Alejandro Echeverria

A strategic mine plan is a fundamental part of any mining operation. It must provide a realistic
extraction and processing schedule, as well as an accurate measure of the value of the pr oject.
There are several challenges to generating a successful strategic mine plan. Most importantly,
key input information required for mine planning, such as actual ore grades and market prices,
is uncertain in nature, thus a mine plan generated with deterministic data has a… Mostrar más

A strategic mine plan is a fundamental part of any mining operation. It must provide a realistic
extraction and processing schedule, as well as an accurate measure of the value of the pr oject.
There are several challenges to generating a successful strategic mine plan. Most importantly,
key input information required for mine planning, such as actual ore grades and market prices,
is uncertain in nature, thus a mine plan generated with deterministic data has a very low
probability of performing as expected.
Traditional mine planning approaches and existing software packages have failed to address
uncertainty, which ultimately leads to underperforming and misvalued operations. In this pap er
we present the first software application that successfully takes into consideration market price
uncertainty and generates feasible mine plans, in a timeframe competitive with commercially
available software. The methodology presented provides a platform to consider market price
uncertainty without an exponential increase in computational cost. By including uncertainty,
our solution is able to create robust and flexible mine plans. A robust plan is one that best
performs under unstable economic conditions. A flexible plan incorporates Real Options
Analysis, allowing to postpone decisions such as expanding capacity, until the uncertainty has
been reduced. The software has been tested for this paper in a real 12 million block model, with
a mining operation lasting over 50 years, delivering competitive results for deterministic mine
plans, increasing expected NPV in 2.4% with robust plans and the expected NPV of a fictitious
expansion project in 68% with flexible plans. Mostrar menos

Computer simulations combined with games have been successfully used to teach conceptual physics. However, there is no clear methodology for guiding the design of these types of games. To remedy this, we propose a structured methodology for the design of conceptual physics games that explicitly integrates the principles of the intrinsic integration approach for deg instructional games (Habgood & Ainsworth, 2011) with an atomic analysis of the structure of games (Koster, 2005; Cousins… Mostrar más

Computer simulations combined with games have been successfully used to teach conceptual physics. However, there is no clear methodology for guiding the design of these types of games. To remedy this, we propose a structured methodology for the design of conceptual physics games that explicitly integrates the principles of the intrinsic integration approach for deg instructional games (Habgood & Ainsworth, 2011) with an atomic analysis of the structure of games (Koster, 2005; Cousins, 2005; Cook, 2007). To test this approach, we redesigned an existing game to teach electrostatics and compared the educational effectiveness of the original and redesigned versions. Our studies also compared an endogenous fantasy version of the game with a non-fantasy version.

Our results showed that students who played the game which had been redesigned using the Atomic Intrinsic Integration Approach achieved a statistically significant improvement in results and showed fewer conceptual problems than the students who played the original version. The fantasy and non-fantasy versions, however, did not display any significant differences in outcomes. Based on the analysis and redesign of the game, we defined one possible methodology to assist in the design of games for the conceptual understanding of physics. Mostrar menos

Computer ed Collaborative Learning is a pedagogical approach that can be used for deploying educational games in the classroom. However, there is no clear understanding as to which technological platforms are better suited for deploying co-located collaborative games, nor the general affordances that are required. In this work we explore two different technological platforms for developing collaborative games in the classroom: one based on augmented reality technology and the other based… Mostrar más

Computer ed Collaborative Learning is a pedagogical approach that can be used for deploying educational games in the classroom. However, there is no clear understanding as to which technological platforms are better suited for deploying co-located collaborative games, nor the general affordances that are required. In this work we explore two different technological platforms for developing collaborative games in the classroom: one based on augmented reality technology and the other based on multiple-mice technology. In both cases, the same game was introduced to teach electrostatics and the results were compared experimentally using a real class.

The results of our experimental work showed that students significantly increased their conceptual understanding of electrostatics with both platforms. However, there were some important differences between platforms. While in the multiple-mice platform there were no gender differences, in the augmented reality platform boys significantly outperformed girls. In addition, the augmented reality platform was considerably more costly to deploy in a real world setting than the multiple-mice platform. These results suggest that, when co-located collaborative games are designed, careful consideration must be taken when selecting the technology to be used, something which can have effects that go beyond the effects of the games themselves. Mostrar menos

The progress ed in the use of video games as educational tools has not yet been successfully transferred to the classroom. In an attempt to close this gap, a framework was developed that assists in the design and classroom integration of educational games. The framework addresses both the educational dimension and the ludic dimension. The educational dimension employs Bloom’s revised taxonomy to define learning objectives and applies the classroom multiplayer presential game (CMPG)… Mostrar más

The progress ed in the use of video games as educational tools has not yet been successfully transferred to the classroom. In an attempt to close this gap, a framework was developed that assists in the design and classroom integration of educational games. The framework addresses both the educational dimension and the ludic dimension. The educational dimension employs Bloom’s revised taxonomy to define learning objectives and applies the classroom multiplayer presential game (CMPG) pedagogical model while the ludic dimension determines the gaming elements subject to constraints imposed by the educational dimension. With a view to validating the framework, a game for teaching electrostatics was designed and experimentally implemented in a classroom context. An evaluation based on pre/post testing found that the game increased the average number of correct answers by students participating in the experiment from 6.11 to 10.00, a result found to be statistically significant. Thus validated, the framework offers a promising basis for further exploration through the development of other games and fine-tuning of its components. Mostrar menos