Abstract
An increasing number of colleges and universities are introducing Generative Artificial Intelligence (GAI) in their teaching/learning frameworks. This study examines the feedback from 152 students across Higher Education Institutions (HEIs), representing diverse scientific areas, namely Engineering, Lit-erature, Business and Accounting, Sports. It aims to explore the integration of GAI features in education and students' perception on its advantages and disadvantages. Students' top benefit was 'Personalized learning'. They also valued 'efficient content creation', and 'individualized assessment tools'. Their major concern was 'Ethical considerations', and it varied by demographic variables. Other distresses included 'Lack of control of content creation', 'over-reliance', and 'AI depersonalization', and 'decreased interpersonal engagement'. Of utmost important conclusion is that HE students agree and strongly agree that AI came to disrupt HEIs' educational process. © 2024 IEEE.

Abstract
Featured Application The presented solution can be applied to simplify and hasten the development of gamified programming exercises conforming to the Framework for Gamified Programming Education (FGPE) standard.Abstract Skilled programmers are in high demand, and a critical obstacle to satisfying this demand is the difficulty of acquiring programming skills. This issue can be addressed with automated assessment, which gives fast feedback to students trying to code, and gamification, which motivates them to intensify their learning efforts. Although some collections of gamified programming exercises are available, producing new ones is very demanding. This paper presents GAMAI, an AI-powered exercise gamifier, enriching the Framework for Gamified Programming Education (FGPE) ecosystem. Leveraging large language models, GAMAI enables teachers to effortlessly apply storytelling to describe a gamified scenario, as GAMAI decorates natural language text with the sentences needed by OpenAI APIs to contextualize the prompt. Once a gamified scenario has been generated, GAMAI automatically produces exercise files in a FGPE-compatible format. According to the presented evaluation results, most gamified exercises generated with AI support were ready to be used, with no or minimum human effort, and were positively assessed by students. The usability of the software was also assessed as high by the users. Our research paves the way for a more efficient and interactive approach to programming education, leveraging the capabilities of advanced language models in conjunction with gamification principles.

Abstract
This paper presents GAMAI, an AI-powered exercise gamifier, enriching the Framework for Gamified Programming Education (FGPE) ecosystem. Leveraging OpenAI APIs, GAMAI enables the teachers to leverage the storytelling approach to describe the gamified scenario. GAMAI decorates the natural language text with sentences needed by OpenAI APIs to contextualize the prompt. Once the gamified scenario has been generated, GAMAI automatically produces the exercise files for the FGPE AuthorKit editor. We present preliminary results in AI-assessed gamified exercise generation, showing that most generated exercises are ready to be used with none or minimum human effort needed.

Abstract

Abstract
The teaching and learning process in higher education needs continuous cultivation of pedagogical expertise, encompassing subject mastery and pedagogical methodologies. This article explores the transformation of higher education institutions (HEIs) into hybrid campuses and the importance of pedagogical innovation, highlighting the need for training in hybrid/e-learning environments, and emphasizing the potential of mobile technologies. Furthermore, it presents a case study on two professional development courses offered to faculty members, working in the field of Engineering in Portugal, aiming to reconfigure their professionality. The research adopts an ethnographic methodology, integrating quantitative methods and utilizing a variety of data collection tools, including field notes and self-reflection sheets, to analyze the teachers' reconfiguration of their professional practices. The main findings of the study reveal that the majority of faculty members reported significant gains in transforming traditional courses to digital formats, mastering various online platforms and tools, and developing skills in online communication.

Abstract
This paper explores the integration of virtual escape rooms as innovative educational tools in the realm of computer programming. Recognizing the need to engage and motivate learners in this complex domain, we investigate the use of virtual escape rooms in a typical educational setting where Learning Management Systems play a pivotal role. The paper starts by surveying existing escape rooms designed for teaching programming and related domains, considering factors such as interactivity, educational efficacy, and learner engagement. Additionally, it is emphasized the role of standards in creating interoperable learning environments, introducing IMS LTI for seamless integration with learning management systems and xAPI for tracking learner activities within escape rooms. By leveraging these standards and a Learning Record Store (LRS) as a central repository, an architectural framework is presented which enables personalized learning experiences and data-driven insights, catering to the diverse needs and preferences of the new generation of learners.