ICOPER Project - Deliverable 4.3 ISURE: Recommendations for extending effective reuse, embodied in the ICOPER CD&R

The purpose of this document is to capture the ideas and recommendations, within and beyond the ICOPER community, concerning the reuse of learning content, including appropriate methodologies as well as established strategies for remixing and repurposing reusable resources. The overall remit of this work focuses on describing the key issues that are related to extending effective reuse embodied in such materials. The objective of this investigation, is to support the reuse of learning content whilst considering how it could be originally created and then adapted with that ‘reuse’ in mind. In these circumstances a survey on effective reuse best practices can often provide an insight into the main challenges and benefits involved in the process of creating, remixing and repurposing what we are now designating as Reusable Learning Content (RLC). Several key issues are analysed in this report: Recommendations for extending effective reuse, building upon those described in the previous related deliverables 4.1 Content Development Methodologies and 4.2 Quality Control and Web 2.0 technologies. The findings of this current survey, however, provide further recommendations and strategies for using and developing this reusable learning content. In the spirit of ‘reuse’, this work also aims to serve as a foundation for the many different stakeholders and users within, and beyond, the ICOPER community who are interested in reusing learning resources. This report analyses a variety of information. Evidence has been gathered from a qualitative survey that has focused on the technical and pedagogical recommendations suggested by a Special Interest Group (SIG) on the most innovative practices with respect to new media content authors (for content authoring or modification) and course designers (for unit creation). This extended community includes a wider collection of OER specialists. This collected evidence, in the form of video and audio interviews, has also been represented as multimedia assets potentially helpful for learning and useful as learning content in the New Media Space (See section 4 for further details). Section 2 of this report introduces the concept of reusable learning content and reusability. Section 3 discusses an application created by the ICOPER community to enhance the opportunities for developing reusable content. Section 4 of this report provides an overview of the methodology used for the qualitative survey. Section 5 presents a summary of thematic findings. Section 6 highlights a list of recommendations for effective reuse of educational content, which were derived from thematic analysis described in Appendix A. Finally, section 7 summarises the key outcomes of this work

Civic Identities, Online Technologies: From Designing Civics Curriculum to Supporting Civic Experiences

Part of the Volume on Civic Life Online: Learning How Digital Media Can Engage Youth.Youth today are often criticized for their lack of civic participation and involvement in political life. Technology has been blamed, amongst many other causes, for fostering social isolation and youth's retreat into a private world disconnected from their communities. However, current research is beginning to indicate that these might be inaccurate perceptions. The Internet has provided new opportunities to create communities that extend beyond geographic boundaries, to engage in civic and volunteering activities across local and national frontiers, to learn about political life, and to experience the challenges of democratic participation. How do we leverage youth's interest in new technologies by developing technology-based educational programs to promote civic engagement? This chapter explores this question by proposing socio-technical design elements to be considered when developing technology-rich experiences. It presents a typology to guide the design of Internet-based interventions, taking into account both the affordances of the technology and the educational approach to the use of the technology. It also presents a pilot experience in a northeastern university that offered a pre-orientation program in which incoming freshman designed a three-dimensional virtual campus of the future and developed new policies and programs to strengthen the relationship between college campus and neighbor communities

Teacher's digital fluency: a new competence for foreigh language teaching A fluência digital do professor: uma nova competência para o ensino de línguas estrangeiras

ABSTRACT: This paper reports on a case study research focusing on digital fluency as a new competence for teaching foreign languages through technology. The data were generated on a training course having as its main purpose the investigation of pre-service and in-service teachers' perceptions about the relevance of digital fluency and the pedagogical use of digital technologies for foreign language (FL) teaching and learning. The trainee teachers were asked to work in groups with the purpose of exploring Windows Movie Maker software in order to create a movie addressing the importance of digital fluency and the potential of this digital tool in FL teaching and learning. The results suggest that digital fluency was considered a necessary competence for the creation of more attractive and dynamic lessons that motivate meaningful FL production. KEYWORDS: digital fluency; competence; teacher education; foreign language. RESUMO: O presente artigo trata de um estudo de caso com foco na fluência digital como uma nova competência para o ensino de línguas estrangeiras (LEs) por meio da tecnologia. A partir de dados gerados em um curso de formação de professores, investiga-se a percepção de professores pré-serviço e em serviço sobre a relevância da fluência digital e do uso pedagógico de ferramentas digitais para o ensino-aprendizagem de línguas estrangeiras. Foi proposto que os professores explorassem a ferramenta Windows Movie Maker para a produção de um filme * [email protected] ** [email protected] RBLA, Belo Horizonte, aop1513 com foco na fluência digital e nas potencialidades dessa ferramenta para o ensino e a aprendizagem de LEs. Os resultados sugerem que a fluência digital foi considerada uma competência necessária para a criação de aulas mais atraentes e dinâmicas que motivem a produção significativa de línguas estrangeiras

Exploring CALL Options for Teaching EFL in Vietnam

Research has demonstrated that computer-assisted language learning (CALL) has the capacity to enhance second language learning. Therefore, in English as a Foreign Language (EFL) contexts like Vietnam, the government has invested in computers in schools as a way to address the lack of quality in education. However, Vietnamese EFL teachers have made little or no use of these computers. The purpose of this Alternate Plan Paper (APP) is to assist Vietnamese ESL teachers in choosing appropriate CALL programs. I select some of the most effective, user-friendly, and cost-effective CALL options for language areas and language skills. The options are selected based on the availability of resources, the teachers\u27 and learners\u27 computer proficiency levels, and the Vietnamese institutional context. The recommended options are also based on my personal experience as a CALL learner and user, and a one-month observation of CALL applications in a classroom at Minnesota State University, Mankato. The paper also discusses the pedagogical principles for using the recommended options effectively and efficiently

Bringing international English into the classroom: a case study of 3rd grade Portuguese students

Tese de mestrado, Estudos Ingleses e Americanos, Universidade de Lisboa, Faculdade de Letras, 2012No nosso mundo global o inglês é utilizado em vários domínios e com muitos objectivos comunicativos entre pessoas de diferentes nacionalidades. Usado nos negócios, na ciência, com fins culturais, o inglês está em crescimento, tendo-se convertido numa língua global de comunicação entre falantes não-nativos de diferentes nações. Este facto constitui uma perspectiva completamente nova acerca do modo como a pessoas se relacionam com a língua a um nível internacional. Estudantes dos países europeus do denominado Circulo em Expansão (Kachru 1985), geralmente aprendem inglês como língua estrangeira. Todavia, tendo em mente o novo estatuto que o inglês vem desempenhando na Europa e no mundo, a sua função de língua internacional, usada como meio de comunicação entre os povos, cada vez mais os professores precisam de se preocupar em alertar os alunos para esta nova realidade, que podem encontrar durante a sua vida e a necessidade de se readaptarem a novas situações. Esta dissertação destaca como a expansão geográfica e funcional do Inglês mudou a nossa percepção do mundo nesta era de globalização e de como, e ao mesmo tempo, afectou a nossa relação com a língua. Nesta tese referem-se vários trabalhos que reflectem sobre esta situação que levanta um grande número de questões para o ensino do inglês, sublinhando a importância a atribuir ao factor inteligibilidade. Considerando estes factos, os alunos de uma turma de uma Escola Básica do 3 º ciclo em Portugal foram convidados a responder um questionário, no sentido de inferir uma perspectiva dos seus conhecimentos acerca da língua, bem como da sua exposição quotidiana à mesma e da sua apetência para aprender inglês, bem como da sua exposição quotidiana a esta língua. Uma vez que duas alunas se mostraram poucas esclarecidas sobre o novo papel do inglês como língua internacional elas foram ainda escolhidas para realizar uma actividade concebida para lhes aumentar o interesse na língua. Para se prepararem para esta tarefa as alunas executaram várias actividades de audição e leitura recorrendo a Ferramentas de Autor (Quandary e Audacity). Posteriormente, foi-lhes solicitado que usassem outras Ferramentas de Autor (Windows Live Movie Maker e Audacity) para gravarem um video que colocaram no YouTube. A partir desta rede de distribuição social, as alunas tomaram consciência de que a maioria das interacções linguísticas envolve cidadãos de várias nações que falam inglês com falantes não-nativos, uma vez que elas também puderam ler os comentários ao seu vídeo que vieram de diferentes partes do mundo.Abstract: In our globalized world English is used in a great number of domains and for many communicative purposes among people from different nationalities. Used for business, scientific, cultural purposes English is growing to become a global language of communication among speakers of different nations who are non-native speakers of the language. This fact constitutes an entirely new perspective at the way people relate to it at an international level. Students from European countries, of the so-called Expanding Circle (Kachru 1985), usually learn English as a Foreign Language. However, living in a technological and globalized world demands for linguistic international interaction; as English has been playing this role, this fact may have a wide repercussion in its teaching. This dissertation describes the expansion and functions of English and how its spread has changed our perception of the world and implications it may bring for English language teaching. One of the issues addressed here is the question of intelligibility and the consequences it may have in language teaching perspective. Having the new status of English in mind, 3rd cycle students of a Escola Básica in Portugal were asked to answer a questionnaire, to get a perspective of their knowledge concerning the language, and tendencies to English learning and exposure. As only two students were not aware of the new roles of English as an international language, they were further exposed to an activity to broaden their interest in the language In order to prepare the students for this task, they performed a series of listening and reading activities by means of Authoring Tools (Quandary and Audacity). Students were then asked to use other Authoring Tools (Windows Live Movie Maker and Audacity) and post a resulting video at YouTube. From this social distribution network, the students became aware that most interactions are from several nations who speak English as non-native speakers, and they could also read the comments to their video that came from different parts of the world

Integrating Interactive E-Learning Tools in Teaching ESL

This paper presents the findings of contemporary investigations that sought to examine the effectiveness of e-learning English tools, disadvantages of digital learning applications, and the perceptions of ESL students/teachers who have incorporated these web-based resources to facilitate language learning proficiency. This literature review discusses in detail language-learning applications including the WebCT (Web Course Tools), Elluminate, MOODLE, Blackboard (Wimba), and Voki tools, with the primary goal of understanding particular functionalities and how they can be modified to suit the context of language learning. The study confirms that most of these resources allowed students to record their voice messages, receive synchronous feedbacks from tutors, hold online peer discussions, and privately consult the tutors. In the conclusion, it was revealed that these language-learning applications significantly improved language study outcomes for international or ESL students. The study implication is identified as the need to conduct an exploration that examines ESL students’ perceptions regarding the benefits of Voki, Wimba, MOODLE, Elluminate, and WebCT

Enhance Learning in a Virtual Professional Environment via 3D Cases

The purpose of this research is toinvestigate the affordances and constraints ofdeveloping 3D teaching vignettes for effectivecase-based learning. It is built on the paradigm ofcase-based learning, which enhances higher-orderthinking abilities. Sparse research explores bothstudents’ engagement and learning outcomes viathree-dimensional (3D) teaching vignettes or 3D cases.In this study, a quasi-experimental study confirmsthe authors’ earlier finding that learnersoverwhelmingly prefer 3D to text-based case studies.A paired samples t-test shows students demonstratesignificant cognitive gains when studying a newdomain subject via a 3D case study. In this paper,the authors describe a design-based research processof developing 3D case studies that capitalizes theaffordances of 3D technologies. An in-depthdiscussion of important issues such as limitations andlessons learned is also included to explore thepragmatics of using 3D technologies to promotelearning

Analysis of PLEs’ implementation under OER design as a productive teaching-learning strategy in Higher Education. A case study at Universidad Nacional de Educación a Distancia

This paper shows some research which analysed the didactic functionality of Personal Learning Environments (PLEs) and Open Educational Resources (OERs). They were created by students from the Master’s Degree in Information and Communication Technologies applied to language teaching and processing, at Universidad Nacional de Educación a Distancia (UNED, Spain). A thorough analysis has been carried out based on a virtual ethnography methodological framework, with a twofold qualitative dimension: on the one hand, by using the Atlas-Ti program and on the other hand by following a reticular, category-based social network analysis with UCINET and yED Graph Editor. Results show that the joint use of PLEs and OERs designed by students improves their digital competence, mainly in capabilities such as: accessing and searching for online information; articulating information needs; finding relevant information; selecting resources effectively; navigating between online sources; and creating personal information strategies. Furthermore, the scrutiny of the forums using the reticular social network analysis shows how the main benefits of the implementation of PLEs and OERs are: a student-centric approach, the development of personal knowledge management strategies and the formation of a self-regulated learning model