Category Archives: Community Contributions

A quantitative study of TWiki at CERN after ten years of use

Announcement, Community Contributions, Conference Contributions, OpenSym 2016

Title: A quantitative study of TWiki at CERN after ten years of use

Author: Peter L. Jones (CERN IT/CDA)

Abstract: The European Organization for Nuclear Research known as CERN [1], is the home of the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) [2] where physicists are recreating conditions close to those at the origin of the Universe. Although the LHC is based at CERN over 10,000 scientists and engineers from over 100 countries and hundreds of universities and laboratories collaborate on this project. TWiki [3] is an online collaboration platform and was introduced at CERN at the request of the LHC experiments, ALICE, ATLAS, CMS and LHCb have all used TWiki since its introduction. By analyzing the TWiki website statistics from 2006 until April 2016 this paper presents a quantitative study of how TWiki has been put into practice. The results will give a general picture of who is using the system and how this has evolved over the years.

This contribution to OpenSym 2016 will be made available as part of the OpenSym 2016 proceedings on or after August 17, 2016.

The Open Community Data Exchange: Advancing Data Sharing and Discovery in Open Online Community Science

Announcement, Community Contributions, Conference Contributions, OpenSym 2016

Title: The Open Community Data Exchange: Advancing Data Sharing and Discovery in Open Online Community Science

Authors: Georg J.P. Link and Matt Germonprez (University of Nebraska at Omaha Omaha), Sean Goggins (University of Missouri), Jeff Hemsley (Syracuse University), Bill Rand (University of Maryland), Megan Squire (Elon University)

Abstract: While online behavior creates an enormous amount of digital data that can be the basis for social science research, to date, the science has been conducted piecemeal, one internet address at a time, often without social or scholarly impact beyond the site’s own stakeholders. Scientists lack the tools, methods, and practices to combine, compare, contrast and communicate about online behavior across internet addresses or over time. In response, we are building the infrastructure for computational social scientists, social scientists, and citizens to make corresponding advances in our understanding of online human interactions. In this paper, we present our effort to specify the Open Community Data Exchange (OCDX) metadata standard to describe datasets, as well as the necessary infrastructure for creating, editing, viewing, sharing, and analyzing manifests. The purpose of this paper is to communicate the current state of our project and represent our current findings through our ongoing engagement with the scientific community and to engage in dialog among computational social scientists.

This contribution to OpenSym 2016 will be made available as part of the OpenSym 2016 proceedings on or after August 17, 2016.

An Open Source Software Directory for Aeronautics and Space

Announcement, Community Contributions, Conference Contributions, Experience Reports, OpenSym 2014

Title: An Open Source Software Directory for Aeronautics and Space

Authors: Andreas Schreiber (German Aerospace Center (DLR)), Roberto Galoppini (SourceForge), Michael Meinel (German Aerospace Center (DLR)), Tobias Schlauch (German Aerospace Center (DLR))

Abstract: In aerospace engineering, as well as in many other disciplines, many software tools are developed. Often, it is hard to get an overview of already existing software. Sometimes this leads to multiple development of software, if nobody is able to determine whether a software for a specific tasks exist already or not. Therefore, in companies and organizations there is a need for a directory of exiting software. The German Aerospace Center has built such a directory based on the Open Source software Allura, which is the base software that drives the Open Source hosting platform SourceForge.net. Allura has been customized to the needs of the aerospace domain. The result is a software portal for the aerospace research community, that allow to register and categorize software. It is intended to be used both for Open Source and proprietary software. Employees of the German Aerospace Center as well as the public can search for existing software. This reduces the amount of software developed twice and allows to get in touch with colleagues who developed similar software.

This contribution to OpenSym 2014 will be made available as part of the OpenSym 2014 proceedings on or after August 27, 2014.

Collaborative Learning of Translation: The Case of TransWiki in Macao

Announcement, Community Contributions, Conference Contributions, Experience Reports, OpenSym 2014

Title: Collaborative Learning of Translation: The Case of TransWiki in Macao

Authors: Hari Venkatesan (University of Macau), Robert P. Biuk-Aghai (University of Macau), Michele Notari (University of Teacher Education Bern)

Abstract: Pedagogy has undergone a paradigm shift since the focus changed from uni-directional transmission to collaborative construction of knowledge. The social constructivist approach calls for pedagogy to facilitate interaction between learners involved in collaborative problem solving of real life tasks. This paper describes a wikibased implementation of this approach (TransWiki) in the learning of translation. The paper examines issues that arise both from the perspective of the learner/user and the pedagogue and discusses solutions supported by the customization of the wiki system. User surveys and a case study indicate that the platform for collaboration is generally well received, but there is marked ambivalence with regard to the advantages of asynchronous collaboration through TransWiki over real-time face-to-face discussions. From the perspective of the instructor, the platform is seen as enabling scaffolding and providing a wealth of data that could inform pedagogy.

This contribution to OpenSym 2014 will be made available as part of the OpenSym 2014 proceedings on or after August 27, 2014.

Opening Lesson Plans to Support Teaching Innovation and Open Educational Resources Adoption

Announcement, Community Contributions, Conference Contributions, Experience Reports, OpenSym 2014

Title: Opening Lesson Plans to Support Teaching Innovation and Open Educational Resources Adoption

Authors: Manuel Caeiro Rodríguez (Universidad de Vigo)

Abstract: Edu-AREA is a web 2.X application that aims at supporting teaching during the whole life-cycle of lesson plans development, from design, facilitating the creation and the re-use of previous lesson plans, activities and resources provided by other users, to monitor and reflection, enabling teachers to register all types of evidences and comments. Edu-AREA also allows users (e.g.,  other teachers, students, parents) to comment and provide feedback to OLP. Accounting for these pieces of feedback will contribute to the detection of problems, the adoption of innovations and the implementation of effective improvements. In addition, the development of an appropriate recognition policy (e.g. badges for teachers) and the provision of “curation” facilities will support the identification of valuable educational resources, activities and experiences. In this contribution we show the main ideas and functionalities underlying this application.

This contribution to OpenSym 2014 will be made available as part of the OpenSym 2014 proceedings on or after August 27, 2014.

Wikirate: A Claims-based System for Collaboratively Reviewing Corporate Behavior

Announcement, Community Contributions, Conference Contributions, Demos, OpenSym 2014

Title: Wikirate: A Claims-based System for Collaboratively Reviewing Corporate Behavior

Authors: Vishal Kapadia (Wikirate e.V.), Ethan Mccutchen (Grass Commons), Lucia Lu (Wikirate e.V.), Philipp Kühl (Grass Commons)

Abstract: Wikirate.org is a community effort to review and rate companies’ ethical behavior. Wikirate.org is built using Wagn, whose atomic data approach allows Wikirate contributors to integrate rich qualitative and quantitative data in innovative, accessible ways. In the qualitative realm, data can be browsed by Company or by Topic, and the site’s core Articles cover the intersection of the two (eg. BP+Climate Change). Because source data in the corporate transparency realm in notoriously biased, Wikirate enhances traditional wiki mechanisms for ensuring data quality patterns by […]

This contribution to OpenSym 2014 will be made available as part of the OpenSym 2014 proceedings on or after August 27, 2014.

Strategies for Promoting OER in Course Development and Course Delivery in an ODL Environment

Announcement, Community Contributions, Conference Contributions, Experience Reports, OpenSym 2014

Title: Strategies for Promoting OER in Course Development and Course Delivery in an ODL Environment

Authors: Sheng Hung Chung (Wawasan Open University)

Abstract: This study discusses the phases involved for the development of  OER-based course materials namely the OER course integration using Wikibooks; evaluation of Quality Assurance (QA) in OER learning content; promoting and exploring OER repositories; CC licensing discussions and establishment of collective feedback sessions at Wawasan Open University (WOU), Penang, Malaysia. The learning design for the computing courses with engagement of learning experiences and feedbacks from different stakeholders in Open Distance Learning (ODL) environment are taken into consideration as one of the major components in the OER-based course development and revision phases. The OER-based computing course comprises of course units, self-test, unit practice exercises, assessments, mini project and activities are delivered in ODL mode in three consecutive semesters span from 2013 till 2014. Evaluations and studies are being carried out at end of each semesters for the by the course team members on the primary aspects focusing on learners’ participation rate of OER resources; LMS learners’ activities and assessments evaluation. The OER development engagement involved multiple stakeholders (i.e. learners, instructors, course coordinators and External Course Assessors) from different levels aiming to promote the use and understanding of OER in ODL environment.

This contribution to OpenSym 2014 will be made available as part of the OpenSym 2014 proceedings on or after August 27, 2014.

Strata: Typed Semi-Structured Data in DokuWiki

Announcement, Community Contributions, Demos, OpenSym 2014

Title: Strata: Typed Semi-Structured Data in DokuWiki

Authors: Brend Wanders (University of Twente), Steven Te Brinke (University of Twente)

Abstract: A semantic wiki is a wiki that has a model of the knowledge contained in its pages. Currently, semantic wikis are not adopted by a large user base, because most implementations are research prototypes that implement their own wiki engine. To increase familiarity with semantic wikis and quick adoption of semantic technologies we present Strata, a plugin for the well known wiki DokuWiki. Strata allows the use of semi-structured data in any DokuWiki installation, normalizes values based on their types, and allows extensive data modeling and querying on complex data structures.

This contribution to OpenSym 2014 will be made available as part of the OpenSym 2014 proceedings on or after August 27, 2014.