Vocabulary acquisition based on the traditional pen-and-paper approach is outdated, and has been superseded by the multimedia-supported approach. In a multimedia-supported foreign language learning environment, a learning material comprised of a still-image, a text, and the corresponding sound data is considered to be the most effective way to memorize a noun. However, extraction of an appropriate still image for a noun has always been a challenging and time-consuming process for learners. Learners' burden would be reduced if a system could extract an appropriate image for representing a noun. Therefore, the present study purposed to extract an appropriate image for each noun in order to assist foreign language learners in acquisition of foreign vocabulary. This study presumed that, a learning material created with the help of an appropriate image would be more effective in recalling memory compared to the one created with an inappropriate image. As the first step to finding appropriate images for nouns, concrete nouns have been considered as the subject of investigation. Therefore, this study, at first proposed a definition of an appropriate image for a concrete noun. After that, an image re-ranking algorithm has been designed and implemented that is able to extract an appropriate image from a finite set of corresponding images for each concrete noun. Finally, immediate-after, short- and long-term learning effects of those images with regard to learners' memory retention rates have been examined by conducting immediate-after, delayed and extended delayed posttests. The experimental result revealed that participants in the experimental group significantly outperformed the control group in their long-term memory retention, while no significant differences have been observed in immediate-after and in short-term memory retention. This result indicates that our algorithm could extract images that have a higher learning effect. Furthermore, this paper briefly discusses an on-demand learning system that has been developed to assist foreign language learners in creation of vocabulary learning materials.

In this paper, we propose an undirected model of learning systems, named max-min-degree neural network, to realize centralized-decentralized collaborative computing. The basic idea of the proposal is a max-min-degree constraint which extends a k-degree constraint to improve the communication cost, where k is a user-defined degree of neurons. The max-min-degree constraint is defined such that the degree of each neuron lies between kmin and kmax. Accordingly, the Boltzmann machine is a special case of the proposal with kmin=kmax=n, where n is the full-connected degree of neurons. Evaluations show that the proposal is much better than a state-of-the-art model of deep learning systems with respect to the communication cost. The cost of the above improvement is slower convergent speed with respect to data size, but it does not matter in the case of big data processing.

In this paper, we propose a hardware solution for overcoming the problem of high computational demands in a nearest neighbor (NN) based multi-prototype learning system. The multiple prototypes are obtained by a high-speed K-means clustering algorithm utilizing a concept of software-hardware cooperation that takes advantage of the flexibility of the software and the efficiency of the hardware. The one nearest neighbor (1-NN) classifier is used to recognize an object by searching for the nearest Euclidean distance among the prototypes. The major deficiency in conventional implementations for both K-means and 1-NN is the high computational demand of the nearest neighbor searching. This deficiency is resolved by an FPGA-implemented coprocessor that is a VLSI circuit for searching the nearest Euclidean distance. The coprocessor requires 12.9% logic elements and 58% block memory bits of an Altera Stratix III E110 FPGA device. The hardware communicates with the software by a PCI Express (4) local-bus-compatible interface. We benchmark our learning system against the popular case of handwritten digit recognition in which abundant previous works for comparison are available. In the case of the MNIST database, we could attain the most efficient accuracy rate of 97.91% with 930 prototypes, the learning speed of 1.310-4 s/sample and the classification speed of 3.9410-8 s/character.

Educational websites contain rich knowledge components on a web page. Detecting student attention on web pages fulfills the recommendation of adequate knowledge components to students based on students' current interests. Previous studies have shown the application of learner attention in intelligent learning systems. This study proposes a methodology to analyze student on-line mouse movement patterns that indicate student attentions. The methodology can be combined with learning systems that implement pedagogical models such as inquiry-based learning and problem-solving learning activities. The feasibility and effectiveness of the proposed methodology have been evaluated by student mouse movements in problem-solving scenarios.

Software defined radio, which uses reconfigurable signal processing devices, requires the determination of multiple unknown parameters to realize the potential capabilities of adaptive communication. Evolutional algorithms are optimal multi dimensional search techniques, and are well known to be effective for parameter determination. This letter proposes an evolutional algorithm for learning the mobile time-varying channel parameters without any specific assumption of scattering distribution. The proposed method is very simple to realize, but can provide precise channel estimation results. Simulations of an OFDM system show that for an example of OFDM communication under the time-varying fading channel, the proposed learning method can achieve the better BER performance.

This paper describes an approach to extending the learning experience using a Web-CAI system incorporated with MATHEMATICA, which is an advanced calculating software widely used in science and engineering fields. This approach provides the possibility of extending access to the courses that students have learned at school. We can use variables in mathematical formulas so that different problems can be shown to students. At the same time, we can also use algebraic formulas. In addition, applying MATHEMATICA to the given process for the answer automatically makes the answer of the problem. And two types of the answer expressions are acceptable which are filling in text by keyboard and selecting by click. This paper presents the design for the system and its specific implementation, and the technical solving scheme. At the end of this paper, the learning evaluations and the problem-editing interface design are discussed.

In this paper we describe a mixed reality-supported interactive viewing enhancement museum display system: Visual-dimension Interact System (VIS). With a transparent interactive interface, the museum visitor is able to see, manipulate, and interact with the physical exhibit and its virtual information, which are overlapped on one other. Furthermore, this system provides the possibility for visitor to experience the creation process in an environment as close as possible to the real process. This has the function of assisting the viewer in understanding the exhibit and most importantly, gaining a so-to-speak hands-on experience of the creation process itself leading to a deeper understanding of it.

This paper deals with an adaptive credit assignment algorithm to select strategies having higher capabilities in the learning classifier system (LCS) based upon the genetic algorithm (GA). We emulate a kind of prizes and incentives employed in the economies with imperfect information. The compensation scheme provides an automatic adjustment in response to the changes in the environment, and a comfortable guideline to incorporate the constraints. The learning process in the LCS based on the GA is realized by combining a pair of most capable strategies (called classifiers) represented as the production rules to replace another less capable strategy in the similar manner to the genetic operation on chromosomes in organisms. In the conventional scheme of the learning classifier system, the capability s(k, t) (called strength) of a strategy k at time t is measured by only the suitableness to sense and recognize the environment. But, we also define and utilize the prizes and incentives obtained by employing the strategy, so as to increase s(k, t) if the classifier provide good rules, and some amount is subtracted if the classifier k violate the constraints. The new algorithm is applied to the portfolio management. As the simulation result shows, the net return of the portfolio management system surpasses the average return obtained in the American securities market. The result of the illustrative example is compared to the same system composed of the neural networks, and related problems are discussed.