roberto munoz | Universidad de Valparaiso (original) (raw)

Neural Computing and Applications, 2018

Human behavior is manly addressed by emotions. One of the most accepted models that represent emo... more Human behavior is manly addressed by emotions. One of the most accepted models that represent emotions is known as the circumplex model. This model organizes emotions into points on a bidimensional plane: valence and arousal. Despite the importance of the emotion recognition, there are limited initiatives that seek to classify emotions easily in an uncontrolled environment. In this work, we present the architecture and the design of an extensible software which allows recognizing and classifying emotions by using a low-cost EEG. The proposed software implements an emotion classifier although a support vector machines (SVM) are boosted with an autonomous bio-inspired approach. The contribution was experimentally evaluated by taking a set of well-known validated EEG Databases for Emotion Recognition. Computational experiments show promising results. Using our proposal for EEG emotion classification, we reach an accuracy close to 95%. The results obtained confirm that our approach is able to overcome to a commonly used SVM classifier and that the proposed software can be useful in real environments.

Los cursos de pregrado relacionados con fundamentos de programacion de computadores tienen frecue... more Los cursos de pregrado relacionados con fundamentos de programacion de computadores tienen frecuentemente altas tasas de reprobacion. Por otro lado, el uso de material didactico tal como Scratch y Robots Lego, tienen un alto potencial para desarrollar una aplicacion mas tangible y concreta de las habilidades requeridas para la programacion. En este articulo presentamos la experiencia del curso de estos elementos en el curso de Fundamentos de Programacion, el cual esta dirigido a estudiantes de Ingenieria en Informatica de una universidad chilena. Los resultados muestran un incremento considerable en la tasa de aprobacion de los estudiantes que cursan la asignatura por primera oportunidad.

Following an approach that has been pursued by many engineering programs that are outcomes based ... more Following an approach that has been pursued by many engineering programs that are outcomes based accredited, this paper describes the process of designing and implementing the curricula in the College of Engineering of the Universidad de Valparaíso in Chile, using a backwards design approach and also focusing on addressing stakeholders’ needs through students’ outcomes. Driven by the Chilean government through funding from MINEDUC (its educational development branch), this University has undertaken the task to completely revamp its engineering curricula by engaging faculty, students and industry, together with international collaborators from Argentina, Puerto Rico and Spain. A specific challenge for this redesign is the low performance of Chilean secondary students in international science and mathematics tests, that is tackled by putting an S.T.E.M. emphasis in the overall process. Using the mentioned backwards design approach, the multi-disciplinary, multi-national, multi-stakeho...

Applied Sciences, 2020

Contemporary education is a vast field that is concerned with the performance of education system... more Contemporary education is a vast field that is concerned with the performance of education systems. In a formal e-learning context, student dropout is considered one of the main problems and has received much attention from the learning analytics research community, which has reported several approaches to the development of models for the early prediction of at-risk students. However, maximizing the results obtained by predictions is a considerable challenge. In this work, we developed a solution using only students’ interactions with the virtual learning environment and its derivative features for early predict at-risk students in a Brazilian distance technical high school course that is 103 weeks in duration. To maximize results, we developed an elitist genetic algorithm based on Darwin’s theory of natural selection for hyperparameter tuning. With the application of the proposed technique, we predicted the student at risk with an Area Under the Receiver Operating Characteristic C...

Applied Sciences, 2020

During the last years, highly-recognized computational intelligence techniques have been proposed... more During the last years, highly-recognized computational intelligence techniques have been proposed to treat classification problems. These automatic learning approaches lead to the most recent researches because they exhibit outstanding results. Nevertheless, to achieve this performance, artificial learning methods firstly require fine tuning of their parameters and then they need to work with the best-generated model. This process usually needs an expert user for supervising the algorithm’s performance. In this paper, we propose an optimized Extreme Learning Machine by using the Bat Algorithm, which boosts the training phase of the machine learning method to increase the accuracy, and decreasing or keeping the loss in the learning phase. To evaluate our proposal, we use the Parkinson’s Disease audio dataset taken from UCI Machine Learning Repository. Parkinson’s disease is a neurodegenerative disorder that affects over 10 million people. Although its diagnosis is through motor sympt...

Applied Sciences, 2019

Algorithms and programming are some of the most challenging topics faced by students during under... more Algorithms and programming are some of the most challenging topics faced by students during undergraduate programs. Dropout and failure rates in courses involving such topics are usually high, which has raised attention towards the development of strategies to attenuate this situation. Machine learning techniques can help in this direction by providing models able to detect at-risk students earlier. Therefore, lecturers, tutors or staff can pedagogically try to mitigate this problem. To early predict at-risk students in introductory programming courses, we present a comparative study aiming to find the best combination of datasets (set of variables) and classification algorithms. The data collected from Moodle was used to generate 13 distinct datasets based on different aspects of student interactions (cognitive presence, social presence and teaching presence) inside the virtual environment. Results show there are no statistically significant difference among models generated from t...

Computational Intelligence and Neuroscience, 2019

Brain network analysis using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) is a widely used techni... more Brain network analysis using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) is a widely used technique. The first step of brain network analysis in fMRI is to detect regions of interest (ROIs). The signals from these ROIs are then used to evaluate neural networks and quantify neuronal dynamics. The two main methods to identify ROIs are based on brain atlas registration and clustering. This work proposes a bioinspired method that combines both paradigms. The method, dubbed HAnt, consists of an anatomical clustering of the signal followed by an ant clustering step. The method is evaluated empirically in both in silico and in vivo experiments. The results show a significantly better performance of the proposed approach compared to other brain parcellations obtained using purely clustering-based strategies or atlas-based parcellations.

Journal on Computational Thinking (JCThink), 2018

INTRODUCTION: A better understanding of the relationships between Computational Thinking and disc... more INTRODUCTION: A better understanding of the relationships between Computational Thinking and disciplines already present in the school curriculum may help the identification of possible educational benefits. This is particularly relevant in the case of Mathematics, which is a subject that constitutes itself as a hurdle to students in many Latin-American countries. OBJECTIVE: Identify and analyze didactic activities related to Computational Thinking and Mathematics reported in the literature regarding the target public, developed skills and contents, as well as research methods used to identify learning outcomes. METHODS: A Systematic Literature Review (SLR) was conducted, including studies published between 2006 and 2015 that included a description of didactic activities that developed Computational Thinking together with skills or contents related to Mathematics as well as an evaluation of learning outcomes. RESULTS: 59 studies were included in the revision. A wide variety of mathematical topics is being developed, with some emphasis on Algebra, Calculus and also higher-order thinking skills. Still 32.2% of included studies only present informal or anecdotal evidences of learning. CONCLUSION: In the last two years of the revision there was an increase in the number of activities focused on basic educational levels. Even though recently more rigorous methodological procedures were used to evaluate learning effects, still half of the studies with formal evaluation of learning outcomes use a single data source. Also, there are few studies focused on Math modelling and teacher training. RESUMO INTRODUÇÃO: Uma melhor compreensão das relações entre o Pensamento Computacional e disciplinas já presentes no currículo da educação básica pode contribuir para a identificação de possíveis benefícios educacionais. Isso é particularmente relevante no caso da Matemática, que é uma disciplina que se constitui como um obstáculo para muitos estudantes em países latino-americanos. OBJETIVO: Identificar e analisar atividades didáticas relacionadas ao Pensamento Computacional e à Matemática, reportadas na literatura, em relação ao seu públicoalvo, competências e conteúdos desenvolvidos, e métodos de pesquisa utilizados para identificar resultados de aprendizagem. MÉTODO: Uma Revisão Sistemática da Literatura (RSL) foi realizada, incluindo estudos publicados entre 2006 e 2015 que incluíram uma descrição de atividades didáticas que desenvolveram o Pensamento Computacional conjuntamente com habilidades ou conteúdos matemáticos, bem como uma avaliação da aprendizagem. RESULTADOS: 59 estudos foram incluídos na revisão. Vários tópicos matemáticos são desenvolvidos, com predominância da Álgebra, Cálculo e habilidades cognitivas de alto nível. Ainda, 32,2% dos estudos apresentam apenas evidências informais ou episódicas da aprendizagem. CONCLUSÃO: Nos últimos dois anos da revisão verifica-se um aumento do desenvolvimento de experiências na educação básica e um maior rigor metodológico na avaliação dos efeitos de aprendizagem. Por outro lado, cerca de metade dos estudos com avaliação formal da aprendizagem ainda utilizam uma única fonte de dados para análise. Ainda, se apresenta uma carência de estudos relacionados à Modelagem Matemática e à formação de professores.

Anais dos Workshops do VII Congresso Brasileiro de Informática na Educação (CBIE 2018), 2018

In this paper we perform a visual and exploratory analysis on the data generated by the Dr. Scrat... more In this paper we perform a visual and exploratory analysis on the data generated by the Dr. Scratch tool from codes produced by students in digital game workshops using Scratch environment. Our findings point to a weak linear relationship between Dr. Scratch's rubric and cyclomatic complexity, since codes with low cyclomatic complexity were developed by students who had better scores in the CT-Test. This may indicate that the use of more advanced Scratch features could be related to the advance of the student's acquisition of Computational Thinking skills. Resumo. Neste artigo realizamos uma análise visual e exploratória dos dados gerados pela ferramenta Dr. Scratch a partir de códigos produzidos por alunos em oficinas de produção de jogos digitais utilizando o ambiente Scratch. Nossas descobertas apontam uma fraca relação linear entre a rubrica do Dr. Scratch e a complexidade ciclomática, visto que códigos com complexidade ciclomática baixa foram desenvolvidos por alunos que obtiveram melhor pontuação no CT-Test, o que pode indicar que o uso dos recursos mais avançados do ambiente Scratch pode estar relacionado com o progresso do aluno na aquisição de competências do Pensamento Computacional.

Anais dos Workshops do IV Congresso Brasileiro de Informática na Educação (CBIE 2015), 2015

Skills related to the fundamentals of programming should be developed by all students in the firs... more Skills related to the fundamentals of programming should be developed by all students in the first semesters of undergraduate courses related to Computing. However, high attrition rates are also identified in this period. Didactic activities in which students develop their own digital artifacts, such as digital games, may increase the students' motivation to learn and apply programming skills in a more tangible way. In this article we describe the development and application of a game design workshop to support a Programming Fundamentals course aimed at students of the Informatics Engineering career in a chilean university. The results indicate a considerable increase in the approval rates of students that were enrolled in the course for the first time. Resumen. Habilidades relacionadas con los fundamentos de la programación deben ser desarrollados por todos los estudiantes de los primeros semestres de cursos relacionados con la informática. Sin embargo, las altas tasas de deserción también se identifican en este periodo. Actividades didácticas en las que los estudiantes desarrollen sus propios artefactos digitales, tales como los juegos digitales, pueden aumentar la motivación de los estudiantes para aprender y aplicar conocimientos de programación de una manera más tangible. En este artículo se describe el desarrollo y aplicación de un taller de diseño de juego para apoyar un curso de Fundamentos de programación dirigida a los estudiantes de la carrera de Ingeniería Informática en una universidad chilena. Los resultados indican un aumento considerable en las tasas de aprobación de los estudiantes que se inscribieron en el curso por primera vez.

Anais dos Workshops do IV Congresso Brasileiro de Informática na Educação (CBIE 2015), 2015

The Autism Spectrum Disorder is a neurodevelopment condition characterized by a decrease in socia... more The Autism Spectrum Disorder is a neurodevelopment condition characterized by a decrease in social interaction, communication, creativity, imagination and organization of daily activities of those who have this condition. The executive function is a set of mental processes that helps connecting past experience with present action. Currently in Chile, there are no solutions that support development or improvement of these cognitive skills in autistic children by taking advantage of features present in multi-touch devices. For this reason, this study describes the development of software that supports the improvement of the executive function in children with autism spectrum disorder. The developed application, surpasses 10,000 installations in the Google Play platform. Resumen. Los Trastornos del Espectro Autista (TEA) son una condición del neurodesarrollo caracterizada por una disminución en la interacción social, comunicación, creatividad, imaginación y organización de las actividades diarias de aquellos que tienen esta condición. La función ejecutiva es un conjunto de procesos mentales que ayudan a conectar las experiencias pasadas con una acción presente. Actualmente en Chile, no existe soluciones que apoyen o mejoren estas habilidades cognitivas en niños con TEA, tomando como ventaja las características de los dispositivos multitouch. Por tal razón, este trabajo describe el proceso de desarrollo de una aplicación que apoya el desarrollo de la función ejecutiva en niños con TEA. La aplicación propuesta, sobrepasa las 10.000 instalaciones en la plataforma Play de Google.

Anais do XXI Workshop de Informática na Escola (WIE 2015), 2015

Los cursos de pregrado relacionados con fundamentos de programación de computadores tienen, frecu... more Los cursos de pregrado relacionados con fundamentos de programación de computadores tienen, frecuentemente, altas tasas de reprobación. Por otro lado, el uso de robots tiene un alto potencial de permitir la aplicación más tangible y concreta de las habilidades de programación. En este artículo presentamos el diseño y evaluación de un taller de robótica, dirigido a estudiantes de Ingeniería de una Universidad chilena, que simultáneamente cursan la asignatura de Fundamentos de Programación. Los resultados de la primera ejecución del taller, indican que los alumnos con mayor asistencia al taller obtuvieron también mejores calificaciones finales en el curso de Fundamentos de Programación.

Including Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) topics in courses of different levels may help student... more Including Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) topics in courses of different levels may help students appreciate the importance of this field. Many didactic experiments have been previously described. These experiments are often related to the undergraduate or graduate levels, but some HCI topics should also be taught in middle-level professional education courses. However, students in this educational level have specific needs that should be considered for the effective teaching of HCI. In this article we present two didactic experiments that involve the direct and indirect application of HCI concepts in a professional education course. The lessons learned from these experiments led to the creation of a new discipline of HCI applied principles, whose structure is also presented.

Human Factors in Software Development and Design

Game design and development has already been discussed as a viable, motivating alternative to int... more Game design and development has already been discussed as a viable, motivating alternative to introduce Computer Science concepts to young students. In this sense, it would be useful to obtain a deeper understanding of which skills could be developed in these activities and how such skills could be useful in future careers. This chapter presents the design and evaluation of a Game Building Workshop aimed at introducing the fundamentals of structured programming to students. The games produced by students during 12 weeks were evaluated and the results confronted with students' questions and comments made along the workshop meetings and a final interview. The results indicate that students explored novel programming concepts in order to add features that were not initially planned for the proposed games. These additional features solve playability issues that are highly influential to the experience of the students as game players. Students also reused previously applied solutions...

Sensors, 2020

While technology has helped improve process efficiency in several domains, it still has an outsta... more While technology has helped improve process efficiency in several domains, it still has an outstanding debt to education. In this article, we introduce NAIRA, a Multimodal Learning Analytics platform that provides Real-Time Feedback to foster collaborative learning activities’ efficiency. NAIRA provides real-time visualizations for students’ verbal interactions when working in groups, allowing teachers to perform precise interventions to ensure learning activities’ correct execution. We present a case study with 24 undergraduate subjects performing a remote collaborative learning activity based on the Jigsaw learning technique within the COVID-19 pandemic context. The main goals of the study are (1) to qualitatively describe how the teacher used NAIRA’s visualizations to perform interventions and (2) to identify quantitative differences in the number and time between students’ spoken interactions among two different stages of the activity, one of them supported by NAIRA’s visualizat...

Applied Sciences

Developing communication skills in collaborative contexts is of special interest for educational ... more Developing communication skills in collaborative contexts is of special interest for educational institutions, since these skills are crucial to forming competent professionals for today’s world. New and accessible technologies open a way to analyze collaborative activities in face-to-face and non-face-to-face situations, where collaboration and student attitudes are difficult to measure using traditional methods. In this context, Multimodal Learning Analytics (MMLA) appear as an alternative to complement the evaluation and feedback of core skills. We present a MMLA platform to support collaboration assessment based on the capture and classification of non-verbal communication interactions. The developed platform integrates hardware and software, including machine learning techniques, to detect spoken interactions and body postures from video and audio recordings. The captured data is presented in a set of visualizations, designed to help teachers to obtain insights about the collab...

Soft Computing

The pandemic caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) which is ... more The pandemic caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) which is related to new coronavirus disease (COVID-19) has mobilized several scientifics to explore clinical data using soft-computing approaches. In the context of machine learning, previous studies have explored supervised algorithms to predict and support diagnosis based on several clinical parameters from patients diagnosed with and without COVID-19. However, in most of them the decision is based on a "black-box" method, making it impossible to discover the variable relevance in decision making. Hence, in this study, we introduce a non-supervised clustering analysis with neural network self-organizing maps (SOM) as a strategy of decision-making. We propose to identify potential variables in routine blood tests that can support clinician decision-making during COVID-19 diagnosis at hospital admission, facilitating rapid medical intervention. Based on SOM features (visual relationships between clusters and identification of patterns and behaviors), and using linear discriminant analysis , it was possible to detect a group of units of the map with a discrimination power around 83% to SARS-CoV-2-positive patients. In addition, we identified some variables in admission blood tests (Leukocytes, Basophils, Eosinophils, and Red cell Distribution Width) that, in combination had strong influence in the clustering performance, which could assist a possible clinical decision. Thus, although with limitations, we believe that SOM can be used as a soft-computing approach to support clinician decision-making in the context of COVID-19. Keywords Covid-19 diagnostic • SARS-CoV-2 • Self-organizing maps Communicated by Victor Hugo C. de Albuquerque.

Learning Analytics is the intelligent use of data generated from students with the objective of u... more Learning Analytics is the intelligent use of data generated from students with the objective of understanding and improving the teaching and learning process. Currently, there is a lack of tools to measure the development of complex skills in real classroom environments that are flexible enough to add and process data from different sensors and oriented towards a massive public. Based on this finding, we developed a free software system that permits to capture and to visualize a set of 10 body postures using the Microsoft Kinect sensor, along with the ability to track custom body postures and data from other sensors. The developed tool was validated by means of precision and usability tests. Furthermore, with the goal of demonstrating the potential of incorporating this type of software into the classroom, the software was used as a tool to give feedback to the teacher and to the students at the moment of giving and evaluating oral presentations. Also, a clustering analysis of data gathered from 45 student presentations indicate that presentations on similar topics with also similar complexity levels can be successfully discriminated.

IEEE Access, 2020

Classroom teaching methodologies are gradually changing from masterclasses to active learning pra... more Classroom teaching methodologies are gradually changing from masterclasses to active learning practices, and peer collaboration emerges as an essential skill to be developed. However, there are several challenges in evaluating collaborative activities more objectively, as well as to generate valuable information to teachers and appropriate feedback to students about their learning processes. In this context, multimodal learning analytics facilitate the evaluation of complex skills using data from multiple data sources. In this work, we propose the use of beacons to collect geolocation data from students who carry out collaborative tasks that involve movement and interactions through space. Furthermore, we suggest new ways to analyze, visualize, and interpret the data obtained. As a first practical approach, we carried out an exploratory, collaborative activity with sixteen undergraduate students working in a library, with bookshelves and work tables monitored by beacons. From the analysis of student movement dynamics, three types of well-differentiated student roles were identified: the collectors, those who go out to collect data from the bookshelves, ambassadors, those who communicate with other groups, and the secretaries, those who stay at their work desk to shape the requested essay. We believe these findings are valuable feedback for the enhancement of the learning activity and the first step towards MMLA-driven Teaching Process Improvement method. INDEX TERMS Beacon, collaborative learning, geolocation device, multimodal learning analytics.