais a partir de configurações estabelecidas por características dos meios de comunicação, enfatizando o papel das plataformas de difusão de informação e entretenimento como o YouTube. Sublinha-se ainda um diálogo com a linguagem do cinema e evidencia-se que, nos cenários contemporâneos, os videoclipes contam histórias. Discute-se que os videoclipes contemporâneos, em grande maioria, prolongam o tempo da música, com pausas, atuações de personagens, inserção de diálogos e outros elementos estruturantes que descaracterizam os paradigmas clássicos e convencionais da linguagem. Para a análise, o objeto do estudo são os videoclipes do cineasta canadense Xavier Dolan. A fundamentação teórica é estabelecida a partir de autores inseridos nos debates da cultura da convergência, de transmídia storytelling e das interações entre linguagens audiovisuais.

This paper discusses the future of MOOCs based on recent research and acknowledged affordances of videogame’s design. The interest in MOOCS for educational purposes has increased over the last few years, with researchers identifying key pedagogical features that make the success of these inherently powerful learning tools. However, low student motivation and high dropout rates have somehow changed the original expectations of many researchers, despite the MOOC user base doubling in 2015. So, in this study we survey recent literature looking for answers, and discuss the evidence gathered from specific MOOCs with over one thousand participants, namely, pioneering iMOOC courses at Universidade Aberta (the Portuguese Open University). Finally, we look at the gaming world and discuss some findings that may benefit the learning design of MOOCs, considering that, besides the huge appeal of these (free) courses, there are recurring shortcomings that we have to alleviate. We follow up on the tip that gamification, and other emerging strategies, such as social networking and digital storytelling, may be vital to assure a sustainable future for open education and MOOCs.

This paper presents Blendwave, an online sound design application inspired by the ease of use of samplers and the " sfxr family " of sound creation software. Starting from the hypothesis where current software tools have made the creation of sound inaccessible for non-specialist users, we analyze the problems with the musical bias ingrained in DAWs and Patchers, the standard sound design tools. After identifying the Web Audio API as an appropriate technological backbone for an accessible tool, recent online applications are surveyed, followed by popular software used in a rapid prototyping scenario. By acknowledging the merits and shortcomings of these sound creators, we present Blendwave, the byproduct of a practice-based research and development effort towards democratizing sound design as a rapid prototyping activity for audiovisual authors. The idea of a sampler architecture is proposed as a way to augment the sound possibilities of sfxr-based tools while keeping their simplicity. Finally, we report on the current state of development and outline the next steps.

Transmedia storyworlds allow students to express themselves and take part in a shared culture while developing learning paths. Whilst the use of transmedia storytelling in formal learning environments has been steadily gaining ground among educators, documented cases of its application are still sparse. This paper reports on a transmedia learning storyworld targeted to English as Second Language students by providing insight on the design of the storyworld and analysis of its core elements. The potential and challenges of applying a transmedia approach in an educational setting are explored through the description of the implementation of a prototype version of a transmedia learning storyworld and discussion of issues emerging from the application process. Based on the insights acquired during this stage, the paper concludes with a set of considerations to take into account in the development of future research in the transmedia learning field.

This is an article inserted in the first report by the expert pools of the EMPOWER programme established by EADTU to cover the latest trends and developments in new modes of teaching. New modes of teaching and learning create new opportunities for enhancing the quality of the learning experience in on campus programmes, reaching out to new target groups off campus and offering freely accessible courses nationally or worldwide through the internet. They enhance the quality, visibility and reputation of the institution.

This paper proposes a design framework to support science education through blended learning, based on a participatory and interactive approach supported by ICT-based tools, called Science Learning Activities Model (SLAM). The development of this design framework started as a response to complex changes in society and education (e.g. high turnover rate of knowledge, changing labour market), which require a more creative response of learners to the world problems that surround them. Many of these challenges are related to science and it would be expected that students are attracted to science, however the contrary is the case. One of the origins of this disinterest can be found in the way science is taught. Therefore, after reviewing the relevant literature we propose the SLAM framework as a tool to aid the design of science courses with high motivational impact on students. The framework is concerned with the assumption that science learning activities should be applicable and relevant to contemporary life and transferable to ‘real-world’ situations. The design framework proposes three design dimensions: context, technology and pedagogy, and aims at integrating learning in formal and informal contexts through blended learning scenarios by using today’s flexible, interactive and immersive technologies (e.g. mobile, augmented reality, virtual reality).

As we look toward the future of education in the 21st century, the prominence of a robust STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) curriculum is unquestioned. However, low achievement in mathematics education has been an increasing problem in several countries. Mobile devices, smartphones, phablets and tablets, are widely available. This is a generation of digital natives. We cannot ignore that they are no longer the same students for which the education system was designed traditionally. Studying math is many times a cumbersome task. But this can be changed if the teacher takes advantage of the technology that is currently available. In this paper, we present the design and development of an ebook for STEM teaching and learning of mathematics. The teacher uses the template that we developed so that he can, in a user-friendly platform, write the ebook with the contents he designs for his students. In this way, the teacher has the possibility to include the problems that he finds suitable for the student. The teacher can produce and deliver the contents easily to students. Students can use this ebook in the classroom or outside the classroom in a blended learning model to solve problems. When students have difficulties in solving a problem they can watch the resolution of it. In this way, we want to provide the same opportunities to low achieving students that may struggle to learn the materials covered in class. Students have also access to complex problems that may provide additional stimulation for top performers students. In this way, we can provide a platform that is student-centered and teacher-friendly. We also describe the workflow for developing this ebook. It was implemented with the free and open standard EPUB 3 that is available for Android and iOS platforms. This specification supports video embedded in the ebook. In this paper it is shown how to take advantage of this feature, making videos available about lectures and problems resolutions, which is especially interesting for learning mathematics. We describe the difficulties found in the integration of mathematics expressions in the MathML description in EPUB 3.

O tema proposto nesta comunicação versa a problemática da introdução de estratégias de gamificação em contextos de aprendizagem formal por meio de objetos didáticos tecnológicos mediados por livros aumentados, sugerindo uma parceria simbiótica entre o livro tradicional em formato de papel e uma abordagem pedagógica que se atualiza ao incorporar os mecanismos próprios dos jogos de vídeo. O estudo que aqui se apresenta teve como principal objetivo validar ou inferir a hipótese suportada pela nossa observação de que o emprego destes artefactos e estratégias aportam ganhos à instrução, constituindo profícuas ferramentas pedagógicas. No decurso da pesquisa tentamos apreender os fenómenos investigados no contexto em que ocorreram, pelo que adotamos uma abordagem metodológica qualitativa de génese construtivista, com especial incidência numa tipologia de investigação desenvolvimento (development research). Utilizamos em concomitância a metodologia de estudo de caso, nas vertentes descritiva e interpretativa, para caracterizar a utilização dos objetos protótipos desenvolvidos num projeto real, com condições não simuladas. Este artigo sintetiza um estudo de caso realizado no âmbito de uma investigação de tese de doutoramento pelo que os resultados relativos à pesquisa efetuada serão apresentados e discutidos, ponderando-se as possíveis ilações a partir dos dados recolhidos. Palavras-chave: gamificação, realidade aumentada, educação, estudo de caso.

Mobile technologies are becoming very accessible to students, due to advances in the development of technology and a simultaneous decline in hardware costs. In this way, it is relevant to consider the potential of these devices in teaching and learning. Our research was designed to evaluate the possibility of creating gamebooks (gamified books) that are effective in teaching and learning. After analyzing the features available in many free or open tools for making ebooks we find out that these tools were not appropriate creating gamebooks. This paper presents a novel interactive book, the gamebook (g-book): a book with a story that can be read sequentially or not. The main difference refers to the ability to choose different paths to the main characters or the unfolding of the history, as happens in games. We built a model of a dynamic book that functions as an educational game for "Environmental Studies", aimed at children in the 4th grade, mostly 9-10 years old, in Portuguese schools. This paper presents the design and features of this g-book titled "Adventures in the Guadiana River", implemented with the Unity3D platform that can be explored in iPhones, iPads, Android mobile devices and web browsers for the OSX and Windows platforms. Preliminary tests with our prototypes revealed very good usability and promising pedagogical potential in the proposed models.

Promoting equity, equal opportunities to all and social inclusion of people with disabilities is a concern of modern societies at large and a key topic in the agenda of European Higher Education. Despite all the progress, we cannot ignore the fact that the conditions provided by the society for the deaf are still far from being perfect. The communication with deaf by means of written text is not as efficient as it might seem at first. In fact, there is a very deep gap between sign language and spoken/written language. The vocabulary, the sentence construction and the grammatical rules are quite different among these two worlds. These facts bring significant difficulties in reading and understanding the meaning of text for deaf people and, on the other hand, make it quite difficult for people with no hearing disabilities to understand sign language. The deployment of tools to assist the daily communication, in schools, in public services, in museums and other, between deaf people and the rest may be a significant contribution to the social inclusion of the deaf community. The work described in this paper addresses the development of a bidirectional translator between Portuguese Sign Language and Portuguese text. The translator from sign language to text resorts to two devices, namely the Microsoft Kinect and 5DT Sensor Gloves in order to gather data about the motion and shape of the hands. The hands configurations are classified using Support Vector Machines. The classification of the movement and orientation of the hands are achieved through the use of Dynamic Time Warping algorithm. The translator exhibits a precision higher than 90%. In the other direction, the translation of Portuguese text to Portuguese Sign Language is supported by a 3D avatar which interprets the entered text and performs the corresponding animations.

Este artigo apresenta um jogo educacional, o projeto “Flappy Crab”, destinado ao ensino de conteúdos programáticos relacionados com a disciplina de Educação Musical. Fazendo uso de processos tais como a gamification e o remix, pretende avaliar os possíveis impactos que a sua utilização porventura possa ter na aprendizagem e desenvolvimento de competências relacionadas com a memória auditiva, a discriminação qualitativa de alturas de sons musicais (em uma tessitura de uma oitava com ponto central nos 440 Hz), a identificação visual dos símbolos da notação musical e respetiva organização segundo as regras gramaticais da grafia sonora. O jogo está a ser introduzido junto de um grupo de cerca de 30 adolescentes, durante um período de, aproximadamente, 6 meses, ao longo dos quais serão recolhidos dados; todavia, no presente artigo, far-se-á já a resenha dos dados preliminares até à data recolhidos. Neste artigo falaremos igualmente, ainda que de forma sucinta, do motor de jogo utilizado ...

This paper discusses the concepts of game design and gamification of content, based on the development of a serious game aimed at making the process of learning sign language enjoyable and interactive. In this game the player controls a character that interacts with various objects and nonplayer characters, with the aim of collecting several gestures from the Portuguese Sign Language corpus. The learning model used pushes forward the concept of gamification as a learning process valued by students and teachers alike, and illustrates how it may be used as a personalized device for amplifying learning. Our goal is to provide a new methodology to involve students and general public in learning specific subjects using a ludic, participatory and interactive approach supported by ICTbased tools. Thus, in this paper we argue that perhaps some education processes could be improved by adding the gaming factor through technologies that are able to involve students in a way that is more physic...

Given the global spread of mobile platforms, such as iOS and Android, it is relevant to consider the potential of these devices in teaching and learning. Our exploratory research was designed to evaluate the possibility of using common ebook formats to create gamebooks (gamified books) that are effective in teaching and learning. After analyzing the features available in many free or open tools, we decided to use iBooks Author to built a first model of a dynamic book that may function as an educational game for "Environmental Studies", aimed at children in the 4th grade, mostly 9-10 years old, in Portuguese schools. This paper presents the design and features of this interactive book titled "Adventures in the Guadiana River", developed using the Apple iBook format, and especially set for the iPad retina. Because this is a proprietary format we also built a prototype following the EPUB3 standard and developed new ways to interact with content within this universal...

This paper presents the development of a game aimed at making the process of learning sign language enjoyable and interactive, using the VirtualSign Translator. In this game the player controls a character that interacts with various objects and non-player characters with the aim of collecting several gestures from the Portuguese Sign Language. Through the connection with VirtualSign Translator the data gloves and Kinect support this interaction and the character can then represent the gestures. This allows for the user to visualize and learn or train the various existing configurations of gestures. To improve the interactivity and to make the game more interesting and motivating, several checkpoints were placed along game levels. This provides the players with a chance to test the knowledge they have acquired so far on the checkpoints, after performing the signs using Kinect. A High Scores system was also created, as well as a History option, to ensure that the game is a continuous...

This paper argues that the dominant form of distance learning that is common in most e-learning systems rests on a set of learning devices and environments that may be outdated from the student’s perspective, namely because it is not supportive of learner empowerment and does not facilitate the efforts of self-directed learners. For this study we gathered and examined data on student’s use of Personal Learning Environments (PLEs) within a course on Mathematics Applied to Business offered by the Portuguese Open University (Universidade Aberta). We base the discussion on aspects that characterize student’s conceptions of PLEs, the emergence of connectivism as a new account of how learning occurs in a networked global environment, and conclude that an important goal of online course design should be to let students explore what the emergent Web 2.0 tools have to offer in distance learning. The widespread adoption of PLEs, bringing together learning from different contexts and sources o...

The work presented in this paper consists in the development of a game to make the process of learning sign language enjoyable and interactive. In order to do this, a game was created in which the player controls a character and interacts with various objects and non-player characters with the aim of collecting several gestures from the Portuguese Sign Language. These gestures can then be represented by the character. This allows the user to visualize and learn or train the various existing gestures. To raise the interactivity and to make the game more interesting and motivating, several checkpoints were placed along the level. This will provide the players a chance to test the knowledge they have acquired so far on the checkpoints by using Kinect. A High Scores system was also created as well as a history to ensure that the game is a continuous motivating process as well as a learning process.

... Rui Rolo Universidade Aberta rolorui@gmail.com José Bidarra Universidade do Algarve bidarra@gmail.com ... As fotografias ilustram a evolução ea variedade do piano. Aplicação GrandPiano 3D – Esta aplicação tem como principal característica a prática musical ...

Nesta segunda década do século XXI colocam-se desafios fundamentais aos educadores, professores e pedagogos, especificamente, a velocidade com que ocorrem as mudanças tecnológicas e sociais podem ser fonte de incertezas para todos os intervenientes no processo educativo e para o sistema educativo em si mesmo. Nesse sentido, urge "[...] criar «espaço-tempo» de formação" nos quais as crianças têm de "[...] aprender a servir-se dos saberes adquiridos para enfrentar situações novas e singulares" (PERRENOUD, 2002, p. 142-143). Um dos principais desafios prende-se à relação entre o acesso ao conhecimento, que estava centralizado nas instituições escolares e na figura do professor, "o mestre", e a partilha de conhecimento, que é construído diariamente na internet através de diferentes médias. As mudanças tecnológicas e sociais, decorrentes, sobretudo, do relacionamento dos indivíduos com a internet, colocam ainda mais pressão nos profissionais da educação no sentido de colmatarem algumas lacunas.

Artificial Intelligence, in general, and more specifically Machine Learning are the hottest jobs in the IT industry right now, and it is expected AI to grow exponentially in the next five years. In education it will include looking at new models of teaching. Online courses have raised the possibility of changing the business of learning, while AI may be able to change the nature of teaching, providing more personalised platforms and free teachers to spend their time more effectively.

The learning environment isn’t fixed and technology is far from static, so instead of developing new digital learning spaces, perhaps universities may be better off embedding digital technologies across the spaces they already have. This means that spaces and application interfaces won’t be as important as “smart” solutions - such as AI and blockchain - that can respond in real-time based on the analysis of data and the patterns of personalized use.

Neste capítulo procuramos contextualizar a emergência de ebooks interativos e multimédia no Ensino a Distância, com o objetivo de selecionar e desenvolver aplicações que proporcionem boas práticas, e com a possibilidade de melhorar as aprendizagens em determinados contextos. As experiências que aqui relatamos, ocorridas em Portugal e no Brasil, mostram que os ebooks apresentam várias vantagens, comparativamente com o livro em papel, mas as suas virtualidades têm de ser realizadas em termos de aplicação eficaz num determinado domínio, com objetivos bem definidos e apoio numa estratégia pedagógica adequada. A literatura científica estudada e as experiências no terreno mostram que estratégias como "content gamification" e "digital storytelling", apoiadas na realização de projetos multimédia interativos, podem ter grande sucesso. Palavras-chave: ebooks interativos, ensino a distância, mobile learning, gamification ABSTRACT In this chapter we provide some background on the emergence of interactive and multimedia ebooks in Distance Learning with the objective of selecting and developing applications that provide good practices, and with the perspective of improving learning in certain contexts. The experiences we report took place in Portugal and Brazil and show that ebooks have several advantages compared to the printed book, but their potential has to be realized in terms of effective application in a given domain, with well-defined objectives and an appropriate pedagogical strategy. The scientific literature studied and the field work show that strategies such as "content gamification" and "digital storytelling", supported in the context of interactive multimedia projects, can achieve great success.

This chapter discusses some possibilities of gamifi cation and remixing processes for music education. It also analyzes the concepts of gamifi cation, mashup/ remix and presents its possible usage in education—music teaching—through the development of the project/educational game FLAPPY CRAB. The chapter begins with a brief introduction to the concepts listed above, trying to consider them in the school context. After that, we will make the summary presentation of the music educational game FLAPPY CRAB, a clone of the GEARS Studios Flappy Bird , developed for mobile devices and other platforms with the UNITY 3D© game engine. In this chapter we'll talk yet, albeit briefl y, about the game engine used in the development of this educational application. This educational game aims to assess the possible impacts that its use has on learning and skill development related to auditory memory, qualitative discrimination of musical sound height (pitch—in the range of an octave with a central point in 440 Hz), visual identifi cation of musical notation symbols and its relative organization according to the grammar rules of traditional music spelling. The game has been tested by a group of approximately 30 teenagers over a period of about 6 months, over which data was collected. In this chapter, we will present a review of the preliminary data collected to date.

Existe hoje finalmente a perceção de que a aplicação das tecnologias digitais em educação começa a traduzir-se em resultados efetivos e globais. Estes resultados não se limitam a meras situações experimentais, como até aqui, existem tendências e vias de progresso evidentes: o controlo da aprendizagem passou do professor para o aluno, os materiais “livrescos” cederam lugar aos recursos digitais, a informação passou a estar disponível online em vez de offline, e as atividades tornaram-se sessões interativas partilhadas em comunidades de aprendizagem. Mas, talvez mais importante, os aprendentes deixaram de ser simples utilizadores e passaram a ser produtores de materiais multimédia, jogadores em ambientes virtuais, detentores de informação atualizada e incansáveis comunicadores em permanente mobilidade. Neste contexto, o modelo AIDLET (Availability and cost, Interaction and comunication capabilities, Distance Education workflow integration, Learning design potential, Engagement and ease of play, Thematic value and adequacy), foi desenvolvido para permitir aos autores e professores, mas também a tecnólogos e tutores, tomarem decisões sustentadas acerca da aplicação de jogos, simulações e realidade aumentada em ambientes de aprendizagem virtual, para poderem acompanhar e orientar pedagogicamente toda uma geração de estudantes que cresceu com as consolas de jogos e com a Internet.

Mobile devices, smartphones, phablets and tablets, are widely avail‐ able. This is a generation of digital natives. We cannot ignore that they are no longer the same students for which the education system was designed tradition‐ ally. Studying math is many times a cumbersome task. But this can be changed if the teacher takes advantage of the technology that is currently available. We are working in the use of different tools to extend the classroom in a blended learning model. In this paper, it is presented the development of an eBook for teaching mathematics to secondary students. It is developed with the free and open standard EPUB 3 that is available for Android and iOS platforms. This specification supports video embedded in the eBook. In this paper it is shown how to take advantage of this feature, making videos available about lectures and problems resolutions, which is especially interesting for learning mathematics.