The Media Innovation Circle#1 took place on April 30 with a talk by Nuno Otero, Professor of Media Technology at Linnaeus University (Sweden),  followed by a participated discussion on the topic “Learning Analytics and Ethical Issues”, moderated by Carlos Santos, a DigiMedia Researcher.

The video is already available on DigiMedia YouTube channel. Watch HERE. We invite you to subscribe the channel.

Nuno Otero is an Associate Professor at the Department of Computer Science and Media Technology at Linnaeus University (LNU) in Sweden. He is interested in theories and conceptual frameworks in HCI, and Technology-Enhanced Learning. The main question driving his research concerns the understanding of how the properties of distinct devices, computational artefacts and embedded external representations impact on people’s activities.

Abstract: Research in Learning Analytics (LA) has contributed to various guidelines, ethical frameworks, and checklists to ethically collect and use student data. However, little is still known about how users and, in particular, students reason about student data for analytics purposes in practice. Our research tries to fill this gap and is investigating students’ situated views of data and analytics. While there have been studies asking students about student data ethics collected in institutional LMS, those often lead to abstract reasoning on student data. Our research efforts aim at determining how students reason in-situ on the data collected during their studies. We conducted a deployment study using a value-sensitive design methodological approach. The study investigated the students’ views of data collected in institutional LMS before and after interacting with an analytical dashboard we designed explicitly for raising students’ awareness of data collection practices at the university. Results indicate that increased awareness impacts students’ privacy perception and their acceptance of LA systems and data-driven practices. This study contributes to gaining a grounded understanding of how students reason in practical terms about their data and discuss the role that awareness and context play in students’ willingness to share their data for learning analytics purposes.

Dinosaur Tozé-Rex in Doing is an activity developed by DigiMedia in partnership with Fábrica Centro Ciência Viva aimed at introducing the magical world of electronics to a very young audience. The first session is on 16th May at 10 a.m. The activity was designed in the workshops of the Advanced Technologies Research Group of Digimedia by Mário Vairinhos and Rui Raposo, and the illustration of Laura Ferreira.

For more information please check the agenda HERE

Sofia Nunes is a PhD student at DigiMedia where, under the supervision of Professor Maria João Antunes, she is studying the way aging is represented in animated films and the way these representations influence children. This thesis theme aims to contribute to the transformation of the aging paradigm, so that all people can live happier, without stereotypes and prejudices.

To put this transformation into practice, Sofia embraced the Interage project with her colleague, Ângelo Valente. Recently, they carried out the project “Abraços com História” that intends to bring the most anticipated hugs to all elderly people who, for over a year, have been deprived of one of the most important gestures, the hug of their loved ones. Not only because they are at a higher risk of developing more severe symptoms of COVID-19 disease, but also because their routines are completely transformed, the residents of nursing homes are the people who most feel the impact of this pandemic. In this sense, Interage provides, with complete security and through a transparent platform with plastic sleeves, hugs between residents and their families. An action that had the support of SIC and that has travelled the country from north to south, having already involved more than 500 elderly people and more than 1000 hugs between seniors, family and professionals.

Vania Baldi is an Assistant Professor at the University of Aveiro and a DigiMedia member. His research interests are related with Network Society, Hypermediated Space and Civic Media, Affordance of Algorithms in Our Lives, relationship between Immediacy and Hypermediacy in Digital Culture, Culture and Imaginary of Consumption, Anthropology and Epistemology of Technique, Spreadable Media among Open Innovation and InfoWar, Engagement and Authorship in WebDoc, Analysis of Discourses on Technological Innovations.

The article was published on February 11th and is available in: A economia cultural da comunicação política “online” | Opinião | PÚBLICO (publico.pt)

Renata Frade is a former collaborator and now a DigiMedia PhD Student under the supervision of Mário Vairinhos.

She was invited to be part of the team that is implementing a new project, called Mídia Ninja, from one of the biggest journalism groups in Latin America: ColuNinjas Tech.

Her PhD project focuses on Women and Technology and with this project she is investing on her research by interviewing interesting people in the area, raising awareness of her research questions and doing science communication.

The two first article are already available:

Inclusão e diversidade em Tecnologia da Informação desde a infância (07/03/2021)

https://midianinja.org/renatafrade/inclusao-e-diversidade-em-tecnologia-da-informacao-desde-a-infancia/

Tecnologia e estrelas na palma da mão (01/04/2021)

https://midianinja.org/renatafrade/tecnologia-e-estrelas-na-palma-da-mao/?fbclid=IwAR1GKTZDRvF8WXsJmXuPeQVqb3SGb2ZDA-C76XvoEMZygpq8EGDl9ycPBVA

The DigiMedia Research Centre YouTube Channel is now available HERE. You are all invited to subscribe this channel in order to keep up with our communication activity.

Aida Domínguez, Professor in the field of Journalism, Advertising and Audiovisual Communication from the University of Malaga, presented an online seminar entitled “Big Data and Communication: Methodologies of capture and visualization of information”, within the scope of the Doctoral Programme Information and Communication in Digital Platforms. The recording is available on DigiMedia YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ni2UTZBchQc 

The 17^th May is the International Internet Day, and this year, despite being marked by the worst epidemic in our memory, caused by the new coronavírus, with devastating effects for thousands of families across the globe, it will also be marked by the fact that Internet has become an essential asset alongside electricity, water and public health.

Full text available in: Diário de Aveiro, edição de 17 de maio de 2020

The 17th May is the International Internet Day. The global presence of Internet services in our daily actions is, in the academic field, a practically assimilated fact in the last 20/25 years. And in the future, what do we expect from the Internet in fulfilling the mission of the University of Aveiro? The topic is addressed by Luís Pedro, professor of the University of Aveiro and researcher at DigiMedia – Digital Media and Interaction Research Center.

Full text available in: http://uaonline.ua.pt/detail.asp?c=63243

Integrated in the stand of the University of Aveiro, DigiMedia’s participation included 4 projects of the SocialiTV group:

– Securhome (https://cenie.eu/en/blogs/securhome ) – a service that makes it possible to monitor seniors’ domestic activity through television;

– Smartly (http://www.alticelabs.com/site/alticelabsua/projetos_investigacao/ ) – a service, supported by a mobile and television application for MEO platform, which receives promotional coupons in addition to television advertising;

– VolunterAge4Seniors (http://socialitv.web.ua.pt/index.php/projects/sponsored-projects/voluntage4seniors/) – a service implemented on MEO television platform that allows seniors to ask for support from entities providing volunteer services;

– Videobite (http://socialitv.web.ua.pt/index.php/projects/sponsored-projects/videobite/) – an online platform (Clip.it) that enables the creation of video remixes of news content and the sharing of these videos on social networks.

Thanks to the participation of DigiMedia members and collaborators in this event, it was possible to show the community some of the best projects developed in the past year.

Source: Facebook – UA

DigiMedia – Digital Media and Interaction Research Centre was widely represented in Techdays 2018 – the largest National Technology Forum that took place on the 11th – 13th of October in Aveiro’s Exposition Center.

Throughout several exposition stands, visitors were able to see and interact with different R&D projects.

On the University of Aveiro stand, DigiMedia Research Centre headed the strategic scientific domain of TICE with fourteen of its R&D projects. Digital platforms, mobile applications, physical computing, augmented reality and virtual reality prototypes as well as several multimedia products were available to the public.

With the R&D projects presented in Techdays 2018, is clear the impact of the DigiMedia Research Center scientific research to and for society.

Techdays 2018 was a fantastic opportunity for our researchers to communicate science to a broader audience, allowing practical sessions for design validation as well as opportunities for networking for future collaborations.