MRI/RUI for Equipment Acquisition to Increase Network Engineering Laboratory Capacities for Hispanic Engineering Students

影响：波多黎各理工大学为提高拉美裔工程学生的网络工程实验室能力而获得的MRI/RUI设备将对三个机构目标产生重大影响：(1)为我们的计算机工程专业的拉美裔学生和教员改善获得现代研究和研究培训工具的机会并增加他们的使用；(2)缩小该机构1,330名拉美裔学生在电气工程专业和直接超过300名拉美裔学生学习计算机工程专业所经历的技术和研究差距；以及(3)整合计算机工程方面的教育和研究。这三个机构和部门的目标与NSF-MRI计划和RUI计划是一致的。受影响的拉美裔教员包括19名全职EE教员，特别是6名计算机工程教员。研究：利用网络工程实验室的研究活动将集中在开放学习对象和内部元数据上。其中包括Open Lo(OLO)的设计，它基于开放标准，主要是XML标记语言及其相关工具。它公开了一个接口，用于导出Lo-to-Learner交互的结果，并用于LOG适配。内部元数据是分层元数据机制的集合，用于描述OLO、其自适应特性和学习者交互跟踪。根据这种体系结构设计的LO对象仍然保留了抽象LO的那些实现方面所需的封装性和模块化，研究人员可以研究这些实现方面的未来改进和发展，但它们提供了一个系统和一致的接口，用于提取与学习者的交互结果和LO适应。拟议活动的智力价值：拟议的研究项目促进了计算机工程领域的知识和理解，并探索了创造性的概念。几个组织，特别是IEEE和IMS联盟，已经提出了描述学习对象的标准。虽然这些努力大大推进了互操作性的目标，但它们未能满足获取学习对象(LO)内部构成的需要。拟议活动的广泛影响：这一领域的研究将充分整合教育和研究活动，利用理想的电子学习环境作为平台，从一个独特的角度测试和探讨这些和类似的问题；从一个潜在的非常庞大的网络学习者群体的角度来测试和探讨这些和类似的问题。将在增强型网络工程实验室开展的研究活动将同样有助于让PUPR与美国其他工程学院和大学在计算机工程研究方面进行合作。

Impact: The Polytechnic University of Puerto Rico's MRI/RUI for EquipmentAcquisition to Increase Network Engineering Laboratory Capacities for Hispanic EngineeringStudents will significantly impact three institutional goals: (1) Improving access to andincreasing the use of modern research and research training instrumentation for our Hispanicstudents and faculty in Computer Engineering; (2) lessening the technological and research gapexperienced by the institution's 1,330 Hispanic students in Electrical Engineering and directlyover 300 Hispanic students studying Computer Engineering; and, (3) integrating education andresearch in Computer Engineering. These three institutional and departmental goals areconsistent with the NSF-MRI program and the RUI program. The Hispanic faculty to beimpacted includes 19 full-time EE faculty members and specifically 6 faculty members inComputer Engineering.Research: The research activities utilizing the Network Engineering Laboratory will becentered on Open Learning Objects and Inner Metadata. These include the design of Open LO(OLO), which is based on Open standards, mostly XML markup languages and their relatedtools. It exposes an interface to export the results of LO-to-Learner interaction, and for LOadaptation. Inner Metadata is the collection of layered meta-data mechanisms that are used todescribe the OLOs, their adaptive features, and the Learner interaction tracing. LO objectsdesigned according to this architecture still retain the encapsulation and modularity required toabstract those implementation aspects of a LO that researchers can investigate for futureenhancement and growth, yet they provide a systematic and consistent interface for extractingthe results of the interaction with the Learner and for LO adaptation.Intellectual Merit of the Proposed Activity: The proposed research project advancesknowledge and understanding within the field of Computer Engineering and explores creativeconcepts. Several organizations most notably the IEEE and the IMS Consortium, have proposedstandards for describing Learning Objects. While these efforts substantially advance the goals ofinteroperability, they fall short at addressing the need for accessibility to the internal compositionof the Learning Objects (LO). Under present standards, the LO remains an opaque entity fromwhich valuable information cannot be easily gleaned or harvested, nor introduced or adapted.Broader Impact of the Proposed Activity: Research in this area will fully integrateeducation and research activities by utilizing the IDEAL eLearning environment as a platform totest and explore these and similar issues from a unique perspective; that of a potentially verylarge learner pool as available through the web. The research activities to be undertaken in theenhanced Network Engineering Laboratory will equally serve to expose PUPR to collaborate inComputer Engineering research with other engineering colleges and universities in the UnitedStates.