A support system to the collaborative learning of domotics design through modelling and simulation tools (Spanish text)

Collaborative Systems are an area of growing interest for researchers that is being used to improve the processes of learning and work in groups and at distance. In this thesis we have worked in the study and development of systems for collaborative learning in real time, analysing in depth the problems of learning of design environments through simulation, and we have proposed an architecture and a model of synchronous interaction based on the methodological principle of Constructivism and in the instructional methods of Problem-Based Learning and Learning by Design.; The proposed architecture includes a physical and a functional dimension. The physical architecture is based on a client/server approach and describes the hardware and software components that materialize the environment. The functional architecture identifies a set of levels (Organization, Experience and Analysis), of subsystems (Activity Management, Communication and Coordination, Design and Simulation, and Monitoring and Activities Analysis), and of tools, all of which make up the outlined environment. The workspace metaphor has been used to organize the tasks to carry out with the corresponding tools.; The partially structured model of interaction used in the design and simulation proposes Collaboration Protocols, Flexible Structuring Techniques, and the utilization of the Language as Action to structure the work. The tools used to the realization of the tasks are based on direct manipulation following the Object-Action Model, in mechanisms for the support of communication, coordination and making-decision, and in awareness techniques to facilitate real time collaboration.; In order to apply and validate these approaches a completed collaborative environment oriented to the learning of Domotics has been built. This development has taken into account the users from the first stages and it has been carried out in several iterations resulting in diverse prototypes. Formative and heuristic evaluation has been applied to improve effectiveness and to debug these software products. This environment, called DomoSim-TPC, has been used in real situations of learning in groups and at distance, obtaining data that have been analysed and have allowed us to draw interesting conclusions about our proposal.