Education is – obviously-a future oriented business. Therefore it is greatly affected by false as... more Education is – obviously-a future oriented business. Therefore it is greatly affected by false assumptions, and erroneous predictions about how the future may look like. In other words, there are multiple risks associated with this activity. In this paper we discuss the concept of risk in education, identify some of its factors, and argue that the research on creativity may contribute to the mitigation thereof.
This paper is a brief presentation of a research regarding the possible correlation between the i... more This paper is a brief presentation of a research regarding the possible correlation between the individual creativity and the level of anxiety about the future of students involved in tertiary education. Basically, our experiment consisted in measuring the creativity quotient of a number of 30 students using a previously developped scale, and then comparing the results with their levels of anxiety about the future determined using the Bolanowsky AAF scale. Preliminary results show that students with higher scores at a creativity test feel better prepared to face the future, and exhibit lower levels of anxiety regarding their educational and professional evolution. On the other hand, there is growing evidence that the individual creativity can be significantly improved through specific education. Since the students' anxiety is a catch all indicator of the factors having a negative impact on the process of education, it results that a systematic effort to stimulate the creativity of the students might be one of the most effective means to mitigate the impact of many risk factors and improve the overall quality of education.
This paper is a brief presentation of a research regarding the possible correlation between the i... more This paper is a brief presentation of a research regarding the possible correlation between the individual creativity and the level of anxiety about the future of students involved in tertiary education. Basically, our experiment consisted in measuring the creativity quotient of a number of 30 students using a previously developped scale, and then comparing the results with their levels of anxiety about the future determined using the Bolanowsky AAF scale. Preliminary results show that students with higher scores at a creativity test feel better prepared to face the future, and exhibit lower levels of anxiety regarding their educational and professional evolution. On the other hand, there is growing evidence that the individual creativity can be significantly improved through specific education. Since the students' anxiety is a catch all indicator of the factors having a negative impact on the process of education, it results that a systematic effort to stimulate the creativity of the students might be one of the most effective means to mitigate the impact of many risk factors and improve the overall quality of education.
New technologies, such as smart mobile communication and computing devices, GPS tracking, video s... more New technologies, such as smart mobile communication and computing devices, GPS tracking, video surveillance, RFID, web activity logs, etc. offer unprecedented means for automatic sensing and interpretation of a variety of aspects related to human interactions in groups, social networks, organizations, collectivities, or entire societies. It results that it is now possible to design technical systems capable to harness and leverage the collective intelligence. This paper is a brief review of the literature dedicated to this topic, aiming to identify the main approaches used for designing such systems, and to place our own research in this field in a larger context. Besides that, a simple agent based simulation experiment attempts to provide an answer to the question: " Why is Romania different " , from the perspective of the (lack of) collective intelligence.
While reviewing some of the 150 projects that received funding under the AAL-Joint Programme, it ... more While reviewing some of the 150 projects that received funding under the AAL-Joint Programme, it becomes obvious that most of them exhibit several major drawbacks. Among these, the most important is that they are too much focused on technology. Many of the proposed solutions still follow the design pattern of the feeding machine presented in the famous movie " Modern Times " of Charlie Chaplin by treating the assisted person as an object. The research described in this paper aims to outline a different approach on the implementation of the AAL systems, by focusing on a neglected resource, which is the assisted persons themselves. We explore two possible solutions aimed to facilitate the participation of the assisted persons in the process of caregiving. First, in an " asynchronous " scheme, we consider the possibility that careseekers may act as caregivers at distinct time moments. Second, in a " synchronous " perspective, the assisted persons actually provide some sort of assistance to other people in need, either by sharing information about their activity patterns, or by participating in technology mediated social interactions similar to those established in therapy groups.
This paper presents a novel approach on the implementation of the concept of " virtual pheromones... more This paper presents a novel approach on the implementation of the concept of " virtual pheromones " for use in controlling wheeled mobile robots (WMR). Rather than being deployed in the environment, the virtual pheromones are stored in a map of the environment maintained and updated by a " pheromone server ". This map acts like a shared memory for all the agents, by means of a radio communication link between each agent and the pheromone server. No direct communication between agents is required. The pheromone server can be implemented on a regular computer, a handheld device, or an embedded controller carried by a leader robot. The technique described is equally applicable for guiding individual robots and robot swarms. The experiments show that this method allows significant simplification and cost reduction of the autonomous agents. Several possible applications are discussed. Two WMRs have been used in control, Pioneer 3-DX and PeopleBot.
This paper proposes a novel, reactive algorithm for real time obstacle avoidance, compatible with... more This paper proposes a novel, reactive algorithm for real time obstacle avoidance, compatible with low cost sonar or infrared sensors, fast enough to be implemented on embedded microcontrollers. We called this algorithm " the bubble rebound algorithm ". According to this algorithm, only the obstacles detected within an area called " sensitivity bubble " around the robot are considered. The shape and size of the sensitivity bubble are dynamically adjusted, depending on the kinematics of the robot. Upon detection of an obstacle, the robot " rebounds " in a direction having the lowest density of obstacles, and continues its motion in this direction until the goal becomes visible, or a new obstacle is encountered. The performances and drawbacks of the method are described, based on the experimental results with simulators and real robots..
In this paper a fuzzy control and an obstacle avoidance system, together with a distributed syste... more In this paper a fuzzy control and an obstacle avoidance system, together with a distributed system of embedded microcontrollers, are presented. In the real-time control, a wheeled mobile robot (WMR), Pioneer 3-DX, from Mobile Robots, has been used. The solution adopted can be easily ported for the implementation of an intelligent wheelchair, capable either to carry an elderly or disabled person, or to move independently in a smart environment, as a sensorial extension of the assisted individual. A number of control modules are located on the mobile robot, while others are deployed in an intelligent environment. This solution can significantly reduce the cost of developing a robotic assistant for the elderly and disabled. The structure of the real-time setup is described in detail, as well as the main algorithms used for each individual task: path following, obstacle avoidance, data acquisition. Also, an obstacle avoidance system, based on ricochet method, named “the bubble rebound method”, is presented. This method is tested only by simulation,
After reviewing some of the vast literature related to Ambient Assisted Living (AAL), we noticed ... more After reviewing some of the vast literature related to Ambient Assisted Living (AAL), we noticed that many of the recent solutions in AAL follow the design paradigm defined by the feeding machine presented in the famous Chaplin " s movie " Modern Times ". Despite all major advances in technology, the assisted person is still an " object " , and – in a pure industrial revolution approach-the design focus is on increasing the work productivity of the caregivers. In this brief discussion paper we propose a " third wave " approach on designing AAL systems: rather than creating technology to replace humans in assisting the elderly and disabled people, we should use technology to foster human interactions and enable more caregivers to get involved in this activity. According to this new, prosumerist, paradigm the producers and consummers of care should be able to switch roles. This paper outlines a possible implementation of a simple AAL system based on this paradigm. We also discuss a possible solution for the problem of activity recognition, based on distributed ANNs.
The most common solution for remote monitoring and control of the protection relays used in moder... more The most common solution for remote monitoring and control of the protection relays used in modern electrical energy distribution systems is based on GSM/GPRS communication. In practice, however, the emergency situations in energy distribution systems usually occur in special weather conditions (storms, massive snowfalls, etc.), or in crisis situations (natural disasters, armed conflicts, etc.), when the GSM communication system is also disrupted. Thus, the fault localization and repair is delayed, which results in significant losses, and major discomfort for thousands of subscribers. This paper explores the technical feasibility of creating an alternative communication system, based on the Wireless Sensor Networks (WSN) technology, able to substitute the GSM communication for monitoring the reclosers deployed along the energy distribution lines. This preliminary study suggests that the existing WSN devices and protocols allow the implementation of an emergency communication system capable to route relatively small amounts of data over wide geographic areas. Such a system is, in principle, capable to ensure backup communication for emergency fault diagnosis in electrical energy distribution systems.
This paper describes a simple solution to create self-organization of the educational content in ... more This paper describes a simple solution to create self-organization of the educational content in learning networks by enabling stigmergic interactions between learners. For this purpose, a special type of metadata, called " virtual pheromones " , has been defined. By accessing the learning objects, users create trails of virtual pheromones, which are interpreted as an implicit recommendation for other learners to use those objects. The resulting system may operate as an automated learning path planner in learning networks. We also explore to possibility to implement such system in a P2P file sharing environment as a solution to the problem of sustainability in open education systems.
Nowadays globalized society and knowledge-based economy need people with creative thinking in all... more Nowadays globalized society and knowledge-based economy need people with creative thinking in all areas (engineering, medicine, art, entrepreneurship, and education). Thus, current studies are turning their attention to find new ways to stimulate creativity over individual or groups. In the present research, we hypothesized that the creativity can be enhanced if it is used social interaction abilities for knowledge sharing and collaboration. We present a collaborative application that provides users with an environment where they can share ideas and they can collaborate to choose those ideas that are most suitable for the intended use. This application provides to users a shared, web-based platform to enhance creativity. In this platform, users are gathered in a Social Group in which they can share ideas, comments, documents and links around. This application is part of a physical environment which provides users a number of tools to stimulate their creativity. If problems arise in the creative process, then the application provides facilities for a coordinator who can use different methods to unlock brainstorming progression.
Education is – clearly – a future oriented business. And, in our rapidly changing world, the futu... more Education is – clearly – a future oriented business. And, in our rapidly changing world, the future is shrouded in clouds of uncertainty, and full of risks. Rather surprisingly, while reviewing the vast literature on topics related to education, we noticed that the concept of risk is often missing from the discussions about social policies and individual options in education. And, on the rare occasions when the risk in education is still considered, the approaches adopted are based on concepts borrowed from financial theories that create risk instead of reducing it. This raises an ethical question for the educators: " to what extent are we – policy makers, teachers, or other professionals in education-responsible for the professional path of our students 10 or 20 years from now, knowing that it is impossible to predict the social and economic evolution even for shorter time horizons? " In this paper we argue that the only means to provide students with some robustness against the uncertainties and risks of the future is to help them to become more creative. In this context, we have tried to approach the problem of fostering the creativity through education from two distinct directions: First, in the project iLab2-Innovation Laboratories for the quality assurance of vocational education and training (Leonardo da Vinci 2012-1-PL1-LEO05-27430), we acted on the learning environment. Then, in the project Tecrino – teaching creativity in engineering (Leonardo da Vinci 538710-LLP-1-2013-1-CY-LEONARDO-LMP), we are working to create specially designed educational content for both teachers and students, and make this content freely available through an open access e-learning platform. This paper presents a general overview and the preliminary results of these projects and suggests that – despite all critics – a reformed school remains the only efficient social instrument for promoting creativity on a large scale. 1. New people for a new world Remember those punched cards, which-a few decades ago-were the main data storage solution in the times when the large mainframe computers ruled? A whole industry was manufacturing the machines used to punch, verify and read the cards, and many thousands of people worldwide used to make a living doing these operations. All those jobs simply vanished in just a few years, when the large mainframes shrank in size and became mini-systems, and the punched cards were abandoned. And so did the FORTRAN programming jobs. In theory, these jobs were supposed to be risk-free, as computer industry was an emerging domain. Nobody ever predicted this job market shift, just like nobody predicted other important events like financial crises, major epidemics, wars etc. We don't know how the future will look like, yet we claim to educate our children to face its challenges. But this
THOUGH MOST RESEARCHERS AGREE THAT CREATIVITY CAN BE THOUGHT, THERE ARE VERY FEW EDUCATIONAL INIT... more THOUGH MOST RESEARCHERS AGREE THAT CREATIVITY CAN BE THOUGHT, THERE ARE VERY FEW EDUCATIONAL INITIATIVES SPECIFICALLY AIMED TO IMPROVE CREATIVITY OF THE STUDENTS., THIS PAPER IS A BRIEF REVIEW OF THE VAST LITERATURE DEDICATED TO THE STUDY OF CREATIVITY FROM A PRACTICAL PERSPECTIVE, AIMING TO IDENTIFY THE FACTORS THAT INFLUENCE CREATIVITY IN A POSITIVE OR NEGATIVE WAY, AND TO DERIVE ACTION DIRECTIONS FOR FOSTERING CREATIVITY IN THE EDUCATIONAL CONTEXT. AN IMPORTANT CONCLUSION OF THIS STUDY IS THAT, THOUGH INTENSELY CRITICIZED FOR BLOCKING THE INNATE CREATIVITY OF THE CHILDREN, A REFORMED SCHOOL, WITH SPECIALLY TRAINED TEACHERS, SEEMS TO REMAIN THE MOST IMPORTANT SOCIAL INSTRUMENT FOR PROMOTING CREATIVITY OF THE STUDENTS ON A LARGE SCALE.
Rather surprisingly, the performance of Romania in what concerns research, development and innova... more Rather surprisingly, the performance of Romania in what concerns research, development and innovation during the period of time elapsed since the accession to the European Union visibly dropped. The Innovation Union Scoreboard places Romania in the group of " modest innovators " with the lowest values of all indicators, and the Bloomberg innovation index ranks Romania the 46 th of 50 countries, after Tunisia, Argentina, and Malta. This paper is an insider analysis of the Romanian RDI system aiming to identify the multiple causes of this situation, and to propose a possible solution based on the concept of " open innovation " .
In this paper, we argue that a systematic education for creativity appears to be the only solutio... more In this paper, we argue that a systematic education for creativity appears to be the only solution to provide our students with the minimal tools to cope with the uncertainties of the future. And we suggest that an open access e-learning platform dedicated to teaching creativity might be the most efficient way to solve this problem on a large scale. However, this is not an easy task. In this paper, we describe some of the challenges we face in the implementation of the Leonardo da Vinci project " TECRINO-Teaching creativity in engineering " , whose main objective is to develop the appropriate educational content and to setup a Moodle platform for teaching creativity. Among these challenges, we count the fuzzyness of the definition of some essential concepts like " creative thinking skills " , and the lack of simple and easy to use creativity assessment tools. We believe that the modest attainment reported here is the essential first step on the long road of a systematic education for creativity. .
Discovered in the context of a research about insects, stigmergy – the indirect coordination mech... more Discovered in the context of a research about insects, stigmergy – the indirect coordination mechanism that allows ant colonies to achieve intelligent behavior – has been extensively studied with the aim to create artificial, ant-like agents. Although stigmergic behavior has been also identified in human collectivities, there are relatively few reports about technological solutions that facilitate the emergence of such interactions between people. This paper proposes the concept of virtual pheromones, defined as engrams created by the agents not in the environment, but in a representation thereof – a map, and outlines several use cases, wherein pheromones embedded in maps are the key element for inducing stigmergic behavior in human multi-agent systems. Without proposing a theoretic generalization, this paper aims to emphasize the broad range of possible technological applications of human stigmergy, and, maybe, to mark a new starting point for a more in-depth study of this topic.
The core idea of the research described in this paper is that the processes of self-organization ... more The core idea of the research described in this paper is that the processes of self-organization commonly called „swarm intelligence” can be triggered by creating – through the collective effort of the whole population of agents – a „global cognitive map” derived from the interaction between the agents and the environment, and shared by all agents. We focus on multi-agent systems with human agents, and explore the technological means to automate the process of creating and sharing such cognitive maps, with the aim to induce controllable self-organization of the behavior of the agents.
We have tried to approach the problem of fostering creativity in education from two distinct dire... more We have tried to approach the problem of fostering creativity in education from two distinct directions: First, in the project " iLab2-Innovation Laboratories for the quality assurance of vocational education and training " , we acted on the learning environment. Then, in the project " Tecrino – teaching creativity in engineering " , we are working to create specially designed educational content for both teachers and students. This paper presents the philosophy and the preliminary results of these projects and suggests that a reformed school seems to be the only efficient social instrument for promoting creativity on a large scale.
Education is – obviously-a future oriented business. Therefore it is greatly affected by false as... more Education is – obviously-a future oriented business. Therefore it is greatly affected by false assumptions, and erroneous predictions about how the future may look like. In other words, there are multiple risks associated with this activity. In this paper we discuss the concept of risk in education, identify some of its factors, and argue that the research on creativity may contribute to the mitigation thereof.
This paper is a brief presentation of a research regarding the possible correlation between the i... more This paper is a brief presentation of a research regarding the possible correlation between the individual creativity and the level of anxiety about the future of students involved in tertiary education. Basically, our experiment consisted in measuring the creativity quotient of a number of 30 students using a previously developped scale, and then comparing the results with their levels of anxiety about the future determined using the Bolanowsky AAF scale. Preliminary results show that students with higher scores at a creativity test feel better prepared to face the future, and exhibit lower levels of anxiety regarding their educational and professional evolution. On the other hand, there is growing evidence that the individual creativity can be significantly improved through specific education. Since the students' anxiety is a catch all indicator of the factors having a negative impact on the process of education, it results that a systematic effort to stimulate the creativity of the students might be one of the most effective means to mitigate the impact of many risk factors and improve the overall quality of education.
This paper is a brief presentation of a research regarding the possible correlation between the i... more This paper is a brief presentation of a research regarding the possible correlation between the individual creativity and the level of anxiety about the future of students involved in tertiary education. Basically, our experiment consisted in measuring the creativity quotient of a number of 30 students using a previously developped scale, and then comparing the results with their levels of anxiety about the future determined using the Bolanowsky AAF scale. Preliminary results show that students with higher scores at a creativity test feel better prepared to face the future, and exhibit lower levels of anxiety regarding their educational and professional evolution. On the other hand, there is growing evidence that the individual creativity can be significantly improved through specific education. Since the students' anxiety is a catch all indicator of the factors having a negative impact on the process of education, it results that a systematic effort to stimulate the creativity of the students might be one of the most effective means to mitigate the impact of many risk factors and improve the overall quality of education.
New technologies, such as smart mobile communication and computing devices, GPS tracking, video s... more New technologies, such as smart mobile communication and computing devices, GPS tracking, video surveillance, RFID, web activity logs, etc. offer unprecedented means for automatic sensing and interpretation of a variety of aspects related to human interactions in groups, social networks, organizations, collectivities, or entire societies. It results that it is now possible to design technical systems capable to harness and leverage the collective intelligence. This paper is a brief review of the literature dedicated to this topic, aiming to identify the main approaches used for designing such systems, and to place our own research in this field in a larger context. Besides that, a simple agent based simulation experiment attempts to provide an answer to the question: " Why is Romania different " , from the perspective of the (lack of) collective intelligence.
While reviewing some of the 150 projects that received funding under the AAL-Joint Programme, it ... more While reviewing some of the 150 projects that received funding under the AAL-Joint Programme, it becomes obvious that most of them exhibit several major drawbacks. Among these, the most important is that they are too much focused on technology. Many of the proposed solutions still follow the design pattern of the feeding machine presented in the famous movie " Modern Times " of Charlie Chaplin by treating the assisted person as an object. The research described in this paper aims to outline a different approach on the implementation of the AAL systems, by focusing on a neglected resource, which is the assisted persons themselves. We explore two possible solutions aimed to facilitate the participation of the assisted persons in the process of caregiving. First, in an " asynchronous " scheme, we consider the possibility that careseekers may act as caregivers at distinct time moments. Second, in a " synchronous " perspective, the assisted persons actually provide some sort of assistance to other people in need, either by sharing information about their activity patterns, or by participating in technology mediated social interactions similar to those established in therapy groups.
This paper presents a novel approach on the implementation of the concept of " virtual pheromones... more This paper presents a novel approach on the implementation of the concept of " virtual pheromones " for use in controlling wheeled mobile robots (WMR). Rather than being deployed in the environment, the virtual pheromones are stored in a map of the environment maintained and updated by a " pheromone server ". This map acts like a shared memory for all the agents, by means of a radio communication link between each agent and the pheromone server. No direct communication between agents is required. The pheromone server can be implemented on a regular computer, a handheld device, or an embedded controller carried by a leader robot. The technique described is equally applicable for guiding individual robots and robot swarms. The experiments show that this method allows significant simplification and cost reduction of the autonomous agents. Several possible applications are discussed. Two WMRs have been used in control, Pioneer 3-DX and PeopleBot.
This paper proposes a novel, reactive algorithm for real time obstacle avoidance, compatible with... more This paper proposes a novel, reactive algorithm for real time obstacle avoidance, compatible with low cost sonar or infrared sensors, fast enough to be implemented on embedded microcontrollers. We called this algorithm " the bubble rebound algorithm ". According to this algorithm, only the obstacles detected within an area called " sensitivity bubble " around the robot are considered. The shape and size of the sensitivity bubble are dynamically adjusted, depending on the kinematics of the robot. Upon detection of an obstacle, the robot " rebounds " in a direction having the lowest density of obstacles, and continues its motion in this direction until the goal becomes visible, or a new obstacle is encountered. The performances and drawbacks of the method are described, based on the experimental results with simulators and real robots..
In this paper a fuzzy control and an obstacle avoidance system, together with a distributed syste... more In this paper a fuzzy control and an obstacle avoidance system, together with a distributed system of embedded microcontrollers, are presented. In the real-time control, a wheeled mobile robot (WMR), Pioneer 3-DX, from Mobile Robots, has been used. The solution adopted can be easily ported for the implementation of an intelligent wheelchair, capable either to carry an elderly or disabled person, or to move independently in a smart environment, as a sensorial extension of the assisted individual. A number of control modules are located on the mobile robot, while others are deployed in an intelligent environment. This solution can significantly reduce the cost of developing a robotic assistant for the elderly and disabled. The structure of the real-time setup is described in detail, as well as the main algorithms used for each individual task: path following, obstacle avoidance, data acquisition. Also, an obstacle avoidance system, based on ricochet method, named “the bubble rebound method”, is presented. This method is tested only by simulation,
After reviewing some of the vast literature related to Ambient Assisted Living (AAL), we noticed ... more After reviewing some of the vast literature related to Ambient Assisted Living (AAL), we noticed that many of the recent solutions in AAL follow the design paradigm defined by the feeding machine presented in the famous Chaplin " s movie " Modern Times ". Despite all major advances in technology, the assisted person is still an " object " , and – in a pure industrial revolution approach-the design focus is on increasing the work productivity of the caregivers. In this brief discussion paper we propose a " third wave " approach on designing AAL systems: rather than creating technology to replace humans in assisting the elderly and disabled people, we should use technology to foster human interactions and enable more caregivers to get involved in this activity. According to this new, prosumerist, paradigm the producers and consummers of care should be able to switch roles. This paper outlines a possible implementation of a simple AAL system based on this paradigm. We also discuss a possible solution for the problem of activity recognition, based on distributed ANNs.
The most common solution for remote monitoring and control of the protection relays used in moder... more The most common solution for remote monitoring and control of the protection relays used in modern electrical energy distribution systems is based on GSM/GPRS communication. In practice, however, the emergency situations in energy distribution systems usually occur in special weather conditions (storms, massive snowfalls, etc.), or in crisis situations (natural disasters, armed conflicts, etc.), when the GSM communication system is also disrupted. Thus, the fault localization and repair is delayed, which results in significant losses, and major discomfort for thousands of subscribers. This paper explores the technical feasibility of creating an alternative communication system, based on the Wireless Sensor Networks (WSN) technology, able to substitute the GSM communication for monitoring the reclosers deployed along the energy distribution lines. This preliminary study suggests that the existing WSN devices and protocols allow the implementation of an emergency communication system capable to route relatively small amounts of data over wide geographic areas. Such a system is, in principle, capable to ensure backup communication for emergency fault diagnosis in electrical energy distribution systems.
This paper describes a simple solution to create self-organization of the educational content in ... more This paper describes a simple solution to create self-organization of the educational content in learning networks by enabling stigmergic interactions between learners. For this purpose, a special type of metadata, called " virtual pheromones " , has been defined. By accessing the learning objects, users create trails of virtual pheromones, which are interpreted as an implicit recommendation for other learners to use those objects. The resulting system may operate as an automated learning path planner in learning networks. We also explore to possibility to implement such system in a P2P file sharing environment as a solution to the problem of sustainability in open education systems.
Nowadays globalized society and knowledge-based economy need people with creative thinking in all... more Nowadays globalized society and knowledge-based economy need people with creative thinking in all areas (engineering, medicine, art, entrepreneurship, and education). Thus, current studies are turning their attention to find new ways to stimulate creativity over individual or groups. In the present research, we hypothesized that the creativity can be enhanced if it is used social interaction abilities for knowledge sharing and collaboration. We present a collaborative application that provides users with an environment where they can share ideas and they can collaborate to choose those ideas that are most suitable for the intended use. This application provides to users a shared, web-based platform to enhance creativity. In this platform, users are gathered in a Social Group in which they can share ideas, comments, documents and links around. This application is part of a physical environment which provides users a number of tools to stimulate their creativity. If problems arise in the creative process, then the application provides facilities for a coordinator who can use different methods to unlock brainstorming progression.
Education is – clearly – a future oriented business. And, in our rapidly changing world, the futu... more Education is – clearly – a future oriented business. And, in our rapidly changing world, the future is shrouded in clouds of uncertainty, and full of risks. Rather surprisingly, while reviewing the vast literature on topics related to education, we noticed that the concept of risk is often missing from the discussions about social policies and individual options in education. And, on the rare occasions when the risk in education is still considered, the approaches adopted are based on concepts borrowed from financial theories that create risk instead of reducing it. This raises an ethical question for the educators: " to what extent are we – policy makers, teachers, or other professionals in education-responsible for the professional path of our students 10 or 20 years from now, knowing that it is impossible to predict the social and economic evolution even for shorter time horizons? " In this paper we argue that the only means to provide students with some robustness against the uncertainties and risks of the future is to help them to become more creative. In this context, we have tried to approach the problem of fostering the creativity through education from two distinct directions: First, in the project iLab2-Innovation Laboratories for the quality assurance of vocational education and training (Leonardo da Vinci 2012-1-PL1-LEO05-27430), we acted on the learning environment. Then, in the project Tecrino – teaching creativity in engineering (Leonardo da Vinci 538710-LLP-1-2013-1-CY-LEONARDO-LMP), we are working to create specially designed educational content for both teachers and students, and make this content freely available through an open access e-learning platform. This paper presents a general overview and the preliminary results of these projects and suggests that – despite all critics – a reformed school remains the only efficient social instrument for promoting creativity on a large scale. 1. New people for a new world Remember those punched cards, which-a few decades ago-were the main data storage solution in the times when the large mainframe computers ruled? A whole industry was manufacturing the machines used to punch, verify and read the cards, and many thousands of people worldwide used to make a living doing these operations. All those jobs simply vanished in just a few years, when the large mainframes shrank in size and became mini-systems, and the punched cards were abandoned. And so did the FORTRAN programming jobs. In theory, these jobs were supposed to be risk-free, as computer industry was an emerging domain. Nobody ever predicted this job market shift, just like nobody predicted other important events like financial crises, major epidemics, wars etc. We don't know how the future will look like, yet we claim to educate our children to face its challenges. But this
THOUGH MOST RESEARCHERS AGREE THAT CREATIVITY CAN BE THOUGHT, THERE ARE VERY FEW EDUCATIONAL INIT... more THOUGH MOST RESEARCHERS AGREE THAT CREATIVITY CAN BE THOUGHT, THERE ARE VERY FEW EDUCATIONAL INITIATIVES SPECIFICALLY AIMED TO IMPROVE CREATIVITY OF THE STUDENTS., THIS PAPER IS A BRIEF REVIEW OF THE VAST LITERATURE DEDICATED TO THE STUDY OF CREATIVITY FROM A PRACTICAL PERSPECTIVE, AIMING TO IDENTIFY THE FACTORS THAT INFLUENCE CREATIVITY IN A POSITIVE OR NEGATIVE WAY, AND TO DERIVE ACTION DIRECTIONS FOR FOSTERING CREATIVITY IN THE EDUCATIONAL CONTEXT. AN IMPORTANT CONCLUSION OF THIS STUDY IS THAT, THOUGH INTENSELY CRITICIZED FOR BLOCKING THE INNATE CREATIVITY OF THE CHILDREN, A REFORMED SCHOOL, WITH SPECIALLY TRAINED TEACHERS, SEEMS TO REMAIN THE MOST IMPORTANT SOCIAL INSTRUMENT FOR PROMOTING CREATIVITY OF THE STUDENTS ON A LARGE SCALE.
Rather surprisingly, the performance of Romania in what concerns research, development and innova... more Rather surprisingly, the performance of Romania in what concerns research, development and innovation during the period of time elapsed since the accession to the European Union visibly dropped. The Innovation Union Scoreboard places Romania in the group of " modest innovators " with the lowest values of all indicators, and the Bloomberg innovation index ranks Romania the 46 th of 50 countries, after Tunisia, Argentina, and Malta. This paper is an insider analysis of the Romanian RDI system aiming to identify the multiple causes of this situation, and to propose a possible solution based on the concept of " open innovation " .
In this paper, we argue that a systematic education for creativity appears to be the only solutio... more In this paper, we argue that a systematic education for creativity appears to be the only solution to provide our students with the minimal tools to cope with the uncertainties of the future. And we suggest that an open access e-learning platform dedicated to teaching creativity might be the most efficient way to solve this problem on a large scale. However, this is not an easy task. In this paper, we describe some of the challenges we face in the implementation of the Leonardo da Vinci project " TECRINO-Teaching creativity in engineering " , whose main objective is to develop the appropriate educational content and to setup a Moodle platform for teaching creativity. Among these challenges, we count the fuzzyness of the definition of some essential concepts like " creative thinking skills " , and the lack of simple and easy to use creativity assessment tools. We believe that the modest attainment reported here is the essential first step on the long road of a systematic education for creativity. .
Discovered in the context of a research about insects, stigmergy – the indirect coordination mech... more Discovered in the context of a research about insects, stigmergy – the indirect coordination mechanism that allows ant colonies to achieve intelligent behavior – has been extensively studied with the aim to create artificial, ant-like agents. Although stigmergic behavior has been also identified in human collectivities, there are relatively few reports about technological solutions that facilitate the emergence of such interactions between people. This paper proposes the concept of virtual pheromones, defined as engrams created by the agents not in the environment, but in a representation thereof – a map, and outlines several use cases, wherein pheromones embedded in maps are the key element for inducing stigmergic behavior in human multi-agent systems. Without proposing a theoretic generalization, this paper aims to emphasize the broad range of possible technological applications of human stigmergy, and, maybe, to mark a new starting point for a more in-depth study of this topic.
The core idea of the research described in this paper is that the processes of self-organization ... more The core idea of the research described in this paper is that the processes of self-organization commonly called „swarm intelligence” can be triggered by creating – through the collective effort of the whole population of agents – a „global cognitive map” derived from the interaction between the agents and the environment, and shared by all agents. We focus on multi-agent systems with human agents, and explore the technological means to automate the process of creating and sharing such cognitive maps, with the aim to induce controllable self-organization of the behavior of the agents.
We have tried to approach the problem of fostering creativity in education from two distinct dire... more We have tried to approach the problem of fostering creativity in education from two distinct directions: First, in the project " iLab2-Innovation Laboratories for the quality assurance of vocational education and training " , we acted on the learning environment. Then, in the project " Tecrino – teaching creativity in engineering " , we are working to create specially designed educational content for both teachers and students. This paper presents the philosophy and the preliminary results of these projects and suggests that a reformed school seems to be the only efficient social instrument for promoting creativity on a large scale.
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Papers by Ioan Susnea
embedded microcontrollers, are presented. In the real-time control, a wheeled mobile robot (WMR), Pioneer
3-DX, from Mobile Robots, has been used. The solution adopted can be easily ported for the implementation of
an intelligent wheelchair, capable either to carry an elderly or disabled person, or to move independently in a
smart environment, as a sensorial extension of the assisted individual. A number of control modules are located
on the mobile robot, while others are deployed in an intelligent environment. This solution can significantly
reduce the cost of developing a robotic assistant for the elderly and disabled. The structure of the real-time setup
is described in detail, as well as the main algorithms used for each individual task: path following, obstacle
avoidance, data acquisition. Also, an obstacle avoidance system, based on ricochet method, named “the bubble
rebound method”, is presented. This method is tested only by simulation,
FOR FOSTERING CREATIVITY IN THE EDUCATIONAL CONTEXT.
AN IMPORTANT CONCLUSION OF THIS STUDY IS THAT, THOUGH INTENSELY CRITICIZED FOR BLOCKING THE INNATE CREATIVITY OF THE CHILDREN, A REFORMED SCHOOL, WITH SPECIALLY TRAINED TEACHERS, SEEMS TO REMAIN THE MOST IMPORTANT SOCIAL INSTRUMENT FOR PROMOTING CREATIVITY OF THE STUDENTS ON A LARGE SCALE.
„swarm intelligence” can be triggered by creating – through the collective effort of the whole population of agents – a
„global cognitive map” derived from the interaction between the agents and the environment, and shared by all agents. We focus on multi-agent systems with human agents, and explore the technological means to automate the process of creating and sharing such cognitive maps, with the aim to induce controllable self-organization of the behavior of the agents.
embedded microcontrollers, are presented. In the real-time control, a wheeled mobile robot (WMR), Pioneer
3-DX, from Mobile Robots, has been used. The solution adopted can be easily ported for the implementation of
an intelligent wheelchair, capable either to carry an elderly or disabled person, or to move independently in a
smart environment, as a sensorial extension of the assisted individual. A number of control modules are located
on the mobile robot, while others are deployed in an intelligent environment. This solution can significantly
reduce the cost of developing a robotic assistant for the elderly and disabled. The structure of the real-time setup
is described in detail, as well as the main algorithms used for each individual task: path following, obstacle
avoidance, data acquisition. Also, an obstacle avoidance system, based on ricochet method, named “the bubble
rebound method”, is presented. This method is tested only by simulation,
FOR FOSTERING CREATIVITY IN THE EDUCATIONAL CONTEXT.
AN IMPORTANT CONCLUSION OF THIS STUDY IS THAT, THOUGH INTENSELY CRITICIZED FOR BLOCKING THE INNATE CREATIVITY OF THE CHILDREN, A REFORMED SCHOOL, WITH SPECIALLY TRAINED TEACHERS, SEEMS TO REMAIN THE MOST IMPORTANT SOCIAL INSTRUMENT FOR PROMOTING CREATIVITY OF THE STUDENTS ON A LARGE SCALE.
„swarm intelligence” can be triggered by creating – through the collective effort of the whole population of agents – a
„global cognitive map” derived from the interaction between the agents and the environment, and shared by all agents. We focus on multi-agent systems with human agents, and explore the technological means to automate the process of creating and sharing such cognitive maps, with the aim to induce controllable self-organization of the behavior of the agents.