Abstract:
Computer-supported assessment tools can bring significant benefits to both students and teachers. When integrated in traditional education workflows, they may help to red...Show MoreMetadata
Abstract:
Computer-supported assessment tools can bring significant benefits to both students and teachers. When integrated in traditional education workflows, they may help to reduce the time required to perform the evaluation and consolidate the perception of fairness of the overall process. When integrated within on-line intelligent tutoring systems, they could provide students with a timely feedback and support self-assessment activities. The current work presents an alternative approach (and not just a “yet-another-implementation”) to the problem of automatically evaluating technical skills needed to create 3D computer animations. Although some solutions have been reported already in the literature, their applicability is partially constrained, as they require the teaching staff to define evaluation criteria that are strictly linked to the particular animation technique being assessed. Students are forced to operate in environments where they can only perform a part of the required animation steps, by using a pre-defined set of techniques and tools. To address such limitations, the proposed system exploits shapeand time-based features extracted from the 3D point clouds (i.e., the set of data points) describing animated geometries, which are independent of the particular animation techniques used. Experimental observations collected in the evaluation of course assignments in which students were asked to recreate 3D animations of deformable meshes prepared by the teaching staff showed a good correlation between automatic and manual evaluations. Obtained results confirmed the ability of the proposed approach to cope with heterogeneous evaluation tasks in which the relevant learning outcomes can be properly considered.
Published in: IEEE Transactions on Learning Technologies ( Volume: 10, Issue: 4, 01 Oct.-Dec. 2017)

Dipartimento di Automatica e Informatica, Politecnico di Torino, Torino, Italy
Gianluca Paravati (M’14-SM’16) received the PhD degree in
computer engineering from Politecnico di Torino, Italy, in 2011. He is an assistant professor with Politecnico di
Torino, Italy. His research interests include real-time image processing, collaborative virtual environments,
human-machine interaction, remote visualization, and distributed systems. He is a senior member of the IEEE.
Gianluca Paravati (M’14-SM’16) received the PhD degree in
computer engineering from Politecnico di Torino, Italy, in 2011. He is an assistant professor with Politecnico di
Torino, Italy. His research interests include real-time image processing, collaborative virtual environments,
human-machine interaction, remote visualization, and distributed systems. He is a senior member of the IEEE.View more

Dipartimento di Automatica e Informatica, Politecnico di Torino, Torino, Italy
Fabrizio Lamberti (M’02-SM’14) received the MS and PhD
degrees in computer engineering from Politecnico di Torino, Italy, in 2000 and 2005, respectively. He is an associate
professor with Politecnico di Torino, Italy. His research interests are in the areas of computational intelligence,
semantic processing, distributed computing, human-computer interaction, computer graphics, and visualization. He
serves as an associ...Show More
Fabrizio Lamberti (M’02-SM’14) received the MS and PhD
degrees in computer engineering from Politecnico di Torino, Italy, in 2000 and 2005, respectively. He is an associate
professor with Politecnico di Torino, Italy. His research interests are in the areas of computational intelligence,
semantic processing, distributed computing, human-computer interaction, computer graphics, and visualization. He
serves as an associ...View more

Dipartimento di Automatica e Informatica, Politecnico di Torino, Torino, Italy
Valentina Gatteschi received the BSc and MSc degrees in management
engineering and the PhD degree in computer engineering from Politecnico di Torino, in 2005, 2008, and 2013,
respectively. She is a postdoctoral research assistant with Politecnico di Torino. Her main research interests include
semantics and natural language processing. She has been involved in several European projects on education.
Valentina Gatteschi received the BSc and MSc degrees in management
engineering and the PhD degree in computer engineering from Politecnico di Torino, in 2005, 2008, and 2013,
respectively. She is a postdoctoral research assistant with Politecnico di Torino. Her main research interests include
semantics and natural language processing. She has been involved in several European projects on education.View more

Dipartimento di Automatica e Informatica, Politecnico di Torino, Torino, Italy
Claudio Demartini (M’02-SM’14) is a full professor with
Politecnico di Torino, where he teaches information systems and innovation and product development. His research
interests include software engineering, architectures, intelligent systems, and education. He is the chair of the
Control and Computer Engineering Department and a member of the Academic Senate, Politecnico di Torino. He is a senior
member of the IEEE.
Claudio Demartini (M’02-SM’14) is a full professor with
Politecnico di Torino, where he teaches information systems and innovation and product development. His research
interests include software engineering, architectures, intelligent systems, and education. He is the chair of the
Control and Computer Engineering Department and a member of the Academic Senate, Politecnico di Torino. He is a senior
member of the IEEE.View more

Dipartimento di Automatica e Informatica, Politecnico di Torino, Torino, Italy
Paolo Montuschi (M’90-SM’07-F’14) is a full
professor in the Department of Control and Computer Engineering, Politecnico di Torino, where he served as chair of
the Department from 2003 to 2011. His research interests include computer arithmetic and architectures, computer
graphics, electronic publications, semantics and education, and new frameworks for the dissemination of scientific
knowledge. He is an IEEE Computer...Show More
Paolo Montuschi (M’90-SM’07-F’14) is a full
professor in the Department of Control and Computer Engineering, Politecnico di Torino, where he served as chair of
the Department from 2003 to 2011. His research interests include computer arithmetic and architectures, computer
graphics, electronic publications, semantics and education, and new frameworks for the dissemination of scientific
knowledge. He is an IEEE Computer...View more

Dipartimento di Automatica e Informatica, Politecnico di Torino, Torino, Italy
Gianluca Paravati (M’14-SM’16) received the PhD degree in
computer engineering from Politecnico di Torino, Italy, in 2011. He is an assistant professor with Politecnico di
Torino, Italy. His research interests include real-time image processing, collaborative virtual environments,
human-machine interaction, remote visualization, and distributed systems. He is a senior member of the IEEE.
Gianluca Paravati (M’14-SM’16) received the PhD degree in
computer engineering from Politecnico di Torino, Italy, in 2011. He is an assistant professor with Politecnico di
Torino, Italy. His research interests include real-time image processing, collaborative virtual environments,
human-machine interaction, remote visualization, and distributed systems. He is a senior member of the IEEE.View more

Dipartimento di Automatica e Informatica, Politecnico di Torino, Torino, Italy
Fabrizio Lamberti (M’02-SM’14) received the MS and PhD
degrees in computer engineering from Politecnico di Torino, Italy, in 2000 and 2005, respectively. He is an associate
professor with Politecnico di Torino, Italy. His research interests are in the areas of computational intelligence,
semantic processing, distributed computing, human-computer interaction, computer graphics, and visualization. He
serves as an associate editor of the IEEE Transactions on Emerging Topics in Computing and the
IEEE Consumer Electronics Magazine. He is a senior member of the IEEE.
Fabrizio Lamberti (M’02-SM’14) received the MS and PhD
degrees in computer engineering from Politecnico di Torino, Italy, in 2000 and 2005, respectively. He is an associate
professor with Politecnico di Torino, Italy. His research interests are in the areas of computational intelligence,
semantic processing, distributed computing, human-computer interaction, computer graphics, and visualization. He
serves as an associate editor of the IEEE Transactions on Emerging Topics in Computing and the
IEEE Consumer Electronics Magazine. He is a senior member of the IEEE.View more

Dipartimento di Automatica e Informatica, Politecnico di Torino, Torino, Italy
Valentina Gatteschi received the BSc and MSc degrees in management
engineering and the PhD degree in computer engineering from Politecnico di Torino, in 2005, 2008, and 2013,
respectively. She is a postdoctoral research assistant with Politecnico di Torino. Her main research interests include
semantics and natural language processing. She has been involved in several European projects on education.
Valentina Gatteschi received the BSc and MSc degrees in management
engineering and the PhD degree in computer engineering from Politecnico di Torino, in 2005, 2008, and 2013,
respectively. She is a postdoctoral research assistant with Politecnico di Torino. Her main research interests include
semantics and natural language processing. She has been involved in several European projects on education.View more

Dipartimento di Automatica e Informatica, Politecnico di Torino, Torino, Italy
Claudio Demartini (M’02-SM’14) is a full professor with
Politecnico di Torino, where he teaches information systems and innovation and product development. His research
interests include software engineering, architectures, intelligent systems, and education. He is the chair of the
Control and Computer Engineering Department and a member of the Academic Senate, Politecnico di Torino. He is a senior
member of the IEEE.
Claudio Demartini (M’02-SM’14) is a full professor with
Politecnico di Torino, where he teaches information systems and innovation and product development. His research
interests include software engineering, architectures, intelligent systems, and education. He is the chair of the
Control and Computer Engineering Department and a member of the Academic Senate, Politecnico di Torino. He is a senior
member of the IEEE.View more

Dipartimento di Automatica e Informatica, Politecnico di Torino, Torino, Italy
Paolo Montuschi (M’90-SM’07-F’14) is a full
professor in the Department of Control and Computer Engineering, Politecnico di Torino, where he served as chair of
the Department from 2003 to 2011. His research interests include computer arithmetic and architectures, computer
graphics, electronic publications, semantics and education, and new frameworks for the dissemination of scientific
knowledge. He is an IEEE Computer Society Golden Core member, and serves as editor-in-chief of the IEEE
Transactions on Computers, as the chair of the Computer Society Technical Achievement Award Committee, as a
member of the IEEE Publications Services and Products Board, and the IEEE Products and Services Committee. He is a
fellow of the IEEE.
Paolo Montuschi (M’90-SM’07-F’14) is a full
professor in the Department of Control and Computer Engineering, Politecnico di Torino, where he served as chair of
the Department from 2003 to 2011. His research interests include computer arithmetic and architectures, computer
graphics, electronic publications, semantics and education, and new frameworks for the dissemination of scientific
knowledge. He is an IEEE Computer Society Golden Core member, and serves as editor-in-chief of the IEEE
Transactions on Computers, as the chair of the Computer Society Technical Achievement Award Committee, as a
member of the IEEE Publications Services and Products Board, and the IEEE Products and Services Committee. He is a
fellow of the IEEE.View more