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

影响：波多黎各理工大学的 MRI/RUI 采购设备以提高西班牙裔工程专业学生的网络工程实验室能力将显着影响三个机构目标：(1) 改善西班牙裔学生和计算机工程教师对现代研究和研究培训仪器的获取和使用； (2) 缩小该机构 1,330 名电气工程西班牙裔学生和 300 多名学习计算机工程的西班牙裔学生所经历的技术和研究差距； (3) 整合计算机工程的教育和研究。这三个机构和部门的目标与 NSF-MRI 计划和 RUI 计划一致。受影响的西班牙裔教师包括 19 名全职 EE 教师，特别是 6 名计算机工程教师。 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。它公开了一个接口来导出 LO 与学习者交互的结果，并用于 LO 适应。内部元数据是分层元数据机制的集合，用于描述 OLO、其自适应特征以及学习者交互跟踪。根据这种架构设计的 LO 对象仍然保留了抽象 LO 的实现方面所需的封装性和模块化性，研究人员可以研究这些实现方面以供未来的增强和发展，但它们提供了一个系统且一致的界面，用于提取与学习者交互的结果以及 LO 适应。拟议活动的智力价值：拟议的研究项目推进了计算机工程领域的知识和理解，并探索了创造性概念。一些组织，尤其是 IEEE 和 IMS 联盟，已经提出了描述学习对象的标准。虽然这些努力极大地推进了互操作性的目标，但它们未能满足学习对象（LO）内部组成的可访问性的需求。根据目前的标准，LO 仍然是一个不透明的实体，无法轻易收集或收获有价值的信息，也无法引入或改编。拟议活动的更广泛影响：该领域的研究将利用 IDEAL 电子学习环境作为平台，从独特的角度测试和探索这些问题和类似问题，从而充分整合教育和研究活动；通过网络可以获得的潜在非常大的学习者库。增强型网络工程实验室将开展的研究活动同样有助于 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.