Una estrategia eficaz para fomentar la cooperación

Some meta-analysis studies that show the efficacy of Cooperative Learning in comparison with competitive or individual learning are analyzed. Efficacy is based on the following data: achievement, high levels of reasoning, time required to accomplish the task, transference of learning, intrinsic motivation, cognitive and social development, personal interactions, friendship, reduction of stereotypes and prejudices, mental health, self-esteem, social competencies, internalization of values and the quality of the learning environment. All the available data suggest that it is a strategy that can respond to the challenges that come with globalization

Preparing tomorrow’s teachers to use technology (PT3) at Boston university through faculty development

Boston University School of Education received a grant for Preparing Tomorrow’s Teachers to use Technology from U.S. Department of Education. The project focused on faculty development in learning the Web and digital tools and reflecting on technology’s value for teacher preparation. Qualitative data showed gains in understanding and using technology but little radically new pedagogy. Trained educational technologists facilitated faculty learning and production. Recommendations include: learn by doing; provide “just in time” expert help; focus on the pedagogical advantages of technology, not on technology itself, and use formative evaluation to guide planning. The project proposes to sustain faculty’s new skills in developing a web-based curriculum

Uso de rede social e participação social

Existem inúmeros estudos recentes que descrevem a penetração do uso de redes sociais entre os cidadãos mais jovens e os não tão jovens. Estes meios são caracterizados como tendo um grande potencial para promover a socialização e o sentimento de pertencimento a uma comunidade; no entanto, existem resultados de pesquisas relativas ao contrário, ou seja, que as redes não estão influenciando o desenvolvimento de uma maior participação cívica de forma real. Neste trabalho, esta questão foi analisada à luz dos desafios educacionais que são apresentados por redes sociais como promotoras da participação social. Segundo um estudo da consultoria Experian Hitwise, a rede social Facebook foi o site mais visitado nos EUA, entre 6 e 13 de março de 2010; anteriormente, esta posição tinha sido usualmente ocupada pelo motor de busca Google, ainda segundo dados da Experian Hitwise. O Facebook capturou 7,07% do tráfego de Internet, enquanto o Google recebeu apenas 7,03%. O referido estudo comparou apenas o Facebook.com e o Google.com, sem levar em conta outros sites pertencentes ao Google, como Gmail, Google Maps e YouTube. Se estes sites fossem levados em conta, o tráfego para o Google teria atingido 11,03%. De acordo com Matt Tatham, diretor de comunicações da Hitwise, esses dados mostram que “a partilha de conteúdos tornou-se uma força enorme na Internet”

Two-year use of Webquest at the university to foster the Bologna process

As it is well known the current Bologna process, which targets at convergence of European university teaching, proposes a new methodological approach. It converts a teaching- based education system into one based on learning. WebQuest is one of the activities that makes an effective use of Information and Communication Technologies and that may favour the starting up of the Bologna process. This paper analyzes the use of WebQuest to jump-start the methodological change that the European convergence process implies, specifically selfregulated student learning. It is analyzed from this perspective the results from a university experience undertaken during two academic years (05-06 and 06-07) in the “Instructional Design” course (1st year Education studies). First, methodology and results from the study are presented. Second, the most important conclusions from the use of WebQuest to foster student autonomy, active methodologies, and the professor’s role as creator of learning environments are analyzed

Active methodologies for improving development of graduate students'competences: a four year study

This paper represents the experiences and results of 103 students in two courses of the Official Masters in Marriage and Family (http://www.unav.es/es/icf/master/), gathered during four academic years (2005- 2006, 2006-2007, 2007-2008 and 2008-2009). The two courses studied were “Family Education during Infancy” (EFI) and “Orientation Models in Family Psycho-pedagogy” (MOPF). To be specific, it deals with a methodological proposal which stimulates the integration of practical teaching of the two courses mentioned as well as the development of the student’s abilities. Those abilities are instrumental, interpersonal, systematic and specific to the profession of the counselor. The academic program of this Masters combines the online version which lasts two years, with two weekly sessions during the month of August. The results obtained reveal the Masters student’s high level of satisfaction with the use of the active methodologies, forcing the educator to face new challenges about the way in which he favors the independent work of each studen

Social network site usage and social participation

There exist numerous recent studies which describe the penetration of the usage of social networks among young and not-so-young citizens. These media are characterized as having a great potential for fostering socialization and the sense of belonging to a community; nevertheless, there exist contrary research results concerning whether or not they are influencing the development of greater civic involvement in a real way. In this paper we analyze this question in the light of the educational challenges that are presented by social networks as promoters of social participation

Educative proposal of web 2.0 for the encouragement of social and citizenship competence

Nowadays the web development is increasingly oriented towards social and participative uses. This tendency is generating the sense that we are going into a “second step” a new and “improved” version: Web 2.0. In this report we present a proposal for the use of this web in order to develop the “Social and citizenship competence” introduced by the Spanish educational legislation (LOE, 2006) that regulates the content of the school curriculum. In this proposal we have taken into account both the potential of the 2.0 applications to encourage cooperation and social relations and the activities or instructional strategies required to encourage the contents implied in the social and citizenship competence