This report discuss Problem-Based and Project-Based Learning (PBL) as an approach to meeting the demand for the educational requirements of the next generation engineering graduates The report is prepared as the final report of the Special Interest Group (SIG) B5 of the Erasmus Thematic Network Project TREE (Teaching and Research in Engineering Education) on ProblemBased and Project-Based Learning In engineering education there is a shift in emphasis from professional skills to process skills These skills include problem analysis and problem solving, project management and leadership, analytical skills and critical thinking, dissemination and communication, interdisciplinary competencies, intercultural communication, innovation and creativity, and social abilities PBL is an instructional method that challenges students to "learn to learn," working cooperatively in groups to seek solutions to real world problems These problems are used to engage students' curiosity and initiate learning the subject matter PBL prepares students to think critically and analytically, and to find and use appropriate learning resources PBL is both a curriculum and a process The curriculum consists of carefully selected and designed problems that demand from the learner acquisition of critical knowledge, problem solving proficiency, self-directed learning strategies, and team participation skills The process replicates the commonly used systemic approach to resolving problems or meeting challenges that are encountered in life and career This report gives a survey of PBL and several best practice examples from Europe, and discusses how an institution can change to PBL The conclusion of this report is that PBL can, regardless of discipline, enhance students' achievement of both professional skills and process skills Therefore European higher education institutions should consider shifting to PBL The shift to PBL cannot be accomplished as a sudden change It should be considered as a strategic change and the necessary measures should be taken for successful completion of change

Problem Based Learning

Objectives: Implementation of Electronic Health Record (EHR) systems continues to expand. The massive number of patient encounters results in high amounts of stored data. Transforming clinical data into knowledge to improve patient care has been the goal of biomedical informatics professionals for many decades, and this work is now increasingly recognized outside our field. In reviewing the literature for the past three years, we focus on “big data” in the context of EHR systems and we report on some examples of how secondary use of data has been put into practice. Methods: We searched PubMed database for articles from January 1, 2011 to November 1, 2013. We initiated the search with keywords related to “big data” and EHR. We identified relevant articles and additional keywords from the retrieved articles were added. Based on the new keywords, more articles were retrieved and we manually narrowed down the set utilizing predefined inclusion and exclusion criteria. Results: Our final review includes articles categorized into the themes of data mining (pharmacovigilance, phenotyping, natural language processing), data application and integration (clinical decision support, personal monitoring, social media), and privacy and security. Conclusion: The increasing adoption of EHR systems worldwide makes it possible to capture large amounts of clinical data. There is an increasing number of articles addressing the theme of “big data”, and the concepts associated with these articles vary. The next step is to transform healthcare big data into actionable knowledge.

https://www.thieme-connect.com/products/ejournals/pdf/10.15265/IY-2014-0003.pdf

"Big data" and the electronic health record.

This study attempts to identify factors behind the usage of a blended learning approach that could have an effect on students' achievement, motivation, collaboration and communication as perceived by students. It also aims to analyze obstacles faced by students in using Moodle in blended learning. A sample of 283-students from all colleges at Sultan Qaboos University was randomly selected. A questionnaire of 45 items is developed to collect data. The results reveal that using Moodle in blended learning has an average level of effectiveness related to students' motivation with a mean of 3.216 and mean of 3.164 for students' achievements, and mean of 3.199 is related to students' collaborations and communication. The results showed there is no statistical significant difference among student perceptions related to gender and college type. The results also revealed that the highest obstacles facing students related to frequent disturbance in computer devices with mean 3.090. Based on the result of the study, many recommendations have been developed.

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Blended Learning Approach Using Moodle and Student’s Achievement at Sultan Qaboos University in Oman

While digital health or mHealth applications (apps) have become accessible resources for the support of personal health, the privacy and security of users' data have been the subject of concern and controversy. As large numbers of mHealth apps are created and are increasingly widely used by people with various health conditions, it is crucial to have clear and valid methods for evaluating the data practices within them. Recent regulatory initiatives such as the European Union's General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) have had the effect of raising awareness and establishing a minimal set of expectations. However, they do not in themselves address the issue of the development of systems which meet privacy and security requirements. There is a growing body of research on evaluation techniques and frameworks to support the assessment of the privacy and security of health apps, and guidelines to support their design. However, it can be challenging to navigate this space and choose appropriate techniques for a given context. Addressing this issue, this paper examines the recent literature on security and privacy of m-Health applications, using a scoping review methodology. It analyses data security and privacy evaluation techniques and frameworks that have been proposed for mHealth applications, as well as relevant research-based design recommendations. This work consolidates recent research on the topic to support researchers, app designers, end users, and healthcare professionals in designing, evaluating, recommending and adopting mHealth applications.

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Security and Privacy of mHealth Applications: A Scoping Review

In this paper, we present an intelligent architecture, called intelligent virtual environment for language learning, with embedded pedagogical agents for improving listening and speaking skills of non-native English language learners. The proposed architecture integrates virtual environments into the Intelligent Computer-Assisted Language Learning. This architecture supports visual, auditory, and haptic channels of interaction. It allows pedagogical ideas about language skills to be implemented and validated with a minimum design time. Moreover, we design a computational model to evaluate learner's proficiency level, and an automatic adaptation mechanism which adjusts to the learner's learning curve. We have implemented two scenarios based on the proposed architecture to teach learners how to communicate in public places such as airports and TV stores. Inputs to this system include learner's speech and hand motion, and outputs include graphical scenes, force feedback, and speech by a few embodied agents. ...

Design and implementation of an intelligent virtual environment for improving speaking and listening skills

Educational thinking in higher education has undergone a rapid change. The ability to remember facts loses importance whereas the capability to solve problems becomes more and more the main focus of teaching. At the Technikum Wien Project Based Learning (PBL) was introduced in various subjects of our IT course. The basic approach of PBL originated from the University of Maastricht in the Netherlands where it is reported to be highly successful. The specific problem the authors tried to solve, deals with the motivation of students. The main motivation of students is-of course-to achieve good test results and only the lesser focus lies on the specific contents of the subject. The authors tried to develop a method, which allows the students to focus their intrinsic motivation onto the study project itself and not onto the extrinsic motivation, namely test results.

How to motivate students in project based learning

So far, Computer-Assisted Language Learning (CALL) comes in many different flavors. Our research work focuses on developing an integrated e-learning environment that allows improving language skills in specific contexts. Integrated e-learning environment means that it is a Web-based solution that performs language learning tasks using common working environments like, for instance, Web browsers or Email clients. It should be accessible on different platforms, even on mobile devices. Natural Language Processing (NLP) forms the technological basis for developing such a learning framework. The paper gives an overview of the state-of-the-art in this area. Therefore, on the one hand, it explains creation processes for NLP resources and gives an overview of corpora. On the other hand, it describes existing NLP standards. Based on our requirements, the paper gives special attention to the evaluation and comparison of toolkits that can suitably support the planned implementation. An outlook at the end points out necessary developments in e-learning to keep in mind.

Natural language processing technologies for developing a language learning environment

The paper measures the soft skills needs of companies and industry to technical oriented academic graduates, especially coming from IT course programs like business informatics, computer science, or information management. Therefore, between March and September 2010, two groups of researchers at the University of Applied Sciences (UAS) Technikum Vienna analyzed job profiles and the intended denotation of certain keywords. Primarily, one group worked on the statistical content analysis of job offers which could be found in Austrian newspapers or were provided by online job platforms. The other group developed a survey to be sent to several companies in Austria and was addressed to human resources departments. The paper explains the evaluation results in details and discusses its necessary implication on academic curriculum design.

/pdf/soft-skills-in-practice-and-in-education-an-evaluation-xikm8u6svb.pdf

Soft Skills In Practice And In Education: An Evaluation

This article explores the transition in course delivery from a paper-based format to blended learning, and highlights the role of the virtual learning environment (VLE) in this process. Professiona...

Scottish and Austrian Perspectives on Delivering a Master's From Paper to Virtual and from Individual to Collaborative

Working with health related data necessitates appropriate levels of security and privacy. Information security, meaning ensuring confidentiality, integrity, and availability, is more organizational, than technical in nature. It includes many organizational and management measures, is based on well-defined security roles, processes, and documents, and needs permanent adaption of security policies, continuously monitoring, and measures assessment. This big challenge for any organization leads to implementation of an information security management system (ISMS). In the context of establishing a regional or national electronic health record for integrated care (ICEHR), the situation is worse. Changing the medical information exchange from on-demand peer-to-peer connections to health information networks requires all organizations participating in the EHR system to have consistent security levels and to follow the same security guidelines and rules. Also, the implementation must be monitored and audited, establishing cross-organizational information security management systems (ISMS) based on international standards. This paper evaluates requirements and defines basic concepts for an ISO 27000 series-based cross-organizational ISMS in the healthcare domain and especially for the implementation of the nationwide electronic health record in Austria (ELGA).

Harald Wahl

Papers

How to motivate students in project based learning

Natural language processing technologies for developing a language learning environment

Soft Skills In Practice And In Education: An Evaluation

Scottish and Austrian Perspectives on Delivering a Master's From Paper to Virtual and from Individual to Collaborative

Concepts for a standard based cross-organisational information security management system in the context of a nationwide EHR.