Development of Distributed Programming Developing Tool-Kit Based on Object Group Model

Despite the fact that introductory programming courses (IPCs) are taught at universities for more than thirty years, students still find computer programming very difficult to learn. Programming pedagogy deals with the methods and principles of teaching and learning computer programming. The programming pedagogical approaches that have been proposed to increase the efficiency of teaching and learning computer programming mostly focus on the tools, paradigms, programming languages and environments used in IPCs. To increase significantly the students’ success rates in IPCs, these approaches should be complemented with pedagogical explanation (PE) methods. This research is focused on a PE method of teaching sequential search of a matrix row (SSMR). The research was designed as experimental study with pretest-posttest control group model, involving students of Computer Engineering department Izmir University. While the experimental group was subjected to a pedagogical explanation method, a traditional explanation method was applied in the control group. To collect the research data, an achievement pretest, posttest and a questionnaire were developed and applied. The research findings showed the effectiveness of teaching SSMR by using a PE method. This method positively influenced students’ level of topic comprehension, which consequently improved their achievements. In order for students to understand better the other matrix programming operations, similar PE methods should be developed and used in IPCs. On a more general level, the results of this research suggested that PE methods should be developed and used for other topics that students usually find difficult to understand in IPCs. Using these methods can be a very important factor in significantly increasing students’ success in IPCs.

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Current Practices and Future Pathways towards Competencies in Education for Sustainable Development

Sustainability ◽

10.3390/su13168733 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 13 (16) ◽

pp. 8733

Author(s):

Gisela Cebrián ◽

Mercè Junyent ◽

Ingrid Mulà

Keyword(s):

Sustainable Development ◽

Informal Education ◽

Model Building ◽

Education For Sustainable Development ◽

Project Based Learning ◽

Assessment Tools ◽

Educational Institutions ◽

Group Model ◽

Recent Developments ◽

Competencies Development

The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development reflects the urgency to embed the principles of education for sustainable development (ESD) into all levels of education. ESD, understood as an integral part of quality education and where all educational institutions, from preschool to higher education and in non-formal and informal education, can and should foster the development of sustainability competencies. This Special Issue entitled “Competencies in Education for Sustainable Development II” responds to this urgency and the papers presented deliver recent developments in the field of sustainability and ESD competencies. They focus on various perspectives: systematic literature reviews and conceptual contributions; curriculum developments and pedagogical approaches to explore competencies’ development, such as action research, serious games, augmented reality, multi-course project-based learning and group model building processes; testing and validation of assessment tools and processes for linking sustainability competencies to employability and quality assurance processes. The contributions show how the field of sustainability and ESD competencies has become a major focus in recent years and present emerging research developments. Further research efforts need to be put into operationalizing sustainability competencies and developing tools that help measure and assess students’ and educators’ competencies development.

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Distributed programming of a hyperspectral image registration algorithm for heterogeneous GPU clusters

Journal of Parallel and Distributed Computing ◽

10.1016/j.jpdc.2021.02.014 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Jorge Fernández-Fabeiro ◽

Arturo Gonzalez-Escribano ◽

Diego R. Llanos

Keyword(s):

Image Registration ◽

Hyperspectral Image ◽

Distributed Programming ◽

Registration Algorithm ◽

Image Registration Algorithm ◽

Gpu Clusters

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Factors Affecting Voluntary Self-Isolation Behavior to Cope with a Pandemic: Empirical Evidence from Colombia vs. Spain in Times of COVID-19

Behavioral Sciences ◽

10.3390/bs11030035 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 11 (3) ◽

pp. 35

Author(s):

Diana Escandon-Barbosa ◽

Andrea Hurtado ◽

Alina Gomez

Keyword(s):

Theory Of Planned Behavior ◽

Empirical Evidence ◽

Planned Behavior ◽

Theory Of Reasoned Action ◽

Reasoned Action ◽

Group Model ◽

Cultural Characteristics ◽

Factors Affecting ◽

Volitional Behavior

Global pandemics are not a new phenomenon. They have occurred at different points in time and can be of different scales. COVID-19 appeared in 2020 and its spread has reached more than 60 countries worldwide. This research aims to analyze voluntary self-isolation behavior used to cope with the COVID-19 pandemic. As part of this study, we carried out sampling in Colombia and Spain, which share similar cultural characteristics but which have substantial social and economic differences. A multi-group model was used to test the application of the theory of planned behavior and the theory of reasoned action in order to analyze self-isolation behavior. The results show that there are differences in self-isolation behavior between both countries, especially with regard to attitudes towards self-isolation and volitional behavior.

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