Session Chair: T. Koscielniak
Laptop Lending, with Zero-Effort?
(Mikko Mäkelä)
Currently we are still seeing a flood of hype to implement BYOD in different ways also in HiEd. This paper presents Metropolia’s current plan for the future’s flexible PC-classroom. This paper also presents the challenges that we are currently facing. Do you really know how the computers of your organization are used? Are your PC-classrooms in wrong places at wrong time and also wrong size AND of course never with the needed software resources? View Paper
Lab4Act: Laboratories for Active Learning Spaces
(Andrea Vieira)
Nominated for Best Paper Award
The Lab4Act project aims to investigate, develop and assess solutions for optimizing and modernizing the transitional spaces of academic school buildings in order to promote or enhance active and informal learning. This project follows the “E-Learning Cafés” project of the University of Porto that allowed the establishment of two dynamic learning spaces on the University campus, focus on promoting the integration of social and study activities, encouraging students to exchange ideas and knowledge, fostering interdisciplinary and innovation. View Paper
Enabling Paperless Workflows through Digital Signatures
(Ricardo Almeida)
Nominated for Best Paper Award
Paperless workflows are essential to the shaping of the Digital Future of Universities. Although academic and administrative management software eliminates the need for paper in many processes, there are still many others that require paper support, most often documents that require handwritten signatures, such as registration and degree certificates. That yields extra unnecessary steps for both parties involved and consumes additional resources, especially when such signatures need to be validated. With digital transformation in sight, in this paper we describe SmartSigner, a technological solution for digital signature of electronic documents, ready to be integrated with any academic management software. The solution is based on Qualified Electronic Signatures using smart cards which, for public institutions in Portugal, are created and maintained by a governmental office. The solution also aims to improve and simplify inter-university contract celebration, like for example, learning agreements in student-exchange programmes. View Paper