A case study investigation of academic library support for open educational resources in Scottish universities

The aim of the research was to investigate why and how Scottish university libraries support open educational resources and to assess their ability to provide support services for their development and use within higher education institutions. There has been little research on the role of academic libraries in supporting open educational resources in Scotland and previous research found that there is a lack of awareness of them in Scottish higher education institutions and few have open educational resources policies. The case study methodology therefore involved two Scottish academic libraries providing open educational resources services. The libraries’ motivation includes supporting teaching and learning and the development of educator digital skills and copyright knowledge. However, there are a number of barriers limiting the services the libraries are able to provide, particularly lack of human resources. The research confirmed the findings of previous research on the importance of institutional commitment, incentives for educator engagement, and understanding of copyright and licensing issues by educators and library staff

OER “produsage” as a model to support language teaching and learning

Language education faculty face myriad challenges in finding teaching resources that are suitable, of high quality, and allow for the modifications needed to meet the requirements of their course contexts and their learners. The article elaborates the grassroots model of “produsage” (a portmanteau of “production” and “usage”) as a way of imagining a movement toward the use and creation of open educational resources (OER) for language learning. Through a set of examples of video resources that fill a need for authentically compelling language learning materials, the authors demonstrate the potential of produsage to engage teachers and learners around digital resources, to the benefit of language teaching and learning. In support of this grassroots model, the authors propose practices and policies to address challenges involved in engaging teachers and learners around OER in higher education

Ways of implementing information technologies in professional training of future specialists

Creation of modern effective technologies, automation, intensification of production, implementation of planning and management with the help of modern information and communication technologies are the main factors of acceleration of scientific and technical progress. The purpose of the article is to show the importance of using information technologies in the training of future specialists. Without the integration of the educational environment of the higher school into the informational educational environment, without the exit of the educational process into the global information space, significant development of modern educational systems is impossible. In order to substantiate the principles of improving the professional training of education seekers, a quantitative analysis of open educational resources is proposed, the most popular platforms on which the path to open educational resources is designed are determined. The article examines the conditions by which the effectiveness of pedagogical support is achieved in the distance learning process. The substantiation of the most essential criteria and indicators involves the assessment of the quality of personality education in the digital educational space. They offer the perfect use of digital information, readiness for communication, critical thinking, digital and social competence

Experiential learning through virtual and augmented reality in higher education

Educational technology can enhance learning by supporting the learning environment through various digital resources. There have been numerous emerging technologies which are able to bridge the resource gap in learning environments enabling students to get access to an abundance of resources on digital platforms. This paper presents a literature review, exploring the potential of using Mobile Augmented Reality (AR) and Virtual Reality (VR) technologies to support experiential learning in South African institutions. While there have been studies which aim to assess the use of AR and VR for educational purposes such as in mining safety education in South Africa, there is a need for studies that look at the potential of AR and VR in augmenting higher educational institutions such as universities and Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) colleges which require students to complete an experiential learning component in their studies in order to complete their qualifications. The study aims to establish the potential role that AR and VR can provide in enhancing experiential learning by providing students with practical experience in various educational fields, leveraging augmented and virtual reality technologies to simulate such learning environments

An Important Role of Educational Supervision in the Digital Age

Educational supervision is one of the most important supports for the educational system and educator’s professional development. This paper attempts to highlight the importance role of educational supervisor in digital age. There are three significance factors for efficient educational supervision in the higher educational institution which are Teaching & Learning,Digital Ethics and Training and Professional Development. Education is no longer restricted to considering human needs and the requirements of thepresent, but it seeks to address and reflect on developing human skills and capacities, and thenecessities of the future.  Digital age demand the educatorsto undertake life-long, upgrading, reviewing of their ownprofessional learning and adopting continuous professional development. In order to help students to gainaccess to information independentlyand practice the digital ethics, educator in digital age needs a new approaches to teach includingthose that emphasize high order thinking skills, constructivists approaches tolearning and understanding, co-operative learning strategies, multipleintelligence, and the use of computer-based and other technology related. At this stage, the most suitable training for the right person at the right time is required and a Training Need Analysis (TNA) is crucially necessary. CUDBAS is one of the approaches for TNA to structure the training need. The quality ofeducation cannot be improved by only adding more resources into the system. It also calls foreffective management of these resources at the school level, ensuring an effective system ofprofessional supervision, and preventing the deterioration of essential support structures foreducators. Through quality collaboration, educators could move from their subjectivity anddraw some conclusions about their experiences and views. This makes educationalsupervision, which is a co-operative problem-solving process a crucial concept in theprofessional development of educators

Open Educational Practices

Open educational practices (OEP) is an umbrella term that includes the creation, use, and reuse of open educational resources (OER); pedagogical practices encouraging peer learning, collaborative knowledge creation, sharing, and empowerment of learners; and systemic and structural initiatives to support and embed openness. The underlying values of OEP match those of open education more broadly, i.e. enabling educational access, ensuring inclusivity, and furthering equity. Examples of OEP include using OER, renewable/non-disposable assignments (where students publish work openly), collaborative annotation, Wikipedia editing, open courses, and engaging in open learning/teaching communities, among many others. Some people use the terms 'OEP' and 'open pedagogy' interchangeably, while others consider OEP to be a broader concept, inclusive of open pedagogy, as the latter focuses primarily on teaching practices (see Open Pedagogy). OEP can be enacted at the level of individual artifacts, modules or programs (via OER, open pedagogy, open textbooks, open learning design) as well as systemically across institutional structures (via open education policies, open publishing practices, reward/recognition structures). Recent OEP research focuses on the importance of critical and social justice approaches, reflecting wider trends in digital and higher education. Such approaches acknowledge the importance of context and power relations and encourage diverse, inclusive, and equitable approaches to openness

Learning Activities with Semantic. Hypermedia in Higher Education

The increasing use of information and communication technologies (ICT) in diverse professional and personal contexts calls for new knowledge, and a set of abilities, competences and attitudes, for an active and participative citizenship. In this context it is acknowledged that universities have an important role innovating in the educational use of digital media to promote an inclusive digital literacy. The educational potential of digital technologies and resources has been recognized by both researchers and practitioners. Multiple pedagogical models and research approaches have already contributed to put in evidence the importance of adapting instructional and learning practices and processes to concrete contexts and educational goals. Still, academic and scientific communities believe further investments in ICT research is needed in higher education. This study focuses on educational models that may contribute to support digital technology uses, where these can have cognitive and educational relevance when compared to analogical technologies. A teaching and learning model, centered in the active role of the students in the exploration, production, presentation and discussion of interactive multimedia materials, was developed and applied using the internet and exploring emergent semantic hypermedia formats. The research approach focused on the definition of design principles for developing class activities that were applied in three different iterations in undergraduate courses from two institutions, namely the University of Texas at Austin, USA and the University of Lisbon, Portugal. The analysis of this study made possible to evaluate the potential and efficacy of the model proposed and the authoring tool chosen in the support of metacognitive skills and attitudes related to information structuring and management, storytelling and communication, using computers and the internet

Digital educational resources: The case of Manual Digital II

The textbook has been a privileged element for teachers, students and parents to support acquisition and construction of knowledge. However, in the information and knowledge society, we are witnessing the introduction, increasingly intense, of technology in the classroom, starting from the early years of schooling. Still worthy of being studied, the supply of digital educational content for primary education, is little known, especially with regard to the quality of existing resources and the intensity of their use. In this context we present the Manual Digital II (MDII) project, which aims at producing digital pedagogic contents based on innovative design, production and application processes, for children, educators, teachers and parents. Especially for primary education it developed the multimedia application Manual Digital®, in accordance with the curricular guidelines from the Portuguese Ministry of Education, offering children creative learning adjusted to their own learning pace. Establishing itself as a complement to the textbook, this proposal was geared to help children acquire basic skills of thinking and develop other levels of higher cognitive demand. The proposal was also designed to be easily and naturally integrated into teachers’ regular lessons. In order to study the impact of this digital resource, three case studies, two in formal learning contexts and one in a non-formal learning context, were developed. The findings suggest different impacts on learning, depending on how they are operationalized. Simultaneously, during 2012/2013, several training initiatives were held, resulting in pedagogical materials to assist the integration of the Manual Digital resources in teachers’ daily lesson plans. In this paper, we present: a) the concept and the product; b) the findings obtained in the various field activities; and c) the future prospects of this project, including the development of its potential and its possible adaptation to Portuguese speaking countries contexts

Curricular integration of computational thinking, programming and robotics in basic education: a proposal for teacher training

Today's children are growing up in a complex technological reality, which, in turn, is pushing for the integration of digital technologies in educational contexts. Hence, it becomes necessary to explore how more recent educational approaches to technology can be inclusively integrated into education. Among these innovative approaches are the integration of computational thinking, programming and robotics both in preschool and basic education. Considering the referential of key competences for the current 21th century [1], early training in these areas will contribute to the development of transversal competences [2]. Thus, it is crucial to provide education professionals with the skills and resources for an adequate development of programming and robotics activities in educational contexts. In this paper we present a training action developed within the scope of the project "KML II - Laboratory of technologies and learning of programming and robotics for preschool and primary school". This training action aims to work with early education professionals towards the development of activities with children, using the tools foreseen in this research project. From the work done during the course, trainees should develop an activity plan using programming and robotics technologies, to be implemented in their respective educational contexts. Within this action, trainees are expected to: reflect on the concept of computational thinking and its development in preschool and basic education [3], [4]; collaboratively develop competencies associated with digital literacy and the use of robots and programming languages developed for children [5]; know programming and robotics resources that can be used in preschool and basic education; learn programming basics through applications such as ScratchJr, or others that can support learning development; plan activities according to the curricular contents of the respective level of education, using programming and robotics. Implemented through b-learning, this initiative will also enable educators and teachers to explore and develop distance learning and collaboration skills as well as the use of various support tools and work time management in synchronous and asynchronous sessions. This training is one of the first actions through which KML II project plans to study how to integrate programming and robotics in preschool and basic education, transversally to all areas of knowledge. Within this project, case studies will be carried out at a Portuguese national wide level. This work has two main objectives: a) to propose a training framework for curricular units of technology, in the courses for teacher training in higher education and for in-service training; b) to design a profile of childhood educator and primary school teacher as mediator in the integration of programming and robotics learning in their educational contexts.Project KML II is co-financed by FEDER through the COMPETE 2020 - Operational Thematic Program for Competitiveness and Internationalization (POCI) and national funds through FCT - Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology under project reference number PTDC/CEDEDG/28710/2017