Progress specialist IT knowledge among students based on learning blended learning

The article includes the analysis of the course whose aim is to present the potentialities of the system of virtual education Moodle[1], which is the basis for constructing e-Student platform owned by State Higher Vocational School in Krosno. The article presents the use of e-learning in the course ‘Computer science in tourism’ conducted at the Department of Tourism and Recreation in State Higher Vocational School in Krosno. The analysis of test practical task and final axam results computer science in tourism for the students of Tourism and recreation, which involved work in Voyager Travel, Hotel, Euroticket On-Line has clearly shown a strong correlation between the acquired computer science knowledge (good and very good grades) and the results of the final semester exam in Computer Science in Tourism e-course. The article describes the observations and conclusions drawn from the computer science courses run with a portal system based on the Moodle platform in the State Higher Vocational School Institute of Technology

Librarian teachers on the move : are video tutorials an effective alternative tool for library information literacy instruction?: a case study

The Ghent Biomedical Library research group has performed research over the last year on teaching information literacy in the Biomedical curriculum. The impact of a differentiated teaching methodology was studied in a framework of blended learning, with the first year university students acquiring information literacy competences. First year Bachelor students in Biomedical Sciences at Ghent University were asked to study video tutorials as a possible alternative teaching methodology to other educational formats. The EAHIL 2012 meeting offered the occasion to present two related items. Ann De Meulemeester presented “Self-efficacy tests are helpful in the acquisition of information literacy. A study in first year bachelor students.” The results of this research laid at the base of “Librarians on the move”, a new study concerning best practices regarding innovative teaching methodologies in information literacy. The preliminary results were presented in a question-based approach in dialog with the audience. This approach had the advantage of unlocking the potential within the audience, bringing them to reflect on their own teaching methods on information literacy. The article reflects on the presentation held at EAHIL, more detailed results will be presented later in 2012

Quality Assessment for E-learning: a Benchmarking Approach (Third edition)

The primary purpose of this manual is to provide a set of benchmarks, quality criteria and notes for guidance against which e-learning programmes and their support systems may be judged. The manual should therefore be seen primarily as a reference tool for the assessment or review of e-learning programmes and the systems which support them. However, the manual should also prove to be useful to staff in institutions concerned with the design, development, teaching, assessment and support of e-learning programmes. It is hoped that course developers, teachers and other stakeholders will see the manual as a useful development and/or improvement tool for incorporation in their own institutional systems of monitoring, evaluation and enhancement

Maximizing Competency Education and Blended Learning: Insights from Experts

In May 2014, CompetencyWorks brought together twenty-three technical assistance providers to examine their catalytic role in implementing next generation learning models, share each other's knowledge and expertise about blended learning and competency education, and discuss next steps to move the field forward with a focus on equity and quality. Our strategy maintains that by building the knowledge and networks of technical assistance providers, these groups can play an even more catalytic role in advancing the field. The objective of the convening was to help educate and level set the understanding of competency education and its design elements, as well as to build knowledge about using blended learning modalities within competency-based environments. This paper attempts to draw together the wide-ranging conversations from the convening to provide background knowledge for educators to understand what it will take to transform from traditional to personalized, competency-based systems that take full advantage of blended learning

The Learning Edge: Supporting Student Success in a Competency-Based Learning Environment

State by state, our country is revamping our education system to ensure that each and every one of our young people is college and career ready. Over two-thirds of our states have adopted policies that enable credits to be awarded based on proficiency in a subject, rather than the one-size-fits-all seat-time in a classroom. Now states such as Maine and New Hampshire are taking the next step in establishing competency based diplomas in which students are expected to demonstrate that they can apply their skills and knowledge. To ensure high-quality competency education, in 2011 one hundred innovators created a working definition to guide the field. This paper delves into the fourth element of the definition: Students receive timely, differentiated support based on their individual learning needs. Through a series of interviews and site visits, an understanding of how support in a competency-based school differs from traditional approaches emerged. Learning in a competency-based environment means pushing students and adults to the edge of their comfort zone and competence -- the learning edge. Common themes that were drawn from the wide variety of ways schools support students became the basis for the design principles introduced here. It is essential to pause and understand the importance of timely, differentiated support. Our commitment to prepare all of our young people for college and careers demands that we be intentional in designing schools to effectively meet the needs of students of all races, classes, and cultures. It also demands our vigilance in challenging inequity. There is a risk in competency education -- a risk that learning at one's own pace could become the new achievement gap and that learning anywhere/anytime could become the new opportunity gap. Therefore, our goal in writing this paper is to provide ideas and guidance so that innovators in competency education can put into place powerful systems of supports for students in order to eradicate, not replicate, the inequities and variability in quality and outcomes that exist in our current system. Please consider this paper as an initial exploration into what it means to provide support for the individual learning needs of students. It is designed to generate reflection, analysis, and feedback

A learning-centred blended model for professional doctorates

A solid pedagogy can ensure the achievement of the learning outcomes set for any university qualification, whether at undergraduate or postgraduate level. Currently there is an urgent need for a wider consideration of appropriate pedagogies for doctoral programmes. This paper looks in particular at the characteristics of professional doctorates, which are typically studied part-time and focus on researching a professional setting. Based on the needs of these programmes, it proposes a learning-centred blended mode of delivery that fosters students’ engagement with activities anchored in the set learning outcomes. The range of activities aims at facilitating the multiple interactions necessary for competent researchers by making use of the resources, tools and spaces within two main learning environments: the virtual and the physical. This model prompts universities to consider appropriate pedagogies for the delivery of professional doctorates and suggests the need to ensure the alignment of their approaches with available technologies, educational policies, and practices of teaching and learning in their institutions. In order to ensure a successful implementation, such a consideration must also include effective action for the development of the relevant academic staff

A protocol for multidimensional assessment in university online courses

This paper presents a protocol developed for multidimensional assessment for e-learning experiences based on socioconstructivist principles. First, we describe the structure of an e-learning course where the protocol as been developed and tested; second, we describe the protocol and how it has been used in that course. We believe this protocol is a useful tool for a twofold reason: on the one hand, it takes into account the complexity of the pedagogical architecture of socioconstructivist courses – where many teaching models and learning strategies are mixed, different individual and collaborative activities are proposed and students are asked to build a variety of final products. On the other hand, it promotes students’ assumption of responsibility and active role, with a particular reference to self-assessment competences. Instances of how we have applied the protocol will be described in the paper. The assessment protocol we present here is complex, nevertheless flexible. Therefore, although we have tested it in a specific course, it could also be used in similar or simpler course