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In the past years, a continuous innovation process characterized the field of Technology-Enhanced Learning (TEL), to the aim of implementing any newly emerged technology inside the different facets of teaching and learning tasks.... more
In the past years, a continuous innovation process characterized the field of Technology-Enhanced Learning (TEL), to the aim of implementing any newly emerged technology inside the different facets of teaching and learning tasks. Currently, something different is happening, mainly related to the so- called exponential learning, due to the exponential growth of training demand. In fact, new knowledge and skills must be delivered at a speed never seen before, pushed by, e.g., Industry 4.0 and other European Community programs, as well as by the new wave of cognitive computing technology (i.e., cognitive managers, cognitive architecture engineers, cognitive system programming, etc.). The authors believe that this paradigm must be extended, causing the shift from classrooms to communities where we can speak of men and machines, rather than men or machines, thus enhancing humans\u2019 faculties and assisting them in the transformation of skills. Such a revolutionary approach requires that the next generation of TEL platforms include a variety of novel cognitive services to enable storing and using big data. To achieve such results, we will be forced to respect two fundamental constraints: time and content, with contents that will have to be ready within the time learners will need them. Besides, the services will be profiled for different users\u2019 levels, such as learning professional and learning business consumer. Also interfaces will be completely different from those we are used today, because we will be able to talk with machines, whose answers will result from a very quick and effective natural language processing and decision-making methods. We are on a turning point of training processes, a very challenging and important moment in which the cognitive approach will lead to a transformation, and e-learning and platforms are not excluded. The paper presents the general vision of authors about this new scenario and some preliminary applications to a virtual community platform where a big data-enabled architecture and some prototypes of cognitive services are under experimentation
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This paper presents the results achieved in four years of activity within the NERD? project, which was created by IBM Italy and La Sapienza University of Rome and is carried on in collaboration with several universities and schools, in... more
This paper presents the results achieved in four years of activity within the NERD? project, which was created by IBM Italy and La Sapienza University of Rome and is carried on in collaboration with several universities and schools, in Italy. The long-term objective of the project is bridging the gender gap in the so-called STEM disciplines (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) starting from the secondary education. Specifically, we refer to the experience conducted in the field of informatics and computer engineering by the Federico II University of Naples, which empowered the original educational model of the NERD? project, introducing collaboration issues within a smart learning community. This involved people from industry, university and secondary schools, including both teachers and students at all the levels.
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Research Interests: Computer Science, Software Engineering, Knowledge Management, Higher Education, Computer Supported Collaborative Learning, and 11 moreWork Environment, Software Project Management, Collaborative Learning, Flexible Learning, Computer Assisted Instruction, Team work, teaching Strategies, Collaborative Software, Management System, Design and Development, and Learning Outcome
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This paper deals with the use of videos in education and describes an approach to improve the learners’ experience in the first-watch and rewatch learning contexts. Actually, learning through videos raises challenging issues like... more
This paper deals with the use of videos in education and describes an approach to improve the learners’ experience in the first-watch and rewatch learning contexts. Actually, learning through videos raises challenging issues like non-linear navigation and poor structure of the video content. Hence, a novel application is presented, designed to address such issues. To this aim, the proposed Edurell environment enriches standard video lessons with new services based on the contents’ structure of the video, resulting in a new hypervideo educational application. The system extracts the concepts explained in a given video lesson, their prerequisite relations, and the segments of the video where they occur, together with other pieces of knowledge. The resulting knowledge graph allows creating augmented video lessons and enables learners to perform non-linear navigation and in-depth exploration of their learning contents. This idea was implemented in a custom web-based video player with in...
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Cognitive computing is the new wave of Artificial Intelligence (AI), relying on traditional techniques based on expert systems and also exploiting statistics and mathematical models. In particular, cognitive computing systems can be... more
Cognitive computing is the new wave of Artificial Intelligence (AI), relying on traditional techniques based on expert systems and also exploiting statistics and mathematical models. In particular, cognitive computing systems can be regarded as a " more human " artificial intelligence. In fact, they mimic human reasoning methodologies, showing special capabilities in dealing with uncertainties and in solving problems that typically entail computation consuming processes. Moreover, they can evolve, exploiting the accumulated experience to learn from the past, both from errors and from successful findings. From a theoretical point of view, cognitive computing could replace existing calculators in many fields of application but hardware requirements are still high, even if the cloud infrastructure, which is expected to uphold its rapid growth in the very next future, can support their diffusion and ease the penetration of such a novel variety of systems, fostering new services as well as changes in many settled paradigms. In this paper, we focus on
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Both technology and society are living a continuous evolution process, driving innovation and the development of novel solutions in almost any field of application. Making reference to the specific scenario of Technology Enhanced Learning... more
Both technology and society are living a continuous evolution process, driving innovation and the development of novel solutions in almost any field of application. Making reference to the specific scenario of Technology Enhanced Learning (TEL), we observe significant steps ahead in techniques and methodology and, consequently, technological solutions undergo a continuous upgrade to cope with these, to the aim of improving the quality of services, the usability, the overall performances, the effectiveness of education, and to provide a more pervasive experience for learners. Accordingly, e-learning environments and the related tools have been growing in complexity.
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Cognitive computing is the new wave of Artificial Intelligence (AI), relying on traditional techniques based on expert systems and also exploiting statistics and mathematical model. In particular, cognitive computing systems can be... more
Cognitive computing is the new wave of Artificial Intelligence (AI), relying on traditional techniques based on expert systems and also exploiting statistics and mathematical model. In particular, cognitive computing systems can be regarded as a "more human" artificial intelligence. In fact, they mimic human reasoning methodologies, showing special capabilities in dealing with uncertainties and in solving problems that typically entail computation consuming processes. Moreover, they can evolve, exploiting the accumulated experience to learn from the past, both from errors and from successful findings. From a theoretical point of view, cognitive computing could replace existing calculators in many fields of application but hardware requirements are still high, even if the cloud infrastructure, which is expected to uphold its rapid growth in the very next future, can support their diffusion and ease the penetration of such a novel variety of systems, fostering new services a...
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Talking with chatbots and question answering interfaces is nowadays common to most people using some kind of digital device. Artificial intelligence-based solutions to create chatbots are available on the market and are provided by all... more
Talking with chatbots and question answering interfaces is nowadays common to most people using some kind of digital device. Artificial intelligence-based solutions to create chatbots are available on the market and are provided by all the big players like IBM, Microsoft, Google, and Amazon. Chatbots can differ for the type of corpus they rely upon, the type of questions they are suited for, the algorithms, and the ability to learn and expand their knowledge base. Moreover they differ for the language, with English chatbots being on average those best performing. In this paper we present ConversIAmo, a chatbot prototype designed to answer questions in Italian about introductory concepts on Artificial Intelligence. The natural language processing pipeline is built upon the IBM Watson suite and implements further modules for improving the answer selection and ordering, and to expand the knowledge base. Results are encouraging, especially with regard to the ordering of the correct answers. The paper describes the question answering dataset, the first in this domain, and outlines the dialog flow and the answering process
Research Interests: Computer Science, AI, Italian, IBM Watson, Question Answering, and 4 moreChatbot, Conversational agents, IBM, and Suite
Questo articolo presenta un\u2019esperienza di uso della radio web nella didattica attraverso la descrizione del progetto campuswave, la radio web che trasmette dal Campus Universitario di Savona, Universit\ue0 degli Studi di Genova. Nata... more
Questo articolo presenta un\u2019esperienza di uso della radio web nella didattica attraverso la descrizione del progetto campuswave, la radio web che trasmette dal Campus Universitario di Savona, Universit\ue0 degli Studi di Genova. Nata come progetto di tesi \ue8 adesso una realt\ue0 consolidata che ha raggiunto con successo il primo lustro di attivit\ue0 grazie alla collaborazione di molti studenti di scienze della comunicazione. Il progetto ha reso possibile la nascita di una nuova forma di laboratorio didattico multimediale, dove si apprende facendo e si instaura un regime virtuoso di scambio reciproco delle conoscenze e delle competenze tecniche acquisite attraverso lo studio e l\u2019esperienza diretta, in un processo creativo guidato dalla curiosit\ue0
Research Interests: Computer Science and AICA
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Research Interests: Web Services and Eclipse
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Modern learning frameworks take advantage of the interconnection among individuals, multimedia artifacts, places, events, and physical objects. In this perspective, smart cities are primary providers of data, learning stimuli and... more
Modern learning frameworks take advantage of the interconnection among individuals, multimedia artifacts, places, events, and physical objects. In this perspective, smart cities are primary providers of data, learning stimuli and realistic hands-on laboratories. Unfortunately, the development of smart-city-enabled learning frameworks leads to many privacy and security risks since they are built on top of IoT nodes, wireless sensors networks and cyber-physical systems. To efficiently address such issues, a suitable holistic approach is needed, especially to reveal the interdependence between different actors, e.g., cloud infrastructures, resource-constrained devices and big data sources. Therefore, this paper introduces a model to help the engineering of novel learning frameworks for smart cities by enlightening the problem space characterizing security.
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In this special issue, we want to focus on two main drivers of innovation that, in the last years, have emerged overwhelmingly from a plethora of equally prominent topics. Specifically, we refer to (i) big data and (ii) cognitive... more
In this special issue, we want to focus on two main drivers of innovation that, in the last years, have emerged overwhelmingly from a plethora of equally prominent topics. Specifically, we refer to (i) big data and (ii) cognitive computing. In more detail, (i) is the wide availability of heterogeneous data coming from both software applications and diffuse sensor networks, which can be profitably managed by means of suited techniques, analysis tools, methodolo-gies, and storage systems; (ii) is the adoption of innovative systems based on cognitive computing principles, which enable them to interacting with humans in an effective way, fostering collaboration among people and machines and the adoption of innovative decision strategies as well as personalized support systems for many fields of application, ranging from heavy industry to health. Moreover, cognitive computing and big data are often considered as a whole. In conclusion, we argue that both big data and cognitive computing,...
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The increasing availability of sophisticated mobile appliances, also supporting cost-effective proximity communication technologies, boosts the development of smart environments. This can change the user experience, also enabling new... more
The increasing availability of sophisticated mobile appliances, also supporting cost-effective proximity communication technologies, boosts the development of smart environments. This can change the user experience, also enabling new interaction models. However, to cope with additional complexities and to enhance the set of available services, a proper software framework is needed. Specific requirements are: i) the delivery of personalized contents; ii) the easy management and adaptation of multimedia objects to precise classes of devices; iii) the support of network intensive applications, e.g., those using video streaming. In this perspective, the paper presents a prototypal software framework to bring such features in museums. The main contributions concern the methodologies for creating and delivering ad-hoc contents in a simple and scalable way, as well as the integration of standard solutions to maintain the deployment simple and competitive. Besides, owing to the core role of...
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Nowadays, the Internet connects people, multimedia and physical objects leading to a new-wave of services. This includes learning applications, which require to manage huge and mixed volumes of information coming from Web and social... more
Nowadays, the Internet connects people, multimedia and physical objects leading to a new-wave of services. This includes learning applications, which require to manage huge and mixed volumes of information coming from Web and social media, smart-cities and Internet of Things nodes. Unfortunately, designing smart e-learning systems able to take advantage of such a complex technological space raises different challenges. In this perspective, this paper introduces a reference architecture for the development of future and big-data-capable e-learning platforms. Also, it showcases how data can be used to enrich the learning process.
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TThe diffusion of modern mobile devices and applications coupled with the pervasive use of social network services and communications tools, are dramatically changing the way people work, live and learn. In this perspective, this work... more
TThe diffusion of modern mobile devices and applications coupled with the pervasive use of social network services and communications tools, are dramatically changing the way people work, live and learn. In this perspective, this work will discuss an innovative proposal, to be considered as a new paradigm in mobile learning. In particular, we present the use of a Web-radio channel as an educational tool in a mobile-learning environment. Such a medium has unique characteristics of an interactive tool and, furthermore, interaction among users can be enabled by the integration with social networking. Therefore, given the special characteristics of such a medium, it is quite natural to design educational activities relying on social networking, which can be implemented in a mobile environment, according to a novel Web-radio social networking mobile education model.
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This paper outlines possible evolution trends of e-learning, supported by most recent advancements in the World Wide Web. Specifically, we consider a situation in which the Semantic Web technology and tools are widely adopted, and fully... more
This paper outlines possible evolution trends of e-learning, supported by most recent advancements in the World Wide Web. Specifically, we consider a situation in which the Semantic Web technology and tools are widely adopted, and fully integrated within a context of applications exploiting the Internet of Things paradigm. Such a scenario will dramatically impact on learning activities, as well as on teaching strategies and instructional design methodology. In particular, the models characterized by learning pervasiveness and interactivity will be greatly empowered.
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Gamification techniques are commonly used in e-learning to enhance the effectiveness of educational activities and the learners’ partaking. In fact, owing to the engagement effect, they can improve learning processes in diverse... more
Gamification techniques are commonly used in e-learning to enhance the effectiveness of educational activities and the learners’ partaking. In fact, owing to the engagement effect, they can improve learning processes in diverse disciplines, empowering the traditional methods of acquisition of competences and skills. This approach is giving results in informal education activities both in traditional Learning Management Systems and in Massive Open Online Course platforms, mostly based on the consumption of video- lessons. In this context, we describe the gamification-oriented design choices made for the realization of a video-course for the training on the use of office automation software programs. Specifically, we planned the revamping of a course produced in 2012, whose lessons are made by short fictional videos, animated tutorials, and screen captures that show how to perform common operations. The design of the gamification process is following the hype for the launch of the new...
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Using Spatial Audio in Domotics and Ambient Assisted Living (AAL) applications can help creating proper immersive experiences, which can foster more natural interaction mechanisms or, simply, improve the quality of life through a pleasant... more
Using Spatial Audio in Domotics and Ambient Assisted Living (AAL) applications can help creating proper immersive experiences, which can foster more natural interaction mechanisms or, simply, improve the quality of life through a pleasant listening experience. Unfortunately, due to the lack of standardization of spatial audio formats, current speaker-based home automation devices do not support such innovative acoustic models, still remaining tied to traditional mono and stereo models. To the aim of trying to overcome this situation, we present a survey on the current state of the art in the field of immersive music research, illustrating currently available tools, useful to carry out audio post-production in Binaural format. Consequently, today’s context of sound experiences will be analyzed, which are shifting the listener’s preferences towards immersive experiences such as the use of content in spatial audio.
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The study presented in this paper is the outcome of the activity carried on within the program “Party Cloud Challenge per Genova”, promoted by IBM in collaboration with the city municipality of Genoa, Italy. This challenge aimed to show... more
The study presented in this paper is the outcome of the activity carried on within the program “Party Cloud Challenge per Genova”, promoted by IBM in collaboration with the city municipality of Genoa, Italy. This challenge aimed to show how using cognitive computing solutions in an integrated cloud-based development environment enables the rapid deployment of advanced services with interoperable applications. Specifically, we investigated a solution to cope with the problem of illegal dumping prevention in a smart city. In this respect, we will describe the study of the prototype of an automated visual recognition and alerting system. The presented solution relies on the use of cognitive computing technologies to analyze videos provided by cameras installed in urban areas, to identify trash, especially bulky waste, where it should not be, and trigger an alarm to the municipality. In particular, we want to take advantage of the pictures, frames and videos continuously recorded by cam...
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This reports on the state of advancement of the OTRE project, whose first results were presented during the previous workshop of the Italian Eclipse Community. A wide variety of services and products based on ecosystem Eclipse is being... more
This reports on the state of advancement of the OTRE project, whose first results were presented during the previous workshop of the Italian Eclipse Community. A wide variety of services and products based on ecosystem Eclipse is being developed, through the interactions between teams composed by groups of students, in different Italian universities. They have joined the project with the aim of learning to develop software systems and services, according to the software engineering principles.
The paper discusses the smarter university model and some experimental activities as the base model that supports the educational institution while transitioning from the information technology era to the knowledge technology era. Jobs... more
The paper discusses the smarter university model and some experimental activities as the base model that supports the educational institution while transitioning from the information technology era to the knowledge technology era. Jobs that require news skills and abilities will be in demand and the academy will be transformed from the role of "generator of knowledge" to the role of "generator of knowledge generators".
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This paper deals with the problem of developing team cooperation skills, at University level and a specific project is taken into account for which, we report results. The aim of this project is empowering the students' attitude to... more
This paper deals with the problem of developing team cooperation skills, at University level and a specific project is taken into account for which, we report results. The aim of this project is empowering the students' attitude to team cooperation in software engineering activities, creating an effective Computer Supported Collaborative System (CSCL) for higher education [1], [2]. From an educational point of view, people are trained to develop complementary competences in software engineering models and techniques, in project management and in human relations. From a technological point of view, there is need for a complex system enabling collaboration and easing interactions between the participants. In this respect we observe that distributed architectures and cloud computing can foster new behavioral paradigms in acquiring and disseminating knowledge and sharing experiences, thus in the learning process. [3]. A vision on how recent advancements in grid and cloud computing a...
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La disponibilità di architetture mutuate dall'esperienza Internet per il mondo dello sviluppo software, veicolate in particolare dall'architettura Jazz, ha fatto nascere l'idea di un progetto sperimentale di utilizzo delle... more
La disponibilità di architetture mutuate dall'esperienza Internet per il mondo dello sviluppo software, veicolate in particolare dall'architettura Jazz, ha fatto nascere l'idea di un progetto sperimentale di utilizzo delle discipline dell'ingegneria del software in un ambito collaborativo universitario che consenta agli studenti e ai docenti la migliore fruizione delle modalità di insegnamento nelle università, coniugata alle nuove possibilità di collaborazione e condivisione intrauniversitaria. Questo documento riporta le idee, la vision i risultati ottenuti e gli sviluppi futuri del progetto denominato Enforcing Team Cooperation using Rational software tools (ETC per brevità) e descrive la collaborazione tra il mondo universitario italiano e IBM, nell'ambito delle attività dell'Academic Initiative.
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With millions of users, Online Social Networks (OSNs) are a huge cultural phenomenon. Put briefly, they are characterized by: i) an intrinsic sharing of personal information, ii) a rich set of features to publish, organize and retrieve... more
With millions of users, Online Social Networks (OSNs) are a huge cultural phenomenon. Put briefly, they are characterized by: i) an intrinsic sharing of personal information, ii) a rich set of features to publish, organize and retrieve contents, especially for emphasizing their social organization, iii) the interaction with a heterogeneous set of devices, e.g., ranging from desktops to mobile appliances, and iv) the mix of Web-based paradigms and sophisticated methodologies for processing data. However, if not properly implemented, or without effective security policies, i) – iv) could lead to severe risks in terms both of privacy and security. In this perspective, this chapter analyzes the major peculiarities of OSN platforms, the preferred development methodologies, and usage patterns, also by taking into account how personal information can be exploited to conduct malicious actions. Then, a graph-based modeling approach is introduced to reveal possible attacks, as well as to elab...