Open Educational Resources and Informational Ecosystems: «Edutags» as a connector for open learning

Teaching and learning in school essentially relies on analogous and digital media, artefacts and tools of all kinds. They are supported and provided by various players. The role of these players for providing learning infrastructures and the interaction between them are discussed in the following paper. Increasingly, Open Educational Resources (OER) become available and the question arises how the interaction between these players is impacted. On the one hand, some players implement closed informational ecosystems that might provide a rich and coherent environment for learning, but also lock the users into a defined and often restricted environment. On the other hand, other players are interested in developing an infrastructure that supports open learning without the boundaries of closed informational ecosystems. Such open informational ecosystems must provide interconnections to numerous, in principal, unlimited number of platforms for learning contents. In the context of the project «Edutags» a reference platform is being implemented by way in which the contents of various providers are being connected and enriched through user-generated tags, commentaries and evaluations. The discussion points out that such an independent reference platform, operated separately from content platforms, must be considered as an important element in an open and truly distributed infrastructure for learning resources. Hence, we do not only need open educational resources to support open learning, we also need to establish an open informational ecosystem that supports such approaches

Private Computer in der Schule: Zwischen schulischer Infrastruktur und Schulentwicklung

Der vorliegende Artikel diskutiert die Implikationen eines schulischen IT-Konzepts, das darauf basiert, dass die Schülerinnen und Schüler explizit von der Schule aufgefordert werden, ihre privaten Geräte mit in den Unterricht zu bringen (Bring your own devices, BYOD). In einer Fallstudie wurden schulische Akteure einer Gymnasialklasse in Deutschland gefragt, wie sich die Nutzung privater Geräte von Schülerinnen und Schüler im Unterricht, zu der sich die Klasse gemeinsam entschieden hat, auswirkt. Untersucht werden sollte, ob sich dabei Unterschiede zu bisherigen Ansätzen einer 1:1-Ausstattung an Schulen zeigen, bei denen jede Schülerin und jeder Schüler ein Gerät (i. d. Regel Laptop) nutzt, das von der Schule organisiert und administriert wird. Als ein Ergebnis dieser Fallstudie kann festgehalten werden, dass von den Befragten keine inhaltlichen oder didaktischen Unterschiede zwischen der Nutzung privater Geräte und einer 1:1-Ausstattung mit schulisch organisierten Laptops wahrgenommen werden. Es zeigt sich vielmehr, dass organisatorische Prozesse bei der Integration digitaler Medien in Schulen erleichtert werden: Der Gerätesupport ist nicht mehr in dem bisherigen Umfang erforderlich, Ressourcen werden frei, um Fokus auf den didaktischen Einsatz digitaler Medien im Unterricht zu legen. Implikationen dieser Weiterentwicklung schulischer Infrastruktur werden vorgestellt und in Diskussionen um mediengestützte Schulentwicklung eingebettet

Wie macht man's? :Formen und Methoden, Chancen und Grenzen

E-Learning bedeutet nicht, dass Lernende vorgefertigte Programme durchlaufen, die Lehrkraft nur zuschaut und am Ende eine Note gibt oder einen Schein ausstellt. Online-gestützte Lernszenarien beinhalten zwar Lernmodule zum selbstständigen Arbeiten. Der Lehrkraft fallen aber strukturierende, moderierende und beratenden Aufgaben zu. Am Beispiel der virtuellen Seminare, die Lehrer-Online 2004 zusammen mit Studienseminaren und Universitäten in NRW durchführte, werden die einzelnen Komponenten vorgestellt sowie ihre Potenziale und Herausforderungen beleuchtet

Changes in active commuting and changes in physical activity in adults: a cohort study.

BACKGROUND: Active travel is associated with greater physical activity, but there is a dearth of research examining this relationship over time. We examined the longitudinal associations between change in time spent in active commuting and changes in recreational and total physical activity. METHODS: Adult commuters working in Cambridge, United Kingdom completed questionnaires in 2009 and 2012, and a sub-set completed objective physical activity monitoring in 2010 and 2012. Commuting was assessed using a validated seven-day travel to work record. Moderate-to-vigorous physical activity was assessed using the Recent Physical Activity Questionnaire and combined heart rate and movement sensing. We used multivariable multinomial logistic regression models to examine associations between change in time spent in active commuting and tertiles of changes in time spent in recreational and total physical activity. RESULTS: Four hundred sixty-nine participants (67% female, mean age 44 years) provided valid travel and self-reported physical activity data. Seventy-one participants (54% female, mean age 45 years) provided valid travel and objectively measured physical activity data. A decrease in active commuting was associated with a greater likelihood of a decrease in self-reported total physical activity (relative risk ratio [RRR] 2.1, 95% CI 1.1, 4.1). Correspondingly, an increase in active commuting was associated with a borderline significantly greater likelihood of an increase in self-reported total physical activity (RRR 1.8, 95% CI 1.0, 3.4). No associations were seen between change in time spent in active commuting and change in time spent in either self-reported recreational physical activity or objectively measured physical activity. CONCLUSIONS: Changes in active commuting were associated with commensurate changes in total self-reported physical activity and we found no compensatory changes in self-reported recreational physical activity. Promoting active commuting has potential as a public health strategy to increase physical activity. Future longitudinal research would be useful to verify these findings.LF and EH are supported by the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Public Health Research programme. JP is supported by an NIHR post-doctoral fellowship (PDF-2012-05-157). DO and RP are supported by the Medical Research Council [Unit Programme number MC_UP_12015/6]. The Commuting and Health in Cambridge study was developed by David Ogilvie, Simon Griffin, Andy Jones and Roger Mackett and initially funded under the auspices of the Centre for Diet and Activity Research (CEDAR), a UKCRC Public Health Research Centre of Excellence. Funding from the British Heart Foundation, Economic and Social Research Council, Medical Research Council, National Institute for Health Research and the Wellcome Trust, under the auspices of the UK Clinical Research Collaboration, is gratefully acknowledged. The study is now funded by the National Institute for Health Research Public Health Research programme (NIHR PHR; project number 09/3001/06: see http://www.phr.nihr.ac.uk/funded_projects).This is the final version of the article. It was first available from BioMed Central via http://dx.doi.org/10.1186/s12966-015-0323-

School Networks and Digitalisation: (How) can Cooperative School Development Contribute to the Digital Transformation?

Die Zusammenarbeit von Schulen, Schulträgern und weiteren Akteuren in Netzwerken kann dazu beitragen, Schulentwicklungs-, Innovations- und Transformationsprozesse zu initiieren und zu unterstützen (Endberg et al. 2020). Der vorliegende Beitrag geht der Frage nach, inwiefern solche Netzwerkkooperationen die digitale Transformation an Schulen unterstützen können. Im Mittelpunkt des Beitrags stehen Schulnetzwerke, die in unterschiedlichen Kontexten gegründet und deren Konzepte sukzessive weiterentwickelt und ausgebaut wurden. Die betrachteten Schulnetzwerke wurden in Regionen oder Kommunen gebildet, in denen sich Schulen und andere Akteure zum Thema «Bildung im digitalen Wandel» zusammengefunden haben, um gemeinsam Schritte der Integration digitaler Medien in den Schulalltag zu entwickeln und zu erproben. Der Beitrag analysiert, was die Netzwerkarbeit zur (kooperativen) Schulentwicklung im Kontext von Digitalisierung beitragen kann und wie sie zu organisieren ist, damit Zusammenarbeit – auch über die eigene Schule hinaus – gelingen kann. Der Beitrag erläutert dazu die Anlage von Netzwerken sowie die Arbeit in den Netzwerken aus Sicht der Moderation. Es wird speziell darauf eingegangen, welches Potenzial die Netzwerkarbeit hat, um kooperative Arbeitsformen im Sinne einer Ko-Konstruktion (Gräsel et al. 2006) zu fördern, welche über den reinen Austausch von Information oder Material hinausgehen und welche Inhalte, angelegt an die Schulentwicklungsdimensionen (Rolff 2016; Schulz-Zander 2001; Eickelmann und Gerick 2017) sich für die Zusammenarbeit anbieten.The cooperation of schools, school authorities and other actors in networks can contribute to initiate and support school development, innovation and transformation processes (Endberg et al. 2020). This article explores the question of how such network cooperations can support the digital transformation at schools. The focus of the article is on school networks that were founded in different contexts and whose concepts were successively developed and expanded. The school networks considered were formed in regions or municipalities in which schools and other stakeholders have come together on the topic of «education in the digital transformation» in order to jointly develop and test steps for integrating digital media into everyday school life. The article analyzes what networking can contribute to (cooperative) school development in the context of digitization and how it is to be organized so that this cooperation – also beyond the own school – can succeed. The article explains the creation of networks and the work in the networks from the perspective of the moderator. The potential of networking to promote cooperative forms of work in the sense of co-construction (Gräsel et al. 2006), which go beyond the mere exchange of information or material, and which contents, applied to the school development dimensions (Rolff 2016; Schulz-Zander 2001; Eickelmann und Gerick 2017) are suitable for cooperation, will be specifically addressed

A Federated Reference Structure for Open Informational Ecosystems

The paper describes the concept of a federated ecosystem for Open Educational Resources (OER) in the German education system. Here, a variety of OER repositories (ROER) (Muuß-Merholz & Schaumburg, 2014) and reference platforms have been established in the recent past. In order to develop this ecosystem, not only are metadata standards necessary, but also open Application Programming Interfaces (APIs) are required in order to exchange information. In conclusion, it is essential that all relevant stakeholders agree on an explicit policy to be developed collaboratively. A metadata exchange service can serve to connect all partners

Electrochemical behaviour of gamma hydroxybutyric acid at a platinum electrode in acidic medium

The electrooxidation of Gamma Hydroxybutyric Acid (GHB) on a polycrystalline platinum electrode is studied by cyclic voltammetry in acidic medium. Two oxidation peaks, A and B, are obtained in the positive scan within the potential range of the double layer region and of the platinum oxide region, respectively. In the negative going potential sweep an inverted oxidation peak with an onset partially overlapping with the tail of the cathodic peak for the reduction of the platinum oxide formed during the anodic scan is obtained (peak C). This inverted peak can be observed at a potential close to +0.2 V (vs Ag/AgCl at pH 2) and separated 0.4 and 0.8 V from the two other oxidation peaks obtained during the anodic scan and in such conditions that the surface is particularly activated to favour this electrochemical process. The response obtained in the electronic current for the different peaks when GHB concentration and scan rate were changed to allows inferring that these are the result of a potential dependent mechanism. The behaviour observed is according with the oxidation of the alcohol group to the corresponding aldehyde and carboxylic acid (succinic acid) as main products

Analysis of the question–answer service of the Emma Children’s Hospital information centre

The information centre of the Emma Children’s Hospital AMC (EKZ AMC) is a specialised information centre where paediatric patients and persons involved with the patient can ask questions about all aspects of disease and its social implications. The aim of the study was to evaluate the question–answer service of this information centre in order to determine the role of a specialised information centre in an academic children’s hospital, identify the appropriate resources for the service and potential positive effects. For this purpose, a case management system was developed in MS ACCESS. The characteristics of the requester and the question, the time it took to answer questions, the information sources used and the extent to which we were able to answer the questions were registered. The costs of the service were determined. We analysed all questions that were asked in the year 2007. Fourteen hundred thirty-four questions were asked. Most questions were asked by parents (23.3%), healthcare workers (other than nurses; 16.5%) and nurses (15.3%). The scope of the most frequently asked questions include disease (20.2%) and treatment (13.0%). Information on paper was the main information source used. Most questions could be solved within 15 min. Twelve percent to 28% of total working hours are used for the question–answer service. Total costs including staff salary are rather large. In conclusions, taking over the task of providing additional medical information and by providing readily available, good quality information that healthcare professionals can use to inform their patients will lead to less time investment of these more expensive staff members. A specialised information service can anticipate on the information need of parents and persons involved with the paediatric patient. It improves information by providing with relatively simple resources that has the potential to improve patient and parent satisfaction, coping and medical results. A specialised information centre is therefore a valuable and affordable asset to an academic children’s hospital

Transgenic wheat expressing a barley class II chitinase gene has enhanced resistance against Fusarium graminearum

Fusarium head blight (FHB; scab), primarily caused by Fusarium graminearum, is a devastating disease of wheat worldwide. FHB causes yield reductions and contamination of grains with trichothecene mycotoxins such as deoxynivalenol (DON). The genetic variation in existing wheat germplasm pools for FHB resistance is low and may not provide sufficient resistance to develop cultivars through traditional breeding approaches. Thus, genetic engineering provides an additional approach to enhance FHB resistance. The objectives of this study were to develop transgenic wheat expressing a barley class II chitinase and to test the transgenic lines against F. graminearum infection under greenhouse and field conditions. A barley class II chitinase gene was introduced into the spring wheat cultivar, Bobwhite, by biolistic bombardment. Seven transgenic lines were identified that expressed the chitinase transgene and exhibited enhanced Type II resistance in the greenhouse evaluations. These seven transgenic lines were tested under field conditions for percentage FHB severity, percentage visually scabby kernels (VSK), and DON accumulation. Two lines (C8 and C17) that exhibited high chitinase protein levels also showed reduced FHB severity and VSK compared to Bobwhite. One of the lines (C8) also exhibited reduced DON concentration compared with Bobwhite. These results showed that transgenic wheat expressing a barley class II chitinase exhibited enhanced resistance against F. graminearum in greenhouse and field conditions