A hypermedia project for EAP students. Interactive materials in a virtual learning environment

As EAP lecturers involved in the development of teaching materials and IT (information technology) projects, we have been working on the creation of a web-based learning environment. Our aim is to develop a flexible tool for university students with different levels of English, learning styles and academic interests, which can be used both for blended learning and in a self-access mode. Our interuniversity team1, coordinated by Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya and including lecturers from Universitat de Lleida and Universitat Rovira i Virgili (Tarragona), has created a virtual learning environment called “Quantum LEAP: Learning English for Academic Purposes.” It is a hypermedia project that seeks to help university students improve their communicative skills, both in speech and writing, in situations related to academic contexts. The materials created for the project are based on authentic written and oral texts, involve authentic language use and the integration of skills. In keeping with the guidelines of the EHEA (European Higher Education Area) and the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEF), this web-based learning environment allows for a wide variety of learning routes, including tools to promote autonomy and monitor progress. In this paper, we will present the rationale behind the project and examples of the materials and tools designed. We believe that the lessons learned in the creation of this project can be relevant to other EAP lecturers using IT for the design of courses and materials.Postprint (published version

Developing Learner Autonomy through a Virtual EAP Course at University

This article centres on students’ participation in the virtual EAP course “English for Academic Purposes: Learning English through the Web” and reports on a qualitative study that aims at describing their profile as autonomous learners. This course, with a strong emphasis on the use of Internet resources for language learning, was devised with two main aims: to help students develop their language and communication skills and, especially, to foster learner autonomy, a requisite in distance learning. To this end, students’ views and attitudes on language-related matters as well as the actions they undertook related to the management of their own learning were analysed in an attempt to provide an accurate picture of their capacity to direct their own learning. The results show that students are able to perform a number of self-directed learning actions and to express a variety of views on language and learning. They can also use the metalanguage presented in course activities in order to create their own definitions and come to conclusions on their role as language learners. The paper concludes with some implications and points to further research that may arise from these findings

Quantum LEAP (Learning English for Academic Purposes). Un entorn virtual amb materials multimèdia interactius per a estudiants universitaris

La Secció d’Anglès de la UPC i el Departament d’Anglès i Lingüística de la UdL han centrat els seus esforços en la millora de la qualitat i la innovació docents a les nostres universitats. En aquest sentit, estem treballant en el desenvolupament de materials docents i en la creació de noves eines pedagògiques per aconseguir que els nostres estudiants puguin comunicar-se en anglès en situacions pròpies del món acadèmic i professional de l'àmbit tècnic. El projecte presentat es va plantejar arrel de l’experiència anterior dels membres d’aquest equip de treball en l’ús de les TIC en l’aprenentatge d’anglès a través de projectes finançats en els últims cinc anys. Recentment, s’ha incorporat a l’equip un expert del Departament de Filologia Anglogermànica de la Universitat Rovira i Virgili per tractar qüestions relacionades amb la pronunciació. La finalitat del projecte era desenvolupar un entorn virtual per l’aprenentatge d’anglès acadèmic (“Quantum LEAP: Learning English for Academic Purposes”) i alhora crear tot un seguit de materials docents que donin contingut a aquest entorn, de manera que els estudiants puguin disposar d’un accés directe a una gran varietat de materials per l’aprenentatge autònom, la consulta o la pràctica. Així, s’ha creat un entorn virtual d’aprenentatge que té una finalitat dual: servir de suport a les diferents assignatures d’anglès acadèmic a les nostres universitats i, alhora, de recurs personalitzat per a cadascun dels estudiants

Anàlisi de l’estructura dels materials multimèdia interactius per a estudiants universitaris proposats en el projecte “Quantum LEAP (Learning English for Academic Purposes)”

El projecte “Quantum LEAP (Learning English for Academic Purposes)” té per objectiu desenvolupar un entorn virtual per l’aprenentatge d’anglès acadèmic i crear els materials docents que donessin contingut a aquest entorn. L’entorn virtual d’aprenentatge resultant té la finalitat dual de servir de suport a les assignatures d’anglès acadèmic impartides a la UPC, la UdL i la URV, i de recurs personalitzat per l’aprenentatge autònom. Aquesta presentació pretén donar una visió general del projecte mitjançant l’anàlisi i la descripció d’un mòdul tipus del material dissenyat pel projecte. L’exposició mostra la varietat de temes escollits per tal d’afavorir, mitjançant la motivació pel tema escollit, tant l’adquisició com la pràctica d’anglès acadèmic. A partir de l’anàlisi dels materials relacionats amb un d’aquest temes, s’exemplifica la pluralitat de material autèntic utilitzat així com la varietat d’activitats proposades destinades a la pràctica i l’adquisició d’anglès acadèmic. També es fa esment de l’atenció que s’ha prestat en incloure material que indueixi l’estudiantat a reflexionar sobre l’ús del llenguatge per tal d’aconseguir la consciència lingüística necessària per incrementar tant la comprensió com la precisió d'ús.Peer ReviewedPostprint (published version

Competency maps: An effective model to integrate professional competencies across a STEM curriculum

Curricula designed in the context of the European Higher Education Area need to be based on both domain-specific and professional competencies. Whereas universities have had extensive experience in developing students’ domain-specific competencies, fostering professional competencies poses a new challenge we need to face. This paper presents a model to globally develop professional competencies in a STEM degree program, and assesses the results of its implementation after four years. The model is based on the use of competency maps, in which each competency is defined in terms of competency units. Each competency unit is described by their expected learning outcomes at three domain levels. This model allows careful analysis, revision and iteration for an effective integration of professional competencies in domain-specific subjects. A global competency map is also designed, including all the professional-competency learning outcomes to be achieved throughout the degree. This map becomes a useful tool for curriculum designers and coordinators. The results were obtained from four sources: 1) students’ grades (classes graduated from 2013 to 2016, the first four years from the new Bachelor’s Degree in Informatics Engineering at the Barcelona School of Informatics); 2) students’ surveys (answered by students when they finished the degree); 3) the government employment survey, where former students evaluate the satisfaction of the received training in the light of their work experience; and 4) the Everis Foundation University-Enterprise Ranking, answered by over 2000 employers evaluating their satisfaction regarding their employees’ university training, where the Barcelona School of Informatics scores first in the national ranking. The results show that competency maps are a good tool for developing professional competencies in a STEM degree.Peer ReviewedPostprint (author's final draft

Implementació i pilotatge de l'entorn virtual d'aprenentatge Quantum LEAP (Learning English for Academic Purposes), com a eina per a la millora de la comunicació acadèmica en anglès a la UPC

Aquest projecte forma part d’un treball més ampli que està duent a terme un equip interuniversitari d'innovació docent, amb seu a la UPC, que treballa en el desenvolupament de Quantum LEAP (Learning English for Academic Purposes, un entorn virtual d'aprenentatge d'anglès acadèmic a la universitat, que contè una gran quantitat i varietat de materials interactius multimèdia pel desenvolupament de la comprensió i expressió oral i escrita en anglès. Amb aquest projecte es dóna resposta a necessitats clau de la universitat actual respecte a les competències de llengua i comunicació (diferents nivells de competència en anglès i diferents estils d’aprenentatge, millorar l’aprenentatge i pràctica de l’anglès acadèmic, per exemple). El context actual està caracteritzat per una major mobilitat acadèmica i profesional, una major presencia de l’anglès com a lingua franca, i una ja plena implantació de l’EEES (Espai Europeu d’Educació Superior) amb èmfasi en els processos d’aprenentatge, l’adquisició de competències i l’aprenentatge autònom. Tenint Institut de Ciències de l’Educació – Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya 2 en compte aquest context i el grau de desenvolupament de Quantum LEAP, en aquest projecte s’ha treballat en la revisió dels materials didàctics, en la implementació de l’entorn d’aprenentatge a l’aula i com a recurs per aprenents autònoms, i s’ha dut a terme una profunda revisió tècnica i de disseny, per tal d’adaptar-lo a criteris pedagògics i d’usabilitat.Peer Reviewe

Desarrollo integral de las competencias genéricas mediante mapas competenciales

Los planes de estudio del EEES deben diseñarse a partir de las competencias de la titulación, tanto específicas como genéricas. La universidad española tiene una amplia experiencia en trabajar y evaluar las competencias específicas, pero las competencias genéricas suponen un nuevo reto que es preciso abordar. En este trabajo se hace una propuesta sobre cómo trabajar y evaluar, de forma global, las competencias genéricas en una titulación de Grado. La propuesta se está implantando en los estudios de Grado en Ingeniería Informática de la Facultat d’Informàtica de Barcelona. En lugar de establecer diversos niveles de competencia y asignar cada uno de estos niveles a distintas asignaturas, como suele hacerse con las competencias específicas usando la taxonomía de Bloom, se propone definir cada competencia genérica en términos de dimensiones. Cada una de las dimensiones (aspectos de la competencia) se define en términos de objetivos a tres niveles, y son los objetivos de un determinado nivel de cada dimensión lo que se encarga a las asignaturas. De esta forma, una misma asignatura puede trabajar distintas dimensiones de una competencia genérica, cada una de ellas a un nivel diferente. Diferentes competencias pueden compartir un subconjunto de dimensiones. Evitar repetir el trabajo de estas dimensiones en diferentes asignaturas cuando no es estrictamente necesario permite optimizar el trabajo realizado y favorece que los estudiantes adquieran las competencias genéricas definidas por la titulación.SUMMARY -- In the context of the European Higher Education Area (EHEA), curriculum design needs to be based on the particular degree programme competencies, including both domain-specific and generic competencies. Although Spanish universities already have a wide experience in developing and assessing domain-specific competencies, generic competencies pose a new challenge that we need to face. The present work proposes a model to globally develop and assess generic competencies in the Bachelor’s Degree in Informatics Engineering at Barcelona School of Informatics. A common procedure to develop domain-specific competencies consists in setting different competency levels (based on Bloom’s taxonomy) and then assigning them to the corresponding subjects or courses in the programme. Instead, in order to develop generic competencies into a comprehensive integrated experience, we propose a definition of each competency in terms of dimensions (or competency aspects), which are further defined according to three-level objectives. These objectives are integrated into the subjects that are considered suitable for this purpose. Thus, one subject may integrate dimensions belonging to different competencies at different levels, which contributes to an integral educational experience. In the process of designing our global map of competency dimensions, we have found that some competencies may share some subset of those dimensions, which calls for workload optimization. This global map allows us to refine the process of assigning competency objectives to subjects, and although recurrent practice may be appropriate in the development of competencies in general, we can avoid redundancy when necessary. Thus, this procedure helps us to integrate objectives into the corresponding subjects most effectively, helping students develop the generic competencies defined in the degree programme.Peer Reviewe

Students' profile as autonomous learners in an Internet-based EAP course

This study aims to find out to what extent university students are able to develop learner autonomy through an EAP course delivered through the Internet. The course, oriented to the use of Internet resources for language learning, was designed specifically to foster learner autonomy. Based on a previous exploratory study (Arnó et al. 2003), this research seeks to refine the profile of the autonomous learner initially developed and to discover which specific actions and attitudes related to learner autonomy are found in students’ behaviour. Thus, combining qualitative and quantitative methods, we carried out an analysis of the autonomous behaviour displayed by students when using different Internet resources through activities designed to foster learner autonomy. This study has allowed us to outline the profile of autonomous learners in a virtual classroom, with students who are able to take the initiative and make decisions on the organization and management of their learning process. Focusing on the connection between making the most of the Internet and developing students’ autonomy, our ultimate aim is to point to ways in which students may be encouraged to become more autonomous and explore the role that the Internet may play in helping us attain this objectiveCon este trabajo se pretende averiguar si los estudiantes universitarios pueden desarrollar su capacidad de aprendizaje autónomo mediante un curso de IFA impartido a través de Internet. El curso, que se centra en el uso de recursos de Internet para el aprendizaje de lenguas, ha sido diseñado específicamente para promover la autonomía en el aprendizaje. Partiendo de un estudio exploratorio previo (Arnó et al. 2003), este artículo pretende definir de una manera más precisa el perfil del aprendiz autónomo desarrollado inicialmente y descubrir qué acciones y actitudes relacionadas con la autonomía en el aprendizaje muestran los estudiantes. Así, combinando métodos cualitativos y cuantitativos, hemos realizado un análisis del comportamiento autónomo de los estudiantes cuando utilizan recursos de Internet dentro de actividades diseñadas específicamente para la promoción del aprendizaje autónomo. Este estudio nos ha permitido delimitar el perfil de los aprendices autónomos en una aula virtual, mostrando que son capaces de tener iniciativa y tomar decisiones relacionadas con la organización y gestión de su proceso de aprendizaje. Prestando especial atención al nexo de unión que existe entre el aprovechamiento de los recursos de Internet y el desarrollo de la autonomía en el aprendizaje, nuestro objetivo último es encontrar la forma de ayudar a nuestros estudiantes a desarrollar su autonomía, en un proceso en el que Internet juega un papel fundamenta

A hypermedia project for EAP students. Interactive materials in a virtual learning environment

As EAP lecturers involved in the development of teaching materials and IT (information technology) projects, we have been working on the creation of a web-based learning environment. Our aim is to develop a flexible tool for university students with different levels of English, learning styles and academic interests, which can be used both for blended learning and in a self-access mode. Our interuniversity team1, coordinated by Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya and including lecturers from Universitat de Lleida and Universitat Rovira i Virgili (Tarragona), has created a virtual learning environment called “Quantum LEAP: Learning English for Academic Purposes.” It is a hypermedia project that seeks to help university students improve their communicative skills, both in speech and writing, in situations related to academic contexts. The materials created for the project are based on authentic written and oral texts, involve authentic language use and the integration of skills. In keeping with the guidelines of the EHEA (European Higher Education Area) and the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEF), this web-based learning environment allows for a wide variety of learning routes, including tools to promote autonomy and monitor progress. In this paper, we will present the rationale behind the project and examples of the materials and tools designed. We believe that the lessons learned in the creation of this project can be relevant to other EAP lecturers using IT for the design of courses and materials

Developing Learner Autonomy through a Virtual EAP Course at University

This article centres on students' participation in the virtual EAP course "English for Academic Purposes: Learning English through the Web" and reports on a qualitative study that aims at describing their profile as autonomous learners. This course, with a strong emphasis on the use of Internet resources for language learning, was devised with two main aims: to help students develop their language and communication skills and, especially, to foster learner autonomy, a requisite in distance learning. To this end, students' views and attitudes on language-related matters as well as the actions they undertook related to the management of their own learning were analysed in an attempt to provide an accurate picture of their capacity to direct their own learning. The results show that students are able to perform a number of self-directed learning actions and to express a variety of views on language and learning. They can also use the metalanguage presented in course activities in order to create their own definitions and come to conclusions on their role as language learners. The paper concludes with some implications and points to further research that may arise from these findings