Abstract
This paper presents the evaluation of a serious game project, where the primary goal was to develop a set of collaborative game levels on a virtual campus, in order to help the integration process of newcomer students to the university. The global activities that can be performed by the students were designed for a group approach in a controlled virtual environment. For the present work we have selected Second Life for the implementation of these collaborative "game levels". A prototype evaluation was conducted to collect results with a sample of university students. With this data, some conclusions were extracted in order to delineate future developments.

Abstract
The development platform of a digital game is frequently defined before any game design document. Without a proper examination, this could exclude other viable solutions. Although the online virtual world Second Life is sometimes erroneously denominated a game, it can be used as a development platform for many purposes. This paper analyses game creation within the Second Life virtual world and possible approaches for the implementation of game assets and game logic. There is also an analysis of what game types could be more suited for development under this platform. Experiences learned from the developed prototype are shown and hints are given as to evaluate different techniques and expose best practices. © 2011 AISTI.

Abstract
The e-learning systems are, currently, extremely useful tools in education, helping to reduce the distance between students and teachers and providing better methods for monitoring the learning process. These systems can play a particularly important role in programming courses, due to the need that students master new programming languages to code algorithms. This is usually achieved by solving a high number of exercises that allow them to learn from their mistakes. The overall learning process can be improved by the use of an automated assessing tool, since it is very important to present the student with the feedback he needs to refine his programming skills. Moreover, teachers will benefit from not having to carry these tasks manually, which allows them to provide immediate feedback and more frequent assessment. In this paper a new Computer-Based Assessment (CBA) system is proposed, based on Moodle and the DOMjudge platform, and developed for supporting the programming components of the courses of the Faculty of Engineering of the University of Porto (FEUP). From an initial prototype that had been implemented with a set of essential features, improvements were introduced in order to provide more complex functionalities that increase the effectiveness of this tool. This paper starts by presenting a study of state-of-the-art CBA systems in order to compare the most advanced features they implement on top of the basic functionality of a CBA system, followed by an identification of the main points which needed to be addressed to assure its effectiveness. Between the advanced features outlined, the ones that distinguish themselves are the plagiarism detection and the static analysis of code quality. The former aims to motivate students to learn by themselves, while the latter to help students improve their programming style and skill. The architecture of the CBA system is also presented, bearing in mind modularity and scalability. The system currently supports grading parameters such as the definition of the start and end time, maximum number of submissions and configuring the level of feedback on a per exercise basis. This section covers details of the CBA system implementation as well as the advanced modules developed, with emphasis on the plagiarism detection, static analysis of code quality, feedback system and assessment creation possibilities. The CBA system was used in an assignment activity proposed by the teachers of a course unit and a report on this case study is also presented in the following section, yielding important information on the feedback of teachers and students, as well as some limitations that were found on system hardware. Since the developed modules were implemented, tested and integrated with extensibility in mind, the section also provides guidelines on how they can be expanded and how to improve a few incomplete advanced features. Finally, it was concluded that the CBA system can be used in a real working environment, providing it is installed in production servers and all users are warned that the platform is still in test. However, in order to further unleash the educational potential of the system, the advanced modules could benefit from some optimizations and extended functionalities.

Abstract
Several developments have been observed recently in areas such as Web development, social networks, interface design, recommendation systems and Geographic Information Systems (GIS). The integration of these developments can provide a superior experience, greater than the sum of their individual contributions, regarding user satisfaction. This paper proposes an integration of all these innovations in e-tourism, more specifically by the development of a Web based geographic information platform adaptable to any tourist region. As a case study, we also show how this platform was adapted to the Douro region, in Portugal. The Web platform developed as a proof of concept combines geospatial information from diverse and heterogeneous data sources, encompassing events, news, routes and points of interest (POI). This platform provides also a recommendation engine and features the possibility that users can contribute with content as part of the community, thus emerging a mini social network. © 2011 AISTI.

Abstract
In an organizational sphere of great dynamism and mutability, the effectiveness of group work in companies and institutions is assumed as one of the most important success factors to achieve their objectives. The computer has acquired a strategic task in the support of cooperative work processes, raising a fruitful symbiosis between humans and machines with different functions but strongly interconnected. This article examines the holistic nature of Computer Supported Cooperative Work, an interdisciplinary scientific field that has caused many transformations at the social and technological levels, showing a polymorphic, multidimensional character. In this context, it becomes urgent to articulate the myriad of concepts and technological trends that make up the field on a clear attempt to conglomerate a composite of visions of its nuclear evolutionary origins. © 2011 AISTI.

Abstract
In this demo, we present an application for mobile phones, which can allow communication between deaf and emergency medical services using an iconographic touch interface. This application can be useful especially for deaf but also for persons without disabilities that face sudden situations where speech is hard to articulate.