Students’ acceptance of e-learning approaches in Laboratory Animal Science Training

Different online courses and training programs in Laboratory Animal Science (LAS) have emerged across Europe in recent years. E-learning appears to be a promising solution to achieve flexibility in training while meeting the quality criteria of demanding programs in short training periods. However, little is known about how students perceive e-learning in this context, and there is also a lack of specific and valid instruments to measure this perception. Within an exploratory study framework, the e-learning perception of 229 participants in 15 courses in Portugal using two different online training formats, flipped classroom and full online theoretical training, was assessed. For this purpose, the Questionnaire of E-learning Acceptance (QELA), a 32-item accordance Likert-type scale comprising five subscales was developed to explore the following: how participant perceive e-learning, satisfaction with organization and contents, perception of e-learning relevance for the time management, and its influence for practical training. In general, e-learning was well accepted and perceived to work well and be useful by the majority of courses participants, independently of the course level and e-learning format approach. These results indeed suggest that integration of e-learning is useful in LAS training. We also propose the QELA as a starting point for development and implementation of specific instruments to assess e-learning acceptance in LAS across a wider range of geographical and training contexts.The author(s) disclosed receipt of the following financial sup- port for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article: This work is a result of the project funded by Norte- 01-0145-FEDER000008 – Porto Neurosciences and Neurologic Disease Research Initiative at I3S, supported by Norte Portugal Regional Operational Programme (NORTE 2020), under the PORTUGAL 2020 Partnership Agreement, through the European Regional Development Fund (FEDER)

Collaborative learning and co-author students in online higher education: a-REAeduca – collaborative learning and co-authors

The technologies themselves cannot be analyzed as instruments per se, nor can they be exhausted in their relation with science. There is a social and even an individual dimension that affects our own way of relating to society. It is in open education that we have been developing our educational practices. This chapter presents a collaborative learning activity, the curricular unit Materiais e Recursos para eLearning, part of an on-line Master in Pedagogy of eLearning, Universidade Aberta, Portugal. In the present work, the authors dedicate their attention to co-learning and co-research, as processes that help to exemplify some situations, the a-REAeduca. The data collection was supported essentially by the content analysis technique.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Corporate blended learning in Portugal: current status and future directions

The aim of this study is to characterize the current status of blended learning in Portugal, given that b-learning has grown exponentially in the Portuguese market over recent years. 38 organizations (representing 68% of all institutions certified to provide distance training by the Government Labour Office – DGERT -) participated in this study. The results revealed that in 2007, although the predominant instructional format in Portugal was still face-to-face training (65%), e-learning at 15% came in behind b-learning with 20%. Data also revealed that 50% of distance training department coordinators believe that b-learning produces better training outcomes than face-to-face training alone, when considering the same content and learning objectives. Furthermore, when comparing b-learning and e-learning outcomes with similar content and learning objectives, 78.1% of these coordinators declared that b-learning produces better outcomes than e-learning alone. Hence, the content analysis indicated positive perceptions with regard to the future direction of b-learning, leading to the conclusion that in the long-term, corporate b-learning training will develop considerably in this country

In-service training: e-learning as a new and promising approach.

In-service training through e-learning should be seen as a special field of adult education. The lessons learned from adult education must be an inspiration to the design of in-service training approaches that support collaborative learning and promote the development of virtual communities. This points support our conviction that e-learning is a “promising land” to new opportunities of training and professional development activities. After a short introduction, the article will describe three different cases of e-learning initiatives taken place at University of Minho - Portugal. The first case reports to a research project called ttVLC – trainers training to Virtual Learning Communities. The second case describes a course that aims to promote in-service professional development of secondary and high-school teachers, called “EASIC – Ensinar e Aprender na Sociedade da Informação” (in English: Teaching and Learning in the Information Society). The third case describe a course titled “Formação de Eformadores” (in English: Training of E-trainers) which aim helping university teachers to adopt e-learning methodologies.In-service training through e-learning should be seen as a special field of adult education. The lessons learned from adult education must be an inspiration to the design of in-service training approaches that support collaborative learning and promote the development of virtual communities. This points support our conviction that e-learning is a “promising land” to new opportunities of training and professional development activities. After a short introduction, the article will describe three different cases of e-learning initiatives taken place at University of Minho - Portugal. The first case reports to a research project called ttVLC – trainers training to Virtual Learning Communities. The second case describes a course that aims to promote in-service professional development of secondary and high-school teachers, called “EASIC – Ensinar e Aprender na Sociedade da Informação” (in English: Teaching and Learning in the Information Society). The third case describe a course titled “Formação de Eformadores” (in English: Training of E-trainers) which aim helping university teachers to adopt e-learning methodologies

Plataformas de e-learning no Ensino Superior em Portugal: estado da situação

Citação bibliográfica: Pinheiro, Ana & SILVA, Bento (2004). Plataformas de e-learning no Ensino Superior em Portugal: estado da situação. In Actas da Conferência eLES’04, eLearning no Ensino Superior. Aveiro: Universidade de Aveiro.A presente comunicação é uma primeira abordagem de um estudo mais vasto sobre o estado do e-learning no ensino superior em Portugal. Os autores apre-sentam os resultados de uma recolha exploratória na qual se pretende perceber que es-tabelecimentos de ensino superior português possuem e utilizam uma plataforma e-learning e determinar uma amostra de plataformas a serem analisadas numa parte posterior do estudo. Numa primeira parte desta comunicação aborda-se a metodologia de recolha de dados on-line utilizada. De seguida, analisa-se a informação relativa à caracterização da amostra no que respeita à presença das instituições na Internet e analisa-se a informação sobre as características das plataformas, nomeadamente o tipo e formas de utilização, os aspectos técnicos, administrativos, a construção dos cursos, a facilidade de utilização, a sua dinamização, a avaliação dos alunos e o grau de satis-fação por parte dos utilizadores

ICT in higher education in Portugal. Call computer assisted language learning

Este artículo pretende explorar el Aprendizaje de Lenguas Asistido por Ordenador (CALL, Computer-Assisted Language Learning) en Portugal. Para ello, se centrará en el nivel de educación superior. La escasa explotación del CALL en Portugal ha sido ampliamente estudiado en varios informes, por ejemplo, el informe encargado por la UE titulado The Impact of Information and Communications Technologies on the Teaching of Foreign Languages and on the Role of Teachers of Foreign Languages (2002: 5): "The use and employment of ICT in FLT and FLL is far from satisfactory, as ICT resources are traditionally reserved for '(computer) science' subjects, and rarely assigned to art subjects. A general lack of appropriate training of language teachers in meaningful uses of ICT tends to strengthen this trend". Este artículo abordará dichas necesidades centrándose en los resultados de proyectos europeos como POOLS. Analizaremos cuestiones relativas a los materiales en línea que pueden utilizarse para desarrollar contenidos de clases de lengua, hacienda uso de las ventajas del e-Learning.G.I. HUM 767 (ayudas a Grupos de Investigación de la Junta de Andalucía) / Editorial Comares (colección interlingua

Understanding and improving oral corrective feedback in primary FL classrooms in Portugal

The main axis of this study is the analysis of oral corrective feedback (OCF) procedures in the context of teaching English in primary school in Portugal. It presents a deeper understanding of OCF strategies and establishes links between these and their potential effectiveness. The study encompassed the audio recording, transcription and analysis of ten 45 minutes lessons at a private school in Lisbon, an online survey to primary teachers of English in Portugal, an interview with my co-operating teacher, a questionnaire to the learners involved in the research and a learning journal. As the study was implemented, my approach to OCF changed considerably. Results show that OCF is an inevitable and highly complex process, that there is little evidence to corroborate that it is detrimental to learning and that it can and should be assumed as a powerful tool for enhanced English teaching/learning in the primary context.O eixo principal deste estudo é o da análise dos procedimentos de correção oral de erros (OCF) no contexto do ensino de Inglês na escola primária em Portugal. Apresenta um entendimento aprofundado das estratégias de OCF e estabelece ligações entre estas e a sua potencial eficácia. O estudo abrangeu a gravação áudio, transcrição e análise de 10 aulas de 45 minutos numa escola privada em Lisboa, um inquérito online a professores de Inglês na primária em Portugal, uma entrevista à professora cooperante, um questionário aos alunos envolvidos na pesquisa e um diário do professor. No decorrer da implementação, a minha abordagem à OCF alterou-se de forma significativa. Os resultados demonstram que a OCF é um processo inevitável e altamente complexo, que não existem dados suficientes para corroborar efeitos negativos na aprendizagem e que a OCF pode, e deve, ser assumida como uma ferramenta poderosa na melhoria do ensino/aprendizagem de Inglês no contexto da escola primária

Building (e-)learning bridges between Portugal and Turkey

E-Learning has revolutionized learning as we know it [1]. Shifting beyond traditional mode of education, e-Learning has become an advantage for all learners in general. Further, e-Learning also bridges the gap of learning across borders, emerging as the new paradigm of modern education [2]. With e-Learning, learners can have access to training in other universities and to academic resource materials from other countries, thereby broadening the knowledge base of students. Despite these promising advantages, there are many barriers that face both trainers and trainees within an e- Learning environment [2] [3] [4]. Data show that teachers and trainers have a lack of confidence that surpasses the general optimism in e-Learning [5]. Teachers and trainers indicated that their skills in preparing pedagogical specifications or e-Learning tools are weak [5]. These barriers to e-Learning are very similar across European countries, example of that is Portugal and Turkey. This is a clear finding of the Building (e)Learning Bridges project (Lifelong Learning Programme – Grundtvig Learning Partnerships, 2012-14) [6]. This project aimed to design and test a usable web based protocol to facilitate the creation of effective e-Learning activities [6]. A protocol is generally defined as a set of rules/procedures that should be followed to achieve an outcome. When creating a new e-Learning course these procedures will ensure that all-important aspects of the development process are followed in the appropriate order [7]. Our goal is to give strong guidelines to teachers and trainers that allow them to prepare good e-Learning environments to their students, interactive and pedagogically structured, in order to overcome the barriers to e-Learning that have been found in the scope of the project (including in the literature). This protocol can help institutions adopt e-Learning by overcoming potential barriers, and hence reduce the risk of failure during implementation. After a first moment when partners identified common barriers to e-Learning, we create an e-Learning Protocol to facilitate the creation of e-Learning courses. With this protocol it was possible to prepare a small-scale ‘at distance’ learning activity among partners. The first tests were conducted with Portugal targeting eleven adult e-learners in Turkey. This paper presents the accomplished e-Learning Protocol and the results of the mentioned test activity.National Agency for Lifelong Learning ProgrammeCIEC – Research Centre on Child Studies, UM (FCT R&D 317

Visualyzart Project – The role in education

The VisualYzARt project intends to develop research on mobile platforms, web and social scenarios in order to bring augmented reality and natural interaction for the general public, aiming to study and validate the adequacy of YVision platform in various fields of activity such as digital arts, design, education, culture and leisure. The VisualYzARt project members analysed the components available in YVision platform and are defining new ones that allow the creation of applications to a chosen activity, effectively adding a new language to the domain YVision. In this paper we will present the role of the InstitutoPolitécnico de Santarém which falls into the field of education.VisualYzART is funded by QREN – Sistema de Incentivos à Investigação e Desenvolvimento Tecnológico (SI I&DT), Project n. º 23201 - VisualYzARt (from January 2013 to December 2014). Partners: YDreams Portugal; Instituto Politécnico de Santarém - Gabinete de e-Learning; Universidade de Coimbra - Centro de Informática e Sistemas; Instituto Politécnico de Leiria - Centro de Investigação em Informática e Comunicações; Universidade Católica do Porto - Centro de Investigação em Ciência e Tecnologia das Artes.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

In-service training: e-learning as a new and promising approach.

In-service training through e-learning should be seen as a special field of adult education. The lessons learned from adult education must be an inspiration to the design of in-service training approaches that support collaborative learning and promote the development of virtual communities. This points support our conviction that e-learning is a “promising land” to new opportunities of training and professional development activities. After a short introduction, the article will describe three different cases of e-learning initiatives taken place at University of Minho - Portugal. The first case reports to a research project called ttVLC – trainers training to Virtual Learning Communities. The second case describes a course that aims to promote in-service professional development of secondary and high-school teachers, called “EASIC – Ensinar e Aprender na Sociedade da Informação” (in English: Teaching and Learning in the Information Society). The third case describe a course titled “Formação de Eformadores” (in English: Training of E-trainers) which aim helping university teachers to adopt e-learning methodologies.In-service training through e-learning should be seen as a special field of adult education. The lessons learned from adult education must be an inspiration to the design of in-service training approaches that support collaborative learning and promote the development of virtual communities. This points support our conviction that e-learning is a “promising land” to new opportunities of training and professional development activities. After a short introduction, the article will describe three different cases of e-learning initiatives taken place at University of Minho - Portugal. The first case reports to a research project called ttVLC – trainers training to Virtual Learning Communities. The second case describes a course that aims to promote in-service professional development of secondary and high-school teachers, called “EASIC – Ensinar e Aprender na Sociedade da Informação” (in English: Teaching and Learning in the Information Society). The third case describe a course titled “Formação de Eformadores” (in English: Training of E-trainers) which aim helping university teachers to adopt e-learning methodologies