Um Mecanismo para a Integração entre o LMS Moodle e o Site de Redes Sociais Facebook

Social networking sites are great tools for aggregating and bringing people together, in the sense that they offer various forms of interaction, provi-ding its participants the ease of communication and the ability to create discus-sions, comments and share resources that they find relevant. The popularity of these sites is undeniable, with thousands of new users every day, they attract es- pecially younger people, who often come to incorporate them into their daily lifeand use them to discuss various themes, also related to the classroom. There- fore, many researchers have dedicated themselves to investigate whether the useof these sites in the context of formal education would be beneficial. Althoughstill fairly recent, these studies usually identify great potential in these sites asa way to motivate students to be more involved and engaged. The aim of this paper is to present a mechanism for the integration between the Learning Ma-nagement System Moodle and Facebook, in order to explore the potential of thissite for educationSocial networking sites are great tools for aggregating and bringing people together, in the sense that they offer various forms of interaction, provi-ding its participants the ease of communication and the ability to create discus-sions, comments and share resources that they find relevant. The popularity of these sites is undeniable, with thousands of new users every day, they attract es- pecially younger people, who often come to incorporate them into their daily lifeand use them to discuss various themes, also related to the classroom. There- fore, many researchers have dedicated themselves to investigate whether the useof these sites in the context of formal education would be beneficial. Althoughstill fairly recent, these studies usually identify great potential in these sites asa way to motivate students to be more involved and engaged. The aim of this paper is to present a mechanism for the integration between the Learning Ma-nagement System Moodle and Facebook, in order to explore the potential of thissite for educatio

Uma arquitetura flexível para promover a integracao entre o moodle e sites de redes sociais

Social networking sites make it possible for Internet users to communicating, sharing, cooperating and expressing their ideas. Also known as SNSs, theywield impressive attraction within its users, who spend several daily hours in this kind of sites. This paper advocates that the popularity and social tools these sites provide can be used in behalf of education, as a mean to increase student’s interest and commitment for the teaching/learning process. In order to incorporate SNSs into the process, this article presents a flexible architecture to integrate Moodle and distinct social networking sites. Besides, these architecture has been implemented to provide integration between Moodle and Facebook and Twitter. This way, we believe that teachers are provided with a new way of communicating with their students, increasing the odds of interaction among them and, possibly, students get more active and start using Moodle more frequently.Social networking sites make it possible for Internet users to communicating, sharing, cooperating and expressing their ideas. Also known as SNSs, theywield impressive attraction within its users, who spend several daily hours in this kind of sites. This paper advocates that the popularity and social tools these sites provide can be used in behalf of education, as a mean to increase student’s interest and commitment for the teaching/learning process. In order to incorporate SNSs into the process, this article presents a flexible architecture to integrate Moodle and distinct social networking sites. Besides, these architecture has been implemented to provide integration between Moodle and Facebook and Twitter. This way, we believe that teachers are provided with a new way of communicating with their students, increasing the odds of interaction among them and, possibly, students get more active and start using Moodle more frequently

A Flexible Architecture to Promote the Integration between Moodle and Social Network Sites

Social networking sites make it possible for Internet users to communicating, sharing, cooperating and expressing their ideas. Also known as SNSs, theywield impressive attraction within its users, who spend several daily hours in this kind of sites. This paper advocates that the popularity and social tools these sites provide can be used in behalf of education, as a mean to increase student’s interest and commitment for the teaching/learning process. In order to incorporate SNSs into the process, this article presents a flexible architecture to integrate Moodle and distinct social networking sites. Besides, these architecture has been implemented to provide integration between Moodle and Facebook and Twitter. This way, we believe that teachers are provided with a new way of communicating with their students, increasing the odds of interaction among them and, possibly, students get more active and start using Moodle more frequently.Social networking sites make it possible for Internet users to communicating, sharing, cooperating and expressing their ideas. Also known as SNSs, theywield impressive attraction within its users, who spend several daily hours in this kind of sites. This paper advocates that the popularity and social tools these sites provide can be used in behalf of education, as a mean to increase student’s interest and commitment for the teaching/learning process. In order to incorporate SNSs into the process, this article presents a flexible architecture to integrate Moodle and distinct social networking sites. Besides, these architecture has been implemented to provide integration between Moodle and Facebook and Twitter. This way, we believe that teachers are provided with a new way of communicating with their students, increasing the odds of interaction among them and, possibly, students get more active and start using Moodle more frequently

Personal Learning Environments for Inquiry-Based Learning

Personal Learning Environments have recently emerged as a novel approach to learning, putting learners in the spotlight and providing them with the tools for building their own learning environments according to their specific learning needs and aspirations. This approach enables learners to take complete control over their learning, thus becoming self-regulated and independent. This paper introduces a new European initiative for supporting and enhancing inquiry-based learning through Personal Learning Environments consisting of personal and social inquiry tools. This approach aims at supporting students in developing their self-regulated learning skills by conducting their scientific inquiries in collaboration with their peers

Using Social Network Analysis to Explore Digital Student Interactions and Business Competency Learning in a Web-based Educational Platform:

Web 2.0 tools occupy a large part of our lives, and their use in the classroom offers instructors a unique opportunity to gather substantial information about individual and interactive student behaviors. The authors’ challenge is understanding the implications of this rich data source for assessing course efficacy and student learning, and applying these insights to further enhance the development of global business competencies. This paper reviews 311 student interactions as reflected in comments exchanged in a digital social learning community and, using social network analysis, discusses the potential to use these interactions to assess student critical thinking, communication, and collaborative feedback skills. The authors conclude with implications and recommendations for instructors who want to use Web 2.0 platforms and data to enhance their understanding of student and class digital interactions, and apply this information to course enhancement

Avoiding the Dark Side of Digital Transformation in Teaching. An Institutional Reference Framework for eLearning in Higher Education

[EN]The purpose of this paper is to define a reference framework for introducing eLearning practices in mainly face‐to‐face higher education institutions. We suggest a suitable adoption and management of associated infrastructures and processes, in order to guarantee the ethical use of data in the related academic and learning analytics. A theoretical framework is proposed after years of practice and experience in the institutional government of IT processes related to learning technology. The digital transformation of teaching should imply the right technological decisions made by people and for people, in order to achieve a more inclusive, participative, and human university supported by technology. digital transformation is a social requirement of governments, companies, and institutions, and it should take into account the associated risks of the unethical use of technology, which leads to the dark side of transformation processes. eLearning approaches, especially with the influence of the COVID‐19 outbreaks, are increasing the need for digital mechanisms in universities. Further, there is a need for strategical support and reference models if we are to avoid these undesired effects

The labour market analysis through a Computable General Equilibrium model

A partire dalla seconda met\ue0 degli anni \u201990, i sistemi economici sono stati investiti da cambiamenti profondi dovuti alla crescente globalizzazione, all\u2019introduzione pervasiva dell\u2019innovazione digitale e alla progressiva automazione. Questi fattori hanno impattato sulla composizione della domanda per skill. A fronte di una diminuzione della domanda di lavoro per i lavoratori low-skilled (LS) con conseguenti minori salari, la domanda di lavoro per i lavoratori high-skilled (HS) \ue8 aumentata, compensando il contemporaneo incremento dell\u2019offerta di lavoro con il conseguente aumento dei salari. Le evidenze empiriche sembrano confermare la relazione di complementariet\ue0 tra la domanda di lavoro HS e quella del capitale, a fronte della sostituibilit\ue0 tra la domanda di lavoro LS e ed il capitale. Tuttavia queste stime sono il risultato di analisi in serie storiche, che consentono, in particolare, di ottenere il valore delle elasticit\ue0 di sostituzione. Peraltro, le metodologie econometriche sono state anche usate da alcuni autori per analizzare l\u2019efficacia di alcune politiche capaci di ridurre l\u2019impatto negativo sull\u2019occupazione, come i sussidi all\u2019occupazione per i lavoratori LS. A quest\u2019ultimo riguardo, sono state usate sia metodologie Difference-in-Difference, sia sperimentali. Le analisi di cui sopra sono caratterizzate dal fatto di non catturare gli effetti di Equilibrio Economico Generale, in quanto le equazioni sono stimate solo in forma ridotta. Una stima completa e comprensiva dell\u2019interazione tra prezzi e quantit\ue0 richiede la conoscenza delle profonde relazioni intercorrenti tra le attivit\ue0, i beni ed i settori istituzionali. Questo giustifica l\u2019adozione dei modelli di Computable General Equilibrium (CGE) per studiare le determinanti della disoccupazione LS e gli effetti delle possibili soluzioni a livello settoriale. Nella tesi si utilizzano il modello statico MAC18 e quello dinamico MAC18_DYN, entrambi sviluppati dal Dipartimento di Economia e Diritto dell\u2019Universit\ue0 di Macerata nel 2011. Questi modelli sono stati convenientemente modificati, in modo da ottenere il dettaglio necessario per la scomposizione del fattore lavoro e delle famiglie. Inoltre, nella tesi \ue8 stato anche usato il modello CGE statico integrato con un modello di microsimulazione che riproduce il funzionamento del sistema italiano di Tax and Benefit per le famiglie vigente nel periodo 2013-2014. In questo modo, nel modello gli individui e le coppie decidono l\u2019offerta di lavoro in termini di ore per anno e la domanda di consumo come risultato della massimizzazione della funzione di utilit\ue0 sotto i vincoli del reddito disponibile e dei meccanismi di razionamento dovuti alle imperfezioni del mercato del lavoro. Questo consente, in parte, di superare il problema della stretta esogeneit\ue0 della dotazione di lavoro, caratteristica della versione base del modello CGE statico. Il modello settoriale interagisce con quello di microsimulazione attraverso un approccio Top-Down/Bottom-Up con uno shock macro che si ripercuote a livello micro e viceversa. Il database settoriale di riferimento \ue8 rappresentato dalla Social Accounting Matrix (SAM) dell\u2019economia italiana per gli anni 2013 e 2014. La nostra SAM include una descrizione molto dettagliata del flusso circolare del reddito: i) si distinguono 24 categorie di lavoro distinte per genere (2 modalit\ue0: maschio/femmina), professione (3 livelli: HS/MS/LS), istruzione formale (3 livelli: HS/MS/LS) e competenze informali (2 livelli: \u2018usare il computer\u2019/\u2019non usare il computer\u2019); ii) le famiglie sono classificate in 6 gruppi secondo gli scaglioni dell\u2019imposta personale sui redditi IRPEF. Per ogni categoria di lavoro si identifica una specifica domanda ed una specifica offerta e l\u2019equilibrio si definisce per uno specifico livello di disoccupazione involontaria e di salari. La SAM \ue8 stata costruita usando la Matrice di Contabilit\ue0 Nazionale dell\u2019ISTAT per il 2013 e per il 2014. Queste rappresentano descrizioni coerenti delle relazioni tra gli aggregati di Contabilit\ue0 Nazionale. Al fine di scomporre il fattore lavoro, tuttavia, i dati di Contabilit\ue0 Nazionale sono stati integrati con il database \u2018Programme for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies\u2019 (PIAAC) dell\u2019OCSE. Le famiglie sono state scomposte sulla base dei micro-dati EU-SILC, integrati con l\u2019Indagine sui Consumi dell\u2019ISTAT. Sono stati anche usati i dati del Ministero dell\u2019Economia e delle Finanze (MEF)/Banca d\u2019Italia sui flussi tra le Pubbliche Amministrazioni (SIOPE) e quelli del MEF/Dipartimento delle Finanze sulla distribuzione dell\u2019onere dell\u2019IRPEF in termini di decili di reddito. La tesi si compone di 3 parti principali. Nella prima si cerca di stimare, attraverso un modello CGE statico, gli effetti dell\u2019innovazione ICT sulla domanda di lavoro. A questo fine, si modifica la composizione della domanda per consumi delle famiglie e per investimenti con un incremento della quota attribuibile ai beni a pi\uf9 alto contenuto di lavoro HS. Ne risulta un PIL pi\uf9 alto in simulazione che al livello di base ed un miglioramento nell\u2019occupazione HS su quella LS in termini di salari. Un pieno effetto sull\u2019occupazione potrebbe essere ottenuto solo attraverso una ricomposizione dell\u2019offerta di lavoro a vantaggio del lavoro HS. Questo \ue8 quello che stato fatto, tra l\u2019altro, nella terza parte. Nella seconda parte, \ue8 stimato l\u2019impatto dei sussidi all\u2019occupazione (in termini di minori aliquote contributive datoriali) per le componenti LS attraverso un modello CGE statico integrato con un modello di microsimulazione. I sussidi sono finalizzati ad aumentare i salari e i posti di lavoro. Si prendono in considerazione anche i meccanismi di copertura degli oneri per la finanza pubblica attraverso un incremento delle aliquote progressive dell\u2019IRPEF. Il modello di microsimulazione consente di stimare i cambiamenti nell\u2019offerta di lavoro e nella domanda di consumi che risultino ottimali rispetto al sistema di Tax and Benefit in vigore in simulazione. A livello aggregato, dal modello emerge un livello di PIL sostanzialmente invariato con un cambiamento della composizione della domanda di lavoro a vantaggio dell\u2019occupazione LS. In particolare, emerge l\u2019esistenza di una relazione di sostituzione tra i diversi tipi di lavoro. L\u2019analisi condotta nella seconda parte presenta il vantaggio di avere una dotazione dei fattori parzialmente endogena. Tuttavia, vengono catturati solo gli effetti di breve periodo dei sussidi all\u2019occupazione, senza considerare quelli di lungo termine dovuti all\u2019innalzamento del livello di competenze della forza-lavoro secondo l\u2019ipotesi del learning-by-doing. In sostanza, i lavoratori possono mantenere o migliorare il loro know-how non entrando in disoccupazione o nell\u2019inattivit\ue0. Gli effetti di lungo termine dei sussidi all\u2019occupazione sono esaminati nella terza parte, dove si usa un modello CGE dinamico sotto diversi scenari di efficacia del training. Nel modello dinamico sia la dotazione di capitale, sia quella di lavoro sono determinate endogenamente. Si simula l\u2019effetto di una riduzione di 1 p.p. dell\u2019aliquota contributiva datoriale sia per il lavoro LS, sia HS. Alcuni effetti positivi sembrano prodursi sull\u2019occupazione a livello aggregato con una composizione che cambia coerentemente con la componente sussidiata (i lavoratori LS e HS, rispettivamente, nelle simulazioni LS e HS). In questo contesto, i programmi di training sembrano produrre effetti positivi in termini di salari e di occasioni di lavoro, confermando l\u2019esistenza di un doppio dividendo. Contrariamente a quanto emerge dalla letteratura, il lavoro ed il capitale risultano sostituibili, anche se tale relazione vale meno per il lavoro HS che per quello LS. Di conseguenza, il taglio dell\u2019aliquota contributiva pu\uf2 solo contenere gli effetti legati dell\u2019innovazione ICT sulla domanda di lavoro. Solo la combinazione di aumenti della domanda aggregata e di innovazione ICT potrebbe assicurare incrementi nell\u2019occupazione totale

Developing sustainable business models for institutions’ provision of open educational resources: Learning from OpenLearn users’ motivations and experiences

Universities across the globe have, for some time, been exploring the possibilities for achieving public benefit and generating business and visibility through releasing and sharing open educational resources (OER). Many have written about the need to develop sustainable and profitable business models around the production and release of OER. Downes (2006), for example, has questioned the financial sustainability of OER production at scale. Many of the proposed business models focus on OER’s value in generating revenue and detractors of OER have questioned whether they are in competition with formal education. This paper reports on a study intended to broaden the conversation about OER business models to consider the motivations and experiences of OER users as the basis for making a better informed decision about whether OER and formal learning are competitive or complementary with each other. The study focused on OpenLearn - the Open University’s (OU) web-based platform for OER, which hosts hundreds of online courses and videos and is accessed by over 3,000,000 users a year. A large scale survey and follow-up interviews with OpenLearn users worldwide revealed that university provided OER can offer learners a bridge to formal education, allowing them to try out a subject before registering on a formal course and to build confidence in their abilities as learners. In addition, it was found that using OER during formal paid-for study can improve learners’ performance and self-reliance, leading to increased retention and satisfaction with the learning experience

Open educational resources for all? Comparing user motivations and characteristics across The Open University’s iTunes U channel and OpenLearn platform.

With the rise in access to mobile multimedia devices, educational institutions have exploited the iTunes U platform as an additional channel to provide free educational resources with the aim of profile-raising and breaking down barriers to education. For those prepared to invest in content preparation, it is possible to produce interactive, portable material that can be made available globally. Commentators have questioned both the financial implications for platform-specific content production, and the availability of devices for learners to access it (Osborne, 2012). The Open University (OU) makes its free educational resources available on iTunes U and via its web-based open educational resources (OER) platform, OpenLearn. The OU’s OER on iTunes U reached the 60 million download mark in 2013; its OpenLearn platform boasts 27 million unique visitors since 2006. This paper reports the results of a large-scale study of users of the OU’s iTunes U channel and OpenLearn platform. A survey of several thousand users revealed key differences in demographics between those accessing OER via the web and via iTunes U. In addition, the data allowed comparison between three groups: formal learners, informal learners and educators. The study raises questions about whether university-provided OER meet the needs of users and makes recommendations for how content can be modified to suit their needs. As the publishing of OER becomes core to business, we reflect on reasons why understanding users’ motivations and demographics is vital, allowing for needs-led resource provision and content that is adapted to best achieve learner satisfaction, and to deliver institutions’ social mission