MoocCast:evaluating mobile-screencast for online courses

The progressive adoption of smartphones and interconnected devices is inspiring students to redesign their physical spaces towards a seamless shift between daily life and learning activities. In the last years, Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) represent one of the key resources facilitating universal access to education as they enable students to learn across formal and informal contexts. However, there is little research exploring these alternative ways to present the content offered to learners in MOOCs for improved accessibility from personal contexts. This work presents the first study evaluating mobile-screencast technology as a means to facilitate learning processes in online courses. The contribution from this manuscript is threefold: first, preferred learning spaces for students enrolled to accomplish the activities in a MOOC are identified; second, mobile-screencast is evaluated as a solution for improved accessibility in online courses; third, an open tool for mobile-screencast and initial results from a formative evaluation are presented. This tool can be reused and adapted in further MOOC implementations. Finally, lessons learned are discussed and cues for future implementations are challenged

Skills Labs - Deliverable 2.1.b: Casusframework Estuarine systems: the Scheldt

Tysmans, D., Lansu, A., Löhr, A., & Huiskes, A. (2009). Skills Labs - Deliverable 2.1.b: Casusframework Estuarine systems: the Scheldt. SURFFoundation.Volgens de Emergo-methode uitgewerkt casusframework van de casus Estuarine systems: the Scheldt binnen het project Skills Labs.SURFFoundatio

Skills Labs - Deliverable 2.4.a: Casusidee Building with Nature: Blue Greens in Volkerak-Zoommeer

Blauw, T., Dekker, P., Stel, J., Klomp, R., Kortsmit, B., & Löhr, A. (2008). Skills Labs - Deliverable 2.4.a: Casusidee Building with Nature: Blue Greens in Volkerak-ZoommeerVolgens de Emergo-methode uitgewerkt casusidee van casus Building with Nature: Blue Greens in Volkerak-Zoommeer binnen het project Skills Labs.SURFFoundatio

Skills Labs - Deliverable 2.1.a: Casusidee Estuarine systems: the Scheldt

Tysmans, D., Lansu, A., Löhr, A., Landsman, N., Huiskes, A., & Verkruysse, B. (2008). Skills Labs - Deliverable 2.1.a: Casusidee Estuarine systems: the Scheldt.Volgens de Emergo-methode uitgewerkt casusidee van casus Estuarine systems: the Scheldt binnen het project Skills Labs.SURFFoundatio

Scripted collaboration in serious gaming for complex learning: Effects of multiple perspectives when acquiring water management skills

Hummel, H. G. K., Van Houcke, J., Nadolski, R. J., Van der Hiele, T., Kurvers, H., & Löhr, A. (2011). Scripted collaboration in gaming for complex learning: Effects of multiple perspectives when acquiring water management skills. British Journal of Educational Technology, 42(6), 1029-1041. doi:10.1111/j.1467-8535.2010.01122.xThis article examines how learning outcomes from playing serious games can be enhanced by including scripted collaboration in the game play. We compared the quality of advisory reports, that students in the domain of water management had to draw up for an authentic case problem, both before and after collaborating on the problem with (virtual) peer students. Peers studied the case from either an ecological or governance perspective, and during collaboration both perspectives had to be confronted and reflected upon. This article argues why such type of workplace-based learning scenarios are important for professional development, describes how serious gaming scenarios can be designed to support such complex learning, and reports data on student satisfaction and learning effects of including scripted collaboration. Preliminary results from a pilot study with 12 students show that including scripted collaboration significantly enhances the quality of learning outcomes

Failing Services on Urban Waste Management in Developing Countries: A Review on Symptoms, Diagnoses, and Interventions

The potential and scale of cities enable economic growth and the improvement of citizens’ access to jobs, education, healthcare, culture, public utilities and services. Solid waste management (SWM) is one of the key services provided by cities. Its operations are complex, very visible to the general public, and impacted by strong financial, societal, and political constraints. Performances in developing countries, however, are not positive. United Nations research shows urban collection services covering no more than 39% of the population in low-income countries. Why are many cities in developing countries not able to use their increasing wealth and scale for basic SWM services such as city cleaning, collection, and sustainable landfilling? This paper provides a review of literature on this question over the last decade. It shows that research is mostly on symptoms and has not led to a deeper diagnosis of causes. Lack of resources, infrastructure, awareness, and institutional strength are often pinpointed as causes but, in fact, they should be addressed as symptoms. These symptoms should be designated as dependent variables in a complex causal network with systemic feedbacks, hindering or neutralizing attempts to improve performances if not properly dealt with. Research should concentrate more on assessing the relations between urbanization, urban processes, and urban governance that shape the performance of urban solid waste management. System dynamics modeling may provide new approaches for this diagnosis

Massive Open Online Education for Environmental Activism: The Worldwide Problem of Marine Litter

(1) The amount of plastic discharges in the environment has drastically increased in the last decades negatively affecting aquatic ecosystems, societies, and the world economy. The policies initiated to deal with this problem are insufficient and there is an urgency to initiate local actions based on a deep understanding of the factors involved. (2) This paper investigates the potential of massive open online courses (MOOCs) to spread environmental education. Therefore, the conclusions drawn from the implementation of a MOOC to combat the problem of marine litter in the world are presented. (3) This work describes the activity of 3632 participants from 64 countries taking an active role presenting useful tools, connecting them with the main world associations, and defining applied action plans in their local area. Pre- and post-questionnaires explore behavioral changes regarding the actions of participants to combat marine litter. The role of MOOCs is contrasted with social media, formal education, and informal education. (4) Findings suggest that MOOCs are useful instruments to promote environmental activism, and to develop local solutions to global problems, for example, clean beaches, supplanting plastic bottles, educational initiatives, and prohibition of single-use plastic