Person:
Romero Hernández, Alejandro

First Name

Alejandro

Last Name

Romero Hernández

URI

https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14352/78619

Affiliation

Universidad Complutense de Madrid

Faculty / Institute

Informática

Department

Ingeniería del Software e Inteligencia Artificial

Area

Lenguajes y Sistemas Informáticos

Identifiers

Full item page

Search Results

Now showing 1 - 10 of 13

Tackling the design and evaluation of a theater-based intelligent system to monitor audience experience in virtual public speaking settings
(2022) Villalobos, Pablo; Rivero, Eduardo; El-yamri, Meriem; Romero Hernández, Alejandro; Manero Iglesias, José Borja
COVID-19 has brought about a sharp increase in the use of videoconferencing tools. In education, this complicates the monitoring of student experience, which is essential to perform adequate classroom management. Researchers have designed tools to aid teachers within on-site settings, but they focus only on student engagement and are not suitable for virtual environments. In this paper, we present our system's architecture and evaluation. First, we adapted a theater-based framework to measuring audience experience beyond engagement in online settings. Secondly, we designed a proof-of-concept computer vision system and a companion video conferencing tool to automatically measure audience experience in the classroom and present near real-time feedback. We also describe the experiment we conducted to obtain a dataset to test our system and present the results. Although the predictive accuracy of our proof-of-concept system is limited, it opens several directions for future research.
Talk&Play a VR Application to Improve Volume and Silences Use in Verbal Communication
(2022) Ruiz-Capillas, Esther; Manero Iglesias, José Borja; Romero Hernández, Alejandro
Public speaking is present everywhere in our lives; therefore, it is important to know how to do it correctly. Most people have difficulties speaking in public due to their glossophobia (fear of speaking in public). Practicing is one of the best ways for treating this fear and improving the oratory skills. There are three basic aspects in this discipline which are not always taken into consideration when trying to get better in public speaking: silences, speed and volume. This paper presents Talk&Play, an application for teaching how to use these aspects correctly in a speech and the importance of them. For validating this application, an experiment for evaluating it is presented as well. Three main conclusions were reached: 1) Talk&Play increases user’s self-security during public speaking, 2) it also raises awareness of the importance of a correct use of silences, volume and speed in the experiment participants, 3) User learns how to use volume and silences, but the application still needs to improve.
El videojuego como herramienta de alfabetización informacional en estudiantes universitarios.
(Profesional de la información, 2022) Martin, Oliver; Manero Iglesias, José Borja; Romero Hernández, Alejandro
Los videojuegos han resultado útiles para el aprendizaje en diferentes campos. El presente trabajo trata de evaluar la utilidad del videojuego como herramienta de aprendizaje para la alfabetización informacional de estudiantes de grado universitario. El videojuego "El último examen" nace tras el análisis de 1.639 consultas registradas en un período de dos años en la Biblioteca de la Universidad Complutense, y tiene como objetivo dar respuestas a demandas, que son extrapolables a otras bibliotecas universitarias. Para evaluar su utilidad se realiza un experimento piloto de grupo único con 14 estudiantes de grado. Los resultados muestran mejoras significativas en sus competencias informacionales y valoraciones positivas de la intervención. Se concluye que la incorporación de videojuegos como complemento a los contenidos de los programas formativos de las bibliotecas puede resultar provechoso, especialmente como introducción, refuerzo o evaluación de estos.
Comparison of a Tablet Versus Computer-Based Classical Theatre Game Among 8–13 Year Children
(IEEE Access, 2021) Gonzalez-Riojo, Manuel; Sagredo-Olivenza, Ismael; Romero Hernández, Alejandro; Manero Iglesias, José Borja
In the last ten years, many studies have shown the advantages of videogames as tools for learning, engagement, raising awareness, or increasing interest in different fields. Schools are often the main focus of those studies. However, schools have either PCs or tablets in their classrooms, but rarely have both. That represents a severe limitation to videogame researchers since they can only deploy their video games in schools with the adequate platform for their video games. Researchers are therefore restricted in the number of schools in which they can conduct their experiments. In this paper, we study a videogame’s effectiveness in increasing interest towards classical theatre, depending on the platform deployed (computer or mobile device). To that aim, we used ‘‘The Courtesy of Spain,’’ a point-and-click videogame created explicitly for this study, based on the play of the same name by Golden Age playwright Lope de Vega. To measure the abovementioned effectiveness, we implemented a quasi-experimental design with a comparison and an experimental group. The experiment involved 542 students between 8 and 13 years old from several middle schools in Madrid’s Community (Spain). The study indicates that the videogame developed is equally effective on both devices (Sig <0.05). Our results will allow serious game developers to design one-fits-all games without jeopardizing their efficiency, which broadens the target schools where their games can be tested
Designing a VR game for public speaking based on speakers features: a case study
(Smart Learning Environments, 2019) Meriem El-Yamri; Romero Hernández, Alejandro; Manuel Gonzalez-Riojo; Manero Iglesias, José Borja
Oratory or the art of public speaking with eloquence has been cultivated since ancient times. However, the fear of speaking in public -a disproportionate reaction to the threatening situation of facing an audience- affects a very important part of the population. This work arises from the need to help alleviate this fear through a tool where to train the ability of public speaking. To this purpose, we built a virtual reality system that offers the speaker a safe environment to practice presentations. Since the audience is the only way to receive feedback when giving a speech, our system offer s a virtual audience that reacts and gives real-time feedback based on the emotions conveyed by three parameters: voice tone, speech content and speaker’s gaze. In this paper, we detail the modelling of a behavioural-realistic audience just focusing on the speakers’ voice tone: 1) by presenting an algorithm that controls the audience’ reactions based on the emotions beamed by the speaker, and 2) by carrying out an experiment comparing the reactions generated by the agents with those of a real audience to the same speech, in order to refine the given algorithm. In this experiment, the audience subjects are asked to fill a questionnaire - level of engagement and perceived emotions - for a speech performed by professional actors representing different emotions. Afterwards, we compared the reactions of said audience with the ones generated by our algorithm, and used the results to improve it.
Emotions-Responsive Audiences for VR Public Speaking Simulators Based on the Speakers' Voice
(2019) Meriem El-Yamri; Romero Hernández, Alejandro; Manuel Gonzalez-Riojo; Manero Iglesias, José Borja
Oratory or the art of public speaking with eloquence has been cultivated since ancient times. However, the fear of speaking in public -a disproportionate reaction to the threatening situation of facing an audience- affects a very important part of the population. This work arises from the need to help alleviate this fear through a tool where to train the ability of public speaking. To this purpose, we built a virtual reality system that offers the speaker a safe environment to practice presentations. Since the audience is the only way to receive feedback when giving a speech, our system offers a virtual audience that reacts and gives real-time feedback based on the emotions conveyed by three parameters: voice tone, speech content and speaker’s gaze. In this paper, we detail the modelling of the audience just focusing on the speakers’ voice tone: 1) by presenting an algorithm that controls the audience reactions based on the emotions beamed by the speaker, and 2) by carrying out an experiment comparing the reactions generated by the agents with those of a real audience to the same speech, in order to refine the given algorithm.
Designing a VR game for public speaking based on speakers features: a case study
(Smart Learning Environments, 2019) El-yamri, Meriem; Gonzalez-Riojo, Manuel; Romero Hernández, Alejandro; Manero Iglesias, José Borja; SPRINGER
Oratory or the art of public speaking with eloquence has been cultivated since ancient times. However, the fear of speaking in public -a disproportionate reaction to the threatening situation of facing an audience- affects a very important part of the population. This work arises from the need to help alleviate this fear through a toolwhere to train the ability of public speaking. To this purpose, we built a virtual reality system that offers the speaker a safe environment to practice presentations. Since the audience is the only way to receive feedback when giving a speech, our system offer is a virtual audience that reacts and gives real-time feedback based on the emotions conveyed by three parameters: voice tone, speech content and speaker’s gaze. In this paper, we detail the modelling of a behavioural-realistic audience just focusing on the speakers’ voice tone: 1) by presenting an algorithm that controls the audience’ reactions based on the emotions beamed by the speaker, and 2) by carrying out an experiment comparing the reactions generated by the agents with those of a real audience to the same speech, in order to refine the given algorithm. In this experiment, the audience subjects are asked to fill a questionnaire - level of engagement and perceived emotions - for a speech performed by professional actors representing different emotions. Afterwards, we compared the reactions of said audience with the ones generated by our algorithm, and used the results to improve it.
The Courtesy of Spain: Theater for the New Generations
(IEEE Revista Iberoamericana de Tecnologias del Aprendizaje, 2018) Romero Hernández, Alejandro; Manuel Gonzalez Riojo; Cesar Diaz-Faes-Perez; Manero Iglesias, José Borja
Educational video games are increasingly present in the classroom. While their success as a learning tool has been demonstrated in technical fields, they have been little used in the arts. Plays, for example, would be excellent subjects for video games, as they are similar in terms of design and narrative. However, few video games are based on plays, and, of those that have been created, their effectiveness has yet to be proven. This material is limited due to the difficulty of the narrative change, distancing a play, which is linear-without interactivity- from a video game, in which the plot varies to allow interaction. This article details the creation of a video game as an interestraising tool, based on the work of Lope de Vega's The Courtesy of Spain, in collaboration with the National Company of Classical Theater (CNTC). CNTC's main objective is to engage Spain's youth in classical theater, increasing their motivation and desire to learn more. This project includes an experiment in a school in Madrid with 154 students, between 9 and 11 years. The experiment indicates that a video game based on a play not only stimulates interest in young people, but also helps broader learning processes.
Virtual Reality for Teacher Training
(Methodologies and Use Cases on Extended Reality for Training and Education, 2022) Miriela M. Cárdenas; Ibis M. Alvarez; Manero Iglesias, José Borja; Romero Hernández, Alejandro
This chapter discusses the use of virtual reality (VR) in the training of preservice secondary education teachers in Spain as an integral part of their learning process. The authors propose some premises from which to design a training program to improve preservice teachers' communicative competence and their ability to manage conflict impacting the classroom climate. First, it explains the experiential and experimental potential of a virtual learning environment (VLE), its ability to create personalized virtual worlds, as well as the possibility to generate insightful instant feedback and feedforward. Finally, an example of a prototype scenario designed on this conceptual basis is provided. Furthermore, the chapter presents an overview of an educational proposal to implement this experiential immersive opportunity for preservice teachers to interact and manage disruptive situations in a safe and reliable environment conducive to the development of key communicative competences and strategies to turn conflict into a learning opportunity.
The Antioxidant Additive Approach for Alzheimer’s Disease Therapy: New Ferulic (Lipoic) Acid Plus Melatonin Modified Tacrines as Cholinesterases Inhibitors, Direct Antioxidants, and Nuclear Factor (Erythroid-Derived 2)-Like 2 Activators
(Journal of Medicinal Chemistry, 2016) Benchekroun, Mohamed; Romero Hernández, Alejandro; Egea, Javier; León Martínez, Rafael; Michalska Dziama, Patrycja; Buendía, Izaskun; Jimeno, María Luisa; Jun, Daniel; Janockova, Jana; Sepsova, Vendula; Soukup, Ondrej; Bautista-Aguilera, Oscar M.; Refouvelet, Bernard; Ouari, Olivier; Marco Contelles, José Luis; Ismaili, Lhassane
Novel multifunctional tacrines for Alzheimer’s disease were obtained by Ugi-reaction between ferulic (or lipoic acid), a melatonin-like isocyanide, formaldehyde, and tacrine derivatives, according to the antioxidant additive approach in order to modulate the oxidative stress as therapeutic strategy. Compound 5c has been identified as a promising permeable agent showing excellent antioxidant properties, strong cholinesterase inhibitory activity, less hepatotoxicity than tacrine, and the best neuroprotective capacity, being able to significantly activate the Nrf2 transcriptional pathway.