Reviewerly/exHarmony huggingface dataset:
Text and knowledge in the aspect of large language models

The focus of this text is on the influence of large linguistic models on the self-determination of the humanities. Large language models are able to generate plausible texts. It seems that they thus become on a par with other tools that, throughout the development of technology have freed people from routine. At the same time, for the humanities, the individualization of the generated texts is very great, and knowledge itself is closely related to its textual embodiment. If we agree that knowledge is a text, and embodied in another text, another knowledge appears before us, then humanities will have to answer the question of how a text generated by a person differs in value from the same text generated by a machine. The text of the work raises methodological and epistemological problems of the correlation of texts of natural and artificial origin if they are made in the genre of a scientific work. The difference between such artifacts is clearly visible only for some scientific disciplines, and raises questions about the rest. These issues should be resolved with the help of deep reflection, which was not so urgently needed in the last centuries of the development of the humanities, but which is now required from a humanitarian scientist. The humanitarian will have to explicitly oppose himself to large language models and prove the importance of his work compared to what a neural network can generate.
Integrated Blended Learning Approach for PLC Training in Industry 4.0 with Web-Based and VR Experiences

This contribution presents a hybrid learning approach for training with Programmable Logic Controllers with traditional e-learning content combined with interactive experiences in a virtual learning environment. This environment can be used by learners both through their web browsers in 2D or as a fully immersive experience in Virtual Reality. The contribution highlights how to embed such an interactive environment into a traditional e-learning course in a learning management system through the Learning Technologies Integration protocol. Then, the contribution presents a study performed during a pilot of the resulting hybrid workshop format. The results show that the hybrid approach offers high learner motivation and overall satisfactory usability for this multi-modal learning environment.
Enhancing the Professional Competences of Vocational Teachers for Digital Teaching and Learning: Tasks and Challenges for Systematic School Developmental Processes

Even before the pandemic the technologically induced changes in the economy, society and on the level of individual values and behavior have led to increased conceptual and practical suggestions on how the educational system should respond to this challenge. Several models as well as structured frameworks to describe and enhance the performance of vocational teachers have been developed, partially tested empirically and lead to suggestions on how vocational teachers might enhance their didactical, technical and overall professional competences. Interdependencies of school development and the acquisition of digital competences in vocational schools are explored and suggestions for further institutional development provided.
Utilizing Augmented Reality and Mobile Devices to Support Robotics Lessons

In the educational conditions of the twenty-first century, using technologies such as Mixed Reality (MR), Augmented Reality (AR), and Robotics provides new possibilities in education. This study proposes a learning environment that utilizes augmented reality technology and mobile devices to support educational robotics lessons and enhance their learning context. The research aims to investigate the characteristics of the innovative learning system that integrates AR into educational robotics lessons. The implementation of the designed learning environment shows the positive aspects along with the limitations of using AR in educational robotics. The study participants were 20 Primary School students from the 3rd, 5th, and 6th grades who had already attended educational robotics lessons. Data was collected using observation and semi-structured interviews. The data was pseudonymized so that the participants' identities were not revealed. Results indicate that students' attitudes toward mobile AR in robotics education are positive and they would like to use it again. Their participation was active and they had authentic learning experiences. The results of the present study provide useful feedback and show that integrating Augmented Reality technology in educational robotics lessons is quite promising. Further, qualitative and quantitative studies are required to examine the effectiveness of AR learning environments in robotics. The optimization that the virtual objects provide in the real world for a deeper understanding of various topics should also be examined in future research.
Tech Education Metaverse: Immersive Learning for E-Mobility Applications

Training of specialized workforce or introduction of new products in the market has always been done through live workshops or tutorials using streaming tools. The first option requires trainees to be on-site, thus limiting the diffusion of specialized technologies due to high cost and limited availability. The second option, on the other hand, brings a solution for remote-access training, but limits the teaching experience to a flat-screen perspective, cutting out the possibility of actively taking part in the training procedure and not providing a safe and immersive environment for testing, learning, and repeating it if necessary. Working together with Phoenix Contact (PxC) and identifying synergies with the Spanish company Presence XR Solutions S.L. (PXR), the main goal is the creation of a metaverse prototype for PxC Tech Education, thus using it as an immersive training tool for the E-Mobility portfolio training specialized workforce for correctly handling the equipment.
VR Training Effectiveness Evaluation Based on Activity Data Analysis

Recently, Virtual Reality (VR) technology has found its way to the practical hands-on trainings, especially in engineering education. The number of traditional hands-on trainings on physical devices is moving to the virtual world increasingly, thanks to the board training possibility and reachability, advanced development of the 3D modelling technology and affordable VR de-vices. With the virtual training concept, a large-scale hands-on training of difficult, expensive, or dangerous scenarios can be adopted. Still, one simple question concerning training efficiency has to be answered, namely “How effective actually is a VR training?” In this work, we aimed to capture activity data that is generated during a VR training session. This captured data was then prepared and analyzed using the Cosine Similarity method, which is used to measure similarity of the trainee’s activity data and the trainer’s one. To ensure that the similarity values align with the skill improvement, the pretest–posttest and the System Usability Scale (SUS) analysis were adopted. The results suggest that the activity data analysis can be used as an evaluation approach of a VR training effectiveness.
Modular Toolbox for Low-Code Development of Individual Augmented Reality Applications in Unity

Augmented Reality (AR) enables the immersive and interactive visualization of digital content embedded in real environments. For some use cases, commercial AR solutions are available and ready to use. But these often cannot be integrated into processes and the IT infrastructure and do not match individual demands. For many use cases, individual and highly tailored AR solutions are needed to fully exploit the potentials. To use AR sustainably and in the long term, companies must be able to individually develop AR applications according to their requirements and adapt and expand them as needed. But due to a lack of expertise and resources, many companies cannot develop AR applications and thus not exploit the potentials of the technology. To change this, we present a modular toolbox for low-code development of individual AR applications for different platforms in the development environment Unity. The toolbox consists of four main components: 1) A high-level guideline; 2) A set of project and scene templates; 3) Modular functional building blocks; 4) Utilities. The toolbox is conceptualized to be usable for all AR use cases. We describe the usage of the toolbox for an exemplary HoloLens 2 application in the context of AR-based product validation. We thereby show the effectiveness and practicability of our results. The modular toolbox can support companies as well as independent AR developers in the development of individual AR applications and so help establishing the technology and exploiting its potentials.
Augmented Reality Image Correlation App: Algorithms and Synthetic Verification

To reduce costs and complex preparation steps for measuring the field distribution of strains in tensile tests, an Augmented Reality based mobile application is proposed which can be used by students in engineering laboratories to visualize strain field distributions on the specimen. Whereas traditional labs either include data directly from the testing machines or from external measurement systems, such as Digital Image Correlation, the app enables students to gather additional information exploratively on their own. Extending previous research in this field, the current contribution presents the results from synthetic tests of different algorithms, which are the basis for the to be developed image correlation app. The four algorithms were created as part of this work along with a computer based test environment through which the image correlation accuracy of the different algorithms can be assessed. This accuracy is essential for the subsequent strain calculation. The presented tests cover in-plane rotations simulating the rotation of the phone during the actual test. Apart from deriving recommendations regarding the image resolution, size and position of the tracking marker, it was found that all algorithms perform sufficiently well under these testing conditions. The results are incorporated in the future development process of the actual app.
The Power of Digital Twins, ERP Simulator Based in Virtual and Augmented Reality, to Increase the Learning for Industrial Engineers Students in the Educational Model TEC21

This paper shares the educational experience of building a low-level digital twin based on an ERP simulator, having mixed reality lessons as learning support for learning Industrial Engineering topics. It is based on replicating the processes of the Enterprise Resource Planning concept and the student solving the different challenges posed by his teacher using industrial engineering techniques learned in the classroom. Three critical variables have been defined to determine the result of this gamification, academic learning, the development of both graduate and transversal competencies, and the student’s engagement in the learning process. A simulator has been tested in different formats to ensure a high quality of learning. Nevertheless, that reflected high stress for students. In September 2020, the need for gamification was understood as a significant factor for good academic results. After implementing gamification and augmented reality lessons, it began to observe the development of the critical variables in each experimental run, which is reported in this paper.
Interactive Multi-tiered Poster for Presenting an Educational Program in Intelligent Robotics

This paper considers the design of a multi-tiered interactive poster and its use to present our school outreach program in intelligent robotics. To enable the user’s self-directed inquiry into the concepts, technologies, and learning activities implemented in the program, we enhanced the printed poster with digital media based on the state-of-the-art digital technologies of augmented reality (AR) and the internet of things (IoT). QR codes were applied to link the users to digital media, and ThingMarks were used to engage the users in the experimentation with robots in AR and remote environments. The poster was presented to academic and industry audiences at MIT, PTC Inc., and at the Technion. We observed user interaction with the poster with diverse types of users. We found indications that the multi-tiered structure of the poster helped make the conveyed content accessible and relevant for various categories of users with different degrees of interest in the subject.
Privacy Considerations in Online Laboratories Management Systems

E-Learning education has been increasing in the last decades, but it expanded even more during the COVID-19 pandemic when educa-tional institutions were forced to continue teaching remotely. This transformation from traditional to digital classrooms happened overnight and most institutions were not ready for it. Schools and universities began using different platforms for online communication between professors and students that were not designed for online teaching and did not comply with the necessary security and privacy regulations. Many online platforms used for teaching collect, store, and share personal information about the users without the user’s consent which violates laws. The fundamental purpose of this paper is to discuss the most important aspects of General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) which is the most robust and enforced data privacy and security regulation to be applied E-Learning systems specifically in Online Laboratory Management Systems (OLMS).
Pedagogical Provisions of Students’ Creativity Development by Means of SmartLabs

The article provides an overall view of the most significant theoretical provisions of developing students’ creativity at technical universities by means of using SmartLab facilities. A general definition of creativity, the most essential principles and psychological patterns of creativity development are presented, including the principle of internal freedom of the individual, the principle of feedback, the principle of nature compliance and others. Different approaches to forming students’ motivation for creative self-realization and the possibility of creativity training are considered. SmartLabs are designed to develop up-to-date didactic materials for students of technical universities. The authors show how SmartLabs are used in the educational process of Donetsk National Technical University to master students’ skills of operating programmable logic controllers, industrial communication and process simulation. Based on the knowledge and skills gained through training with SmartLabs, students learn how to use similar equipment creatively and often come up with innovative engineering ideas and projects. Integration of pedagogical principles and approaches based on psychological pat- terns of creativity development and the advanced equipment of SmartLabs has resulted in several innovative projects such as “Road SSL. Road Safety and Street Lighting”, “Automation System for Mine Drainage Unit”, which were proposed by students of Donetsk National Technical University. The overview of the results of such integration is presented in the article.
Designing a Photonics Virtual Laboratory (ePhos)

As the field of photonics expands, it is essential to attract more people to it. One of the most difficult aspects of educating someone in this field is that the equipment is very expensive and massive, so it only exists in specific laboratories that require experts to operate it. This paper presents the design of a photonics virtual laboratory for a variety of people (young people, teachers, and researchers) to overcome these issues. A community of practice and a mobile augmented reality laboratory are its main components. The community of practice can provide educational materials and up-to-date information about scientific advances in photonics, as well as interaction with others who share common interests in this field. Besides, the mobile laboratory will contain laboratory equipment based on real-world lab in which people can interact with and related material will show up, allowing individuals to learn about it and visualize experiment processes. Both components can contribute to lifelong learning from a distance.
Collaborative Writing Project in Virtual Environment: A Case Study

The study was undertaken in the context of underprivileged engineering undergraduate students in developing countries for better learning by exposing them to virtual learning environments. The participants used smartphones as they could not afford a tablet or laptop. The study aimed to expose the underprivileged first-year computer science engineering students (n = 24) who had no previous experience in collaborative learning. The paper addresses the research questions: a) Did the underprivileged and mixed-ability students have a positive experience using collaborative learning tools in a virtual environment? b) What are the challenges they faced while documenting their learning virtually? The participants were divided into six groups, with four students randomly selected in each group. The study was conducted in an engineering college in Andhra Pradesh, India. The study introduced collaborative writing tools like Google Documents to the participants. Further, the study adopted a mixed methods approach to analyze the change in the perceptions of the participants about collaborative learning and the challenges they faced in the virtual environment. It is evident from the study that the participants experienced a change in their perception towards collaborative learning using smartphones. It is revealed from the personal interviews and focused group discussions that the participants initially faced challenges. Later, with the support of their peers, they overcame most of the challenges. Collaborative writing experience documenting their project using mobile phones positively impacted the participants. Therefore, the study recommends that underprivileged students be exposed to collaborative learning tools to work in virtual environments.
A Multi-blockchain System for Verifiable Academic Credentials

Forged or falsified degrees as well as the falsification of work experience and skills/qualifications are today a big and intractable problem. The award system qualifications are fragmented, insecure and difficult to verify. The opportunity lies in the unique characteristics of blockchain through which qualifications and learning outcomes will be certified without the possibility of falsification, giving the necessary basis to overcome the barriers of trust between agencies, institutions and businesses. BlockAdemiC is a digital distributed security system for the certification and verification of educational activities, degrees and skills in higher education and lifelong learning, creating an immutable educational passport.
Blockchain Technology and Vocational Open Online Courses

More and more new learning environments are being created and operated which utilize the internet and new forms of technological coexistence. In this brief report, we will see that Blockchain technology is compatible and useful for educational pedagogical processes but also professional pedagogical processes. We are witnessing an implementation of the fourth industrial revolution which radically changes the way of educational operation. Both teachers and learners need a participatory learning process, online and confidential distribution and sharing of the necessary files, needs that must inevitably ensure protection against fraud and counterfeiting. The Blockchain platform has now been established and has been highly promoted through the BLISS project, which is funded by the EU Erasmus program and involves Universities and Organizations such as the University Claude-Bernard Lyon1 (France), the University of Tartu (Estonia) and the Italian Association for Computer Science and Automatic Calculation. The interested party is therefore invited to be informed how this platform works and, in case we are more interested, that it comes to strengthening and enriching vocational training. Indeed, Blockchain technology could be used to validate the skills, competencies, and qualifications of learners, to help prove the authenticity of certificates, and also to help verify and validate the information provided from time to time. A pilot course of learning Blockchain Skills from an initial Vocational Training Institute in Athens (Greece) using the BLISS VOOC platform gave very satisfying results.
Exploring Acceptance and Diffusion of Remote Assistance Applications Using Augmented Reality Through Use Cases on Plumbing Services

The recent pandemic has led to wide adaptation of remote work, video calls, and telepresence. Augmented reality applications offer the possibilities to enrich those experiences and extend the boundaries of what tasks and even jobs can be worked remotely. The aim of this exploratory cross-sectional study is to contribute to a greater understanding of the human factors that influence the further adaptation of augmented reality. A commercially available remote assistance application with simple augmented reality features was introduced and implemented in companies offering plumbing services. Observations from the implementation and instruction phase were combined with interviews, extracting the workers’ experience, views, and meanings of having this additional tool at hand and eventually its usage. Interviews with fixed time slots accompanied the potential usage during a four-week trial period. Management was contacted about a month after the trial to assess the diffusion and communication patterns that such novel technology stimulates. Apart from observing typical technical shortfalls, process topics are discussed based on these observations alongside human factor-centred implications. The research design represents a combination of use case analysis and grounded theory, this is due to the necessity to motivate companies to participate in the study but also comes along with the benefit of an external technical stimulus that provokes reactions on an individual as well as at company-wide levels, that can be studied.
Work-in-Progress: A Study on the Problems of Engineering Students Designing Gearboxes and VR as a Possible Solution

This paper tries to identify problems of engineering students regarding the design of a gearbox in one of our courses and a possible solution with a VR software. The goal of this study is to gather information about their issues and to gauge the interest in an interactive VR solution. Therefore, a survey was conducted among the engineering students, who were participating in the course in the current semester. First, the problems that students had with their assignment to design a gearbox were verified. Next, the opinions of the students were compared to the judgement of the supervisors. Then the acceptance of the target audience for a VR solution was identified. Lastly, the conditions for the use of the VR software were determined and possible solutions were proposed. After the completion of the VR software another survey will be conducted to investigate if it had any positive effects on the students and if any of the issues were resolved.