University Networking in Developing Countries based on C4D-Learning

In recent years, the establishment of cooperation networks between universities is one of the most important trends in higher education all over the world. Well recognized local and international university networks have been implemented in most educational institutions. It is common to find associations of various prestigious universities collaborating in a high-­‐technology research project including a very specialized teaching as well. This is the most common cooperation networks among higher education institutions in developed countries. An increasingly common type of networking between developed and developing universities is related to cooperation for development. This is the case of many universities in Africa that are needed for external help in order to improve its capabilities. Numerous memorandums of understanding regarding first world institutions that collaborate with universities in developing countries describe contributions of eventual visiting professors, teaching material and courses. But probably there exist another type of more important, but less explored association, such as networking among developing universities. The new goal, in this case, is not only the excellence but also the mutual development

UBURYO: open source software for managing microcredits in education

One of the major problems in developing countries is minority access to higher education. Traditional scholarships usually focus on paying tuition fees for bringing brilliant students to developed countries (from where they seldom return). But local grants seldom target the more needy students. We propose a system of student loans to pay tuition fees in exchange for technical work. This appears to be a satisfactory and sustainable solution. We also provide UBURYO (a Kirundi word meaning opportunity). UBURYO is the free open source software, that we have developed, to manage this loan system in a simple, trustworthy, fair and efficient way

Modeling educational quizzes as board games

In last decades, online computer games are used for e-learning purposes with significant success which determines steadily increasing interest in game development. Board games are special group of computer games where figures are manipulated on a surface according predefined rules. The paper presents a new, formalized model of traditional quizzes, puzzles and quests as multimedia board games created for facilitating the construction process of games of such types. By several examples authors show the model is quite general in order to support not only quiz, puzzle and quest presentation but also any instructional set of teaching activities presented as a race game. An adaptive game control strategy is proposed where dices are used for random selection of complexity of next questions. The model is going to be used as a basic paradigm for construction of a software platform for multimedia game development for adaptive education

Supporting Effective Online Learning Groups for eLearning Systems

Learning in groups has been advocated to increase learning based on the social constructivist learning theory. ICT has been preferred to bridge the gap between distance learning students for possibilities to enhance the benefits of learning groups. However, although learning groups can bring about meaningful learning, learning groups in online environments are often not working. To solve this problem, this study uses design science approaches to establish methods and factors that support effective online learning groups. Within design science three case studies were used. These case studies were used under three research areas: context of online learning groups, processes to support effective online learning groups and tools to support effective online learning groups. The study adopted mixed methods in the evaluation stage of the adopted design science. Establishing the context of online learning groups laid a foundation for this study. This was done using a survey approach that covered the five regions in Uganda, semi-structured interviews with experienced online learning facilitators and observation of interaction logs of online courses at both the University of Agder and Makerere University. Initially, preliminary findings of effective online learning groups were established. The preliminary findings consist of the need for: study guide, trained online tutors, motivating and sustaining interaction, high levels of cognitive interactions, peer assessment based activities and ICT. From the context of online learning groups, the Methods and Factors for Effective Online Learning Groups (FEOLG) were established. FEOLG include: supporting institutional online learning group policy; supporting institutional online learning group technology; quality of online learning group activity; quality of the online learning group; and quality of online learning group facilitation. The factors were evaluated using online learning courses based on existing Makerere University eLearning Environment (MUELE) and online learning group design. The thesis contributes: methods for creating online learning groups, methods for structuring online learning group activities, methods for facilitating online learning groups, and the establishment of factors for supporting effective online learning groups.publishedVersio

Avaliação do nível da proficiência nas competências digitais dos docentes do ensino superior em Portugal

The study aims to assess the level of digital competences of higher education instructors in Portugal. The methodology used was a survey, involving an online self-assessment questionnaire, based on DigCompEdu, a framework developed and validated by the European Commission. The survey collected data in three dimensions: personal (gender, level of education, age group and career years), teaching (college levels and teaching modality) and institutional (higher education subsystems, type of establishment and administrative region). The questionnaire was answered by 695 participants. The data analysis involved the application of statistical techniques such as t-test and ANOVA. The results showed an intermediate level of proficiency in the instructors’ digital competences. There were no statistically significant effects of variables such as: gender, age group, career years, type of establishment and administrative region. However, teachers with a higher level of academic qualifications and who teach at postgraduate levels, as well as teaching at a distance and in technical institutions showed a higher level of digital competence. The study concludes that the following actions are needed: the development of frameworks focusing on online higher education and the development of continuous training for instructors to improve their digital proficiency level.O objetivo deste estudo é avaliar o nível de competência digital dos docentes do ensino superior em Portugal. A metodologia utilizada foi um survey, envolvendo um questionário online de autoavaliação, baseado no DigCompEdu, framework desenvolvido e validado na União Europeia. O survey coletou dados em três dimensões: pessoal (gênero, nível de formação, faixa etária e tempo de carreira), docência (ciclo de ensino e modalidade de ensino) e institucional (tipo de ensino, tipo de estabelecimento e região administrativa). O questionário foi respondido por 695 participantes. A análise de dados envolveu a aplicação de técnicas estatísticas como teste t-student e ANOVA. Os resultados apontaram um nível de proficiência intermediário nas competências digitais dos docentes. Não foram detectados efeitos estatisticamente significativos de variáveis como: gênero, faixa etária, tempo de carreira, tipo de estabelecimento e região administrativa. Entretanto, professores com maior nível de formação e que lecionam em níveis de ensino superiores (mestrado e doutorado), a distância e em estabelecimentos politécnicos apresentaram maior nível de competência digital. O estudo identificou necessidades relativas ao desenvolvimento de frameworks que contemplem a educação superior online e o desenvolvimento de formação continuada de professores para promover melhorias no nível de proficiência digital dos docentes

Toward Pedagogy-Driven Personalized Learning Experiences in Cultural Digital Libraries

Cultural heritage institutions hold a vast amount of multimedia digital content forming a rich source of knowledge about cultural heritage, natural history, and biodiversity that could be used to serve various educational contexts and scenarios. However, due to a number of barriers, this knowledge remains largely unexploited. This paper addresses the problem and presents a framework and a service- oriented architecture for supporting personalized learning in cultural digital collections/libraries allowing: a) accessing and re-purposing existing multimedia digital content/archives for cultural digital objects, learning objects and higher learning units, and b) constructing pedagogy-driven personalized learning experiences in cultural digital collections statically or dynamically, taking into account different learner needs and preferences and instructional strategies encoded in educational templates. The proposed architecture also supports interoperability and sharing of cultural digital objects, learning objects and learning experiences with existing eLearning systems and large repositories/aggregators

Current Trends in Game-Based Learning

A myriad of technological options can be used to support digital game-based learning. One popular technology in this context is the mobile device, considering its high penetration rate in our societies, even among young people. These can be combined with other technologies, such as Augmented Reality (AR) or Virtual Reality (VR), to increase students’ motivation and engagement in learning processes.Due to this, there is an emergent need to know and promote good practices in the development and implementation of game-based learning approaches in educational settings. This was the motto for the proposal of the Education Sciences (ISSN: 2227-7102) Special Issue “Current Trends in Game-Based Learning”. This book is a reprint of this Special Issue, collecting a set of five papers that illustrate the contribution of innovative approaches to education, specifically the ones exploring the motivational factors associated with playing games and the technology that may support them