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Students’ acquisition of teamwork competence has become a priority for educational institutions. The development of teamwork competence in education generally relies in project-based learning methodologies and challenges. The assessment of teamwork in project-based learning involves, among others, assessing students’ participation and the interactions between team members. Project-based learning can easily be handled in small-size courses, but course management and teamwork assessment become a burdensome task for instructors as the size of the class increases. Additionally, when project-based learning happens in a virtual space, such as online learning, interactions occur in a less natural way. This study explores the use of instant messaging apps (more precisely, the use of Telegram) as team communication space in project-based learning, using a learning analytics tool to extract and analyze student interactions. Further, the study compares student interactions (e.g., number of messages exchanged) and individual teamwork competence acquisition between traditional asynchronous (e.g., LMS message boards) and synchronous instant messaging communication environments. The results show a preference of students for IM tools and increased participation in the course. However, the analysis does not find significant improvement in the acquisition of individual teamwork competence.

This paper describes the main research lines of the University of León Robotics Research group related with Educational Informatics. The 4 main research areas of the group are commented: Robotics, Interaction, Cybersecurity and ICT applied to Educational Processes, the latter will be transversal to all the others. Between the research lines related to educational informatics it is possible to find: educational robotics, haptics for education, tracking students evidences by using Learning Analytics and Educational Data Mining, Peer Assessment and Challenge based Learning and Collaborative Learning., El presente artículo describe las principales líneas de investigación del grupo de Robótica de la Universidad de León y especialmente detalladas aquellas relacionadas con la informática educativa. Se describe 4 áreas principales de investigación: Robótica, Interacción, Ciberseguridad y TICs aplicadas a la educación, donde ésta última será transversal al resto. Entre las líneas vinculadas a la informática educativa destacan algunas como la robótica educativa, el uso de hápticos para el aprendizaje de destrezas manuales, el seguimiento de los alumnos mediante la aplicación de analíticas de aprendizaje y minería de datos, la evaluación del trabajo en equipo, la coevaluación y el aprendizaje colaborativo y basado en retos.

[EN] Haptic devices can be used to feel through the sense of touch what the user is watching in a virtual scene. Force feedback devices provide kinesthetic information enabling the user to touch virtual objects. However, the most reasonably priced devices of this type are the desktop ones, which have a limited workspace that does not allow a natural and convenient interaction with virtual scenes due to the difference in size between them and the workspace. In this paper, a brand-new interaction model addressing this problem is proposed. It is called Haptic Zoom and it is based on performing visual and haptic amplifications of regions of interest. These amplifications allow the user to decide whether s/he wants more freedom in movements or an accurate interaction with a specific element inside the scene. An evaluation has been carried out comparing this technique and two well-known desktop haptic device techniques. Preliminary results showed that haptic zoom can be more useful than other techniques at accuracy tasks.

[EN] The use of haptic simulation for emergency procedures in nursing training presents a viable, versatile and affordable alternative to traditional mannequin environments. In this paper, an evaluation is performed in a virtual environment with a head-mounted display and haptic devices, and also with a mannequin. We focus on a chest decompression, a life-saving invasive procedure used for trauma-associated cardiopulmonary resuscitation (and other causes) that every emergency physician and/or nurse needs to master. Participants’ heart rate and blood pressure were monitored to measure their stress level. In addition, the NASA Task Load Index questionnaire was used. The results show the approved usability of the VR environment and that it provides a higher level of immersion compared to the mannequin, with no statistically significant difference in terms of cognitive load, although the use of VR is perceived as a more difficult task. We can conclude that the use of haptic-enabled virtual reality simulators has the potential to provide an experience as stressful as the real one while training in a safe and controlled environment.

[EN] The assembly and maintenance of electrified railway systems is of vital importance for its correct operation. Contact wires are critical elements since the correct collection of energy from trains through pantographs depends on them. Periodical inspection of the state of these installations is essential. This task traditionally implies a heavy manual workload subject to errors. A new system that allows one to check the state (height and stagger) of contact and messenger wires is presented on this article blueA new method based on seven steps for identifying the contact wires and measuring their height and stagger from point clouds recorded by means of a LiDAR system is presented. This system can be used both in assembly and maintenance phases, as well as afterwards, allowing the analysis of point clouds previously recorded. The new method was evaluated in both test bench and real environments against the commonly used measurement method. Results with the comparison between this new system and the commonly used measurement method in both test bench and real railway environments are presented. Results of this comparison show differences of less than a centimetre on average and the amount of time spent for the measuring phase is significantly decreased and not prone to human errors.

[EN] Project management is part of the Engineering curricula worldwide. Frequently, project management courses are goalcentered in the pursue of a balance in the triple constrain formed by quality, cost and schedule. However, ethics, social responsibility and sustainability play a crucial role on the development of projects since their success relies on compliance with laws, regulations and local culture and values. This paper presents an in-depth analysis on the treatment of ethics, social responsibility and sustainability according to two widely-used project management standards, Project Management Book of Knowledge (PMBoK) and Individual Competence Baseline for Project, Program & Portfolio Management (ICB). We design an analytical framework to carry out a desk research to these two project management standards. Particularly, we count the number of times of appearance, present the definition, if any, determine the appearance in the different knowledge areas and process groups for PMBoK and in the different competences for ICB, and identify the proposed techniques or tools for ethics, social responsibility and sustainability management. The findings of the research demonstrate that ICB treats the three concepts more in deep than PMBoK. PMBoK refers more often to ethics and only proposes one tool for sustainability. ICB introduces the concepts throughout the standard, with repeated references to their significance. Nevertheless, the detail that standards provide can be further elaborated. As a result, we also suggest improvement proposals that could enhance the important role of these topics for students and practitioners involved in project management.

[EN] Students’ acquisition of teamwork competence has become a priority for educational institutions. The development of teamwork competence in education generally relies in project-based learning methodologies and challenges. The assessment of teamwork in project-based learning involves, among others, assessing students’ participation and the interactions between team members. Project-based learning can easily be handled in small-size courses, but course management and teamwork assessment become a burdensome task for instructors as the size of the class increases. Additionally, when project-based learning happens in a virtual space, such as online learning, interactions occur in a less natural way. This study explores the use of instant messaging apps (more precisely, the use of Telegram) as team communication space in project-based learning, using a learning analytics tool to extract and analyze student interactions. Further, the study compares student interactions (e.g., number of messages exchanged) and individual teamwork competence acquisition between traditional asynchronous (e.g., LMS message boards) and synchronous instant messaging communication environments. The results show a preference of students for IM tools and increased participation in the course. However, the analysis does not find significant improvement in the acquisition of individual teamwork competence.

[EN] Version control systems’ usage is a highly demanded skill in information and communication technology professionals. Thus, their usage should be encouraged by educational institutions. This work demonstrates that it is possible to assess if a student can pass a computer science-related subject by monitoring its interaction with a version control system. This paper proposes a methodology that compares the performance of several machine learning models so as to select the appropriate predicting model for the assessment of the students’ achievements. To fit predicting models, three subjects of the Degree in Computer Science at the University of León are considered to obtain the dataset: computer organization, computer programming, and operating systems extension. The common aspect of these subjects is their assignments, which are based on developing one or several programs with programming languages such as C or Java. To monitor the practical assignments and individual performance, a Git repository is employed allowing students to store source code, documentation, and supporting control versions. According to the presented experience, there is a huge correlation between the level of interaction for each student and the achieved grades.

[ES] El profesorado de asignaturas de programación necesita identificar de forma clara el resultado del aprendizaje bajo los criterios del EEES. Esto significa medir los conocimientos, competencias y habilidades adquiridas de forma que se consiga avalar la correcta inserción del alumnado en el mundo laboral. El uso de la herramienta de control de versiones Git, bien conocida en entornos empresariales, permitirá hacer el seguimiento y evaluación analítica del estudiante, mientras, al mismo tiempo, hace que se familiarice con herramientas y métricas que se utilizan en el mercado laboral. Esta propuesta muestra nuestra experiencia utilizando Git con GitHub, portal empresarial de gestión de repositorios, y con GitHub Classroom, portal de gestión de control de versiones para educadores, en diferentes asignaturas que trabajan la competencia de programación de ordenadores del grado en Ingeniería Informática de la Universidad de León.

[ES] Sistema y método de interacción en entornos virtuales. El método comprende: detectar una orden de zoom de una escena virtual inicial; generar, por parte de una unidad de procesamiento gráfico, una nueva escena virtual a partir de la escena virtual inicial con un nivel de ampliación modificado en función de la orden de zoom detectada; mapear el espacio de trabajo de un dispositivo háptico con el espacio que representa la nueva escena virtual; y representar la nueva escena virtual. La orden de zoom se puede realizar mediante pulsación de un botón del dispositivo háptico o mediante comando de voz. La orden de zoom es una instrucción que permite modificar progresivamente el nivel de ampliación de la escena virtual inicial o modificar puntualmente el nivel de ampliación de la escena virtual inicial según un determinado valor predefinido.

[ES] Método, sistema y producto de programa para interacción en entornos de realidad virtual mediante dispositivo háptico de realimentación de fuerzas de escritorio (502). El método (100) comprende: definir (102) un espacio de acción (210) en un entorno de realidad virtual correspondiente con un espacio de trabajo (510) del dispositivo háptico de realimentación de fuerzas de escritorio (502); ante la detección (104) de una orden de modificación (512) del espacio de acción (210), modificar (106) el tamaño del espacio de acción (210) en función de la orden de modificación (512) detectada; determinar (107) la ubicación del espacio de acción modificado (210') para mantener inalterada la posición del avatar virtual (206); y mapear (108) el espacio de trabajo (510) del dispositivo háptico de realimentación de fuerzas de escritorio (502) con el espacio de acción modificado (210'); ante la detección (110) de una orden de recolocación (514) del espacio de acción (210), mover (112) el espacio de acción (210) a una nueva ubicación del entorno de realidad virtual en función de la orden de recolocación (514) detectada.

[En] Nowadays, working in groups is very usual and popular in most professional environments. Thus, students, as potential workers, need to acquire teamwork competence in their educational institutions. However, when the students are working in groups, it is easy assessing their final result but not so much evaluating how each of them, individually, is developing teamwork competence. In this sense, there are several methodologies, and those with better results are the ones that explore students’ interactions in learning platforms when developing the activity/project. Taking into account the latter, students’ interactions do not only happen in a learning platform but also using other tools such as instant messaging tools. This paper explores the possibility to assess the use of instant messaging tools for the acquisition of teamwork competence, and specifically, it presents a case study about the use of WhatsApp. From the results, we can conclude that the students prefer to use instant messaging tools in teamwork activities than other interaction tools as forums; and that the employment of those tools has a positive impact in students’ grades.

[ES] Los dispositivos hápticos permiten percibir mediante el sentido del tacto propiedades de objetos virtuales. En base al tipo de realimentación que ofrecen se pueden diferenciar entre dispositivos táctiles o dispositivos de realimentación de fuerzas. Los de realimentación de fuerzas son los considerados más realistas ya que responden a la interacción que el usuario realiza con el sistema y transmiten propiedades de los objetos como su forma geométrica, dureza y peso. Para ofrecer esta realimentación deben contar con enlaces mecánicos capaces de actuar sobre el efector final que manipula el usuario. Estas uniones mecánicas suponen la principal limitación de estos dispositivos, ya que el espacio de trabajo disponible se encuentra siempre limitado por las dimensiones físicas de los brazos. Esta limitación hace que sean necesarias técnicas de interacción que permitan utilizar estos dispositivos para interaccionar hápticamente con escenas de dimensiones mayores a las de su espacio de trabajo. La revisión de la literatura llevada a cabo identifica varias técnicas específicamente diseñadas para abordar esta limitación. Sin embargo, la revisión también evidencia que ninguna de ellas permite una integración sencilla de estos dispositivos en experiencias de realidad virtual y que los usos que se han hecho de los dispositivos hápticos en estos entornos inmersivos han contado con una interacción limitada al no aplicar técnicas específicas. Para dar solución al problema identificado se ha desarrollado un primer modelo de interacción denominado zoom háptico que aborda el problema del espacio de trabajo limitado de los dispositivos hápticos de realimentación de fuerzas de escritorio. Este modelo permite, mediante un mapeado continuo del espacio de trabajo del dispositivo y del área que visualiza el usuario, tanto desplazarse por toda la escena con libertad de movimiento como centrarse en un área de interés realizando una serie de ampliaciones visuales y hápticas. Los resultados, [EN] Haptic devices make it possible to perceive properties of virtual objects by means of the sense of touch. Based on the type of feedback they provide, a distinction can be made between haptic devices and force-feedback devices. Force feedback devices are considered the most realistic since they respond to the user’s interaction with the system and transmit object properties such as geometric shape, hardness and weight. To provide this feedback they must have mechanical links capable of acting on the end effector manipulated by the user. These mechanical links are the main limitation of these devices, since the available working space is always limited by the physical dimensions of the arms. This limitation makes necessary interaction techniques that allow the use of these devices to interact haptically with scenes of larger dimensions than those of their workspace. The literature review conducted identifies several techniques specifically designed to address this limitation. However, the review also evidences that none of them allow for easy integration of these devices into virtual reality experiences and that the uses that have been made of haptic devices in these immersive environments have featured limited interaction by not applying specific techniques. To provide a solution to the identified problem, a first interaction model called haptic zoom has been developed that addresses the problem of the limited workspace of forcefeedback desktop haptic devices. This model allows, through a continuous mapping of the device’s workspace and the area viewed by the user, both to move freely throughout the scene and to focus on an area of interest by performing a series of visual and haptic zooms. The results of the evaluation performed comparing the new technique with classical techniques shows that the new technique is as easy to use as direct mapping and offers as much accuracy as clutching. A second interaction model has been developed that focuses on enabling the

[EN] Machined workpieces must satisfy quality standards such as avoid the presence of burrs in edge finishing to reduce production costs and time. In this work we consider three types of burr that are determined by the distribution of the edge shape on a microscopic scale: knife-type (without imperfections), saw-type (presence of small splinters that could be accepted) and burr-breakage (substantial deformation that produces unusable workpieces). The proposed method includes RUSTICO to classify automatically the edge of each piece according to its burr type. Experimental results validate its effectiveness, yielding a 91.2% F1-Score and identifying completely the burr-breakage type.