Pereira, Duarte, Carmen Morgado, and Fernanda Barbosa NextBlocks: An Interactive Block Programming Platform. ITiCSE 2024. Milan, Italy, 2024.
AbstractSince Seymour Papert's work with the Logo programming language in the 1960s, there has been a prevailing belief in the effectiveness of visual programming environments for teaching programming to children and novices. As these platforms evolved and became more prevalent, using block programming to teach children and beginners became increasingly more common. However, modern block programming platforms like Scratch and Code.org excessively restrict educators by not allowing them to create custom exercises in the platform. They also tend to make programming a solo activity, not allowing for collaboration and cooperation between learners (Scratch is an exception in this regard). Additionally, they are usually located in standalone websites instead of being implemented in locations that students already frequent regularly. Having identified these gaps in the field of block programming environments, this paper proposes NextBlocks, a new block programming platform implemented as a Moodle plugin. This platform enables educators to create custom exercises, emphasizing social perception and collaboration features. It supports features that are uncommon in block programming environments, contributing to a more interactive and engaging learning experience. Furthermore, being integrated into the Moodle Learning Management System makes NextBlocks more easily accessible within the educational framework. As an open-source platform, besides solving current challenges, it can also serve as a foundation for future expansion by the education community. This paper explores some of the unique features of NextBlocks, presents a case study on the platform, and discusses its potential contributions to enhancing programming education for beginners within a collaborative learning environment.
Dimitrova, I., Vítor H. Fernandes, J. Koppitz, and T. M. Quinteiro. "
On monoids of endomorphisms of a cycle graph."
Mathematica Slovaca (DOI 10.1515/ms-2024-0078; Online 15 October 2024). 74.5 (2024): 1071-1088.
AbstractIn this paper we consider endomorphisms of an undirected cycle graph from Semigroup Theory perspective. Our main aim is to present a process to determine sets of generators with minimal cardinality for the monoids $wEnd(C_n)$ and $End(C_n)$ of all weak endomorphisms and all endomorphisms of an undirected cycle graph $C_n$ with $n$ vertices. We also describe Green's relations and regularity of these monoids and calculate their cardinalities.
Dimitrova, I., Vítor H. Fernandes, and J. Koppitz. "
On partial endomorphisms of a star graph."
Quaestiones Mathematicae (DOI 10.2989/16073606.2024.2374796; Online 31 July 2024). 47.12 (2024): 2485-2505.
AbstractIn this paper we consider the monoids of all partial endomorphisms, of all partial weak endomorphisms, of all injective partial endomorphisms, of all partial strong endomorphisms and of all partial strong weak endomorphisms of a star graph with a finite number of vertices. Our main objective is to determine their ranks. We also describe their Green's relations, calculate their cardinalities and study their regularity.
Fernandes, Vítor H. "
On the cyclic inverse monoid on a finite set."
Asian-European Journal of Mathematics (DOI 10.1142/S1793557124500177; Online 6 Mar 2024). 17.2 (2024): 2450017 (16 pages).
AbstractIn this paper we study the cyclic inverse monoid CI_n on a set Ω_n with n elements, i.e. the inverse submonoid of the symmetric inverse monoid on Ω_n consisting of all restrictions of the elements of a cyclic subgroup of order n acting cyclically on Ω_n. We show that CI_n has rank 2 (for n⩾2) and n⋅2^n−n+1 elements. Moreover, we give presentations of CI_n on n+1 generators and (n^2+3n+4)/2 relations and on 2 generators and (n^2−n+6)/2 relations. We also consider the remarkable inverse submonoid OCI_n of CI_n constituted by all its order-preserving transformations. We show that OCI_n has rank n and 3⋅2^n−2n−1 elements. Furthermore, we exhibit presentations of OCI_n on n+2 generators and (n^2+3n+8)/2 relations and on n generators and (n^2+3n)/2 relations.
Fernandes, Vítor H. "
On the monoid of partial isometries of a wheel graph."
Asian-European Journal of Mathematics (DOI 10.1142/S1793557123502388; Online 16 Dec 2023). 17.1 (2024): 2350238 (18 pages).
AbstractIn this paper, we consider the monoid DPW_n of all partial isometries of a wheel graph W_n with n+1 vertices. Our main objective is to determine the rank of DPW_n. In the process, we also compute the ranks of three notable subsemigroups of DPW_n. We also describe Green's relations of DPW_n and of its three considered subsemigroups.
Sahyoun, Vincent, Jelena Petronijevic, Alain Etienne, Bettina-Johanna Krings, António B. Moniz, and Ali Siadat. "
The relation between cognitive and organizational factors in the production environment."
IFAC PapersOnLine. 58.19 (2024): 1030-1035.
AbstractThe adoption of I4.0’s technologies in the work cells accompanied by societal changes calls for new approaches to manage the current production systems. Nevertheless, the current models simulating the behavior of the work cells limit the representation of the operators to the average human, without regard for their individual characteristics, cognitive abilities or psychosocial state. The aim of this paper is to achieve two objectives: firstly, the authors propose a conceptual model for enhancing a human-centered production environment. Secondly, the paper summarizes how the literature characterizes the different dimensions of relations between cognitive and organizational factors. By integrating the collaborative, psychological, social, cognitive, organizational and system performance dimensions, the proposed model focuses on the relationships between these dimensions. Thus, operational models should be closer to the real production environment to improve the design choices of the manufacturing systems.
Botelho, M. C., and H. Rocha The role of teachers’ knowledge and the use of different technologies in the classroom. MEDA – Mathematics Education at the Digital Age. Bari, Italy: ERME, 2024.
AbstractThe potential of technology to enhance the learning of mathematics is widely acknowledged. However, realizing this potential requires teachers to possess the knowledge to effectively integrate it into their teaching practices. This study aims to characterize the mathematics teacher's knowledge when using different technologies in teaching and learning. It also aims to study the existence of relationships between the specific domains of the Knowledge for Teaching Mathematics with Technology – KTMT and the integration of graphing calculator and Excel. The methodology adopted is qualitative with an interpretative approach, using a case study of Mathematics teacher in the 11th grade (16-17 years old) with extensive experience in the use of technology. This study shows that different KTMT knowledge is mobilized, according to the technology chosen and the specific characteristics of each of the technologies used influenced the teacher's pedagogical choices.