Analysing and Understanding Flexible Learning. A Model for the Analysis of Curriculum Development

En este trabajo presentamos el desarrollo de un modelo para el análisis del desarrollo curricular en procesos de teleenseñanza. El objetivo de este modelo es ofrecer un mapa actual del curriculum, de manera que pueda servir como hoja de ruta para aquellos que se aproximan por primera vez a la complejidad de un proceso de enseñanza-aprendizaje, como herramienta de análisis y evaluación de la práctica para aquellos que la llevan a cabo y, por qué no, como lista de comprobación para aquellos que puedan tomar decisiones que afecten a los procesos de implementación curricular de tecnologías en la enseñanza.In this paper we present the first part of a model of curriculum analysis for Higher Education e-learning courses. The proposed model is an integrated tool that brings together -for the first time- in a single analytical tool, all the curriculum elements to be considered in a teaching model using ICT. Therefore, we are convinced this model would help participants in the curriculum to plan courses in different virtual degrees, and it would be useful in evaluating each curriculum element development in the process, as well as being a route map for teachers and developers

Las universidades apostando por las TIC : modelos y paradojas del cambio institucional

Dados los tiempos que corren en todos los ámbitos de nuestro contexto social, económico, cultural y por supuesto tecnológico, la universidad vive un momento en el que debe apostar por innovaciones en la dirección de adaptarse a los cambios y dar respuesta a las necesidades del entorno; siempre en aras de sobrevivir como institución y seguir siendo referente primario de nuestra sociedad. El problema es que debe cambiar, pero sin que antes se hayan clarificados conceptos básicos que le dan su razón de ser y la fundamentan. En este trabajo pretendemos abundar en los modelos más representativos de cambio institucional que se han adoptado en la implementación de TIC en la universidad, para posteriormente hacer una reflexión acerca de cómo esos modelos y la forma que han adoptado en la práctica han creado no pocas paradojas relacionadas con las necesidades de cambio, las formas que adopta dicho cambio y el futuro que puede tener.Fast expansion of ICT in every side of our society has increased the pressure in traditional higher education institutions to become modern organizations, and has modified the social perception about the need of using new possibilities and models of teaching and learning including ICT (Technology Enhanced Learning). Unfortunately, the general awareness is universities know very well they have to change but they don't know in which direction they have to do it. Therefore, they have to clarify basic concepts about their reason for being and their basic principles. On this work we will present a first analysis of the most representative models to implement ICT in Universities that institutions around the world have used. From this models and analysing trends around them, we propose some reflexions about how practices have created many paradoxes around the change related to ICT and higher education: how this change could be, how this change already is, and how can we plan better the future of these changes

Building Personal Learning Environments by using and mixing ICT tools in a professional way

This paper reports on a teaching experience of the introduction of ICT to higher education students in a complementary professional approach and a Personal Learning Environment (PLE) development approach, as well as a naturalistic study based on this experience. The central focus of this methodology was the use of hands-on sessions to introduce students to somespecific ICT tools, and exploring the building process of an awareness abouttheir Personal Learning environments.In terms of learning, we confirmed that students very much appreciate new ways of developing their tasks and their course work. Even when the great majority of students associates learning with acquiring only information and some of them associate learning with memorizing.In terms of Technology, after this experience we can conclude that students,when arriving at university, have no experience –even knowledge- in the useof ICT tools. In addition, students from the first year of the degree don’t thinkthey use Web 2.0 (awareness), and even more, they don’t believe that theycan use ICT tools for learning, even if they actually do. They value, usefultools which help them to plan their tasks, save time, simplify complicatedtasks and, definitively, have fun; but also they specially value the ICT toolsthey discovered, seeing opportunities for Independency, collaboration, self importance in the learning process.The vast majority of students have a basic perception of their PLE. Few ofthem don’t relate tools with themselves but with their tasks, and only some ofthem go one step further by establishing more complex relationships betweentools, contents, tasks and themselves enriching each other.This paper reports on a teaching experience of the introduction of ICT to higher education students in a complementary professional approach and a Personal Learning Environment (PLE) development approach, as well as a naturalistic study based on this experience. The central focus of this methodology was the use of hands-on sessions to introduce students to somespecific ICT tools, and exploring the building process of an awareness abouttheir Personal Learning environments.In terms of learning, we confirmed that students very much appreciate newways of developing their tasks and their course work. Even when the greatmajority of students associates learning with acquiring only information andsome of them associate learning with memorizing.In terms of Technology, after this experience we can conclude that students,when arriving at university, have no experience -even knowledge- in the useof ICT tools. In addition, students from the first year of the degree don't thinkthey use Web 2.0 (awareness), and even more, they don't believe that theycan use ICT tools for learning, even if they actually do. They value, usefultools which help them to plan their tasks, save time, simplify complicatedtasks and, definitively, have fun; but also they specially value the ICT toolsthey discovered, seeing opportunities for Independency, collaboration, self importance in the learning process.The vast majority of students have a basic perception of their PLE. Few ofthem don't relate tools with themselves but with their tasks, and only some ofthem go one step further by establishing more complex relationships betweentools, contents, tasks and themselves enriching each other

PLE-Centered Education: The Next Boundary. Perceptions and Realities Behind Students Personal Learning Environments

In this paper the authors discuss the results and implications of research regarding the building and perception of Personal Learning Environments (PLEs) that they developed in the last four years. In addition, the authors discuss the next step of this research; the public funding project CAPPLE, on which they are currently working

Building Personal Learning Environments by using and mixing ICT tools in a professional way

This paper reports on a teaching experience of the introduction of ICT to higher education students in a complementary professional approach and a Personal Learning Environment (PLE) development approach, as well as a naturalistic study based on this experience. The central focus of this methodology was the use of hands-on sessions to introduce students to some specific ICT tools, and exploring the building process of an awareness about their Personal Learning environments. In terms of learning, we confirmed that students very much appreciate new ways of developing their tasks and their course work. Even when the great majority of students associates learning with acquiring only information and some of them associate learning with memorizing. In terms of Technology, after this experience we can conclude that students, when arriving at university, have no experience –even knowledge- in the use of ICT tools. In addition, students from the first year of the degree don’t think they use Web 2.0 (awareness), and even more, they don’t believe that they can use ICT tools for learning, even if they actually do. They value, useful tools which help them to plan their tasks, save time, simplify complicated tasks and, definitively, have fun; but also they specially value the ICT tools they discovered, seeing opportunities for Independency, collaboration, selfimportance in the learning process. The vast majority of students have a basic perception of their PLE. Few of them don’t relate tools with themselves but with their tasks, and only some of them go one step further by establishing more complex relationships between tools, contents, tasks and themselves enriching each other

Entornos Personales de Aprendizaje: el reto de la agencia de las personas en los ecosistemas conectados

Personal Learning Environment (PLE) – as an idea, approach and concept – has demonstrated the potential to support a learner-centred digital learning ecosystem that is diverse, individualised, adaptive, integrated, transparent and skill-based. In a PLE, the locus of control shifts away from the institution to individuals, to the agency of individuals, helping them take control of their learning and build a personal cyberinfrastructure and learning ecosystem that extends learning beyond the classroom, institution, or organisation’s boundaries using distributed and portable tools. In the current conditions, understanding what a PLE is and reshaping educational systems to relocate PLE is more importanat tan ever; as well as to refocus the importance of reshaping learning and prioritizing people's agency in the current technological and social conditions. This special issue was conceived as an effort to collectively explore the pathways and challenges of adopting the PLE as a legitimate approach for self-education and lifelong learning and engaging in contextual change. The papers finally included on it, have a variety of perspectives, including - theoretical reflections, conceptual analysis, literature reviews, learning and teaching experiences – from the learners’ point of view and from the instructors’ point of view, as well as tools for improving student experiences, systemic projects to confront PLE challenges, and first approaches to research paths that explore other aspects of the implementation of the PLE. In addition, this issue brings together a number of authors, nationalities and data sources that broaden our view of the object of study and can enrich the discourse.Los Entornos Personales de Aprendizaje (PLE), como idea, enfoque y concepto, han demostrado su potencial para apoyar un ecosistema de aprendizaje digital centrado en el alumno, diverso, individualizado, adaptable, integrado, transparente y basado en las competencias. En un PLE, el lugar de control se desplaza de la institución a los individuos, a la agencia de los individuos, ayudándoles a tomar el control de su aprendizaje y a construir una ciberinfraestructura personal y un ecosistema de aprendizaje que extienda el aprendizaje más allá de los límites del aula, la institución o la organización utilizando herramientas distribuidas y portátiles. En las condiciones actuales, comprender qué es un PLE y remodelar los sistemas educativos para reubicar los PLE en el centro de ellos es más importante que nunca. Se trata de revalorizar la importancia del PLE de las personas en las condiciones tecnológicas y sociales actuales. Eso implica reestructurar la enseñanza y el aprendizaje, dando verdadera prioridad a la agencia de las personas. Este número especial se concibió como un esfuerzo para explorar colectivamente las vías y los retos de la adopción del PLE como enfoque legítimo para la autoeducación y el aprendizaje permanente y para participar en el cambio contextual. Los trabajos finalmente incluidos en él, tienen una variedad de perspectivas, incluyendo - reflexiones teóricas, análisis conceptuales, revisiones de literatura, experiencias de aprendizaje y enseñanza - desde el punto de vista de los aprendices y desde el punto de vista de los instructores, así como herramientas para mejorar las experiencias de los estudiantes, proyectos sistémicos para afrontar los retos del PLE, y primeras aproximaciones a vías de investigación que exploran otros aspectos de la implementación del PLE. Además, este número reúne una serie de autores, nacionalidades y fuentes de datos que amplían nuestra visión del objeto de estudio y pueden enriquecer el discurso

Colaboración en red a través de videoconferencia: una experiencia no formal

This paper reports on a naturalistic study of peer-to-peer learning, in a live, online-video meeting context. Over a 6-month period a group of international students of animation attended 99 live, online 'study group' meetings, ranging from 90-120 minutes each. Some students emerged as natural mentors, and the group exhibited substantial supportive, mutually facilitative roles. The study shows that the learners can effectively support each other in a live semi-formal peer-learning context. It also provides a clear measure of how simple, live and online video conferencing systems can shape and transform a learning community, even without a formal scaffold of lectures and seminars

Entornos e-learning para la enseñanza superior: Entre lo institucional y lo personalizado

Entendiendo que existe una tendencia clara en la investigación que nos hace volver la mirada hacia los llamados Personal Learning Environments (PLE), o Entornos Personalizados de Aprendizaje (EPA), constatable en toda la literatura y la investigación de los últimos años, el presente trabajo pretende hacer una exploración de los mismos. Así, a partir de la experiencia llevada a cabo en el contexto del tercer piloto del proyecto europeo iCamp, en el presente documento exponemos un par de estudios de caso en los que se exploran y describen los entornos personalizados de aprendizaje desarrollados por parte de los alumnos que han tomado parte en él. La finalidad última del estudio es describir, explicitar y analizar de forma sistemática las herramientas que los alumnos, en este caso participantes de procesos formales de enseñanza-aprendizaje universitario, utilizan de hecho en el transcurso de uno de estos procesos