Making meaning through joint activity in Computer-Supported Collaborative Learning (CSCL) settings: The interplay between content-related and activity-related talk

In the recent literature on CSCL which places the spotlight on participants' talk, there is a clear dichotomy between studies that focus on content-related talk and those that focus on off-topic or activity-related talk. In the approach adopted in this paper, based on the notion of educational influence, the guiding hypothesis is that both forms of talk are closely linked in the collaborative dynamics and that activity-related talk, far from being irrelevant, has an essential role to play in promoting the collaborative construction of knowledge. The paper empirically examines this hypothesis in four online collaborative learning situations. The results show that participants in small group situations requiring the preparation of a written product devote a major part of their discursive activity to negotiating the form of organization of their joint activity and to making sure that all members are familiar with it. In contrast, the technological tools used in the collaborative situation do not seem to have an impact on the relative weight of the type of participants‟ talk, either content-related or activity-related

Introducing a personal learning environment in higher education. An analysis of connectivity

Universities have a key role to play in the progress and development of the Knowledge Society. They should lead the way in the design of teaching strategies that promote knowledge building. Personal learning environments (PLE) represent a groundbreaking new development in educational practices through the incorporation of Information and Communications Technology (ICT), and an opportunity to promote the creation of universities without walls able to meet the demands of the knowledge society.This study focuses on the relationships established by the participants (students and teachers) in two higher education instructional sequences using institutionally-powered PLE (iPLE). One of the sequences was carried out at the University of Barcelona and the other at the University of Andorra. Both used the same technological support, the Elgg platform, which allows users to build their own personal work and learning environment. The main hypothesis of the study is that the relationships formed depend on the techno-pedagogical design of the teaching and learning process.The results show that in both cases the relationships that the participants establish with their peers and teachers are indeed related to the characteristics and requirements of the particular techno-pedagogical designs. Although the technological environment allowed all the participants to establish relationships with others, the main interactions were found in small working groups created to carry out learning and assessment activities. In conclusion, we stress the importance of planning teaching and learning activities and assessment processes that are able to exploit the full potential of PLE

La actividad de los participantes como fuente de información para promover la colaboración. Una analítica del aprendizaje basada en el modelo de Influencia Educativa Distribuida

Este trabajo presenta la versión inicial de una analítica del aprendizaje inspirada en el modelo de influencia educativa distribuida (IED). La idea central del modelo de IED es que en las situaciones de trabajo y aprendizaje colaborativo todos los participantes son fuentes potenciales de ayuda para los otros participantes. Sobre esta base, se ha llevado a cabo una investigación con un triple objetivo: analizar el impacto de la información proporcionada a los participantes sobre el proceso colaborativo y su evolución, indagar si la información proporcionada tiene un efecto diferencial en función de su naturaleza y contrastar la utilidad de la analítica desarrollada para analizar los procesos de colaboración en línea. Para ello, se han seguido cuatro grupos de estudiantes que participan en una serie de foros en línea en el marco de una asignatura de máster. Los resultados indican que en general la información proporcionada a los participantes sobre su actividad tiene un impacto en el proceso colaborativo. No ha sido posible, en cambio, demostrar que la naturaleza de la información proporcionada tenga un impacto diferencial sobre el proceso de colaboración. Los resultados también han puesto de manifiesto algunas limitaciones de los indicadores en que se concreta la analítica desarrollada

Information and communication technologies and students’ out-of-school learning experiences

The widespread availability of information and communication technologies (ICTs) has generated new activity contexts that provide opportunities and resources for learning, at the same time as expanding the learning potential of traditional contexts such as the family and schools. Within this framework the present study analyses the frequency with which students of three ages (10, 13 and 16 years) participate in ICT-mediated activities outside school, as well as the learning experiences associated with this participation. To this end, we used a multimethod approach combining administration of a questionnaire with focus groups and individual interviews. The analysis revealed low rates of participation in ICT-mediated activities outside school and showed that these activities were associated with limited learning experiences. These results highlight the importance of educational institutions building closer links between students’ learning experiences in and outside school, as well as the need to develop initiatives that can foster the acquisition of the digital skills required to maximize the learning potential of new activity contexts

Introducing a personal learning environment in higher education. An analysis of connectivity.

Universities have a key role to play in the progress and development of the Knowledge Society. They should lead the way in the design of teaching strategies that promote knowledge building. Personal learning environments (PLE) represent a groundbreaking new development in educational practices through the incorporation of Information and Communications Technology (ICT), and an opportunity to promote the creation of universities without walls able to meet the demands of the knowledge society. This study focuses on the relationships established by the participants (students and teachers) in two higher education instructional sequences using institutionally-powered PLE (iPLE). One of the sequences was carried out at the University of Barcelona and the other at the University of Andorra. Both used the same technological support, the Elgg platform, which allows users to build their own personal work and learning environment. The main hypothesis of the study is that the relationships formed depend on the techno-pedagogical design of the teaching and learning process. The results show that in both cases the relationships that the participants establish with their peers and teachers are indeed related to the characteristics and requirements of the particular techno-pedagogical designs. Although the technological environment allowed all the participants to establish relationships with others, the main interactions were found in small working groups created to carry out learning and assessment activities. In conclusion, we stress the importance of planning teaching and learning activities and assessment processes that are able to exploit the full potential of PLE

El modelo de Influencia Educativa Distribuida Una herramienta conceptual y metodológica para el análisis de los procesos de aprendizaje colaborativo en entornos digitales

The concept of educational influence (EI), developed in the framework of a series of works on the analysis of educational practices in face-to-face contexts, refers to the interpsychological processes through which teachers, and in their case other educational agents or actors present in the context of learning, help students to build progressively richer, complex and valid meanings on the contents of teaching and learning. For EI exercised by the teacher or other actors to be effective, it must be contingent and adjusted to the development and evolution of the learning process. The concept of distributed educational influence (DEI) reflects the idea that in collaborative learning settings the exercise of EI is distributed among all participants, since all can and should contribute with their actions to achieve an effective collaboration that promotes the communicative, social and cognitive processes involved in learning. The work presents a theoretical and methodological model of analysis of collaborative learning processes in digital environments based on the concepts of EI and DEI and describes the results of some research aimed at deepening some of its components and exploring some of its practical implications.El concepto de influencia educativa (IE), elaborado en el marco de una serie de trabajos sobre el análisis de las prácticas educativas en contextos presenciales, hace referencia a los procesos interpsicológicos mediante los cuales los profesores, y en su caso otros agentes educativos, ayudan a los estudiantes a construir significados progresivamente más ricos, complejos y válidos sobre los contenidos de enseñanza y aprendizaje. Para que la IE ejercida por el profesor o los otros actores sea eficaz debe ser contingente y ajustarse al desarrollo y evolución del proceso de aprendizaje. El concepto de influencia educativa distribuida (IED), por su parte, refleja la idea de que en las situaciones de aprendizaje colaborativo el ejercicio de la IE se distribuye entre todos los participantes, ya que todos pueden y deben contribuir con sus actuaciones a conseguir una colaboración eficaz que promueva los procesos comunicativos, sociales y cognitivos implicados en el aprendizaje. El trabajo presenta un modelo teórico y metodológico de análisis de los procesos de aprendizaje colaborativo en entornos digitales basado en los conceptos de IE e IED y describe los resultados de algunas investigaciones orientadas profundizar en algunos de sus componentes y a explorar algunas de sus implicaciones prácticas

El uso de la información para la mejora de los procesos de colaboración en un foro en línea.

Projecte: 2014PID_UB/024Recientemente han surgido varias líneas de investigación que tratan de optimizar los procesos de aprendizaje que utilizan foros digitales. Estos trabajos ponen el énfasis en proporcionar información a los participantes -en tiempo real- sobre su propia actividad en el foro con el fin de ayudarlos a mejorar los procesos de colaboración y los resultados de aprendizaje. En este trabajo, desde un marco constructivista sociocultural y, en particular, el concepto de influencia educativa distribuida exploramos el grado en que distintos tipos de información sobre la influencia educativa que ejercen los participantes en un foro digital les ayudan a orientar su participación y a mejorar sus procesos colaborativos en línea. Presentamos un estudio de caso con 33 estudiantes universitarios de postgrado que participan en siete foros sucesivos. Los resultados sugieren que la información derivada del análisis de contenido de las contribuciones es más útil para potenciar la mejora de los procesos colaborativos.El trabajo presentado forma parte de un proyecto de innovación docente financiado por el «Programa de Millorai InnovacióDocent-Universitatde Barcelona» (2014PID_UB/024). Más información sobre este proyecto y sobre el grupo de investigación se puede encontrar en http://www.psyed.edu.es/grintie El primer autor agradece al Consejo Nacional de Ciencia y Tecnología (CONACYT-México) por la beca otorgada para la realización de los estudios de doctorad