Educational materials as collaborative design space? Teachers’ remix practices through designing, sharing, redesigning and resharing materials in CourseBuilder

The study presented constitutes the first step in a research project aiming at gaining more insight into the processes of creating educational materials through a collaborative design space. Additionally, it focuses on the possibilities of and challenges involved in creating valuable and meaningful educational materials drawing on teachers’ remix practices. The purpose of the study is to investigate how teachers' collaborative interaction with educational tools may influence ongoing improvement of the courses and materials included in design of contextualized learning paths. By taking our point of departure in existing theories and knowledge, we designed a triangulated methodology using a combination of questionnaires, interviews and user behaviour data focusing on the use of the CourseBuilder as a collaborative space. The article focuses on the possibilities and barriers of developing a collaborative design space that enables a (re)design of digital educational materials which looks at teachers’ interest in: 1) designing their own teaching materials, 2) working professionally with the redesign and remixing of materials from many different sources, and 3) adapting them to the many contexts in which materials of this type are included. This article should be seen as a step towards a deeper understanding of opportunities and challenges within teachers' cooperation on designing, sharing, redesigning and resharing teaching materials. It shows that there is a high degree of acceptance of digital teaching materials among teachers of upper secondary schools in Denmark. Furthermore, there seems to be a collaborative culture, where the majority of teachers indicate that they already collaborate professionally regarding course planning and they see advantages connected with these practises. In prior research, factors promoting the adaptation of virtual collaboration are mentioned. These include teachers’ digital skills, professional development through courses, allocated time and integration of tools that allow teachers to enter into re-design networks with colleagues. All the institutions participating in our study show a supportive environment regarding the use of CourseBuilder. However, several factors were identified indicating that CourseBuilder is not the ideal version of a design collaborator. Although the necessary factors for a successful collaborative environment are present, somehow there seems to be a missing link in the fulfilment of CourseBuilder as collaborative design space. Put differently, there are collaborative supportive environments at the specific institutions - but the productive remix practices are not facilitated by CourseBuilder, despite the design intentions and layout

Open Educational Resources and Practices

In the last few years, Open Educational Resources (OER) have gained much attention. From January 2006 to December 2007 the Open e-Learning Content Observatory Services (OLCOS), a project co-funded by the European Commission under the eLearning Programme, explored how OER can make a difference in teaching and learning. The project aimed at promoting OER through different activities and products such as a European OER roadmap and OER tutorials. In this paper we present some results of the roadmap which provides an overview of the OER landscape and describes possible pathways towards a higher level of production, sharing and usage of OER. Moreover, the roadmap provides recommendations on required measures and actions to support decision making at the level of educational policy and institutions.The roadmap emphasises that the knowledge society demands competencies and skills that require innovative educational practices based on open sharing and the evaluation of ideas, fostering creativity and teamwork among the learners. Collaborative creation and sharing among learning communities of OER is regarded as an important catalyst of such educational innovations.The OLCOS project also developed free online tutorials for practitioners. The objective of these tutorials is supporting students and teachers in the creation, re-use and sharing of OER. To promote hands-on work, the tutorials advise on questions such as the following: How to search for OER? Which materials may be re-used and modified? How to produce and license own OER? The tutorials will be accessible and, potentially, will evolve beyond the end of the OLCOS project, because they are published on an open and successful Wiki based platform (Wikieducator.org) and can be updated by anybody.Originally published in eLearning Papers, No 7. ISSN 1887-1542. www.elearningpapers.eu

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

A literature review of the use of Web 2.0 tools in Higher Education

This review focuses on the use of Web 2.0 tools in Higher Education. It provides a synthesis of the research literature in the field and a series of illustrative examples of how these tools are being used in learning and teaching. It draws out the perceived benefits that these new technologies appear to offer, and highlights some of the challenges and issues surrounding their use. The review forms the basis for a HE Academy funded project, ‘Peals in the Cloud’, which is exploring how Web 2.0 tools can be used to support evidence-based practices in learning and teaching. The project has also produced two in-depth case studies, which are reported elsewhere (Galley et al., 2010, Alevizou et al., 2010). The case studies focus on evaluation of a recently developed site for learning and teaching, Cloudworks, which harnesses Web 2.0 functionality to facilitate the sharing and discussion of educational practice. The case studies aim to explore to what extent the Web 2.0 affordances of the site are successfully promoting the sharing of ideas, as well as scholarly reflections, on learning and teaching

Overview and Analysis of Practices with Open Educational Resources in Adult Education in Europe

OER4Adults aimed to provide an overview of Open Educational Practices in adult learning in Europe, identifying enablers and barriers to successful implementation of practices with OER. The project was conducted in 2012-2013 by a team from the Caledonian Academy, Glasgow Caledonian University, funded by The Institute for Prospective Technological Studies (IPTS). The project drew on data from four main sources: • OER4Adults inventory of over 150 OER initiatives relevant to adult learning in Europe • Responses from the leaders of 36 OER initiatives to a detailed SWOT survey • Responses from 89 lifelong learners and adult educators to a short poll • The Vision Papers on Open Education 2030: Lifelong Learning published by IPTS Interpretation was informed by interviews with OER and adult education experts, discussion at the IPTS Foresight Workshop on Open Education and Lifelong Learning 2030, and evaluation of the UKOER programme. Analysis revealed 6 tensions that drive developing practices around OER in adult learning as well 6 summary recommendations for the further development of such practices

The Integral Role of Borough of Manhattan Community College in the Mathematics Preparation of Prospective Teachers

Borough of Manhattan Community College (BMCC) of the City University of New York (CUNY) is the only two-year college on the island of Manhattan. This institution has a diverse population of approximately 17,000 students who attend day/evening/weekend classes. Over 1,000 students are enrolled in the Early Childhood Education (ECE) Program. Each year, approximately 300 new students select this area of concentration. The dropout rate is less than 14%. The ECE Program prepares students for elementary education programs at four-year institutions. The program also offers two career areas of study: Infant Toddler and Pre-School. This article will discuss how high quality teacher preparation at BMCC is promoted through mathematics coursework recommended by the NCTM and AMATYC for prospective elementary school teachers, the importance of technology in providing enriching pre-teaching experiences, collaboration with four-year institutions in teacher preparation efforts, and the importance of special teacher preparation of underrepresented populations for underrepresented populations of New York City

Responsible research and innovation in science education: insights from evaluating the impact of using digital media and arts-based methods on RRI values

The European Commission policy approach of Responsible Research and Innovation (RRI) is gaining momentum in European research planning and development as a strategy to align scientific and technological progress with socially desirable and acceptable ends. One of the RRI agendas is science education, aiming to foster future generations' acquisition of skills and values needed to engage in society responsibly. To this end, it is argued that RRI-based science education can benefit from more interdisciplinary methods such as those based on arts and digital technologies. However, the evidence existing on the impact of science education activities using digital media and arts-based methods on RRI values remains underexplored. This article comparatively reviews previous evidence on the evaluation of these activities, from primary to higher education, to examine whether and how RRI-related learning outcomes are evaluated and how these activities impact on students' learning. Forty academic publications were selected and its content analysed according to five RRI values: creative and critical thinking, engagement, inclusiveness, gender equality and integration of ethical issues. When evaluating the impact of digital and arts-based methods in science education activities, creative and critical thinking, engagement and partly inclusiveness are the RRI values mainly addressed. In contrast, gender equality and ethics integration are neglected. Digital-based methods seem to be more focused on students' questioning and inquiry skills, whereas those using arts often examine imagination, curiosity and autonomy. Differences in the evaluation focus between studies on digital media and those on arts partly explain differences in their impact on RRI values, but also result in non-documented outcomes and undermine their potential. Further developments in interdisciplinary approaches to science education following the RRI policy agenda should reinforce the design of the activities as well as procedural aspects of the evaluation research

Virtual pedagogical model: development scenarios

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