Technologies and educational activities for supporting and implementing challenge- based learning

Our Challenge-Based Learning (CBL) method can be described as a special form of problem-based learning, in which the problems are of realistic, open-ended nature. Additionally, CBL contains features of experiential and project-based learning approaches. CBL is supported by the provision of Digital Experimentation Toolkits (DExTs) which comprise materials, initial instructions, references to web resources and specific software tools. Technological challenges lie in the ease of use in accessing these data and in communicating the learners' requests and specifications to the remote sites. Within this article we describe several classroom scenarios for the usage of DexTs in schools. Examples are the calculation of the epicenter of an earthquake, the calculation of lunar heights and the definition of strategies for navigation in a maze. The activities described in this paper were conducted within the framework of our COLDEX project (Collaborative Learning and Distributed Experimentation, http://www.coldex.info).Education for the 21 st century - impact of ICT and Digital Resources ConferenceRed de Universidades con Carreras en Informática (RedUNCI

Technologies and educational activities for supporting and implementing challenge- based learning

Our Challenge-Based Learning (CBL) method can be described as a special form of problem-based learning, in which the problems are of realistic, open-ended nature. Additionally, CBL contains features of experiential and project-based learning approaches. CBL is supported by the provision of Digital Experimentation Toolkits (DExTs) which comprise materials, initial instructions, references to web resources and specific software tools. Technological challenges lie in the ease of use in accessing these data and in communicating the learners' requests and specifications to the remote sites. Within this article we describe several classroom scenarios for the usage of DexTs in schools. Examples are the calculation of the epicenter of an earthquake, the calculation of lunar heights and the definition of strategies for navigation in a maze. The activities described in this paper were conducted within the framework of our COLDEX project (Collaborative Learning and Distributed Experimentation, http://www.coldex.info).Education for the 21 st century - impact of ICT and Digital Resources ConferenceRed de Universidades con Carreras en Informática (RedUNCI

Technology-enhanced Personalised Learning: Untangling the Evidence

Technology-enhanced personalised learning is not yet common in Germany, which is why we have tasked scientists with summarising the current status of international research on the matter. This study demonstrates the great potential of technology in implementing effective personalised learning. Nevertheless, it has not been assessed yet whether the practical implementation actually works: Even in countries such as the U.S., which lead the way in using techology in classroom settings, hardly any evaluation studies have been done to prove the effectiveness of technology-enhanced personalised learning. In the light of the above, the authors make recommendations for actions to be taken in Germany to make best use of the potential of technology in providing individual support and guidance to students

The added value of implementing the Planet Game scenario with Collage and Gridcole

This paper discusses the suitability and the added value of Collage and Gridcole when contrasted with other solutions participating in the ICALT 2006 workshop titled “Comparing educational modelling languages on a case study.” In this workshop each proposed solution was challenged to implement a Computer-Supported Collaborative Learning situation (CSCL) posed by the workshop’s organizers. Collage is a pattern-based authoring tool for the creation of CSCL scripts compliant with IMS Learning Design (IMS LD). These IMS LD scripts can be enacted by the Gridcole tailorable CSCL system. The analysis presented in the paper is organized as a case study which considers the data recorded in the workshop discussion as well the information reported in the workshop contributions. The results of this analysis show how Collage and Gridcole succeed in implementing the scenario and also point out some significant advantages in terms of design reusability and generality, user-friendliness, and enactment flexibility

Implementing a university e‐learning strategy: levers for change within academic schools

This paper describes the implementation of an e‐learning strategy at a single higher education institution in terms of the levers used to promote effective uptake and ensure sustainable embedding. The focus of this work was at the level of the academic school using a range of change practices including the appointment of school‐based learning technologists and e‐learning champions, supporting schools to write their own strategies, a pedagogical framework of engaging with e‐learning, and curriculum development and evaluation of school‐supported projects. It is clear that the implementation of the e‐learning strategy has led to a large and increasing proportion of our students experiencing blended learning. In addition, there are initial indications that this has enhanced some learning and teaching processes. Where there has been sustainable embedding of effective e‐learning, the following levers were identified as particularly important: flexibility in practices that allow schools to contextualise their plans for change, the facilitation of communities of key staff and creating opportunities for staff to voice and challenge their beliefs about e‐learning

Location-based language learning for migrants in a smart city

The SALSA (Sensors and Apps for Languages in Smart Areas) project, a winner of the Open University’s MK:Smart Open Challenge awards, is investigating how a smart city infrastructure can enable the provision of highly accurate, location-based learning activities for language learners, particularly recent migrants who have a real need to learn the language of their new home. Second language acquisition is perceived by adult migrants themselves, as well as host governments, “as a crucial factor for socio-economic and cultural integration” 1. The city is a rich environment for language learning, providing opportunities for learning through observation, conversation, and social interaction during daily activities 2. Providing learning activities accessed on smartphones, mobile ICT devices that are owned by and familiar to many migrants, enables the city to become an educational environment for an audience who may struggle to attend classroom based language courses at fixed times and places due to family and work related constraints1. Learning activities provided on smartphones enable personalised and flexible educational approach for a heterogenous group of learners, with differing needs and abilities 3. Language learning educators identify that location-based and context-sensitive resources and activities are a powerful resource for learners 4; and the mobility of smartphones makes them a particularly suitable platform for this mode of learning. SALSA (http://www.open.ac.uk/blogs/salsa/ ) is exploring the use of Bluetooth beacons placed around the city to trigger location-based learning resources in an app on learners’ smartphones. Once a learner has downloaded the app to their smartphone, they will be notified when they are near to a beacon and offered the opportunity to engage with a context-relevant learning activity stored in the app. Beacons are a low cost technology suitable for large scale deployment, transmitting a simple identifier that is interpreted by a smartphone app to trigger a predefined action, such as presenting the user with sample phrases suitable for the context, a listening exercise, or prompts for reflection. No network connection is required to engage with the learning activities, which enables the system to work indoors as well as outside, and at no network cost (a key consideration for low-income and internationally transient users). Beacons enable highly accurate identification of relative smartphone location, allowing for a density of different resources to be triggered in the same area, hence have been employed in scenarios such as providing information about exhibits in galleries, and guiding visually impaired customers through the London Underground (http://www.bbc.com/news/health-31754365 ). As a wireless technology they enable a discrete engagement with learning activities for situations where they may choose not to explicitly engage with a trigger such as a QR code printed on a poster: the user is prompted by a notification to their smartphone similar to an SMS, with an onscreen message and optional phone vibration. Because a beacon only broadcasts an identifier which is then interpreted by the app on the user’s phone, no data about who is receiving the signal and acting upon it is collected by default. This offers users an anonymous interaction, which may be valued by groups of users such as recent migrants who can be sensitive to perceived privacy issues. As part of the SALSA project we are exploring users’ perceptions of the privacy aspects of location-triggered technologies; investigating how we might both ensure user privacy, yet also consider potential methods of collecting usage data to improve user experience (e.g. by personalizing learning resources based on their previous activities) and optimisation of service provision (placing of beacons, revision of learning activities to reflect users’ needs). SALSA is a small scale pilot project currently in progress in Milton Keynes, and will report on theoretical work ,and initial findings from the field trials that are about to commence in Spring 2015. The trials will gather attitudinal, usability and learning-effectiveness data from a range of current adult English language learners who live or work in the town, and aim to inform educators, city planners, and policy makers about the benefits and challenges of implementing location-based language learning service utilizing smart city infrastructures. 1. Kluzer, S., Ferrari, A., and Centeno, C. Language learning by adult migrants: policy challenges and ICT responses. Joint Research Centre Institute for Prospective Technological Studies, Seville, Spain, 2011. 2. Kukulska-Hulme, A., & Bull, S. (2009). Theory-based support for mobile language learning: noticing and recording. International Journal of Interactive Mobile Technologies, 3(2), p. 12–18. 3. Gaved, M., Jones, A., Kukulska-Hulme, A. and Scanlon, E. A citizen-centred approach to education in the smart city: incidental language learning for supporting the inclusion of recent migrants. International Journal of Digital Literacy and Digital Competence 3, 4 (2012), p. 50–64. 4. Edge, D., Searle, E., Chiu, K., Zhao, J., & Landay, J. (2011). MicroMandarin: mobile language learning in context. Proc. CHI2011, ACM Press (2011), p. 3169-3178

Implementing Web 2.0 in secondary schools: impacts, barriers and issues

One of the reports from the Web 2.0 technologies for learning at KS3 and KS4 project. This report explored Impact of Web 2.0 technologies on learning and teaching and drew upon evidence from multiple sources: field studies of 27 schools across the country; guided surveys of 2,600 school students; 100 interviews and 206 online surveys conducted with managers, teachers and technical staff in these schools; online surveys of the views of 96 parents; interviews held with 18 individual innovators in the field of Web 2.0 in education; and interviews with nine regional managers responsible for implementation of ICT at national level

A guide for Teachers

The role of the teacher in Higher Education is changing rapidly, and much of this change is as the result of the introduction of e-Learning. Teachers are now expected to share their role as course designers with many other professionals working in their institution while taking on a bigger role in the technical and resource discovery aspects of course design. This guide tackles these issues as well as examining emerging pedagogical issues that arise from the use of technologies in teaching. You will find information, advice and guidance that will help you make appropriate and effective use of e-Learning to support your students

The seamless integration of Web3D technologies with university curricula to engage the changing student cohort

The increasing tendency of many university students to study at least some courses at a distance limits their opportunities for the interactions fundamental to learning. Online learning can assist but relies heavily on text, which is limiting for some students. The popularity of computer games, especially among the younger students, and the emergence of networked games and game-like virtual worlds offers opportunities for enhanced interaction in educational applications. For virtual worlds to be widely adopted in higher education it is desirable to have approaches to design and development that are responsive to needs and limited in their resource requirements. Ideally it should be possible for academics without technical expertise to adapt virtual worlds to support their teaching needs. This project identified Web3D, a technology that is based on the X3D standards and which presents 3D virtual worlds within common web browsers, as an approach worth exploring for educational application. The broad goals of the project were to produce exemplars of Web3D for educational use, together with development tools and associated resources to support non-technical academic adopters, and to promote an Australian community of practice to support broader adoption of Web3D in education. During the first year of the project exemplar applications were developed and tested. The Web3D technology was found to be still in a relatively early stage of development in which the application of standards did not ensure reliable operation in different environments. Moreover, ab initio development of virtual worlds and associated tools proved to be more demanding of resources than anticipated and was judged unlikely in the near future to result in systems that non-technical academics could use with confidence. In the second year the emphasis moved to assisting academics to plan and implement teaching in existing virtual worlds that provided relatively easy to use tools for customizing an environment. A project officer worked with participating academics to support the teaching of significant elements of courses within Second LifeTM. This approach was more successful in producing examples of good practice that could be shared with and emulated by other academics. Trials were also conducted with ExitRealityTM, a new Australian technology that presents virtual worlds in a web browser. Critical factors in the success of the project included providing secure access to networked computers with the necessary capability; negotiating the complexity of working across education, design of virtual worlds, and technical requirements; and supporting participants with professional development in the technology and appropriate pedagogy for the new environments. Major challenges encountered included working with experimental technologies that are evolving rapidly and deploying new networked applications on secure university networks. The project has prepared the way for future expansion in the use of virtual worlds for teaching at USQ and has contributed to the emergence of a national network of tertiary educators interested in the educational applications of virtual worlds