In today’s society, educational opportunities have evolved beyond the traditional classroom setting. Most universities have implemented virtual learning environments in an effort to provide more opportunities for potential or current students seeking alternative and more affordable learning solutions. User-Centered Design Strategies for Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) focuses on the best practices and effective design of student interaction within virtual learning environments. Highlighting strategies from human-computer interaction experiences and user-centered models, as well as emergent approaches and implementation techniques, this reference publication is designed for computer science students, academics, researchers, instructional designers, IT professionals, software developers, and educators interested in mobile technologies, social learning, and educational inclusion.

Incorporating new methods and approaches in learning environments is imperative to the development of education systems. By enhancing learning processes, education becomes more attainable at all levels. The Handbook of Research on Instructional Systems and Educational Technology is an essential reference source for the latest scholarly research on new models, trends, and data for solving instructional and learning challenges in education. Featuring extensive coverage on a wide range of topics such as distance education, online learning, and blended learning, this publication is ideally designed for academicians, practitioners, researchers, and students seeking current research on the latest improvements in instructional systems.

Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) are free online courses available to anyone who can sign up. MOOCs provide an affordable and flexible way to learn new skills, advance in careers, and provide quality educational experiences to a certain extent. Millions of people around the world use MOOCs for learning and their reasons are various, including career development, career change, college preparation, supplementary learning, lifelong learning, corporate e-Learning and training, and so on.

In the digital age, online courses have progressed as popular modes of learning that provide interactive and collaborative learning in educational settings. The open education movement is enabled by the internet and combines the sharing of ideas, resources, and practices among all people in order to advance ideas and knowledge to a new generation of students. Massive open online courses (MOOC) provide a new way of learning for all levels of education. Emerging Trends, Techniques, and Tools for Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) Management is a critical scholarly resource that addresses the difficulties and challenges in MOOC design, implementation, management, and deployment. This comprehensive and timely publication aims to be an essential reference source, building on the available literature in the field of e-learning and online course management while providing for further research opportunities in this dynamic field. Featuring coverage on a wide variety of topics such as gamification in e-learning, plagiarism detection programs, and language online courses, this book is a valuable resource for instructional designers, IT professionals, software developers, academicians, and education professionals seeking current research on the impact of new methodologies and frameworks used in the lifecycle of open online courses.

Novel trends and innovations have enhanced contemporary educational environments. When applied properly, these computing advances can create enriched learning opportunities for students. Mobile Technologies and Augmented Reality in Open Education is a pivotal reference source for the latest academic research on the integration of interactive technology and mobile applications in online and distance learning environments. Highlighting scholarly perspectives across numerous topics such as wearable technology, instructional design, and flipped learning, this book is ideal for educators, professionals, practitioners, academics, and graduate students interested in the role of augmented reality in modern educational contexts.

Although the effort to involve women in engineering has risen in recent years with the creation of new initiatives and the promotion of inclusion in technical disciplines, the active participation of women in engineering professions is continuously lower than expected. While the need for engineers appears to be constantly increasing, women still do not fill most of this role and have a long way to go to even reach an equal split in the field. This gender gap has a significant impact how women in the STEM fields are perceived as well as their experiences in their education and careers. When it comes to Latin American women in IT, their contribution to science can go unnoticed, their participation levels in these fields are very low, and they often occupy lower-level positions than their male counterparts. These issues need to be discussed, and the experiences of women who work in the field must be shared. Latin American Women and Research Contributions to the IT Field highlights the important role of Latin American women in IT by collecting and disseminating their frontier-research contributions in order to provide more visibility and inspire greater participation of Latin American women within the major field of computer science. With chapters contributed by female authors from eight Latin American and Caribbean countries, the book provides a deep analysis of these women’s trajectory paths to high quality theoretical and applied relevant research in computer science and IT. While highlighting areas such as inclusivity and STEM education, along with advancements and achievements in topics that include nonverbal interaction in virtual reality, fuzzy logic applications in education, and ant colony optimization, this book is ideal for professionals, academics, students, and researchers working in the fields of information technologies and computer science as well as those interested in gender and women’s studies.

Virtual and augmented reality is the next frontier of technological innovation. As technology exponentially evolves, so do the ways in which humans interact and depend upon it. Virtual and Augmented Reality: Concepts, Methodologies, Tools, and Applications is a comprehensive reference source for the latest scholarly material on the trends, techniques, and uses of virtual and augmented reality in various fields, and examines the benefits and challenges of these developments. Highlighting a range of pertinent topics, such as human-computer interaction, digital self-identity, and virtual reconstruction, this multi-volume book is ideally designed for researchers, academics, professionals, theorists, students, and practitioners interested in emerging technology applications across the digital plane.

This proceedings book showcases the latest research work presented at the Second Edition of the Mediterranean Symposium on Smart City Application (SCAMS 2017), which was held in Tangier, Morocco on October 15–27, 2017. It presents original research results, new ideas and practical development experiences that concentrate on both theory and practice. It includes papers from all areas of Smart City Applications, e.g. Smart Mobility, Big Data, Smart Grids, Smart Homes and Buildings, clouds, crowds, mashups, social networks, and security issues. The conference stimulated cutting-edge research discussions among pioneering researchers, scientists, industrial engineers, and students from all around the world. The topics covered in this book also focus on innovative issues at the international level by bringing together experts from different countries. The scope of SCAMS 2017 included methods and practices that combine various emerging internetworking and data technologies to capture, integrate, analyze, mine, annotate, and visualize data in a meaningful and collaborative manner. A series of international workshops were organized as invited sessions during the SCAMS 2017:The 2nd International Workshop on Smart Learning & Innovative EducationsThe 1st International Workshop on Smart HealthcareThe 1st International Workshop on Mathematics for Smart CityThe 1st International Workshop Industry 4.0 and Smart Manufacturing

Technology can be a powerful tool for transforming learning. It can help affirm and advance relationships between educators and students, reinvent approaches to learning and collaboration, shrink long-standing equity and accessibility gaps, and adapt learning experiences to meet the needs of all learners. Technology-Supported Teaching and Research Methods for Educators provides innovative insights into the utilization and maintenance of technology-supported teaching and research methods for educators. The content within this publication represents the work of e-learning, digital technologies, and current issues and trends in the field of teaching and learning in the context of contemporary technologies. It is a vital reference source for school educators, professionals, school administrators, academicians, researchers, and graduate-level students seeking coverage on topics centered on the integration of effective technologies that will support educators and students.

Ongoing advancements in modern technology have led to significant developments in intelligent systems. With the numerous applications available, it becomes imperative to conduct research and make further progress in this field. Intelligent Systems: Concepts, Methodologies, Tools, and Applications contains a compendium of the latest academic material on the latest breakthroughs and recent progress in intelligent systems. Including innovative studies on information retrieval, artificial intelligence, and software engineering, this multi-volume book is an ideal source for researchers, professionals, academics, upper-level students, and practitioners interested in emerging perspectives in the field of intelligent systems.