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Technological Intervention Through the Virtual Assistant Alexa in the Development of Linguistic Skills of a New Language

2021 , Cóndor-Herrera, Omar , Jadán Guerrero, Janio , Acosta Rodas P. , Ramos Galarza, Carlos

Nowadays, technological advances have made possible the constant innovation of education, adding resources, tools, and technological devices that are rapidly updated, and improved, is in this scenario where it is proposed to take advantage of the benefits that technology offers, plus the set of informatic abilities that current students have developed from early stages, in benefit of education, since these abilities make easier for teachers to introduce tools, and technological devices into the teaching-learning process. The present research consisted on a technological intervention using the virtual assistant Alexa, with the aim of working on linguistic abilities to learn a new language. The study was conducted with a sample of 32 children aged between 9 and 12 years old. The procedure consisted in the application of an initial assessment (pre-test), then, along 6 weeks an intervention based on the application of Alexa virtual assistant was made, and, at the end of the intervention, a post-test was applied. The intervention focused on four abilities: vocabulary, comprehension of English language, communication skills, and skills of meaning. As results, in vocabulary, there were found statistically significant differences between the pre (M = 4.06), and post-test (M = 7.19); in the comprehension of English language, pre (M = 2.38), and post-test (M = 3.47); regarding communication skills, pre (M = 2.28), and post-test (M = 3.09); and, in skills of meaning, the mean obtained in the pre-test was (M = 3.31), and post-test (M = 4.66); these results contribute with empirical evidence about the improvement in learning a new language. From this research, it is proposed to continue using, and discovering the benefits of different innovations in educative context. © 2021, Springer Nature Switzerland AG.

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Artificial Intelligence and Tomorrow’s Education

2021 , Cóndor-Herrera, Omar , Arias Flores, Hugo Patricio , Jadán Guerrero, Janio , Ramos Galarza, Carlos

Nowadays, there is a rapid technological progress around the world that has enabled realities long ago unimaginable. We live in a technological era that represents new possibilities and challenges for society, and for the educational models in each country [1]. Research on smart education, which has forced the educational community to rethink on new ways of learning and teaching has been developed globally. Due to the advent of artificial intelligence (AI), the educational model for both, teachers and students will change. Nevertheless, to transform educational systems, it is necessary to update and train students, educators, and administrators effectively [2]. This research aims to describe the possible applications of AI in education from: 1) the automation of administrative tasks; 2) collection and analysis of information [3] to create smart content; 3) the implementation of virtual assistants in the teaching-learning process; 4) the potential delivery of lectures by humanoid robots with AI. © 2021, The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG.

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Video Conferencing Platforms for Learning: Which is the Best Platform?

2022 , Cóndor-Herrera, Omar , Bolaños-Pasquel M. , Ramos Galarza, Carlos

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the education field was forced to develop virtual learning environments on videoconferencing platforms. The most used videoconferencing platforms are Microsoft Teams, Zoom, Google Meet, and WhatsApp. This article aims to identify the perceptions that teachers have when using these platforms to determine which platform is the most optimal for developing the activities. The study involved 33 male and female teachers working at the high school and university levels. They responded to a survey that evaluated various aspects of four videoconferencing platforms: Microsoft Teams, Zoom, Google Meet, and WhatsApp. The aspects evaluated were usability, platform design, benefits of the application for learning, and platform reliability. According to research results, survey participants said that, according to their perceptions, the best videoconferencing platform for the development of online classes is Zoom; WhatsApp, and Zoom are the easiest applications to learn to use; Google Meet is the most difficult to learn to use; and Zoom has the best interface design. The video conference platform that offers the best benefits for the teaching–learning process is Zoom. WhatsApp offers the least benefits in relation to the others. Based on the results, it can be stated that, according to the perceptions of the teachers surveyed, the platform that offers the best benefits in the areas evaluated is Zoom. © 2022, The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG.

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Identifying Government Funds to Help People with Disabilities: An Analytical Process

2021 , Arias Flores, Hugo Patricio , Ramos Galarza, Carlos , Jadán Guerrero, Janio , Cóndor-Herrera, Omar , Nunes I.L.

The development of people living with some type of disability depends on assistive technologies, their families and in some cases government support. Worldwide, 15% of the population lives with some type of disability. In this context, the different degrees of dependency, derived from the different limitations of functional diversity, as a result of disability, cannot in many cases maintain personal development, since their limitations do not allow them to be independent and require permanent care. What happens to these people and their family? The objective of the research is to identify the sectors in Ecuador in which government subsidies are concentrated and in which type of disability. This research is descriptive in nature and public information from authorized sources was used. Obtaining this information will allow to orient what care this vulnerable population requires for its development, since the different degrees of dependency will condition the evolution in the prevalence of disability at any geographical scale. © 2021, The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG.

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Cognitive Interventions Based on Technology: A Systematic Literature Review

2021 , Ramos Galarza, Carlos , Cóndor-Herrera, Omar , Arias Flores, Hugo Patricio , Jadán Guerrero, Janio , Bolaños-Pasquel M. , Cedillo P.

This article reports a systematic review of research done about the positive impact of cognitive treatment for people with some type of brain disorder through the use of inclusive technologies. The article collected 21 publications of high impact magazines uncovering that countries such as Spain, France, and Russia have a significant number of contributions on this topic. Inclusive technological innovations which are intended for work on brain functions such as attention, memory, verbal fluency, problem-solving and behavior regulation have been mainly developed in devices such as Tablets and Robots. The data discussed highlights the need to continue in this line of research to determine the effect of this type of intervention, as well as the future projection of developing new technological devices facilitating human brain functions. © 2021, The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG.

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Using Virtual Reality in the Treatment of Social Anxiety Disorder: Technological Proposal

2021 , Ramos Galarza, Carlos , Acosta-Rodas P. , Moscoso-Salazar J. , Cóndor-Herrera, Omar , Cruz Cárdenas, Jorge

The treatments for anxiety that have proven efficacy are based on cognitive behavioral therapy, this time we will focus on systematic desensitization, which aims to expose the subject successively to the element that generates the maladaptive response, with this purpose a technological application is proposed for the treatment of this disorder from virtual reality. To accomplish this goal, an electronic helmet where different scenarios will be projected is going to be used. The person who is wearing it will face the distressing stimuli, allowing the treatment of his/her anxiety. With this application and device, it will be possible to safeguard the physical and psychic integrity of the subjects that demand this type of attention. © 2021, The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG.

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Virtual Tours of Museums to Promote Tourism

2024 , Cóndor-Herrera, Omar , Ramos Galarza, Carlos , Bolaños-Pasquel, Mónica

Museums represent a collection of ancient and modern knowledge which must be protected, disseminated, and transmitted in the best viable way. Digital development and technology in recent years have made it possible to transform the way of interacting with museums through virtual tours (Palmieri et al in Springer Series in Design and Innovation, pp 71–82, 2023 [1]), which gained strength in times of pandemic, the products generated for virtual tours range from physical reproductions/faithful virtual images of historical artifacts to digital libraries that can be used by experts and others, in addition to 360º technology which allows a 360° viewing angle to be covered in two axes. That is, we can see everything around the point where it was made the photo or video. In this article, the virtual tours offered by some museums are analyzed, as well as the use of these tours as a tourism marketing strategy, giving the user the opportunity to interact with the place they plan to visit in a new way (Cóndor-Herrera and Ramos-Galarza in Marketing and smart technologies. Smart innovation, systems and technologies, pp 443–449, 2022 [2]). © 2024, The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd.

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Use of Technology in the Context of Latin America

2023 , Ramos-Galarza C. , Cóndor-Herrera, Omar , Bolaños-Pasquel M. , Cruz-Cárdenas J.

The article reports national statistical data on the usage of information and communication technologies in Ecuador, illustrating a sample of what occurs across Latin American countries. The data was collected in the 28 cities from Ecuador. The respondents were 40, 814 people aged from 0 to 98 years old. Regarding gender, 20,110 (49.3%) participants identified as male and 20,704 (50.7%) as female. Regarding educational level, 1,570 (3.8%) participants did not report any level of education, 115 (0.3%) attended a literacy center, 8,492 (24.9%) primary school, 9,317 (25.8%) basic education, 7,041 (17.9%) secondary school, 5,239 (12.8%) high school, 717 (1.8%) non-university higher education, 4,860 (11.9%) university higher education, 320 (0.8%) postgraduate level. In the results, it was found that a large number of citizens do not have access to technological means in favor of activities such as education or to solve everyday life activities. The results are discussed in the context of Latin America and the need for greater investment in the technological accessibility and development of the region to improve the living conditions of its people. © 2023, The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG.

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From Face-to-Face Learning to Virtual Learning: Students’ Perspective

2023 , Cóndor-Herrera, Omar , Bolaños-Pasquel, Mónica , Ramos Galarza, Carlos , Cruz Cárdenas, Jorge

This article reports the results found in an investigation which analyzed the perception that students have regarding the virtual learning process developed during the COVID-19 pandemic. The study involved 38 students from a Latin American institution whose age ranged from 13 to 15 years of age, who carried out their academic activities virtually for a school year, once the school period ended, a survey was applied to collect information on the experience in virtual classes, once the results have been analyzed, it is evident that the vast majority of students issued responses in favor of virtual teaching and that virtual classes served to develop their skills in managing technological resources, on the other hand a number of participants They did not indicate the learning experience as positive or negative. This may be related to the fact that a group of participants did not have good quality internet. In the same way, the results reflect that the students consider that not having adequate equipment and good quality internet quality are a limitation in the learning process virtual lift. © 2023, The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG.

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E-learning and M-learning Benefits in the Learning Process

2021 , Cóndor-Herrera, Omar , Bolaños-Pasquel, Mónica , Ramos Galarza, Carlos

This paper elaborates around the perception that students have regarding the learning process based on technological means: e-learning and m-learning combined. The experiment’s sample consisted of 16 students between 9 and 12 years old (37.2% female and 62.5% male). The results showed that most students are in favor of using technology to improve their motivation to learn, which significantly improves their willingness to complete learning activities. © 2021, The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG.