Show small close comfort and listen - How to overcome barriers in the use of social media

During the past years, the speaker has used social media in a number of courses and projects with adult learners. He has also provided workshops and trainings for his colleagues. Based on these experiences, he will suggest a number of tips for overcoming barriers in implementing social media in lifelong learning situations. These tips will be discussed in an interactive session. Four suggestions are made: Firstly, show the benefits of social media by illustrating how you or others use it with learners. Secondly, start small, take small steps, one at a time. Thirdly, stay close to actual practice of trainers and learners. Fourthly, stay as close to an individual’s comfort zone as possible. Make sure not to lose your audience by suggesting very wild tools. Finally, listen to what your learners are saying, evaluate, and take the next step accordingly

D4.1. CEFcult Framework and Methodology

Verjans, S., & Rajagopal, K. (2010). D4.1. CEFcult Framework and Methodology. CEFcult project deliverables: CEFcult project.The CEFcult project addresses the observed need in European enterprise for increased foreign language proficiency for intercultural professional communication. In an increasingly globalised world, language skills need to be supplemented with intercultural competence in order to guarantee successful communication. This deilverable describes the theoretical framework that builds the backdrop to the project. It discusses intercultural competence, learning to become interculturally competent, assessing intercultural competence, combining language and intercultural competence, and scenarios for intercultural competence assessment.European Commission, Education, Audiovisual & Culture Executive Agency, under KA2 – Multilateral Projects of the Lifelong Learning Programm

Does the phenomenon of Open Educational Resources lead to new didactic model? “It depends”

Didderen, W., & Verjans, S. (2012). Does the phenomenon of Open Educational Resources lead to new didactic model? “It depends”. In R. Jacobi, & N. van der Woert (Eds.), Trend Report Open Educational Resources 2012 (pp. 9-15). Utrecht: SURF Foundation - Special Interest Group Open Educational Resources. Retrieved from https://www.surfspace.nl/artikel/697-trendrapport-open-educational-resources/.This contribution starts with the question of whether there is a direct relationship between OER and didactics. Is there such a thing as “OER didactics”? In the same way as a decade ago the usefulness and need for specific digital didactics were questioned, one can also raise questions regarding specific didactics for OER. Simons (2003) defined digital didactics as “knowledge and expertise regarding the use of ICT to facilitate learning”. A parallel definition of OER didactics would therefore be: “knowledge and expertise regarding the use of OER to facilitate learning”. More generally, one might define specific didactic models as “knowledge and expertise regarding the use of X to facilitate learning”, with X then being replaced by specific tools or technologies, for example online video, virtual worlds, or serious games. The question is then: Is it in fact valuable to think of specific didactic theories, models, or practices specifically for Open Educational Resources? Are OER didactics a specific discipline within digital didactics, or within didactics in general?SURF Foundatio

Developing a sustainable, student centred VLE: the OUNL case

Hermans, H., & Verjans, S. (2009). Developing a sustainable, student centred VLE: the OUNL case. Paper presented at the 23rd ICDE World Conference on Open Learning and Distance Education including the 2009 EADTU Annual Conference (M-2009). June, 7-10, 2009, Maastricht, The Netherlands.The Open University of the Netherlands (OUNL) has adopted the concept of the personal learning and working environment (PLWE) as the future delivery platform of its educational services to students. This concept means that students should be able to shape their own personal virtual (learning) environment, based on individual tool and technology preferences . To support this concept the OUNL faces the challenge of setting up an architecture and investing in the development of a set of educational services that can be integrated not only in the institutional learning environment, but that can also be merged with personal environments. In this presentation we describe the first steps of a distance teaching university in its move towards this PLWE concept. This means reconsidering the role and position of the current, more traditional VLE, and developing new educational services that aim at getting students more committed and involved, inspired by the success of current web2.0 technology.Open University of the Netherlands - Instellingsbreed Programma Onderwijsinnovati

D4.2. User Requirements

Verjans, S., Rajagopal, K., & Valentine, C. (2010). D4.2. User Requirements. CEFcult project deliverables: CEFcult project.The CEFcult project aims to support learners in working on their intercultural communicative skills. It does this by developing an online assessment platform where learners can capture their behaviour by going through scenarios and performing tasks that elicit intercultural performance. The samples can then be assessed and rated against intercultural and linguistic assessment scales, by the learner herself or by invited others. The aim of this deliverable is to identify the user requirements in order to design and implement a platform enabling social assessment of intercultural communicative competence. Firstly, we will discuss the relevant characteristics of intercultural and linguistic competence assessment. Secondly, we will go into the requirements and options for technological support in this kind of assessment. Thirdly, we will describe the expected user experience we want to design on this platform and finally, establish the required functionality from the platform.European Commission, Education, Audiovisual & Culture Executive Agency, under KA2 – Multilateral Projects of the Lifelong Learning Programm

MijnOnderwijsdiensten2.0 (Evaluatie Google Apps Education voor gebruik binnen de Open Universiteit Nederland)

De doelstelling van het deelproject luidt: Het onderzoeken van de eventuele meerwaarde van Google Apps Education (GAE) binnen onze primaire onderwijsprocessen dan wel ondersteunende processen, rekening houdend met: * de functionele en technische (on)mogelijkheden van GAE, * Eventueel aanwezige, concrete behoeften van verschillende gebruikersgroepen (studenten, docenten en onderwijsondersteuners), * Reeds geboden ict-oplossingen binnen de organisatie. Het deelrapport levert een eindrapport met daarin een advies t.a.v. de mogelijke inzet van GAE, inclusief een eventueel implementatieplan op hoofdlijnen. Pilotdiensten zullen op enig moment worden stopgezet dan wel beheerst worden opgenomen in de staande organisatie. Deze pilotdiensten gaan ten principale niet 'stilzwijgend' over naar een exploitatie situatie