www.sloop2desc.eu Preparing the teachers for a competence-based education system Editors: Giovanni Fulantelli Lucian Oprea Sloop2desc Sharing learning objects in an open perspective to develop European skills and competences The SLOOP2DESC-Sharing Learning Objects in an Open Perspective to Develop European Skills and Competences-is a project funded by the European Commission under the Lifelong Learning programme, Leonardo da Vinci sub-programme. This publication reflects the views only of the authors and the European Commision cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of information contained therein. " Project number: LLP-LDV/TOI/09/IT/0461CUP Code: G72F09000050006 Coordinator: Italian National Research Council Institute for Educational Technologies Phone: +39 091 6809220 - Fax: +39 091 6809239 e-mail: giovanni.fulantelli@itd.cnr.it
This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-No Derivs 3.0 http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/3.0/ ISBN: 978-606-8216-94-2
SLOOP2DESC Project - Sharing Learning Objects in an Open Perspective to Develop European Skills and Competences
THE SLOOP2DESC PROJECT LLP-LDV/TOI/09/IT/0461
SLOOP2DESC - Sharing Learning Objects in an Open Perspective to Develop European Skills and Competences, is a project funded by the European Commission under the Lifelong Learning programme, Leonardo da Vinci sub-programme.
SLOOP2DESC aims at supporting high-school teachers and trainers in Vocational Education and Training (VET) to increase their knowledge and understanding of new educational systems that are based on learning outcomes and competences.
Specifically, the project refers to the European Qualification Framework (EQF), the reference framework adopted by the EU Parliament and Council in April 2008 to establish general criteria for comparing qualification and competencies systems developed and/or adopted in EU countries.
Teachers and trainers in Italy, Romania and Slovenia have developed specific pedagogical competencies to be applied in educational activities that take new evaluation systems into consideration. This result has been achieved through effective e-learning strategies already tested in a previous European funded project called Sloop: Sharing Learning Objects in an Open Perspective, aimed at promoting the practice of sharing and developing Open Educational Resources by community of teachers.
Partners
Istituto per le Tecnologie Didattiche - Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche, Palermo, Italy Associazione italiana per l'informatica ed il calcolo distribuito, Milano, Italy Istituto Tecnico Statale Sperimentale ad Ordinamento Speciale Marie Curie, Cernusco sul Naviglio, Milano, Italy Centro METID Politecnico di Milano, Italy Istituto Istruzione Secondaria Danilo Dolci, Partinico (PA), Italy Consorzio Med Europe Export, Palermo, Italy Faculty of Natural Sciences and Engineering, University of Ljubljana, Slovenia DEIS - Cork Institute of Technology, Ireland Dunarea de Jos University of Galati, Romania Slovenian Society INFORMATIKA, Ljubljana, Slovenia
About this book
The SLOOP2DESC project has been funded with support from the European Commission. This book represents SLOOP2DESC partners opinions on the results they got, its impact on their own organisations and their points of view on the philosophy of the project. The Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.
Editors: Giovanni Fulantelli Lucian Oprea
SLOOP2DESC Project - Sharing Learning Objects in an Open Perspective to Develop European Skills and Competences
Descrierea CIP a Bibliotecii Naionale a Romniei FULANTELLI, GIOVANNI Preparing the teachers for a competence-based education system / Giovanni Fulantelli, Lucian Oprea. - Galai : Europlus, 2011 Bibliogr. ISBN 978-606-8216-94-2 I. Oprea, Lucian 371
Copyright 2011 All rights for this book reserved by EUROPLUS PUBLISHING.
5
TABLE OF CONTENTS
The SLOOP2DESC project ............................................................................................................. 7 G. Fulantelli, M. Gentile, D. Taibi, M. Allegra, V. Dal Grande, P. Denaro
Competence-based learning in Europe & the SLOOP2DESC model ........................................ 13 P. Ravotto
EUCIP and e-CF certification systems .......................................................................................... 17 R. Bellini, P. Ravotto, N. Schlanberger
Maritime certification system in compliance with IMO standards ............................................ 21 L. Oprea, D. Popa, D. Munteanu, A. Dumitriu, I. Ilie, S. Stan
Building and managing a community of practice ........................................................................ 25 A. Buzzi
The SLOOP2DESC course ............................................................................................................. 27 F. Berengo, M. Masseroni, L. Petruzziello, M. Terenghi, P. Ravotto
Fostering the dialogue amongst school teachers and companies: the role of "business mentors" ........................................................................................................................................... 31 V. Dal Grande, D. Taibi, M. Gentile, D. Stabile, M. Allegra, G. Fulantelli
The experience of the SLOOP2DESC courses in Italy ................................................................ 35 M. Masseroni, F. Berengo, L. Petruzziello, M. Terenghi, P. Ravotto
The experience of the SLOOP2DESC courses in Romania ........................................................ 45 L. Oprea, I. Ilie, C. Rusu, S. Stan, D. Popa, D. Munteanu, A. Dumitriu, P. G. Sandu, C. Badalan
The experience of the SLOOP2DESC courses in Slovenia ......................................................... 49 M. Vrtanik, D. Dolniar, N. Schlamberger, . voljak
A lesson learned and recommendations for future actions in e-learning .................................. 59 M. Murray, M. Vrtacnik, D. Dolnicar, G. Fulantelli
6
SLOOP2DESC - Sharing Learning Objects in an Open Perspective to Develop European Skills and Competences
7
THE SLOOP2DESC PROJECT
Giovanni Fulantelli, Manuel Gentile, Davide Taibi, Mario Allegra, Valentina Dal Grande, Paola Denaro
Institute for Educational Technologies - National Research Council of Italy Palermo, Italy
The SLOOP2Desc project - Sharing Learning Objects in an Open Perspective to Develop European Skills and Competences has promoted the knowledge of European qualification systems amongst teachers and academics, through effective e-learning strategies already tested in a previous European funded project called Sloop: Sharing Learning Objects in an Open Perspective. In this paper we present the rationale behind the project, its main objectives and activities.
Il progetto SLOOP2Desc - Sharing Learning Objects in an Open Perspective to Develop European Skills and Competences ha promosso la conoscenza del sistema di qualifiche europeo (European qualification systems) fra insegnanti e docenti universitari, utilizzando le strategie di e-learning gi testate durante il progetto Europeo Sloop: Sharing Learning Objects in an Open Perspective. In questo articolo presentiamo le motivazioni alla base del progetto, gli obiettivi e le principali attivit.
KEYWORDS: community of practice, social networking, e-learning, Teachers' training, online learning, competences, EQF, open educational resources.
KEYWORDS: comunit di pratica, social networking, e- learning, formazione docenti, apprendimento online, competenze, EQF, risorse educative aperte.
1. INTRODUCTION
SLOOP2DESC - Sharing Learning Objects in an Open Perspective to Develop European Skills and Competences, is a project funded by the European Commission under the Lifelong Learning programme, Leonardo da Vinci sub-programme (contract number is: LLP-LDV/TOI/09/it/0461). SLOOP2DESC aims at supporting high-school teachers and trainers in Vocational Education and Training (VET) to increase their knowledge and understanding of new educational systems that are based on learning outcomes and competences. Specifically, the project refers to the European Qualification Framework (EQF), the reference framework adopted by the EU Parliament and Council in April 2008 to establish general criteria for comparing qualification and competencies systems developed and/or adopted in EU countries. Since EQF is a competencies-based system, there is a crucial need for teachers and trainers to further their understanding of the evaluation systems that companies are using ever more frequently to select young people when they complete their high school studies. In SLOOP2DESC, teachers and trainers have developed specific pedagogical competencies to be applied in educational activities that take new evaluation systems into consideration. This result has been achieved through effective e-learning strategies already tested in a previous European funded project called Sloop: Sharing Learning Objects in an Open Perspective [1], aimed at promoting the practice of sharing and developing Open Educational Resources by community of teachers. In addition, the project has promoted the dialogue between the education field and the labour market, which is central to the debate around the introduction of the EQF-based evaluation approaches in the educational methodologies. The project ideas developed after an in-depth analysis of the state of the art in the education and VET sectors, with specific references to the skills and competences of teachers and trainers. In particular: A. In the report "Delivering lifelong learning for knowledge, creativity and innovation" the European Commission states: "No other in-school aspect influences student performance more than the quality of teacher education [...] However, current systems of teacher education and training often fail to give teachers the training they need.. Teachers need better professional preparation and continuing development. This will improve education and training outcomes" [2]
Giovanni FULANTELLI, Lucian OPREA
8
Fig. 1 The SLOOP2DESC portal homepage
B. The background analysis reported in the preparation paper for the meeting OECD / CERI held on 29-30 October 2008 highlights in particular a shortage of models of teacher training combined with a lack of awareness about their skills on ICT and their use in educational settings. C. In the internal report on the progress of the "Education and Training 2010" programme, the development of the European Qualifications Framework (EQF) is considered an essential tool in achieving the objectives of the Lisbon strategy. This report states that the framework is a common reference to promote the acknowledgement and the transfer of the qualifications and competences across Europe. D. The OCSE report titled Giving Knowledge for Free: The Emergence of Open Educational Resources (2007) highlights the strategic role of sharing open educational resources for the educational and training sectors. In addition, the report points out that even if the number of schools and universities sharing open educational resources has increased, a related political and institutional action in supporting these activities is not adequate. In the next section we will introduce the difficulties related to the implementation of the EQF strategies; following this, we will present the methodology adopted in the SLOOP2DESC project to reduce these problems; then, a general presentation of the project activities will be presented, followed by some conclusions on the results achieved. This chapter is not presenting the activities in details, since this will be the subject of the rest of the book.
2. IMPLEMENTATION OF EQF IN SCHOOLS
The implementation of the European Qualification Framework for Lifelong Learning (EQF) is not an easy task; it is made complicated by the presence of several national systems and frameworks across Europe as well as by the development of many sectorial certification systems which are not linked to the national systems, and which have been proposed and adopted by national and international bodies (e.g. multinational companies) during the last decade. From the traditional educational systems perspective (schools, colleges and universities in Europe SLOOP2DESC - Sharing Learning Objects in an Open Perspective to Develop European Skills and Competences
9 with centuries of history), EQF implementation requires a great effort; in fact, the Framework officially introduces the concept of Learning Outcome in the European Educational policy: qualifications are defined and described in terms of learning outcomes (what the learner knows, understands and is able to do). The shift to learning outcomes influences the redefinition of curricula, teaching and assessment practices, which requires an active involvement of stakeholders, education and training practitioners. The European Centre for the Development of Vocational Training (Cedefop), in its 2009 study The shift to learning outcomes. Policies and practices in Europe highlights that more and more stakeholders warn that the learning outcomes perspective can easily be reduced to mere rhetoric having little effect on education, training and learning practices [3]. Specifically to the National Qualification Frameworks (NQFs - the main instruments to relate the national qualification systems to the EQF in the member states), Cedefop points out that their development has to be planned as an active process that engages the main stakeholders in continuous negotiation and, probably, compromise at different levels in the system. An NQF that is owned by an administration, and whose use is limited largely to official publications, probably serves little purpose. [3]. Therefore the implementation of the EFQ, through the National Qualification Systems which should reference to it, should be coordinated by central institutions (ministries, governments, and so on), by encouraging dialogue and consensus-building among stakeholders, both from the education system and the labour market (including social bodies). In fact, academics, teachers, educational researchers, and professionals in the training sector should develop awareness that the access of students to the labour market will depend increasingly on their ability to demonstrate knowledge, skills and competences acquired during their studies, and on the fact that the results of their studies is comparable at European level on the basis of unique and shared criteria (via the EQF). Similarly, since EQF-based qualification systems will become a central issue for companies in Europe that want to evaluate the skills possessed by their staff but also to select the young people after completing their higher studies, it is important to involve representatives from the labour market and the social bodies in the dialogue around the qualification systems.
3. SLOOP2DESC AND OPEN EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES
At the conclusion of the 2002 Forum on the Impact of Open Courseware for Higher Education in Developing Countries, organized by UNESCO, the participants expressed their wish to develop a universal educational resource available for the whole of humanity, to be referred to henceforth as Open Educational Resources (OER). The idea was to promote an open provision of educational resources, enabled by information and communication technologies, for consultation, use and adaptation by a community of users for non-commercial purposes. Since then, a movement of thought that considers it necessary to allow everyone free access to knowledge for educational purposes has developed. However, in 2007, following the publication of 3 important documents on this subject, the importance of OER has become central to the political agenda of many countries worldwide: Giving Knowledge for Free: The Emergence of Open Educational Resources [4] A Review of the Open Educational Resources (OER) Movement: Achievements, Challenges, and New Opportunities [5]. Open Educational Practices and Resources: OLCOS Roadmap 2012 [6]. The three reports agree that the success of initiatives based on the Open Educational Resource concept is threatened by many factors: The lack of open practices of teaching and learning; Technical difficulties in developing open digital resources; Lack of experience in supporting communities of practice involved in the development of OER; Scarcity of business models in OER Following these publications, the Council of Europe has specifically mentioned the strategic importance of policies that promote the adoption and development of OER in the school system, and even the United Nations have highlighted the strategic value of OER . OER that are produced directly by teachers represent an important opportunity for schools. In order to raise awareness of the potentials of OER amongst teachers, and encourage their adoption in educational practices, the SLOOP project launched the idea to have digital contents produced directly by a community of teachers. The original idea behind the project was that teachers can build Learning Objects whilst software specialists develop open software packages: each teacher can contribute to the development phase, as well as repurposing the Learning Objects to meet her/his specific needs. The same approach is central to the SLOOP2DESC project, and it has been further stressed and amplified by the intense use of Web 2.0 tools: OER are designed, developed and shared directly by the community of teachers who will use them.
4. THE ACTIVITIES OF THE PROJECT
As already mentioned in the introduction of this paper, the SLOOP2DESC project adopts effective e- learning strategies already tested in the previous European funded project Sloop, which are based on: a model of training based on e-learning 2.0 solutions, learning by doing methodology and participation of teachers to a community of practice; Giovanni FULANTELLI, Lucian OPREA
10
Fig. 2 The FreeLOms repository
a model of Open Educational Resources, designated as Open Learning Object or OpenLO [7]; a set of Learning Objects, called MetaLOs, developed by teachers and trainers of the project partner institutions; online courses, developed according to the training model, where teachers in Italy, Ireland and Romania have cooperatively designed e-learning paths, and produced digital content for teaching according to a logic drawn from the open / free software movements. The MetaLOs have been used as learning content for the online courses. the FreeLOms (Free Learning Object Management System) platform, an environment for the sharing and reuse of digital educational resources, which includes features that allow management of resources developed according to SCORM standards, and the editing of resource metadata according to the IEEE LOM [8]. In the Sloop2desc project, the Sloop elearning methodology and tools have been adopted in order to promote awareness of competencies-based education models amongst teachers and trainers. Specifically, online training courses for around 600 teachers of secondary schools in Italy, and 90 teachers and trainers in Romania and Slovenia have been activated during the two years of the project. The objective of the training courses is the acquisition of knowledge and skills related to: the definition of elearning courses; mentoring in a virtual environment, the development of open digital resources using Web 2.0 tools and systems for the production of Learning Objects the design and development of educational resources on EQF and on European qualification systems. Specifically for Italy and Slovenia, the EUCIP system (European Certification of Informatics Professionals promoted at European level by CEPIS) has been be adopted as an example of qualification systems. The IMO certification system in the maritime field has been adopted in Romania.
Representative from companies has been involved throughout the project, and in particular during the cascade courses in Italy. Stakeholders in all the countries of the partners have been invited in national workshops, in order to inform them about the project objectives and activities.
5. THE SLOOP2DESC PARTNERS
The partnership consists of a core composed of the organizations participating in the project Sloop, some of which have a history of collaboration in eLearning projects dating from 1995. This is a well-established partnership, including a mix of institutions (schools, universities, colleges, research centres), all with a long experience in the integration between online education and traditional teaching. SLOOP2DESC - Sharing Learning Objects in an Open Perspective to Develop European Skills and Competences
11 Specifically: National Research Council of Italy, Institute for Educational Technologies, the coordinator, has ICT- based learning methodologies and technologies as its core research interest. It has contributed actively to the SLOOP project, by defining the OpenLO model and developing the FREELOMS platform; ITSOS M. Curie, has a long experience in elearning and its application in high-school contexts; it has been coordinator of the SLOOP project; University of Milan, Centro Metid, is a reference point in elearning at European level; DEIS, Cork Institute of Technology, expert in design of innovative elearning processes, and responsible for the monitoring and evaluation of several national and international funded projects; Dunarea de Jos University of Galati, experienced in elearning and online training projects and research; Faculty of Natural Sciences and Engineering, University of Ljubljana, responsible for the training of trainers in the chemical and informatics fields;
This core group has been joined by the following institutions: IS Dolci, a high-school in Sicily involved in the management of several national and EU-funded projects concerning innovative didactics; AICA - Associazione italiana per l'informatica ed il calcolo distribuito, an historical national institution on Informatics, in charge of the promotion of EUCIP in Italy; the coordinator of the SLOOP project is now working for AICA; Slovenian Society Informatika, a milestone in Slovenia concerning Informatics, in charge of the promotion of EUCIP in Slovenia Both AICA and Slovenian Society Informatika are members of CEPIS (Council of European Professional Informatics Societies), the institution promoting EUCIP at European level. The president of Slovenian Society Informatika is also vice- president of CEPIS. MED EUROPE EXPORT, a multi sector consortium that includes enterprises which can be distinguished for their technological and innovative capabilities. It has ensured the participation of tutors from companies as well as the dialogue with social parties.
6. CONCLUSIONS
The SLOOP2DESC project is a Transfer of Innovation project of the former EU funded project SLOOP. The results achieved in SLOOP enthused the original partners enough to propose a new project that would widen the scope of the original one. This new project would take into consideration phenomena that had occurred in the education sphere following the original project: 1. The widespread diffusion of the Open Education Resources (OER) concept. OER was a central idea in the SLOOP project and has recently received increasing attention in educational policies and practices. This is partly due to the rapid appearance of Web 2.0 tools, which have significantly reduced the complexity of the production phase, thus raising the number of people directly involved in the production of online digital contents. 2. The increasing popularity of many Social Networks have encouraged more and more people to go online and connect with other people. 3. The spontaneous growth of communities of practice made up of people sharing a common interest around specific social objects. 4. As a consequence of the previous points, the development of communities of teachers and trainers aimed at collaboratively sharing and producing OER 5. The adoption, in 2008, of the European Qualification Framework (EQF) by the EU Parliament and Council in April 2008. The combination of all these elements in the SLOOP2DESC project has produced something which goes far beyond a pure transfer of results from a previous project. In fact, SLOOP2DESC has promoted professional development for almost 700 teachers and trainers in Europe; it has supported improvements in quality and innovation in vocational education and training systems, institutions and practices; it has supported the development of innovative ICT-based content, services, pedagogies and practice for lifelong learning; it has increased the cooperation between institutions providing learning opportunities, enterprises, social partners; it has developed the role of VET professionals in response to systemic changes such as the shift to learning outcomes and competence-based systems; it has strengthened the liaison between VET professionals and working life (enterprises, occupational sectors, etc.). In other words, SLOOP2DESC has met different European strategic priorities in the VET field, and the results of the project provide important insights for future actions in e-learning.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
We would like to express our sincere gratitude to all the partners who have greatly contributed to the success of the project. We are also grateful to Direzione Scolastica of Sicily and Direzione Scolastica of Lombardia, which have supported the projects since its initial proposal; the Ministry for Education for their support in disseminating the project initiatives. The coordinators gratefully acknowledge the support that ISFOL, Leonardo da Vinci National Agency, has Giovanni FULANTELLI, Lucian OPREA
12 provided since the very beginning of the project; a particular thank to our tutor Stefano Pignatone. Our gratitude is due to the European Commission and the Directorate for Education and Culture, which has made the SLOOP2DESC project possible. Acknowledgments are due to all the people who have registered themselves in the project portal and to those who have enrolled the online course, which have made SLOOP2DESC a special project. Finally, a special thank to: Piera, Carlo, Giovanni, Paola, Giulio, Claudio, Nives, Maria, Marinella, Lolita, Maria, Giovanna, Franco, Piera, Antonino, Riccardo, Daniela, Angela, Rosangela, Elisabetta, Enzo.
REFERENCES
[1] P. Ravotto, G. Fulantelli , The SLOOP idea: Sharing free/open learning objects, in ISBN 978-88-903115-0-5, (2007)
[2] European Commission. Joint progress report of the Council and the Commission on the implementation of the Education and Training 2010 work programme - Delivering lifelong learning for knowledge, creativity and innovation.http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/Lex UriServ.do?uri= CELEX: 52008XG0405%2801%29:EN:NOT], (2008)
[3] Cedefop. The shift to learning outcomes Policies and practices in Europe. Available from http://www.cedefop.europa.eu/EN/ publications/12900.aspx (2009)
[4] OECD - Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, Centre for Educational Research and Innovation (2007). Giving Knowledge for Free: The Emergence of Open Educational Resources, SourceOECD Education & Skills, Vol. 2007, No. 3.
[5] D. Atkins, J. Brown & A. Hammond, A Review of the Open Educational Resources (OER) Movement: Achievements, Challenges, and New Opportunities. Report to The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, (2007).
[6] G. Geser, Open Educational Practices and Resources: OLCOS Roadmap 2012. Salzburg Research, EduMedia Group. http://www.olcos.org/english/roadmap/, (2007)
[7] G.Fulantelli, M.Gentile, D.Taibi, M.Allegra, "The Open Learning Object model for the effective reuse of digital educational resources", in Proc. of the OpenLearn 2007 Conference: Researching open content in education, Milton Keynes, UK, October 30-31, (2007)
[8] M. Gentile, D. Taibi, M. Allegra and G. Fulantelli, "FreeLOms: supporting the collaborative evolution of "open learning objects"", in Proc. of the 3rd WSEAS/IASME International Conference on ENGINEERING EDUCATION, Vouliagmeni, Greece, Edited by WSEAS, a cura di N.Bardi et alt, ISSN:1790-5117, ISBN: 960:8457-47- 5, July, 2006, pp. 239-244, (2006)
SLOOP2DESC - Sharing Learning Objects in an Open Perspective to Develop European Skills and Competences
13
COMPETENCE-BASED LEARNING IN EUROPE & THE SLOOP2DESC MODEL
Pierfranco Ravotto
AICA, Milan, Italy
p.ravotto@aicanet.it
Abstract Sommario
This paper deals with the issue of competence-based learning starting from the definitions provided in the European Qualifications and e-CF Frameworks and suggests that it is necessary to consider the three elements of knowledge, skills and attitudes separately, and to act on them as a whole by placing students in concrete situations in which to produce results. The experience of the SLOOP2DESC courses shows how this is achievable in a virtual classroom eLearning course.
L'articolo affronta il tema della didattica delle competenze a partire dalle definizioni fornite nei documenti europei EQF ed e-CF e suggerisce che occorra sia prendere in considerazione separatamente i tre elementi conoscenze, abilit e attitudini, sia agire su di essi complessivamente ponendo gli studenti in situazioni concrete in cui produrre risultati. Successivamente, a partire dallesperienza dei corsi SLOOP2DESC, indica come sia possibile farlo in un contesto di corso eLearning in classe virtuale.
"2desc", added to the name of the previous project SLOOP, indicates the scope of the transfer of innovation: the SLOOP model of online education and open educational resources has been transferred to the field of competence-based learning and, in particular, informatics competences. "2desc" stands for "to develop European skills and competences". For some time the European Commission, training experts and national and local authorities have been insisting, with regard to education, on two themes: competence-based education and the use of ICT to support education and training. These are two issues generally addressed in a distinct way. SLOOP2DESC has had the merit of joining them: is it possible to provide competence-based teaching through the use of ICT? The courses offered to teachers, are a concrete example of online competence-based learning: a model that has provided an affirmative answer to that question and that can be transferred from the informatics context to other and from teachers' training to students' training.
This article presents the SLOOP2DESC model of competence-based learning, as it has emerged during the project and the training activities involving more than 600 teachers as students in three European countries. The article is divided into two parts: competence-based learning and the SLOOP2DESC experience of online competence-based activities.
2. COMPETENCE-BASED LEARNING
In 2006 the European Commission for Education and Training set up a list of eight recommended key competences which should be incorporated in all new school curricula. Digital competence and learning to learn are listed among those eight key competences. Even more at the professional level, there is attention to the issue of competence and therefore the request to schools and universities to become engaged in competence-based learning. Competence-based learning incorporated into education at all levels indicates two major changes:
a shift from content of teaching and training paths to the "learning outcomes" which are likely to be achieved and which can be used either in the further education path or in the world of work and in any other social context; enables transferability of competences from one subject area to another. But what do we mean by competences? The European Qualification Framework, EQF, and the European e-Competences Framework, e-CF, provide very similar definition of competence. From EQF we read: Competence means the proven ability to use knowledge, skills and personal, social and/or methodological abilities, in work or study situations and in professional and personal development [1]. Giovanni FULANTELLI, Lucian OPREA
14 e-CF defines competence as follows: Competence is a demonstrated ability to apply knowledge, skills and attitudes to achieving observable results [2] [3].
From this definition three major dimensions or building blocks of competences emerged: Knowledge, Skills, Personal, social and/or methodological abilities or Attitudes. But a competence is not a simple sum of them: it is the proven ability to use them in a context achieving results! What recommendations can be given to teachers at all levels and authorities responsible for preparing new educational programs? Essentially the following two main concepts: all three dimensions - knowledge, skills and attitudes (or "personal, social and/or methodological abilities") - must be taken into account when preparing educational programs or individual teaching lessons; it is not enough to ensure the acquisition of knowledge and skills, or the development of specific view points; it is also necessary to promote their application in controlled situations in order to glean observable results.
Let us first consider the three issues separately.
2.1 Knowledge
EQF defines Knowledge as the outcome of the assimilation of information through learning. Knowledge is constituted by a set of facts, principles, theories and practices related to a field of work or study. E-CF defines it as the set of know-what (e.g. programming languages, design tools...) and can be described by operational descriptions. Very often schools and individual teachers only transmit knowledge, the programs are often a list of content that the teacher should explain and that the student must study. The necessary criticism of such a model, however, has resulted, at times, in an underestimation of the importance of acquiring knowledge. As Calvani writes Today the school has significantly reduced its attention to the cognitive dimension in favour of "other". It has given space to other dimensions, in itself also important (the socio- affective, or awareness of the great problems of the world, etc.); the risk is to assume that these other dimensions are in themselves sufficient to form the competences that future citizens will need" [4]. Knowledge is one of the bases of competences and therefore must be acquired. If it is desirable that the school activity is not limited to a simple transmission of content, and if it is not at all certain that transmission is the most appropriate methodology for the acquisition of content, should however be noted that it is necessary to check carefully that students have acquired the collection of facts, terminology, principles, theories, procedures, ... that support the competences to be achieved.
2.2 Skills
EQF defines Skills as the ability to apply knowledge and use know-how to complete tasks and solve problems. E-CF defines them as the ability to carry out managerial or technical tasks. The school for everyone was born to help people acquire skills: the famous mastery of literacy and numeracy. In language and mathematical teaching, as well as in design and technical subjects, the skills, know- how, has always been the centre of teaching activities. But it is not always so: often the "know how" is considered a "result, almost automatic, of knowledge or something to be put off to the work environment. Knowledge and skills are indeed intertwined, but if skills can generally originate from knowledge, it is also true that doing can stimulate the acquisition of knowledge. In addition to this, the acquisition of skills is more likely to be self-checked by the student with a positive effect on her/his involvement in the achievement of learning goals and on her/his motivation to learn. The importance of skills and knowledge should be emphasized by a careful verification of their acquisition by students.
2.3 Attitudes
I use the term attitudes, proposed in e-CF because it is more concise, but I consider it, at least in a first approximation, as the equivalent capacity of personal, social and/or methodology abilities to which EQF do not add specifications. e-CF defines Attitude as a cognitive and relational capacity (e.g. analysis capacity, synthesis capacity, flexibility, pragmatism,...). It specifies: It is close to the concepts of manner and demeanour, it is the French savoir tre. e-CF also contains the following concepts: If skills and knowledge are the components, attitudes are the glue, which keeps them together.
The discourse on attitudes is certainly more complex than that of knowledge and skills as this item implies abilities of very different types. Leaving for another occasion the objective to classify them, we limit ourselves here to a list including personal capabilities, methodological and social abilities (according to EQF) and/or cognitive and social capacities (according to e- CF): storage capacity, interpretation, extrapolation, link analysis, synthesis and evaluation; autonomy, responsibility, target orientation/results, ability to organize, ability to concentrate and focus; awareness, flexibility, ability to orientate themselves; ability to pose and solve problems; ability to listen and communicate; SLOOP2DESC - Sharing Learning Objects in an Open Perspective to Develop European Skills and Competences
15 ability to work in groups, to accept different points of view, to support his own point of view, to coordinate and agree to co-ordination; Surely these are the skills to which teachers are greatly concerned and which affect, in important ways, educational attainment. Often the assessment made by teachers brings together knowledge and specific skills and cognitive abilities (and often social abilities) but without offering the student a clear description of its deficiencies and of related improvement targets. Above all the risk is to consider attitudes a personal characteristic, something determined by genes and/or social conditions, something on which the primary school may take action, while university and perhaps even the secondary school cant intervene or influence considering that those attitudes are already acquired (or not acquired) at the time of the individual meeting those organisations. So the "glue", that holds together knowledge and skills and which is an essential component of competence, is often left out of the training, or, anyway, there is not a conscious, explicit and "organized" intervention.
2.4 Competences
Competences can be seen to be more then a combination of knowledge, skills and attitudes: the successful application of these in practical situations. Given this definition, schools must facilitate students in the practical application of knowledge, skills and attitudes by placing them in situations that will allow them to operate and interact, producing observable results. Even if not generalised, experiences of this type already exist. They are substantially of two types: work- based experiences and project-work activities. Work- based learning, by definition offers a work context with its own dynamics and products. Work-project activities focus on the results to be achieved, individually or in- group, and generally go beyond the mere disciplinary context. What suggestions can be given to promote competence-based teaching? In my opinion the following ones may help:
clearly define the competences to be achieved as a basis of the educational contract with students, precisely define the knowledge and skills on which those competences are based and provide "objective" evaluation tests, make the necessary attitudes explicit and help students self-evaluate and improve in respect to them, propose collaborative project activities suitable to make students consolidate and reinforce knowledge and skills, and in which they could measure and develop their attitudes (personal, social, methodological abilities), organize experiences to be carried out outside school/university where, again, they could measure and enhance knowledge, skills and attitudes. 3. ONLINE COMPETENCE-BASED LEARNING IN THE SLOOP2DESC EXPERIENCE
The course, which will be described in a next chapter as The SLOOP2DESC course, intended to help participants acquire competences both in the use of eLearning and Web 2.0 tools, and in competence-based learning. To achieve this it worked both on the grounds of the acquisition of individual knowledge and skills, and on the development of attitudes, placing the participants in a concrete context in which to produce usable results (teaching materials to use with students). First it is worth clarifying that the online learning model we adopted is the virtual classroom in the Moodle environment: the participants are organized into classes (30-40 people with two tutors), each of them in their own "course", activities are scheduled so that the students carry out them at the same time, a strong interaction is required between the students and between students and tutors (in forums and using e-mails, chats, videoconferences), sometimes as debates and exchanges of ideas, some other times as cooperation in carrying out activities (also using tools such as wikis, googledoc, mindmap, ... ).
The course expected the acquisition of a set of knowledge, for example, concerning the Creative Commons licenses, the European documents on key competences, EQF, e-CF, the EUCIP syllabus, ... To provide such knowledge either links to existing presentations and to the original documents have been included or slides with audio, or videos or SCORM objects have been developed. To consolidate this knowledge, activities like "reading, listening, " have been accompanied by a request to discuss it in forums starting from inputs provided by the tutors. For example: "What Creative Commons license do you think is more suitable for teaching materials?".
There are many skills that the SLOOP2DESC course intended to capture: open a Moodle course, include resources, monitor activities of students, produce a learning resource with eXeLearning, create a slideshow with audio and make it available on SlideShare, communicate via Skype, collaborate on a wiki, use GoogleDoc, put a resource to be shared in FreeLOms, To promote the acquisition of these skills the course proposes existing, or ad hoc developed, tutorials, often in the form of videos on YouTube (or Vimeo) or SlideShare presentations, work proposals, sometimes individual, sometimes in groups. So, for example, for the use of Moodle a "trial course" has been created where participants could practice including resources and activities.
Giovanni FULANTELLI, Lucian OPREA
16 All the modules include a discussion forum and, therefore, discussion among peers and between peers and tutors is one of the main features of the course. In Modules 2 and 3 collaborative activities are planned. Collaborative activity in Module 2 is essentially functional, in order to learn how to use tools like Skype, GoogleDoc and the wiki. In Module 5 collaborative work aims to produce resources to be used with students. Discussions and collaborative activities help develop a set of attitudes related to exchanges of ideas, acceptance of different points of view, assumptions of responsibility and, where appropriate, leadership. The environment in which to exercise these attitudes, namely the net, was in many respects new for teachers who were used to work in a face-to-face environment. And I think that this news has allowed each individual to self-assess her/his strengths and weaknesses and personal growth. This is an important element in the role of online tutors, either in the training of teachers (the tutors of the cascade courses have been selected among the participants of the pilot courses) or with their students. So the course SLOOP2DESC has dealt with all three elements: knowledge, skills and attitudes/capacities. It has not acted independently on these different aspects, but has set a context in which to operate: the one of producing, in a collaborative way, open educational resources to use with their students. So the trainees have been provided with a context where they had to work together to produce observable results, applying and developing the knowledge and skills they were acquiring and using their attitude to online collaboration to solidify their experiences.
4. CONCLUSIONS
The term e-learning, unfortunately, does not distinguish between two very different models: one based primarily on self-learning, the other - that which we have used in the project - based on interactions and collaboration in a virtual classroom. In the first model the teaching resources transmit knowledge and in the presence of simulations, may also facilitate the acquisition of skills; and if there is a tutor, its function is to resolve any technical problems or, at most, to support motivation for learning. The second model - the virtual classroom - is instead focused on the interactions between people, as well as it happens in a face-to-face dimension. It also enables development of attitudes, in particular the relational ones, and above all, enables carrying out collaborative activities within a concrete situation.
REFERENCES
[1] European Commission Education & Culture, EQF, European Qualification Framework [2] CEN, E-CF, European e-Competence Framework version 2.0, [3] CEN, E-CF, European e-Competence Framework version 2.0, Users Guidelines [4] Calvani A., Teorie dellistruzione e carico cognitivo. Modelli per una scuola efficace, Erickson.
SLOOP2DESC - Sharing Learning Objects in an Open Perspective to Develop European Skills and Competences
The article describes the two competence-based systems used in the Italian and Slovenian courses: EUCIP and e- CF.
Larticolo illustra i due sistemi di competenze utilizzati nei corsi italiano e sloveno: EUCIP ed e-CF.
KEYWORDS: Competences, EUCIP, e-CF.
KEYWORDS: Competenze, EUCIP, e-CF.
The SLOOP2DESC courses in Italy and Slovenia had, as a specific target, teachers of computer science. A number of teachers from other disciplines were also enrolled in the Italian courses. One of the goals was to familiarise them with EUCIP and e-CF, two competence frameworks related to informatics, which are getting more and more well known.
The EUCIP system has been preferred to e-CF as a reference framework for the production of educational resources for students, as, in 2008, it was the better known and the more detailed as far as the description of knowledge, skills and competences is concerned.
1. EUCIP FRAMEWORK
EUCIP [1], European Certification of Informatics Professionals, is the competence framework defined by CEPIS [2] - Council of European Professional Informatics Societies and run in Italy by AICA: a system of certifications and services for individuals and businesses. The heart of the system is the syllabus which is divided into three areas: Plan, Operate and Build, and in 18 macro-categories of competences.
A. Plan: Use and Management of Information Systems A.1 Organisations and their Use of IT A.2 Management of IT A.3 Measuring the Value of IT A.4 The Global Networked Economy A.5 Project Management A.6 Presentation and Communication Techniques A.7 Legal and Ethical Issues
B. Build: Development and implementation of Information Systems B.1 Systems Development Process and Methods B.1 Systems Development Process and Methods B.2 Data Management and Databases B.3 Programming B.4 User Interface and Web Design
C. Operate Knowledge Area: Operation and Support of Information Systems C.1 Computing Components and Architecture C.2 Operating Systems C.3 Communications and Networks C.4 Network Services C.5 Wireless and Mobile Computing C.6 Network Management C.7 Service Delivery and Support
Each macro-category is then further declined in the categories for a total of 156 categories for each of which are given knowledge and skills up to a total of about 3,000 elementary units of knowledge. As shown in the image given below, EUCIP framework identifies 21 Elective profiles characterized by a common set of skills, EUCIP core, and a twenty- second figure, the IT Administrator. For each profile it is indicated at what level (deep and incisive), the 156 categories of competences should be possessed.
Such a structured syllabus is a powerful tool that allows to: design training, define assessment tests for knowledge and skills, assessment and self-assessment leading to the identification of the 'profile of proximity compared with 22 figures and related training gaps, qualify employees and suppliers, define a common language between business and particularly between those of supply and demand of ICTs. Giovanni FULANTELLI, Lucian OPREA
18 It is just this last element that has led CNIPA (now DigitPA) to indicate the EUCIP profiles as a reference for ICT contracts of the Italian Public Administration.
1.1 IT Administrator Certification The IT Administrator is the administrator of computer systems in small companies or branch offices of larger organizations, where one person is required to have a broad spectrum of operational ICT infrastructure. At an initial level, there is the IT Administrator Fundamentals certification which can be acquired through an automated examination by an authorized competence centre; it is to ascertain the ownership of essential knowledge and skills for an IT Administrator.
The assessment of knowledge and skills of a high- level IT Administrator is made by 5 tests consisting of a theory test (automated test, available in Italian or English) and a practical test (configuration and practical activities on systems): Hardware (theory test only). Operating systems (either Windows or Linux). Network services (in either a Windows or Linux environment). Expert use of networks (heterogeneous environment). Safety (heterogeneous environment).
The complete IT Administrator certification requires the overcoming of the 5 exams, but each provides, however, a specific certification.
1.2 EUCIP core Certification Unlike the IT Administrator, the other 21 professional profiles require, as a prerequisite, the EUCIP-Core certification, obtained by means of 3 exams consisting of automated testing and done in authorized centres - currently only in English - and for the following three areas:
Plan Build, Operate.
The certification guarantees the possession of a core set of essential knowledge for all computer professionals.
A.1.3 Elective profiles Certification The competence assessment for one of the 21 professional certifications is based on two steps:
A. The presentation of a portfolio by the candidate: the school training path, EUCIP-Core certification, certifications acquired in the ICT sector, both independent and vendors (e.g. ITIL, Cisco, Microsoft, ...), professional experience.
B. An interview (oral examination) in which examiners - in principle a manager AICA-EUCIP, a representative of the university and a representative of the corporate world - note the candidate's communication skills, check the contents of her/his portfolio and, if necessary, get further information as far as the candidate's competences are concerned.
Admission to the oral examination of the portfolio is conditional, based on a set of criteria/scores which are aimed at verifying whether the candidate can provide evidence both of owning the knowledge and skills required (those defined by the syllabus for the professional profile of interest) and of having actually played the professional role in question for a certain number of months/years (depending on the different profile). So the certification of 'knowing how to act in situations' is guaranteed from having acted in the situation; in this way what is declared in the portfolio is assessed during the interview.
2. E-COMPETENCE FRAMEWORK
The European e-Competence Framework [3], or e-CF, has been developed within CEN Workshop on ICT Skills [4] and under the encouragement of the European Commission, with the aim of providing a framework of ICT competences that can be used and understood by European companies both in ICT supply and demand areas, ICT professionals, managers and HR departments, government, key stakeholders from education and social partners. Version 1.0 was published in 2008, shortly before the beginning of the SLOOP2DESC project. Version 2.0 is 2010.
The e-Competence Framework is structured in four dimensions. Dimension 1 identifies 5 areas of e- Competences, derived from the ICT business processes: Plan, Build, Run, Enable and Manage.
SLOOP2DESC - Sharing Learning Objects in an Open Perspective to Develop European Skills and Competences
19 Dimension 2 identifies 36 competences, each assigned to one of the 5 areas:
PLAN A.1 IS and Business Strategy Alignment A.2. Service Level Management A.3. Business Plan Development A.4. Product or Project Planning A.5. Architecture Design A.6. Application Design A.7 Technology Watching A.8. Sustainable Development
BUILD B.1. Design and Development B.2. Systems Integration B.3. Testing B.4. Solution Development B.5. Documentation Production
RUN C.1. User Support C.2. Change Support C.3. Service Delivery C.4. Problem Management
ENABLE D.1. Information Security Strategy Development D.2. ICT Quality Strategy Development D.3. Education and Training Provision D.4. Purchasing D.5. Sales Proposal Development D.6. Channel management D.7. Sales Management D.8. Contract Management D.9 Personnel Development Information and Knowledge Management
MANAGE E.1. Forecast Development E.2. Project and Portfolio Management E.3. Risk Management E.4. Relationship Management E.5 Process Improvement E.6. ICT Quality Management E.7. Business Change Management E.8. Information Security Management E.9. IT Governance
Dimension 3 ranks the competences in 5 competence levels - e-1, e-2, e-5 - related to the EQF levels from 3 to 8
Dimension 4 provides examples of knowledge and skills related to the various competences. Note that while the definitions of competences are explicitly assigned to dimension 2 and 3 and examples of knowledge and skill are present in dimension 4 of the framework, attitudes are included in all three dimensions. 3. EUCIP TOWARDS e-CF
EUCIP provides for the definition and measurement of ICT skills and is currently used as the basis for the provision of certification and services in seven countries across Europe (Croatia, Estonia, Ireland, Italy, Norway, Poland, Romania, Spain). The EUCIP certification programme is a professional certification and competency development scheme, aimed at informatics professionals and practitioners. EUCIP is promoted by CEPIS across Europe and nationally in participating countries, including AICA in Italy.
The EUCIP certification offerings include EUCIP Core, EUCIP Professional and EUCIP IT Administrator. In addition several business services have been developed to manage competence analysis and development. The European e-Competence Framework (e-CF) is a reference framework of 36 ICT competences that can be used and understood by ICT user and supply companies, the public sector, educational and social partners across Europe. The development and promotion of the e-CF has been carried out through CEN, the European Committee for Standardization, and CENELEC, the European Committee for Electrotechnical Standardization, within their standards work in the domain of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT), and specifically through a series of CEN ICT Skills Workshop projects Giovanni FULANTELLI, Lucian OPREA
20 (supported by European Commission DG Enterprise and Industry). CEPIS, the promoter of EUCIP, as well as CEPIS members, including AICA, are participating in the CEN ICT Skills Workshop and its projects where e-CF versions 1 and 2 have been developed and version 3, which will also include professional profiles (largely corresponding to the EUCIP profiles, which cross reference the e-CF), is under construction. CEPIS supports the dissemination of the e-CF and is committed to accomplish the transition of EUCIP certification and HR Management Services towards the e-CF framework. The SLOOP2DESC project is one of the first presentations, at European level, of e-CF to hundreds of computer science teachers. The open educational resources, designed with reference to the EUCIP syllabus, can be easily adapted to the e-CF framework but, above all, the spread - sponsored by SLOOP2DESC of the culture of competence-based learning and the reference to an external competence framework, has created a conducive climate for the diffusion of e-CF in informatics schools.
The paper focuses on the description of a certification system of competencies in compliance with IMO (International Maritime Organization) standards. For maritime training institutes worldwide, IMO has developed a series of model courses which provide suggested syllabi, course timetables and learning objectives to assist instructors in developing training programmes to comply with the STCW Convention standards for seafarers.
In lucrare se face o caracterizare a unui sistem de certificare a competentelor in corelatie cu standardele IMO (International Maritime Organization). Pentru instituiile de formare profesionala in domeniul maritim, IMO a dezvoltat cursuri model care, prin continutul lor, asigura indeplinirea obiectivelor de invatare, reprezentand un real ajutor pentru expertii din domeniu.
KEYWORDS: IMO (International Maritime Organization) standards, IMO Basic, IMO for Officers, modules, requirements
In Romania, the maritime certification system in compliance with IMO standards has been preferred to EUCIP (European Certification for Informatics Professionals) as a special reference framework with international recognition. In this case, the target group of the SLOOP2DESC courses consisted of experts teachers in shipping.
1. IMO FRAMEWORK
Today, we live in a society supported by a global economy which simply could not function if it were not for shipping. Shipping is perhaps the most international of the worlds industries, serving more than 90 per cent of the global trade by carrying huge quantities of cargo cost effectively, cleanly and safely. The Convention establishing the International Maritime Organization (IMO) was adopted in Geneva in 1948 and IMO first met in 1959. IMOs main task has been to develop and maintain a comprehensive regulatory framework for shipping and its remit today includes safety, environmental concerns, legal matters, technical co-operation, maritime security and shipping efficiency. IMO plays a key role in ensuring that lives at sea are not put at risk and that the marine environment is not polluted by shipping - as summed up in IMOs mission statement: Safe, Secure and Efficient Shipping on Clean Oceans.
The International Convention on Standards of Training, Certification and Watchkeeping for Seafarers (STCW), 1978, sets the standards of competence for seafarers internationally. One key STCW Convention provision requires parties to provide information to allow others to check the validity and authenticity of seafarers certificates of competency. This is important as unqualified seafarers holding fraudulent certificates of competency are a clear danger to themselves, others on board and the marine environment. In order to assist with uniform interpretation of the STCW Convention, IMO has agreed a number of clarifications of the Conventions provisions and has also developed further guidance to assist parties to meet their Convention obligations. For maritime training institutes worldwide, IMO has also developed a series of model courses which provide suggested syllabi, course timetables and learning objectives to assist instructors developing training programmes.
2. ABOUT CERONAV
Having a 35 year experience, the Romanian Maritime Training Centre (CERONAV) is a public institution under the subordination of the Ministry of Transports and Infrastructure, designated as the national body for the training of maritime, river and port personnel (Fig. 1). Giovanni FULANTELLI, Lucian OPREA
22 CERONAV currently organizes about 2,000 training, specialization and qualification courses in 80 different specialties, for approximately 32,000 trainees per year. The fact that over 90% of the graduates are employed by international shipping companies certifies the high level of training provided at highest applicable international standards. CERONAV is ISO 9001:2008 certified and also holds Marlins and ECDL certificates.
Fig. 1 - CERONAV headquarters in Constanta
The high training standards are supported by CERONAVs affiliation to the following international professional organisations and associations: International Association for Safety and Survival Training International Association of Ports and Harbours International Maritime Lecturers Association BIMCO Intelligent Transport Systems Romanian Intermodal Association Nautical Institute EDINNA Education in Inland Navigation Association of IWT Education and Training Institutions
3. IMO SYSTEM FOR CERTIFICATION OF COMPETENCIES
The model training courses programme developed following the adoption of the International Convention on Standards of Training, Certification and Watchkeeping for Seafarers, (STCW), 1978. Assisted by contributions from various Governments, IMO has designed the series of courses to help implement this Convention and to facilitate access to the knowledge and skills demanded by increasingly sophisticated maritime technology. The courses are flexible in application: maritime institutes and their teaching staff can use them in organizing and introducing new courses or in enhancing, updating or supplementing existing training material. Each model course includes a course framework detailing the scope, objective, entry standards, and other information about the course, a course outline (timetable), a detailed teaching syllabus (including the learning objectives that should have been achieved when the course has been completed by students), guidance notes for the instructor and a summary of how students should be evaluated. Many courses include background information for students in a compendium. At present, CERONAV runs the following courses, in compliance with IMO standards: - courses in maritime safety, mandatory for issuance of STCW Certificates of Competency for ratings and auxiliary personnel (IMO BASIC); - courses in maritime safety, mandatory for issuance of STCW Certificates of Competency for certified maritime navigating personnel (IMO FOR OFFICERS).
A. IMO BASIC
As shown in Fig. 2 below, IMO BASIC identifies two elective groups (Ratings/Uncertified personnel and Auxiliary personnel).
Fig. 2 - IMO BASIC Courses (Level 1)
Having a mandatory character, the programme offered by CERONAV addresses both aspiring marine officers and navigating personnel with a certificate in sea port activities or a competency certificate, or uncertified personnel. For the last category, the programme is to be taken every five years, for knowledge update. The programme comprises the four STCW basic safety courses (Fig. 3).
Fig. 3 - IMO BASIC evaluation and certification
Course duration: 10 days (80 hours) Content: 4 modules Module 1: Personal Survival Techniques Objective: acquiring knowledge of actions to be taken by each person in view of own protection in case of emergency (boat evacuation, use of escape boats and lifejackets). Module 2: Fire Prevention and Fire Fighting Objective: become familiar with prevention methods, conducting fire risk assessment, initiation and fire fighting. Module 3: Elementary First Aid Objective: becoming familiar with basic requirements concerning first aid in case of accidents or disease on board ships. SLOOP2DESC - Sharing Learning Objects in an Open Perspective to Develop European Skills and Competences 23 Module 4: Personal Safety and Social Responsabilities Objective: becoming familiar with work protection practices, and operational or accidental marine pollution, with special focus on aspects regarding social responsibilities on board ships. Table 1 below presents the range of jobs for uncertified and and auxiliary personnel.
RATINGS/ UNCERTIFIED PERSONNEL AUXILIARY PERSONNEL Seaman Cook Motorman Housemaid Electrician Waiter Maritime helmsman Barman Motorboat coxswain Receptionist Artist Hotel manager
A list of minimum participation requirements is given below. For uncertified personnel: Competency Certificate Studies: - bachelors degree in other different fields (EQF 6) - highschool baccalaureate diploma (EQF 4) - vocational school graduation diploma (EQF 3, 5) - gymnasium certificate (EQF 2) Certificate recognition by: - IMO Member States - National authorities - Shipowners - Shipcompanies NO ECTS For auxiliary personnel: qualification certificate; lower secondary school capacity certificate.
B. IMO FOR OFFICERS
The information below concerns the safety courses offered by CERONAV to certified navigating personnel, mandatory for issuance of STCW Certificates of Competency (Fig. 4).
Fig. 4 - IMO FOR OFFICERS courses (Level 2) Course duration: 10 days (58 hours) Content: 10 modules Module 1: Global Maritime Distress and Safety System (GMDSS) - General Operators Certificate (18 days) Intended for beginners and designed for personnel operating in all GMDSS sea areas, its objectives are: efficient operation of GMDSS equipment, awareness of the responsibility and correct use of alerting facilities in case of distress incidents. Module 2: Radar Navigation, Radar Plotting and Use of ARPA (Automatic Radar Plotting Aid) (5 days) The Certificate issued qualifies the trainee to operate RADAR equipments as an officer of the watch (OOW) (Fig. 5) .
Fig. 5 - Radar navigation
Module 3: Maritime English (4 days) Objective: acquiring necessary language skills for communication with members of a multinational crew in case of ship manoeuvring or emergency. Module 4: Prevention of Polution of the Marine Environment - MARPOL 73/78 (4 days) Objectives: become familiar with IMO policy regarding the prevention of pollution of the marine environment by ships from operational or accidental causes, with polluting agents included in the list appended to the MARPOL 73/78 Convention (International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships, 1973, as modified by the Protocol of 1978), of the equipment and facilities existing on a ship and of the way the evidence of operations with polluting agents is kept. Module 5: Proficiency in Personal Survival Techniques (2 days) Objective: familiarization with actions for self protection in case of emergency and training for correct use of escape boats and lifejackets. Module 6: Proficiency in Survival Craft and Rescue Boats other than Fast Rescue Boats (4 days)
Fig. 6 - Escape boat launching Giovanni FULANTELLI, Lucian OPREA
24 Objective: training for the launching and manoeuvring of escape boats, correct use of survival equipment, and specific actions for survival of self and others (Fig. 6). Module 7: Personal Safety and Social Responsabilities (4 days) Objective: familiarization with basic work protection practices and effects of marine environment operational or accidental pollution, with special focus on responsibilities on board ship. Module 8: Transport and Handling of Dangerous Hazardous and Harmful Cargoes (4 days) Objective: acquiring knowledge of how to prepare and act for safe sea transportation of hazardous goods and marine pollutants; become familiar with the legal implications and the correct application of new provisions and regulations in the domain. Module 9: Medical Care (6 days) Objective: become familiar with medical knowledge for medical care in case of illness or accident on board. Module 10: Advanced Fire Fighting (7 days) Objective: acquiring knowledge of the entire set of measures to be taken for fire risk minimization on board and fire fighting (Fig. 7). .
Fig. 7 - Fire fighting drill
The sea safety programme is to be taken every five years, for knowledge update (Fig. 8).
Fig. 8 - IMO FOR OFFICERS evaluation and certification Table 2 below presents the range of jobs for certified personnel.
A list of minimum participation requirements is given below: Studies: bachelor degree in maritime fields or others (EQF 6) Certificate recognition by: - IMO Member States - National authorities - Shipowners - Shipcompanies NO ECTS
4. CONCLUSIONS
The maritime certification system in compliance with IMO standards has as a specific target: experts and/or teachers in the shipping field. CERONAV staff members are highly interested in familiarizing themselves and improving the new pedagogical technologies, including the online courses. For maritime training purposes, a series of model courses are developed with a view to provide suggested syllabi, course timetables and e-learning objectives intended to assist instructors develop training programmes and courses in compliance with the standards for seafarers. The instructors and the trainees need to improve their ability to comply with international rules and standards relating to maritime safety and the prevention and control of maritime pollution, giving priority to technical assistance programmes focussing on the development of human resources and institutional capacity building.
REFERENCES
[1] Sharing Learning Objects in an Open Perspective, European Commision, Project number: I/05/B/F/PP-154194, ISBN 979-88- 903115-0-5, 2007;
[2]. http://www.ceronav.ro
[3]. http://www.imo.org
SLOOP2DESC - Sharing Learning Objects in an Open Perspective to Develop European Skills and Competences
25
BUILDING AND MANAGING A COMMUNITY OF PRACTICE
Augusto Buzzi 1
1 METID, Politecnico di Milano, Italy
augusto.buzzi@polimi.it
Abstract Sommario This paper describes how the SLOOP2DESC Community of Practice has been first conceived, planned and built, then managed from its launch (November 2010) to today. It also reports what actually happened with the people involved and provides some statistics about its size. Finally it anticipates the settings we can expect and the possible moves to be planned for the last stage (self-government), which is starting on September 2011.
Larticolo descrive come la comunit di pratica di SLOOP2DESC stata dapprima ideata, pianificata e costruita, quindi gestita dal suo lancio (novembre 2010) a oggi. Riferisce inoltre cosa accaduto con gli utenti coinvolti e fornisce alcune statistiche sulle sue dimensioni. Infine anticipa gli scenari attesi e le possibili mosse da programmare per lultima fase (autogestione), che avr inizio a settembre 2011.
KEYWORDS: community of practice, social networking, e- learning, forum, tutors, enterprises, EUCIP, web 2.0.
KEYWORDS: comunit di pratica, social networking, e- learning, forum, tutor, imprese, EUCIP, web 2.0.
1. WHAT IS A CoP?
Ever since the term was first coined in 1990 [1], the Communities of Practice (CoP) have been arousing more and more interest, applications and study cases. They have been and are used in different fields and for different purposes: to give two well-known examples, just think of their educational and commercial forms. However, although they are much talked about (and too much, maybe), few people seem to actually know what they are and what purpose they serve. What is a CoP, finally? Here is one of the briefest and most forceful definitions you can find on the web: Communities of practice are formed by people who engage in a process of collective learning in a shared domain of human endeavour: a tribe learning to survive, a band of artists seeking new forms of expression, a group of engineers working on similar problems, a clique of pupils defining their identity in the school, a network of surgeons exploring novel techniques, a gathering of first-time managers helping each other cope. In a nutshell: Communities of practice are groups of people who share a concern or a passion for something they do and learn how to do it better as they interact regularly [2]. So we can rightly call CoP a real or virtual environment where people who have something in common share information and experiences and solve problems, and by doing this not only learn from each other and achieve both personal and professional growth, but also build a joint knowledge. Gaining knowledge (know-what and know-how, notions and competences) related to ones own field is the veritable goal of a CoP, indeed. With regard to the method of doing this, we could define a CoP as a collaborative network where every member takes part voluntarily and interacts with and amongst equals (except for the obvious distinctions in role).
2. BULDING THE CoP: STAGE 0
There are two models of CoP: the informal one, referring to communities which come to life spontaneously and are characterised by collective self-management, so that the members themselves propose, provide and share content; and the formal model, namely communities created from nothing, established ad hoc and managed by an external committee which is in charge of providing incentives and content in order to involve the members and make them interact. So, when we started to plan a community for SLOOP2DESC we knew that it would stand in the middle of the two models: the users already knew each other because they had previously shared the experience of the pilot and/or cascade courses. Whats more, they had a common background, a personal as well as professional affinity: they were all teachers (mainly teaching computer science) interested in e-learning, with a good ICT literacy and a high level of motivation and willingness to interact; they shared the same work context, the same aims, the same educational vision. We also had different kinds of actors, i.e. the enterprise representatives, who had good reason to take part in the community as well. Thats why we didnt start from nothing: the requirements for a CoP were fully satisfied. Due to the aims of the project, the CoP addressed just the Italian tutors and trainees: this option made the people homogeneous and automatically removed the technical, and not the only, problem of building a multilingual online forum. Proceeding from this clear and well-disposed target, we then designed the guidelines and features of the future community. It should have been an online environment for discussing and sharing knowledge and ideas. So firstly, we chose two strong topics dear to the project and which the partners where skilled at: the EUCIP certification system (AICA) and web 2.0 (METID & ITSOS). Looking at self- management as a final aim, tutors would launch and animate the rising community by acting like supervisors, motivators and moderators. The members would interact using a forum, pursuing peer (thematic) discussions and a many-to-many communication flow; moreover they would share content and resources by linking or uploading them in attachments to their posts. Finally, after focusing our needs and goals, the CNR engaged in seeking, setting up and customising a web environment suitable for hosting the community, and Joomla Community Builder was the selected tool. It provided us with everything we needed: most of all, a forum all the rest isnt relevant in this place where everybody, as well as the possible outsiders, could register, sign in, complete their own profile, access the discussion and join the community. Of course we had to promote the CoP too, not only with the tutors and trainees already involved in the project but Giovanni FULANTELLI, Lucian OPREA
26 wherever it was worthwhile and here all the Italian partners concurred to spread the word in trade magazines and websites devoted to our topics.
3. MANAGING THE CoP: STAGE 1
The CoP was officially launched in November 2010. Since the very beginning, when the team was still conceiving it, self-government was considered as the final goal: we wanted it in a perspective of sustainability to last beyond the end of the project and to become independent, able to survive and evolve without the aegis of the project partners. The CoP was unlikely to grow by itself, so we had to plan an operation intended to attend to it throughout at least the first months of its life. So the partners, the enterprise representatives and also the former trainees (the tutors of the cascade courses) stimulated the discussion by posting incentives, questions and calls for sharing ideas, information and experiences: it took some time but, although the process was quite slow, the members responded favourably and never failed to reply and have their say. Later on, of course, the problem was keeping the participation alive, and the leaders did it by posting new replies, subtopics and cues. In other words we could say that a kind of community-watch committee was raised, with specialised roles and divided areas of intervention according to the topics and the skills of each tutor (or supertutor), and the process turned out to work well. After all, apart from the steady monitoring and supervising, the effort by the watchers didnt have to be such a big task, thanks to the active attitude and spontaneous response of the members. Moreover they were allowed to create new discussions, which fuelled the debate. In addition to the core guiding topics mentioned above (EUCIP certification system and web 2.0), thus, the conversation flowed free and natural, going along with the members wishes. Most of all, if we put aside the technical thread related to FreeLOms (comments and suggestions about the tool), the users talked about the use of e- learning in the high school and the links among computer competences, schools and enterprises. To go deeper into the content, two problems aroused a special interest and were agreed on: on the one hand the gap between the Italian school education and the job market, since the school wouldnt share neither the logic nor the aims the job market asks for; on the other hand, the school and university system would be strongly theory-oriented and fail in providing professional, managing and practical competences usable at work. So everyone brought their own experience, some study cases were illustrated and proposals for plugging the gap were forwarded such as certificating the competencies systematically and simulating (or even importing) the job markets needs and task at school.
4. WHAT HAPPENED: THE CoP IN NUMBERS 1
Unfortunately we have few statistics related to the CoP alone, because the tool adopted to register them (Google Analytics) automatically aggregates the data about the whole website which hosts the CoP (sloop2desc.eu). Thus, for instance, we know that to date the community totals 807 registered users, but we do not know how many of them actually joined the community forums and took part in its social exchange. Nevertheless, we have exact knowledge of the numbers concerning the topics and posts published overall. 4 forums were opened in the out-and-out CoP, with a total of 73 topics and 394 posts. So it wouldnt be wrong to include two more
1 The data presented here date back to July 7 th 2011. forums in our computation, the cascade tutors private forum (which the trainees couldnt access) and the one intended to allow the communication between the enterprise representatives and the cascade courses tutors: if we do so the topics go up to 170, and the posts go to 1326 (fig. 1)!
Fig.1. SLOOP2DESC CoP Forum (July 7 th 2011)
5. TOWARD SELF-GOVERNMENT: STAGE 2
As specified above, the final aim is self-government: so, in what we anticipated as stage 2, the CoP should become self-sufficient, able to keep on growing and evolving without the support of the project partners who have been facilitating and encouraging it until now. It may be that these partners need to make themselves available as advisors/counsellors in order to help the CoP become autonomous. We have at least two settings, two options, between which the members (especially the tutors of the cascade courses) have to choose. Those are: Which do you prefer, trying to make it on your own or planning/managing the changeover along with us? So in the first case we would be pure observers, while in the second one we would actively guide the CoP to find its way, that is (in brief): finding out and negotiating the community aims, according to the interests and needs of the members (survey/consultation); assisting the members in composing a new (internal) managing committee and agreement about the respective roles and commitments during the transitional phase. After being trained in the pilot courses, the tutors of the cascade courses demonstrated that they highly capable of posing problems and negotiating solutions through consultation with each other. With this in mind, they may well handle the changeover of the CoP independently and to a high degree of efficiency. This would be the umpteenth positive outcome of a project that has already yielded many.
REFERENCES [1] Lave, J., Wenger, E., Situated Learning: Legitimate Peripheral Participation, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 1991; first published in 1990 as Institute for Research on Learning report 90-0013. [2] Wenger, E., Communities of practice: a brief introduction, http://www.ewenger.com/theory/index.htm, 2006 SLOOP2DESC - Sharing Learning Objects in an Open Perspective to Develop European Skills and Competences
27
THE SLOOP2DESC COURSE
Francesca Berengo 1 , Mara Masseroni 1 , Luigi Petruzziello 1 , Monica Terenghi 1 , Pierfranco Ravotto 2
1 ITSOS Marie Curie, Cernusco sul Naviglio 2 AICA, Milano
This paper deals with This paper describes the online training course for teachers that has been designed and tested within the project SLOOP2DESC and is now available in open format - so everyone can freely use, modify and distribute it - in 4 languages: Italian, English, Slovenian and Romanian.
L'articolo presenta il corso di formazione in rete per docenti che stato progettato e sperimentato nellambito del progetto SLOOP e che adesso disponibile in formato aperto dunque liberamente utilizzabile, modificabile e distribuibile in 4 lingue: italiano, inglese, sloveno e rumeno.
KEYWORDS: Teachers training, Competences, Online learning, Open educational resources, Moodle, Web 2.0, Collaborative tools, Creative Commons, training course, EQF, EUCIP, e-CF.
KEYWORDS: Formazione docenti, Competenze, Didattica in rete, Risorse educative aperte, Moodle, Web 2.0, Strumenti collaborativi, CreativeCommons, EQF, EUCIP, e-CF.
1. INTRODUCTION
At European level, the Bologna Process and the Lisbon Declaration stressed the importance of reorganising the education policies in the view of a community sense, adopting an approach based on learning outcomes and certification of competences attained. In 2008 the European Parliament and the European Council adopted a common reference framework of qualifications for lifelong learning (EQF- European Qualification Framework) with the aim to establish general criteria for comparing competence certification systems adopted in different European countries [1]. As more and more companies have been adopting the systems of competence certification based on the EQF for the selection of their staff, it is essential that teachers in schools and training operators mature awareness that access to the labour market of their students will increasingly depend on their ability to demonstrate the competences acquired during their schooling, and the fact that these competences are comparable at European level on the basis of unique and shared criteria. It is therefore crucial to adopt teaching strategies that achieve the goal of providing students with competences that can be certified and recognized at European level. One of the objectives of the SLOOP2DESC project was precisely to increase teachers' knowledge on the new systems based on learning outcomes and competences acquired, providing them at the same time, the necessary technical and pedagogical tools to design/manage materials and online educational courses that employ multi-media and the full potential of Web 2.0. In order to achieve this objective, the SLOOP2DESC project has devised online training for teachers in Italy, Romania and Slovenia. Two issues, closely intertwined, characterise the course: - the use of online learning to complement face-to- face training to increase the effectiveness and attractiveness of training and the sharing of open digital resources to make the use of online education sustainable, - the focus on competence-based learning, according to EQF, in particular in the informatics sector with reference to the EUCIP framework.
2. DESIGN AND TESTING OF THE COURSE
The SLOOP2DESC course has been designed starting from a successfully course experienced within the previous SLOOP project in Italy [2], Slovenia [3], Romania [4] and Spain [5]. And it has been similarly implemented on a Moodle platform. A first version of the course was tested in two pilot courses, one attended mainly by Sicilian teachers and the other one by Lombard teachers, both of them tutored by components of the project team. These pilot courses have helped, on the one hand, identify strengths and weaknesses of the course, on the other one find tutors for the following cascade in Italy. Based on the results obtained during the pilot courses and feedback from participants, the course has been partially modified producing the final version that Giovanni FULANTELLI, Lucian OPREA
28 has been used for 11 cascade courses in Italy and translated into Romanian and Slovenian for the two courses in these countries. Finally, the course has been translated into English and then the 4 versions, released under CC license Attribution-Share Alike represent the main product that the SLOOP2DESC project provides the community of teachers with.
3. COURSE STRUCTURE
First it is necessary to clarify that the model of online training adopted is the virtual classroom in Moodle. The trainees are online, organized into classes (30-40 people with two tutors), which of them represent a separate "course". Activities are scheduled in a way that all trainees deal them at the same time. A strong interaction among students and between students and tutors (in forums and other tools such as email, chat, videoconference) is required, sometimes as a discussion and exchange of ideas, other times as a collaboration in carrying out activities (also in this case using tools such as wikis, GoogleDoc, MindMap, ...). The table below shows the structure of the course, which is organised in 5 modules, and its duration of 16 weeks.
Modules Length Units At the end of each module the trainee will be able to: 1. Using Moodle as trainee 1. use Moodle as a trainee: - how to register oneself, fill in ones own profile, insert ones own photo - how to exchange messages with other registered trainees; - how to enrol on a course and monitor ones own activities; - how to take part in a forum; 1 Using MOODLE as a trainee and as a teacher
3 weeks 2. Using Moodle as trainer 2. perform tutoring activities (as a teacher not as an editor): - how to monitor trainees or groups of trainees activities; 3. create or modify a course (as a teacher/editor): - how to add resources to a course: label, link, text page, web page, folder; - how to insert activities in a course: forum, online task, lesson, quiz, hot potatoes quiz, SCORMs, wiki, register; - how to insert an embed code in a label or in a web page to reproduce resources existing in other sites such as Slide Share, YouTube, Scribd, ...; 4. create a course: - how to open ex-novo a new course or starting from a pre-existing course; - how to assign and modify roles. 1. The online tutor 1. To indicate the main characteristics of the role of the online tutor. 2. To create, organize and share resources on the Net
2. To search and organize knowledge sources through the web 2.0 tools: - list of references on the Web, - social bookmarking (Delicious, ...); 2 Being an online tutor and using web 2.0 tools
3 weeks 3. E-cooperation 3. to cooperate online in synchronous and asynchronous way, through Web tools such as: - Skype, Forum; 4. To use tools for collaborative knowledge production, such as: - Googledoc, wiki; 5. to promote role playing and simulations. 1. Sharing and reusability philosophy 1. provide definitions of open educational resources or open learning objects; 2. describe the several Creative Commons licences; 3 Using and developing open educational resources for an eLearning environment 3 weeks 2. Web 2.0 tools for sharing 3. share resources in web 2.0 environments (such as Slide Share, YouTube, Scribd, ) tagging them to make search easier; SLOOP2DESC - Sharing Learning Objects in an Open Perspective to Develop European Skills and Competences
29 Modules Length Units At the end of each module the trainee will be able to: 3. The SCORM model and tools for the production of SCORM compliant LOs 4. describe the SCORM model; 5. describe the IEEE LOM metadata system; 6. develop a SCORM by using software like eXeLearning 4. FreeLOms 7. search for educational resources within a repository 1. EQF 1. describe the 8 key competences for lifelong learning; 2. 8 key competences 2. describe the aim of 'European Qualification Framework for Lifelong Learning - EQF and its level-based structure; 3a. Users digital competences and EUCIP syllabuses 3. describe the ECDL system and list the ECDL certifications; 4. identify in the ECDL syllabuses the competences that can be of reference for their school or discipline. 3b. Informatics professionals competences, e-CF and EUCIP 3. describe the aim and the structure of European e- Competence Framework, e-CF; 4. describe the EUCIP model of informatics competences and professional profiles; 5. list EUCIP certifications and related certification procedures; 6. identify, within the EUCIP Syllabus, the competence units required for a specific professional profile; 7. use EccoEucip tool to outline ones own proximity profile and analyse it. 4 European Qualification Framework (EQF), e- Competence Framework (e-CF) and EUCIP standard
2 weeks 3c. Common European Framework of Reference for Languages 3. describe the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages; 4. describe the CEFR six levels; 5. identify the linguistic competence levels relevant to their ownf school. 1. Choosing the theme and defining work- groups 2. Planning and implementing digital resources and courses 5 Collaborative development of educational resources based on a competences standard
6 weeks 3. Sharing resources and courses ensuring they are really open 1. plan open educational resources; 2. develop open educational resources using a wide range of tools; 3. make the educational resources open providing them with a suitable licence, source accessibility, instructions how to use or modify them; 4. upload the resources in FreeLOms; 5. cooperate in planning and developing a course on Moodle; 6. upload the course in Moodle ensuring it is really open.
The modules are characterized by a common structure: - a description of the module and its purpose (video or presentation), - the definition of the learning outcomes, - a discussion forum with some threads created by tutors and others opened up by trainees step by step, - the several units constituting the course, - a competence self-assessment questionnaire that asks participants to indicate if and at which level, they believe to have achieved the expected results, - a satisfaction questionnaire by the trainees concerning the proposed activities, instructional materials and tutoring provided. For each of the units the following elements are provided: - the list of activities to be carried out, sometimes individually, sometimes in groups, - a learning resources area with learning materials in a variety of forms: video, presentations, PDFs, web pages, SCORM objects. These are materials in many cases already existing on the net or specifically developed for the course, - an area of in-depth resources not listed as mandatory but optional, Giovanni FULANTELLI, Lucian OPREA
30 - a link to a working environment (a trial course where to exercise Moodle, a wiki where to work collaboratively, the FreeLOms, Moodle courses to be implemented for their students). Beyond an accurate illustration of the type of resources made available in the course, we want to emphasize that the choice of this material has been consciously implemented in the light of the cultural context of reference of the entire project, namely the notion of use, reuse, change and adaptability of resources [6]. Therefore there are various types of resources in the course: some fully developed from scratch, others found in the net and inserted into the course directly, others built, modified, adapted to the learning context. This is also in the view of transferability of the course in different linguistic contexts; various resources (such as tutorials, demonstrations, ) did not in fact need any translation because similar resources exist in the web into various languages, thus requiring an adaptation only in terms of description of activities and related tasks.
4. TEACHING METHODOLOGY
The methodology of the course is learning by doing. The trainees learn to become online teachers attending an online course and get familiar with competence-based education attending a course based on competence-based learning (see, for this the previous chapter 2). But, more importantly, they learn by designing and building materials, open educational resources for their students. The heart of the course is Module 5, one dedicated precisely to the production of resources, where by this term we mean both single objects - a presentation, a video, a quiz, ... - and an entire Moodle course. No coincidence that this is the longest module: 6 weeks. The other modules are somewhat preliminary. Module 1 is focused on learning how to use Moodle. In Module 2, the trainees experience the Web 2.0 tools for collaboration - such GoogleDoc, Skype, Delicious, ... - tools to be used in Module 5 collaboratively to produce the resources, but also to use in the future with students. Module 3 focuses on the production and sharing of open educational resources: therefore, firstly, the focus is on the concept of sharing, on the legal characteristics (license) and techniques (e.g. access to the source) that a resource must have to be open, on the sharing environments (such as Slideshare, YouTube, Scribd ...) and finally on the tools to produce resources (eXeLearning, HotPotatoes, ...) and last but not least on repositories where to share the resources developed, specifically on FreeLOms, a repository developed first in the Sloop project and revamped in Slop2desc. Module 4 is detached from the former three modules as it addresses the issue of competences. In the most recent version of the course this module is structured in three teaching units. The first concerns the EQF framework, the second the 8 core competences of citizenship while the third deals with 4 different competence frameworks meeting the teachers' specific professional fields: - digital competences and ECDL syllabus (for those who must teach the use of computers); - IT professionals competences and EUCIP and e- CF frameworks (for teachers of computer science); - language competences and the framework of the European languages (for foreign language teachers), - competences in the maritime sector and the IMO system (only in Romanian for teachers in that sector). A strong value of the course lies in the constant presence of a collaborative dimension achieved through the forums created for each module, through the collaborative use of tools for producing and sharing content and through collaborative opportunities of synchronous and asynchronous communication.
5. CONCLUSIONS
No serious reform of educational policies can be successful without the direct involvement of teachers. To quote Pajer [6] "any school reform, before being re- touching of structures or updating of programs or replacing of methods, is essentially a reform of teachers, i.e. conversion or reconfiguration of their professional profile, reorganization and expansion of their powers, enhancement of their social role ... " [7]. The increasing difficulties of adapting education to a society in continual and rapid change require a major effort of updating by teachers. It is not only a matter of acquiring specific skills, but also of starting a process of collaborative reflection on the current meaning of the teaching profession. With this course we intended to provide teachers both with "technical" tools to reprogram their teaching and an environment that could promote discussion and stimulate collaborative activities.
REFERENCES
[1] European Commission Education & Training, EQF, European Qualification Framework for Lifelong Learning. [2] Ravotto P., Berengo F., Masseroni. M. & others, Learning environment and learning objects: a successful synergy, in Sharing Learning Objects in an open perspective,, ISBN 978-88-903115-0-5, pag. 85. [3] Vrtacnick M. e Cemazar R., e-learning in Chemistry: to use it or not to use it?, in Sharing Learning Objects in an open perspective,, ISBN 978-88-903115-0-5, pag. 94. [4] Oprea L., Rusu C. & others, Sloop project impact on Dunarea de Jos University virtual community, in Sharing Learning Objects in an open perspective,, ISBN 978-88-903115-0-5, pag. 69. [5] Fernandez P., Sangr A., Gurdia L., Learning how to create learning objects: an opportunity for the teaching community, in Sharing Learning Objects in an open perspective,, ISBN 978-88-903115-0-5, pag. 112. [6] Ravotto P., Masseroni M. & others, Principi ecologici per leLearning, Atti Didamatica, 2009. [7] Pajer F., La formazione degli insegnanti, Convegno internazionale di studi - Le Universit di tendenza per l'Europa, 2004. SLOOP2DESC - Sharing Learning Objects in an Open Perspective to Develop European Skills and Competences
31
FOSTERING THE DIALOGUE AMONGST SCHOOL TEACHERS AND COMPANIES: THE ROLE OF "BUSINESS MENTORS"
Valentina Dal Grande 1, Davide Taibi 1 , Manuel Gentile 1 , Dario Stabile 2 , Mario Allegra 1
and Giovanni Fulantelli 1
1 Institute for Educational Technologies - National Research Council of Italy, Palermo 2 E-learning expert
This paper describes the cooperation experience between economic operators and trainers to design and develop new open educational resources aimed at integrating the learning curriculum with the needs of the labour market.
L'articolo racconta lesperienza di cooperazione tra formatori e operatori economici per la progettazione di nuove risorse educative aperte finalizzate ad integrare i programmi di studio con le esigenze del mondo del lavoro.
KEYWORDS:. Schools and enterprises relationships, business mentor, labour market.
KEYWORDS: Rapporti tra scuola e imprese, business mentor, mondo del lavoro.
1. INTRODUCTION
The European economic and financial crisis has emphasised the need for flexible, high quality education and training systems, which respond to the changing requirements of the labour market of today and tomorrow. Integrating changing labour market needs into VET provision in the long term requires a better understanding of emerging sectors and skills, and of changes to existing occupations 2 . This means closer collaboration between stakeholders active in skills anticipation including representatives of professional sectors, social partners, relevant civil society organisations, and education and training providers. We need to adapt VET content, infrastructure and methods regularly in order to keep pace with shifts to new production technologies and work organization. According to ET 2020, European VET systems should be more attractive, relevant, innovative, accessible and flexible than in 2010, and should contribute to excellence and equity in lifelong learning. To achieve this objective, the European policies underline that we need highly qualified teachers and trainers, innovative learning methods, high-quality infrastructure and facilities, high labour market relevance, and pathways to further education and training. The Bruges Communiqu outlines that the labour market relevance of VET should be enhanced through various measures: Authorities in the participating countries () should create opportunities for enhanced cooperation between schools and enterprises in order to improve
2 The Bruges Communiqu on enhanced European Cooperation in Vocational Education and Training for the period 2011-2020. teachers' knowledge of work practices on the one hand and trainers' general pedagogical skills and competences on the other; Participating countries should promote partnerships between social partners, enterprises, education and training providers, employment services, public authorities, research organisations and other relevant stakeholders, in order to ensure a better transfer of information on labour market needs and to provide a better match between those needs and the development of knowledge, skills and competences. Employers and social partners should endeavour to clearly define which competences and qualifications they need in both the short and the long term, and within as well as across sectors. The development of a common language 3 aimed at bridging the world of education and training on the one hand, and the world of work on the other hand, should be continued and should be consistent with other EU instruments, such as the EQF; VET curricula should be outcome-oriented and more responsive to labour market needs. Cooperation models with companies or professional branch organisations should address this issue and provide VET institutions with feedback on both the employability and employment rates of VET graduates; The Leonardo da Vinci Programme, attested on its debut in 2006 [1] that small and medium-sized enterprises play an important role in the European economy and consequently called for greater involvement in training initiatives. In particular, calls for better quality
3 In 2010 this bridging language is the objective of the project Taxonomy of European Skills, Competencies and Occupations (ESCO). Giovanni FULANTELLI, Lucian OPREA
32 and an increase in the volume of cooperation between institutions or organizations providing learning opportunities, enterprises, social partners and other relevant bodies throughout Europe. According to Life Long Learning Programme strategy (Leonardo da Vinci Programme - Transfer of Innovation Action) 4 with the priorities identified and announced by the Italian National ISFOL (Institute for the Development of Vocational Training and Labor, Italy), SLOOP2DESC project awarded to members of the business and social partners, the important role of transferring the project expectations and needs of the labor market.
2. THE BUSINESS MENTOR
The "Business Mentor" represents the needs and expectations of the world of work within the project SLOOP2DESC. The "Business Mentor" role in the project is to provide feedback from the ICT enterprises perspective on the trainers of the SLOOP2DESC courses. The role of Business Mentor (BM) was covered by entrepreneurs (6 BMs were selected for the 13 Italian online classes: 2 classes during the pilot phase, and 11 classes during the cascade course) who had the ability to identify companies needs and expectations towards the new professional human resources and to define new educational strategies on the basis of companies needs and teachers skills and expertises. The Business Mentors supported project activities giving their contribution in : participating, as an observer, in all the activities of the project providing feedback to the project partners taking into consideration the point of view of the enterprise. Being present in trasnational meetings to describe, to international partners the business viewpoint of the SLOOP2DESC project activity; taking part in the technical meetings of the project in order to select the EUICIP topics to transfer, participating in and promoting the SLOOP2DESC CoP general forum discussions. For example, the post school-enterprise relationship that attracted many course participants, being school teachers themselves. Animating this forum subject contributed to give the teachers a better understanding of the needs and expectations of an ICT enterprise. The general discussion produced some interesting ideas on realistic approaches to involve enterprises in the post-primary educational path, and also highlighted best practices on successful experiences made by some of the course participants. promoting and coordinating the module 5 forum (entitled: collaborative development of educational
4 Life Long Learning Programme, Leonardo da Vinci-Transfer of innovation; Leo-oPoBJ2 -2: cooperation amongst VET operators and representatives of the labour market and stakeholders in general is one of the main objectives of the project, in order to improve the quality of VET systems. LEO-TraInno-3: the project aims at improving the knowledge and competencies of teachers and trainers, and specifically to strengthen the links amongst them and the labour market. resources based on a competences standard). Hereafter with "module 5 forum" we indicate the discussion forum activated within the Module 5 of the SLOOP2DESC online course. The topic of this module is connected to the development of Open Educational Resources according to a competence- based education approach. The BMs provided support on identifying the learning objects contents, and provided feedback on the actual learning objects implemented by the trainees. The Business Mentors have been involved both in the pilot courses (first phase: from 23 February to 27 June 2010) and in the following cascade course (second phase: between November 2010 and May 2011). The BM activity during the pilot course, was limited because of the small number of participants and the course was focused on the definition of educational content of the cascade courses. For this reason this paper deals mainly with the results obtained in the second stage of the course, during the cascade course.
3. THE ROLE OF BM TO SUPPORT THE DEVELOPMENT OF OER
The Business Mentor (BM) role in supporting the trainees during module 5 was to help students and collaborate with them to transfer and share the business viewpoint. These activities were carried out through the following steps: Mapping of the classes: this was carried out through an in-depth analysis of the classes (by reading all forum discussions) and cooperation with the classes tutors, in order to identify the skills of the groups in each class that have been formed to develop OERs (Module 5) Assignment of a BM to each group: taking into account the technical skills and expertise of each BM, tutors were assigned to class or group of teachers to assist in development of OERs. Setting up of forum discussions: the BMs opened a forum topic for each group of trainees (in the "Production of educational resources and expertise forum of the project portal) to encourage the discussion on the production of educational resources in the field selected by the group. The forum topics were set up in the area of the portal aimed at promoting the SLOOP2DESC Community of Practice (CoP) for two reasons: firstly, because the topics dealt during module 5 could be of general interest for the community at large; in addition, because this was a methodological choice to encourage the trainees to join the CoP. Stimulating participation of trainees in the CoP: BMs encouraged all the trainees of the various groups to participate in the open discussions on the SLOOP2DESC CoP. Amongst the difficulties met by the BMs was that this activity was hampered by the fact that trainees were used to participating in the forums of the e- learning platform (Moodle), and they didnt migrate easily to a new platform. This was perceived as a SLOOP2DESC - Sharing Learning Objects in an Open Perspective to Develop European Skills and Competences
33 further work task. For this reason, sometimes the BMs entered into the Moodle platform to further stimulate communication with the trainees. Monitoring: each BM has monitored and promoted the discussions with trainees, giving some suggestions to help production of educational resources. The BM also carried out constant monitoring of teaching resources published to the SLOOP2DESC learning object repository (FREELOMS), offering suggestions based on the companies point of view. The proposed ideas were developed and expanded, producing high-quality teaching materials that went beyond the suggestions.
4. THE ROLE OF BM IN SUPPORTING THE CoP
The SLOOP2DESC CoP has been developed around the discussion forum activated in the SLOOP2DESC platform. For this reason to provide a general description of the BM support to the CoP we analyzed their participation in the project forum. Firstly, the forum has been divided into three categories : General, Module 5 and Service. - General: these forum have been set up to discuss on topics of general interest (still related to the topics of the project) - Module 5 (collaborative development of educational resources based on a competences standard): these forums were explicitly started in order to facilitate a discussion on the resources to be produced during the module 5 of the course between business mentors and online course students. - Service: these forums have been started to allow partners and online course students to discuss issues specific to the course Then we considered the hits of each discussion topics in order to highlight the topics that have collected more interest in the community. The results of this analysis is shown in the table below. In particular the table lists the 25 most popular topics of the SLOOP2DESC portal forums (between 1566 topics).
Subject Hits Type LIM for learning 3746 General Falcone-FAL02 Ecdl 3060 Module 5 (*) Informatics competences and enterprises 2474 General E-learning experiences at school 2321 General Informatics competences and school 1796 General Digital Native (them) and digital immigrants (us) 1042 General Problems in inserting learning resources 1035 Service Login and registration 1006 Service Knowledge, abilities, competences 893 General Course reports 848 Service SLOOP2DESC course experience 840 General Subject Hits Type Technologies for software development area 761 General FreeLOms 646 Service FreeLOms User Manual 611 Service Networking Area 564 General Learning design with competences 556 General Didamatica 2011 540 General Video meeting proposal 497 Service Using excel for didactic use 492 General Graphic and engineering area 465 General Falcone-FAL01 Linux 427 Module 5 Tools web 2.0 372 General Self-assessment EUCIP and proximity profile 361 General Montinaro- Boole Algebra 359 Module 5 FreeLOms 348 Service
Subjects in italic are the ones in which the Business Mentors made a contribution. (*) This forum received a surprisingly high number of hits, especially compared to other similar forums (Module 5 forums). A possible explanation is that the forum is catalogued by the main search engines under ECDL related searches; indeed Google lists the forum in its first page of results. According to this data, we observed: Areas of the forum that have been setup to discuss topics of particular interest to companies are ranked highly in terms of popularity (Computer skills and business; Subject Area: Technologies for software development; Networking Area; graphic area engineering). This shows that these topics received great attention from the community and from the public at large, which mainly consists of school teachers. The Business Mentors also participated actively in two forums dealing with topics mainly oriented to school teachers: Interactive Whiteboard and education; Digital natives (students) and digital immigrants (teachers), thus proving an interest in the education system as a whole, and a positive attitude towards communicating with teachers. The chart below shows the percentage of posts by the Business Mentors (BM) in the project forums. In this graph General forums percentage include also service forums.
Giovanni FULANTELLI, Lucian OPREA
34 5. CONCLUSIONS
The strategic choice of the SLOOP2DESC project to focus the transfer of innovation activities on competences systems that enterprises use more and more often to evaluate and select young people when they approaching labour market, involving representatives of the business world has produced good results. SLOOP2DESC CoP allows trainees and representatives from enterprises to share their perspective (point of view) in an informal environment. The relationship between trainees and BMs, established during the project, has increased mutual understanding of the two environments, facilitating the development of a common language and breaking down the barriers that often exist between these two worlds. At the end of the SLOOP2DESC course, the teachers will be able to get useful indications to develop pedagogical competencies which can be applied in educational activities that take into consideration the evaluation systems, but also they have contributed to improve the links between education and training professionals and the world of work. The quality of published educational resources is absolutely remarkable. At this stage of the project we have not collected enough data to sustain that collaborations between trainees and BMs influenced properly the quality of the OER produced in the SLOOP2DESC courses. However, a preliminary qualitative analysis of the discussions in the project forums allow us to affirm that the participation of the BMs has a positive influence in the OER produced.
REFERENCES
[1] DECISIONE N. 1720/2006/CE DEL PARLAMENTO EUROPEO E DEL CONSIGLIO del 15 novembre 2006 che istituisce un programma d'azione nel campo dell'apprendimento permanente.
SLOOP2DESC - Sharing Learning Objects in an Open Perspective to Develop European Skills and Competences
35
THE EXPERIENCE OF THE SLOOP2DESC COURSES IN ITALY
Mara Masseroni 1 , Francesca Berengo 1 , Luigi Petruzziello 1 , Monica Terenghi 1 , Pierfranco Ravotto 2
1 ITSOS Marie Curie, Cernusco sul Naviglio 2 AICA, Milano
The article presents the experience of the SLOOP2DESC courses in Italy, courses that involved over 600 teachers, mostly in the computer science field. The data show that the courses have been strongly characterized by interactions among people and collaboration for the production of open educational resources to use with students.
L'articolo presenta l'esperienza dei corsi SLOOP2DESC in Italia, corsi che hanno coinvolto oltre 600 insegnanti, in maggioranza di informatica. I dati forniti evidenziano come si sia trattato di corsi fortemente caratterizzati dalle interazioni fra persone e collaborazione la produzione di risorse didattiche aperte da usare con gli studenti.
KEYWORDS: Formazione docenti, Formazione in rete, Classe virtuale, Tutor, Risorse didattiche aperte, Competenze, EQF, EUCIP, e-CF.
1. THE ITALIAN CONTEXT
Too often, the Italian school is perched on the old model of transmission of teaching: the lecture still has the lion's share of teaching, the student has the role of listener-performer only to explain procedures in detail, but rarely is asked to participate in building his/her own knowledge. A first element that hinders educational innovation is to be found in some "laziness" of teacher's category, which not being stimulated by economic or social recognition, it hardly keeps up the onerous commitment to change their way of teaching, both through the 'use of new technologies, both through the overturning of the old model "teacher-centered". The second factor hindering change is the lack of training courses that are truly effective in helping teachers to "reprogram" the way they teach. In particular: we have repeatedly stated the importance of a competence-based didactics, but how can you actually do it? Finally, as regards the integration of online education and face-to-face learning, there remains the problem of teaching resources. Although the network is an almost inexhaustible source of materials, and perhaps for this reason, it is difficult for the teacher and the student to navigate through the sea of educational proposals, which are almost never actually reusable, missing the opportunity to change and adapt them to specific school contexts. The SLOOP2DESC project has tried to give an initial response to these needs intertwining several themes: the use of online learning to complement face-to- face training, the sharing of open digital resources and competence-based learning.
2. COURSES AND TRAINEES
As envisaged in the original plan, the transfer action of the project has had its focus in Italy. The courses in Slovenia and Romania have had the role of testing the transnational effectiveness of the approach chosen, but it is in Italy that the goal was the training of a large number of trainees. The training was implemented in two phases [1]: pilot courses: from 23 February to 27 June 2010, cascade courses: between November 2010 and May 2011. The pilot courses have been advertised through notices in schools in Sicily and Lombardy, with the support of the Educational Committees of these two regions, and through the network. The proposal primarily addressed teachers of computer science, but all those who applied to participate were received, among them a small number of people outside the two regions and some non- computer persons engaged in University or private training. In total the trainees enrolled in the pilot course were about 60. The cascade courses - where tutoring was supported by a group of trainees selected from the pilot course - were advertised over the network at national level and were supported with communications to schools by the two regional Educational Committees. The goal was to Giovanni FULANTELLI, Lucian OPREA
36 reach 400 teachers (primarily computer science teachers). The applicants were more than 1,700: teachers from secondary schools (but not only) of all disciplines, demonstrating a strong interest in the themes of the course and a great need of training even though in the absence of incentives or formal recognition. All the applications of computer science teachers and mathematics teachers, in some way involved in teaching computer science, were accepted: to them teachers of other disciplines were also added to reach the total of 547 trainees. Ten classes - with the names of victims of the Mafia, as a tribute to them and the tenacious will to remember: Paolo Borsellino, Agostino Catalano, Eddie Walter Cosina, Dicillo Rocco, Giovanni Falcone, Vincenzo LiMuli Emanuela Loi, Antonio Montinaro, Vito Schifani, Claudia Traina - were each assigned two tutors, selected from participants in the pilot courses. 6 classes were composed mainly of computer science and electronics teachers, 3 of mathematics teachers and 1 of Italian and foreign languages teachers. An eleventh class was then added to them: Peppino Impastato, consisting of teachers of business administration, for possible connections with an experiment in progress by three Commercial Technical Institutes (programmers specializations): Romanazzi in Bari, Baffi in Rome and Fermi in Pontedera. Such course comes out of the consideration that the syllabus of this specialization mainly covers the EUCIP core syllabus and therefore the proposal is to make the students acquire such certification at the end of a three- year course. Business teachers are responsible, under that logic, for the training related to the Plan area. It seemed therefore interesting to support this experiment involving a large group of teachers of Business in the training path related to EUCIP core. This eleventh class had a small number of trainees (about half of the others) and was entrusted to a single tutor.
3. THE PILOT COURSE
The two pilot courses started with a meeting in presence and had another two additional face-to-face meetings: an interim and a final one. Here you find the analysis of data concerning the course in Lombardy, but what is reported is also valid for the Sicilian course.
3.1 Participation and dropouts
The trainees were over 40, but some of them did not take part even in the face-to-face meeting and others, after this meeting, have never entered the online environment. We therefore refer only to the 33 students who entered at least once in the platform. Of these, seven have never gone beyond Module 1 and, in general, have only started it (five under two hours and a half, one four hours and another six hours): a trainee has entered Module 2, but with a total connection time of of an hour. Two have been present throughout the course but, again, one for a total of of an hour and the other for a total of 3 hours. A total of 10 students, almost 30%, have just looked out to the course but have not actually taken part in it. All this is shown in the figure below, where the columns indicate the connection time for each of the 33 students for each module.
Fig. 1. Connection Time of 33 trainees. We therefore limit our analysis to the remaining 23 participants (Figure 2). They all have arrived at the conclusion of the course even though four have not participated in the creation of OERs. Thus, the 70% who decided to take the course after seeing what it was like, 100% has arrived at the end and 82% has completed it as required (57% compared to 33 who have started). How can we evaluate this data? The dropouts concentrated in the very first stage of the course: people who rated the course as not relevant to their interest or too difficult or too challenging. Those who considered the course of interest did not generally change their minds along the way but remained until the end even though, in some limited cases, without accepting the collaborative involvement in the production of OERs. The merit of such constant presence - for a long time - in our opinion is due to the pleasant climate of interaction and the feeling, made explicit by many SLOOP2DESC - Sharing Learning Objects in an Open Perspective to Develop European Skills and Competences
37 participants, to be actually learning something useful for their professional practice. Many trainees often apologized that they couldn't devote to the course as much time as they wanted, and they thought necessary, because of work and family commitments. A working time of at least 2-3 hours a week, then between 32 and 48 hours for the 16-week course had been indicated. Sixteen students have exceeded 40 hours, three of those who also participated in the production of OER were under 32. Eight spent over 70 hours online (i.e over 5 hours per week). But these figures show only the connection time in Moodle, do not include the work in the production of materials or contacts among trainees in other settings, sometimes - for students of the same school or in the same city - even in the presence.
Fig. 2. Time connection of the 23 active trainees.
3.2 Interactions
The data relating to posts in the Forum provides only a partial measure of the interactions occurred. In the two collaborative phases of Module 2 and Module 5, the trainees were, in fact, called to interact via email, phone, Skype and Web 2.0 environments. But the interactions occurred with other instruments are not measurable, so we give only the data related to the forum, which, however, show how the expected level of interaction has been achieved. The table on the right shows the number of open discussions and the total number of messages. A very large number, reflecting the fact that a course based on strong relationships between tutors and students and within their peer group has succeeded. Figure 3 is the result of an analysis performed on the flow of communication in the first three modules. In this sociogram, each node represents a participant; if two nodes are connected by an orange line that means that one of the two students has commented, at least once, a post written by the other trainee. If the line is blue, it means that the interaction occurred in both directions. The analysis of this graph also allows you to identify the role of individual trainees in the virtual classroom (community).
N discussions N posts General Forum 42 347 Coffee Area 15 108 Mod 1 Forum 17 348 Mod 2 Forum 10 439 N discussions N posts Mod 3 Forum 13 381 Mod 4 Forum 8 118 Mod 5 Forum (1) 17 133 Mod 5 Forum (2) 17 370 Total 139 2.244 (Forum 5 had two forums, one for group discussion, one for general discussion). According to J. Nielsen [2], user participation in most online communities more or less follows a 90-9-1 rule: 90% of users are lurkers (i.e., read or observe, but don't contribute), 9% of users contribute from time to time, and 1% of users account for almost all the action. An analysis in this direction was made in the first two months of the course. Figure 3 shows the graph of the messages sent by each participant. If the chart followed the law of 09/01/90 it should be fairly flat (at around ten messages). Indeed, even if there are two peaks on the left (corresponding to two hyperactive trainees) the graph is not flat but rather almost triangular. This distribution is evidence that we are in the presence of what we might call a 'community effect': the trainees intervene not because they are obliged to but because they are willing to. This trend was confirmed in the subsequent months of the course. Giovanni FULANTELLI, Lucian OPREA
38
Fig. 3. Pattern of relations (in the first three modules).
As you can see most of the students have interacted with many other participants in the forum. Only a few nodes are isolated, which not necessarily indicate people who have been on the edge of the course: it is because someone has used more direct means of communication other than the forum, and because some trainees, who were especially engaged in the first module in individual study and observation of the dynamics, got also engaged in collaborating with others in Module 5 where they were expected to develop resources.
4. CASCADE COURSES
Fig. 4. The distribution of trainees in Italy.
The 11 cascade courses have involved 547 participants selected from among more than 1,700 who had applied for participation. The picture below - with the right colours to celebrate 150th anniversary of the unification of Italy - indicates their origin from various parts of the country.
Fig. 5. The distribution of trainees by gender.
The prevalence of trainees from the South is probably due to the location of the promoter, the ITD- CNR, Palermo, and a strong involvement of the Educational Committees of those regions in promoting the initiativeRegarding the distribution of trainees by gender, it follows closely that of upper secondary teachers (of which 59.3% are women - a source Eurostat 2002). The high prevalence of some disciplines derives from the selection criteria described above.
Fig. 6. The distribution of trainees by discipline
4.1 The tutoring in the cascade courses
The tutors in the cascade courses have been, as mentioned, some of the participants of the pilot course. To support them in their work and to maintain the tutoring of 11 classes as homogeneous as possible, the tutors of the pilot courses have played a role of super- mentors. These have interacted with the tutors of the cascade courses in two ways: with a few meetings in Skype, before and during the coyrse, and through a dedicated forum on the project website. Again some numbers provide evidence of a strong and continuous interaction, 91 discussions initiated (sometimes by the super-mentors, tutors sometimes) with a total of 1,012 posts! Unlike the pilot courses, the geographic distribution of trainees has not allowed to start the course with a face- to-face meeting, or to hold in-progress meetings, which are generally important for the creation of harmony and team spirit among the trainees and tutors, to ensure both the sharing of the course objectives and methodology of work. Some tutors have partly compensated that promoting 'virtual' meetings using Skype or other tools.
4.2 Participation and dropouts
The chart below shows the percentage of participants per module (as distinct from IT and teachers of other subjects). The "never" item collects the percentage of those who, while enrolled in the course, have never connected to the platform.
Fig. 7. Participation. SLOOP2DESC - Sharing Learning Objects in an Open Perspective to Develop European Skills and Competences
39 Unlike what occurred in the pilot course, here there has been a constant rate of dropouts passing from Module 1 to Module 2 and from Module 2 Module 3; this rate decreases from Module 4 to and Module 5. We see this in detail: only 5% of computer teachers enrolled in the class has not entered the course, against 16% among non- computer teachers; ie: 95% of the computer teachers have entered the first module, while only 84% of the non-computer teachers have entered Module 1. 73% of the computer teachers and 61% of non- computer teachers have arrived at the second module; 49% vs. 51% has arrived at the third Module; 39% vs. 44% has arrived at the fourth Module; finally, 31% versus 39% has arrived at the fifth Module Interesting is the reversal that occurs between the computer teachers and the non-computer teachers: for non-computer the dropout rate decreases: 64% of those who entered Module 2 has also entered Module 5. In contrast, only 43% of the computer teachers who have entered Module 2 have arrived at Module 5. One can perhaps speculate that many non-computer teachers, after having registered, got scared, may be either due to EUCIP reference, or because the first modules equired a certain expertise in the use of computer and the web: elements rather reassuring for computer teachers. Instead, those non-computer teachers that have passed the initial difficulties (perhaps because already experts in the use of the network) have shown more interest for the modules with a higher reference to teaching innovation: Module 4 on competence-based learning and Module 5 on course design and development of teaching resources.
4.3 Connection Time
From the data collected in different virtual classrooms, a mixed picture emerges as for the connection time linked to the activities proposed in the Module, but also, perhaps, linked to expectations, the difficulties arising from the issues addressed, previous experiences, motivation, etc., of each participant. As a first example see the graph below concerning Module 1, which compares the total connection time in hours (y-axis) in eight virtual classrooms (x-axis).
Fig. 8. Connection Time in Module 1.
It is obvious that except for a classroom (Schifani) which recorded activities for about 2500 total hours, in the other classes the connection times is much lower: less than 500 hours. In the next graph we show the connection time, in hours, of each participant in the classroom 'Catalan' for Module 1. The difference in participants' connection times is obvious: it goes from a minimum of several minutes to peaks of 17 hours.
Fig. 9. Connection time of individual trainees of one class in Module 1.
The analysis of the total connection time for each module within the same classroom is used to confirm the heterogeneity, but also to trace the activity of the module that led to a greater number of working hours on the network. In the chart below concerning the classroom 'Catalano' we see the peak of connections in relation to the activities of Module 2, while in Module 5 there is a fall in the time spent online.
Fig. 10. Connection time in a classroom for each Module.
In the classroom 'Loi' the peak of connections in relation to the activities of Module 2 is confirmed, but the minimum number of hours of online activity is found in the activities related to Module 4.
Fig. 11. Connection Time of another class for each Module.
The very nature of the topics covered in Module 2, 'Being an online tutor and using Web 2.0 tools', in part provides a justification for the increased online activity of the participants. Giovanni FULANTELLI, Lucian OPREA
40 If the data on the activities of Module 1 of the classroom 'Schifani' are compared to a value close to that of the other classrooms (500 hours total connection), you get a further confirmation that Module 2 has seen a commitment in the virtual classroom greater than that present in the other modules. In the graph the percentage of online work develops as follows: Module 1 (20%), Module 2 (29%), Module 3 (19%), Module 4 (12%), Module 5 (20%).
Fig. 12. Connection time in the several Modules.
It should be noted that data on the total connection time of one or more classes per module do not indicate, in itself, the object of the connection: it is possible, for example, that during the period, formally dedicated to a Module, some participants were still working on the previous module. In addition, the comparison between the time devoted to a Module or the other does not take into account the dropout rate: the time spent on a module depends not only on individual time, but also on the number of trainees. Here (Fig 13) are, for example, some data from a single class, "Impastato", a small class composed of teachers of Business Administration (with only one tutor). Of the 21 members only 16 have entered at least once the platform and they are the ones on whom we have carried out the analysis. Four of these, however, have only just entered the platform, while twelve are those who have actually attended the course. So in short: 23% were registered but did enter the course, another 19% were limited to a transient stay, for a total of 42%. A consistent data with what had been recored in the pilot course and similar to what has happened in the other 10 cascade courses. One thing to think about and which refers to the 'learning compact' agreed on at the time of enrolment in an online course. It seems obvious that the gratuity has led many to enrol without assessing if they would have time to participate effectively and without considering subscribing to deprive others the opportunity to participate (in fact, ton the basis of the experience of the pilot course, we have accepted 40 % registrations more than 400 expected). The dropout rate must therefore be calculated on those who have actually started the course, 12 in the case of this class. Of these, only 2, 16%, - for personal reasons and overlapping of commitments - have not completed the course. The others have all arrived at the fifth Module, although only 8 (64%) have concluded with the production of educational resources.
Fig. 13. Trainees' Connection time per Module (one class).
The graph of Figure 14 confirms that, for this class, the greater commitment of time was the time spent on Module 2.
Fig. 14. Total time per Module of the class"Impastato" 4.4. Interactions
As the pilot courses also cascade courses have been characterised by strong interactions based on collaborative activities. Here too, we assume two classes as an example. The class Schifani was 'atypical', as composed of teachers of Italian and foreign languages. And it is just this classwhich had significantly a higher total time of connection. Here are the number of threads and posts to forums.
Forum N. discussions N. posts General 15 102 Coffee Area 13 64 Module 1 10 71 Module 2 31 203 SLOOP2DESC - Sharing Learning Objects in an Open Perspective to Develop European Skills and Competences
41 Forum N. discussions N. posts + 9 group forums 63 336 Module 3 15 178 Module 4 13 221 Module 5 + group forum 12 4 108 450 Total 176 1633 The class Li Muli was instead a class of computer teachers. Forum N. discussions N. posts General 3 54 Coffee Area 12 87 Module 1 4 132 Module 2 22 451 Module 3 9 176 Module 4 7 166 Module 5 + group forum 6 14 60 389 Total 77 1505
5. THE PRODUCTION OF OERs
In Module 5 trainees are asked to cooperate to produce Moodle courses (and individual resources to be included in them) to use with their students. This request is functional to place students in situations as a way of promoting competence development (see Chapter 2), but also to create conditions for achieving effective transfer of innovation. The goal was to have, at the end of the course, teachers prepared to plan and run online competence-based teaching paths and develop educational resources available for that activity. When we refer to educational resources we mean open educational resources, thus: released with a copy-left license, leaving freedom of use, modification and diffusion, edited, with access to any source and then into an editable format (possibly open format), easy to find (and just in the view of sharing resources the FreeLOms repository has been created). Thus it is important to analyse whether and how such a result has been reached.
5.1 OERs developed in the pilot course
In the two pilot courses, the trainees have developed the following materials: 15 SCORM packages related to Informatics content, 5 videos related to Informatics content; various learning resources for other subjects (in SCORM, doc, pdf and other formats); 4 courses on the Moodle platform; a course for IT Administrator, Module 1, Hardware (almost complete); a course on the topic Network layer, item 4.5 of Module 4, Expert use of the networks, of IT Administrator; a course on databases, the Build area of EUCIP Core, item B2; a course on Educational uses of the Web 2.0 tools.
5.2 Informatics OERs developed in the cascade courses
Proper terminology would ask to distinguish between informatics teaching and teaching of computer science and application programs. But the boundaries are not always so clear and, in particular, the teaching programs of the different disciplines of the reformed two- years course: "Informatics", "Mathematics with Computer", "Information Technology", "Information and Communication "," Computer and laboratory "- often show a mix of informatics competences. So we will catalogue here 'informatics resources' both of the first and the second type.
A high number of resources have been developed. Referring only to Moodle courses, they are as follows: 3 ECDL courses: two on spreadsheet and one on OpenOffice; 3 courses related to the area of Plan core: project management, business plans, types of organizations and their structures; 2 courses related to EUCIP Core: Information Technology and Computer Architecture; 3 courses related to IT Administrator: Modules 1, 2 and 4; 3 courses in programming; 5 courses on databases; 5 courses on the design and production of web pages; 1 course on Linux; 2 courses in electronics: operational amplifiers and power supplies and switching regulators. To these many other single LOs, used as components of those courses, must be added. FreeLOms currently contains 75 informatics resources and 27 computer use resources (also including the resources produced in the pilot course or in the previous project Sloop). A simple glance at the tag indicates the spectrum of topics, sufficiently different to be considered as the achievement of one of the aims of the project: to have available a wealth of materials to which you can access for designing online courses. The core ECDL syllabus is well covered, but also many points of EUCIP core and IT Administrator syllabuses are covered (the tags are partly in Italian and partly in English because they have been entered like that by the trainees).
Fig. 15. Tags of Informatics resources.
Giovanni FULANTELLI, Lucian OPREA
42 The rationale behind SLOOP is that of sharing resources so that every teacher should not start from scratch but can reuse and change what has been done by a colleague. So no matter if many of the courses are still incomplete products, no matter even if some, in the present state, are not yet ready to be used with students. What matters is that it has been forming a community that is sharing resources and which may, in the coming years, improving and enriching a community where other teachers will join. And it is in this perspective that we can analyse strengths and weaknesses (thus need for improvement) of the resources produced. We can analyse them in the view of these characteristics: openness and reusability, multimedia, interactivity, stimulus to relations and cooperation.
With regard to the concept of openness and reusability the courses have been released under Creative Commons license (by-sa and by-nc-sa) and have been uploaded into the repository FreeLOms, providing them with full accessibility. In many cases, the file inserted in the FreeLOms is the one to be used to make changes: for Moodle courses it is needed, of course, to import the zip file (created as a back-up) in a Moodle platform. When there is a file distinct from the source files to use, for example in the case of products with quizzes or HotPotatoes eXeLearning IT products, the source has been uploaded with its related resource. With regard to multimedia it must be said that the trainees have not used it much. The materials produced are mainly composed of texts accompanied by pictures. The video-tutorial courses are generally inserted into objects already existing on the network, and this responds to the philosophy of reuse. When the trainees had to develop something new they generally relied on simple texts, may be because it was the fastest way to prepare them, may be because they believed they had sufficient skills in the use of audio and video or, may be, they didn't reflect enough on the pedagogical use of different media. Similarly with regard to interactivity. This is essentially limited to simple tests both with simple feedback like "right" and "wrong" and corrective feedback. Concerning the relational and collaborative dimension all courses have at least one forum, but it is not generally described as it should be used, which stimuli for discussions and which proposals for collaborative work students should be provided with. Little has been planned to exploit the potential provided by the wiki. In some cases the proposed activities do not expect students to work directly on platform, but on the contrary they refer to a face-to-face dimension. An analysis of they way how the resources have been developed would seem to suggest that teachers are more focused on content rather than on the relational dimension offered by the platform; the learning resources are online, but the educational dialogue continues to be largely confined to the teacher-student relationship that is established in the classroom.
5.3 Mathematics OERs in the cascade courses
In the classes formed with mathematics teachers, five Moodle courses have been developed, all issued under a Creative Commons license (by-sa and by-nc-sa) Conics (class Loi), The number systems (class Borsellino), From propositional logic to Boolean algebra (class Montinaro), Today ... conics (class Traina), Statistics (Class Loi).
The table below shows the topics covered.
Units Conics 1. History of conics 2. Parables 3. Circumferences 4. Ellipsis 5. Hyperbole 6. Applications to algebra (equations and inequalities) 7. Applications on economics (problems of choice) 8. Polarity The number systems 1. Introduction 2. The numbering systems in the human history 3. The positional numbering systems 4. The operations with numbering systems 5. The binary system 6. The Logic Circuits 7. Evaluation and self-assessment From propositional logic to Boolean algebra 1. Elements of set theory 2. Communication, natural language and mathematical language 3. Propositional logic 4. The logic: in-depth paths 5. The logical networks 6. Models of communication 7. The Boolean algebra in Geogebra Today...conics! 1.Conics and physics 2. Conics and the economy 3. Conics and matrices 4. Conics and the arts 5. Conics and architecture 6. I see ...conics! (WebQuest) Statistics and probability 1. Probability 2. Descriptive Statistics 3. Combinatorics
SLOOP2DESC - Sharing Learning Objects in an Open Perspective to Develop European Skills and Competences
43 In general, the courses, except for the one on statistics and probability (which contains materials but the course has just been sketched), consist of the following items:
Presentation of the course. List of learning units. Learning objectives (course and / or teaching unit). Learning resources for each teaching unit (SCORM, texts, web pages, links, presentations, videos). Evaluation and Self-evaluation tests (at the end of the course and / or at the end of each unit).
Four of the courses offered are complete with a well-defined structure, sometimes with a precise schedule, ready to be used as they are, or they can be modified, since all have been made available in FreeLOms. The tools that the trainees have used are mainly links to videos, video lessons and Web sites, from the perspective of reuse, but there was also a massive production of materials made from scratch: many texts and presentations, interactive tests, self-satisfaction questionnaires, videos, interactive charts produced with GeoGebra, for a total of 36 SCORMs. The teachers, as course authors, have given greater importance to education than to technology, providing clear objectives, materials relevant to the learning objectives, activities to be carried out by students either online or with paper and pen. Interesting in this respect the web quest "Today conics" which implies collaborative learning. The interactivity is quite high in the two courses on conics thanks to the forum and interactive tests (also present in the other two courses); interactivity is also promoted by GeoGebra dynamic graphs that students can manipulate to verify certain properties, or that they can r create themselves (for example, it is required to build a plant of the dome by Guarini of the Holy Shroud).
5.4 Foreign languages OERs produced in the cascade courses
The class named Schifani, composed of teachers of Languages: L2 Italian, French, English, German and Spanish, has developed educational resources and courses in the light of the European Framework for Languages, choosing among the different levels of competences and developing useful learning resources to achieve them. Inside the course 4 working groups were formed and each group has developed a Moodle course where the all resources have been collected. Each course is described by a plan highlighting themes, goals, objectives, time, expected results in terms of knowledge, skills and competences, the course structure and the license under which the course is to be released and the learning resources developed. Here is a summary of the themes and resources developed by the 4 groups.
The group Schifani SP 5-1 Anjin has created a Module for students of English level A2 of the CEFR, supplied with resources, activities and tests. The title is "What mood are you in ...?" and the argument involves the 4 skills of speaking, writing, listening and reading. The focus is on the use of adjectives to describe personalities.
The group Schifani SP 5-2 Plurilingualism has created a path to learn the art of writing a story beginning with a well-known fairy tale, 'Little Red Riding Hood'. The languages involved are: French, Spanish, German and Italian. From a simple structure / narrative tale the course leads to the creation of a narrative text.
The group Schifani SP 5-3 Italian L2 has developed a learning path to make student familiar with the different text genres and styles of communication in various media. The resource offers an example of an activity of rewriting and transcoding.
Giovanni FULANTELLI, Lucian OPREA
44
The group Schifani 5-4 SP - Plurilingualism proposes a course of comparative culture and civilization in English and French. Starting from simple "prize de notes", you'll learn how to tell a journey, a past event. The course is divided into four units: Let's discover London. Les mdias en France. Un voyage travers la chanson. Bon apptit en France. Even these educational resources can be assessed by at least three main indicators: capability, relevance of instruments used for educational purposes, guidelines for their use. The functionality from the purely technological point of view is present in almost all of the resources developed and this is a proof of the mastery of the various tools / software proposed in the course. For some resources, on the contrary the mix of instruments used does not provide a clear identification of how to follow the learning path, creating some confusion in terms of tasks / activities. In short we can say that the aims of the course, especially those related to the knowledge of the various Web 2.0 tools, have been met more than satisfactory, but some resources still need to be accompanied by some methodological guidelines before being made available to students.
6. CONCLUSIONS
The SLOOP2DESC course objectives were manifold: to propose a model of integration between face-to- face learning and based-competence learning, to make teachers able to use software for the production of digital material and virtual environment, to induce reflection on the validity, effectiveness and attractiveness of digital resources and online courses, to encourage teachers to contribute to the creation of a repository of materials used and modified freely according to the philosophy of sharing and reuse.
We can say that these objectives have been achieved, although not always in a complete. The integration of face-to-face and and online learning is not just a matter of preparing digital material made accessible to students from home or in the laboratory. What's more, these materials cannot be just texts and images in digital format rather than paper. Online teaching should provide something that the classroom can not provide, such as the ability to manipulate / create objects (whether graphics, text, pictures, ...), the ability to intervene with conjectures and proposed solutions, the ability to search online for ideas and topics, the ability to employ a discovery-approach. And this is what, in most of the materials produced by the trainees is missing: was it matter of the short time available or underestimation of this aspect? In proposing the course SLOOP2DESC we will devote more attention to this issue. With regard to competence-based didactics, as we expected, the teachers of computer science and the language teachers have based their courses on European standards, this is due to the fact that for their disciplines there are recognized competence frameworks. The others found more difficult to transpose the standards to their teaching subjects. Finally, as regards the issue of sharing and reuse we can be satisfied with the amount and quality of resources produced and made available. In particular we note that currently in our repository there are 35 full courses, as well as hundreds of individual LO freely usable and modifiable. We believe we have given with this course, a small but significant contribution to the growth of a community of teachers able to discuss the issues and teaching methodologies, to share resources and collaborate on developing educational paths, a "community where individual competences can become a collective wealth "[3].
REFERENCES
[1] Masseroni M., Gentile M., Taibi D., Sloop2desc: uniniziativa di formazione degli insegnanti su eLearning e didattica delle competenze, in Bricks, numero zero, March 2011. [2] J. Nielsen, Partecipation inequality:Encouraging More Users to Contribute, in Alertbox, october 9, 2006, [3] Berengo F., L'uso delle tecnologie nella didattica della matematica: l'esperienza dell'ITSOS "Marie Curie", in Form@re, N. 38, October 2005.
SLOOP2DESC - Sharing Learning Objects in an Open Perspective to Develop European Skills and Competences
45
THE EXPERIENCE OF THE SLOOP2DESC COURSES IN ROMANIA
In lucrare sunt prezentate aspecte privind desfasurarea cursului de formarea a formatorilor la CERONAV Constanta. La curs s-au inscris 75 de cursanti, majoritaea experti si formatori in domeniul naval, implicati in special in certificarea IMO. Rezultatele obtinute au aratat o buna interactiune intre cursanti si tutori, fapt ce a permis realizare a 26 de materiale pedagogice (resurse educationale deschise).
The paper presents the experience of the Sloop2desc courses in Romania, involving 75 participants, mostly experts and professionals in the shipping field, especially IMO certification. The data show that the courses have been characterized by collaborative interaction between trainees and tutors, resulting in the production of 26 open educational resources for student use.
KEYWORDS: Teacher training, Online learning, Virtual classroom, International Maritime Organisation (IMO) Courses, Open Educational Resources (OER).
1. THE ROMANIAN CONTEXT
In Romania, the same as all over Europe or in other parts of the world, the changes undergone by the higher education system have been varied, radical and continual. Starting the early 90s, the first private universities were established and, in the same time, the number of public universities, faculties or study programs increased rapidly. After signing the Bologna Declaration in 1999, Romania has become a member of the European Higher Education Area and committed itself to one of the main objectives of the Bologna Process, the assurance of academic quality. Recent developments in information and communication technologies effected essential changes related both to the necessity to acquire knowledge and the capacity to use it, and to the manner in which study programs are offered by educational institutions. The most relevant of these changes concerns the student centered educational offer and the technological integration of educational resources. Using the Web-based educational technologies (e- learning), the study programs are made more accessible, and the communication between the system staff (administrators, trainees, discipline coordinators and tutors), much more efficient. From this point of view, online learning focuses more on the how than on the where the student studies. The rapid evolution of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT), in direct relationship with the development of the Internet and of the corresponding media, has led to their deeper and deeper involvement in education at all levels, and more so in online education. Online education allows for the provision of supplementary study resources, more varied and more adapted to the particular needs of every student. Nevertheless, the use of these technologies involves competences and abilities concerning both the elaboration of online educational resources, and the efficient use of communication technologies associated with the Internet.
2. COURSES AND TRAINEES
The general objective of the courses was to adapt the Sloop model and tools for transfer in Romania. In this respect, the Romanian partner (Dunarea de Jos University of Galati) developed the following specific activities and tasks: translation and cultural adaptation of the educational resources produced within the framework of the Sloop Project and redesigned by Sloop2desc; translation and cultural adaptation of the educational resources on EQF into En and Ro; selection of specific systems for certification of competences in a professional sector in Romania; selection and organization of educational materials on the chosen system of certification. Giovanni FULANTELLI, Lucian OPREA
46 As a specific certification system we chose IMO certificate, with international recognition. IMO Courses are provided only by the two CERONAV (Romanian Maritime Training Centre) centers in Constanta and Galati (Fig. 1).
Fig.1 CERONAV locations in Constanta and Galati
We identified a strong interest to improve new pedagogical technologies, including online courses. For maritime training purposes, the CERONAV experts want to develop a series of model courses providing suggested syllabi, timetables and e-learning objectives in order to assist instructors in developing training programmes and courses according to the standards for seafarers. The instructors and the students need to improve their ability to comply with international rules and standards relating to maritime safety and the prevention and control of maritime pollution, giving priority to technical assistance programmes that focus on human resources development and institutional capacity- building.
Justification of the recruitment Geographical point of view; -Danube River; -Black Sea; Traning organisations and Universities; -Naval Architecture Faculty in Galati ; -Maritime University and the Maritime Academy in Constanta; The existence of 2 important CERONAV training centers in Galati and Constanta; Important demand of Maritime personnel.
2.1. Participation and dropouts
The training was conducted between November 19, 2010 and May 4, 2011. Its main objective, to enroll 40 trainees in the IMO course (primarily experts in shipping), was reached as, finally, the number rose to 75 (58 from CERONAV Constanta and 17 from CERONAV Galati, Fig. 2). Fig. 2 - The distribution of trainees by locations 77,33% 22,67% Constanta Galati
The course started with two face-to-face meetings in Constanta and Galati. During the 5.and a half months of the course, all the activities were organised only online. The proposal primarily addressed IMO experts, but all of those who applied were received, including professionals, administrative personnel and staff (Fig. 3).
Fig. 3 -The distribution of trainees by positions 20,00% 50,67% 29,33% managers IMO experts others
Unfortunatelly, of the 75 enrolled trainees, 13 (17.33%) did not take part even in the face-to-face meeting and never accessed the platform, and 10 (13.33%) accessed it only once. We therefore refer only to the 52 students (69.33 %) who finalized all the five course modules (Fig. 4).
Fig. 4- Course participation 69,33% 17,33% 13,33% Certif ied Dropout (zero activities) Dropout af ter Module 1
Regarding the distribution of trainees by gender, 57.33 % were men and 42,67 % were women (Fig. 5). SLOOP2DESC - Sharing Learning Objects in an Open Perspective to Develop European Skills and Competences
47 Fig. 5 - The distribution of trainees by gender 42,67% 57,33% women men
2.2. Interactions
Over the December 2010-May 2011 period, a variable number of visualizations of or logins to the electronic platform of the project was registered. The interest of the students was very high at the beginning and at the end of the course. Only in April, the number of logins rose to 11639. The trend was similar for the two tutors who, naturally, mostly accessed the platform before the end of the course (770 logins in April and 887 in May). All of this is shown in Fig. 6 below, where the lines indicate the number of students and tutors logins for each month.
Fig. 6 - The participants views 0 2000 4000 6000 8000 10000 12000 14000 Dec Jan Feb Mar Apr May N u m b e r
o f
v i e w s Trainees Tutor/Teacher
The data relating to the posts on the Forum provide only a partial measure of the interactions occurred, showing however, how the expected level of interaction has been achieved (Table 1).
Table 1 - Students and tutors interactions Category No. of messages General Forum 47 Mod 1 Forum 123 Mod 2 Forum 49 Mod 3 Forum 33 Mod 4 Forum 45 Mod 5 Forum 36 Total 333
The table shows the number of messages. A large number (333), reflecting the fact that a course based on strong relationships between tutors and students and within their peer group has succeeded. Most of the students have interacted with many other participants in the forum. Most of the messages were posted in Module 1. Strangely enough, in Module 5 (where the trainees were expected to develop resources), a smaller number of messages was posted, partly due to the fact that the trainees were professionals working in the domain and did not need supplimentary information. On an average, each student accessed at least once the forum of the Moodle electronic platform. After registration, many of the teachers unfamiliar with the computer, got scared, maybe due to the Moodle platform, maybe because the first modules required a certain expertise in the use of the computer and the web. Nevertheless, those of them who surpassed the initial difficulties showed great interest for the modules with higher reference to teaching innovation: Module 4, on competence-based learning and Module 5, on course design and development of teaching resources.
3. PRODUCTION OF OER
The trainees were asked to cooperate to produce Moodle courses for their students. The goal was to have, at the end of the course, teachers prepared to plan and run online competence-based teaching paths and develop educational resources. When we refer to educational resources we mean open educational resources released with a copy-left license, free for use, modification and diffusion; edited, with access to any source and then into an editable format (possibly open format). The trainees were free to choose any topic, irrespective of their specialization. Nevertheless, they were recommended the following Learning Object (LO) structure, according to the model developed by Sloop: Presentation of the course; List of learning units; Learning objectives; Learning resources for each teaching unit (SCORM, texts, web pages, links, presentations, videos); Giovanni FULANTELLI, Lucian OPREA
48 Evaluation and Self-evaluation tests (at the end of the course and /or at the end of each unit). In Module 5, the trainees developed the following materials: 1. The Vienna Danube; 2. Cruise Boats (1); 3. Cruise Boats (2); 4. German idioms recommended in inland water navigation; 5. Diagnosis of human resources strategies; 6. Regulation of navigation on the Danube; 7. Sea pollution: causes and effects; 8. Safety at Sea (Project); 9. Flaw detection in electronic equipment; 10. Medical first aid; 11. Galati events; 12. Ceronav trainees workbook; 13. Text processing using Microsoft Word; 14. Maritime English; 15. NELI Project; 16. The Danube Delta; 17. Technical writing. Elaboration of scientific and technical materials; 18. Pollution; 19. Meteo; 20. Community law; 21. Marketing policies; 22. Logistics; 23. Workplace safety law; 24. Service strategy; 26. Marketing plan elaboration. 26 resources have been developed. Referring only to Moodle courses, they are as follows: 14 courses related to IMO disciplines; 4 courses related to the Danube and the Danube Delta; 8 courses related to project management, business plans, human resources, etc. Generally, the courses created do not have a well- defined structure, and the tools that the trainees used in creating them are mainly links to videos, video lessons and Web sites. Being involved at present only in traditional, face- to-face teaching, the trainees do not have enough experience in the elaboration of electronic educational resources. For some of the resources, the mix of instruments used does not provide a clear identification of how to follow the learning path, creating some confusion in terms of tasks and/or activities. Nevertheless, we can say that the objectives of the course, especially those related to the knowledge of the various IMO disciplines, have been reached in a satisfying manner, although some resources still need to be accompanied by methodological guidelines before being made available to students.
4. CONCLUSIONS
The main objectives of the course were: to make teachers able to use the software for the production of digital material and virtual environment; to encourage teachers to contribute to the creation of pedagogical materials used and modified freely according to the philosophy of sharing and reuse. We identified a high interest in improving new pedagogical technologies, including online courses. We can say that these objectives have been achieved, although not always in a complete manner (fig. 7, 8).
Fig.7 Local seminar at CERONAV Constanta
Fig. 8 Interactions between trainees
Regarding competence-based didactics, as expected, the IMO experts/teachers based their courses on international standards, the disciplines they teach being related to recognized competence frameworks. The others found it more difficult to transpose the standards to their teaching subjects. The analysis of the trainee activities and of the results identified the following strong and weak points: Strong points flexible coordination by CNR; excellent partnership; platform facilities; CERONAV experts and managers enthusiastic and highly interested in blended learning; Italian partners experience; good templates (M1, M2, M3, M4, EQF, EUCIP). Weak points limited ICT skills/competences of some of the participants; some technical problems at the start of the course; mixture of Italian, English and Romanian content (due to fund shortage for translations); lack of experience in online teaching for some of the CERONAV experts.
REFERENCES
[1] Rusu, C.C., Mistodie L.R., The Development of Course Contents Used in Engineering Distance Education, Proceedings of the 13th International Conference - Modern Technologies, Quality and Innovation, MODTECH, ISSN: 2066-3919, pp. 559-562, 2009. [2] Taibi, D., Gentile, M., Fulantelli, G., Allegra, M., An Ontology to Model e-portfolio and Social Relationship in Web 2.0 Informal Learning Environments, International Journal of Computers Communications & Control, ISSN: 1841-9836, Vol. 5, Iss. 4, pp. 578-585, 2010. [3] Vrtacnik, M., Jurisevic, M., Savec, VF., Motivational Profiles of Slovenian High School Students and Their Academic Performance Outcomes, Acta Chimica Slovenica, ISSN: 1318-0207, Vol. 57, Iss. 3, pp. 733-740, 2010. [4] Sharing Learning Objects in an Open Perspective, European Commision, Project number: I/05/B/F/PP-154194, ISBN 979-88-903115-0-5, 2007. [5] www. sloopproject.eu
SLOOP2DESC - Sharing Learning Objects in an Open Perspective to Develop European Skills and Competences
49
THE EXPERIENCE OF THE SLOOP2DESC COURSES IN SLOVENIA
Margareta Vrtanik 1 , Danica Dolniar 1
Niko Schlamberger 2 , pela voljak 3
1 Faculty of Natural Sciences and Engineering, University of Ljubljana, Slovenia 2 Slovenian Society INFORMATIKA 3 IPMIT, Slovenia
metka.vrtacnik@guest.arnes.si
Abstract Izvleek In this paper we present our experience and results related to the design and management of the online course Developing e-learning teaching and learning resources based on the EUCIP certificate, which was organised under the auspices of the international Leonardo da Vinci project SLOOP2DESC. The course was intended primarily for teachers of Informatics. From the 64 participants who applied for the course, slightly less than 50 % reached the last module, and the numbers had further reduced by the end of the course. In line with other research results, our experience also shows that in order to minimise participants drop-off, constant tutor guidance and participant orientations are necessary. We expect that participants who successfully finished the online course will become ambassadors for the EUCIP certificate that we hope to introduce in Slovenia.
V prispevku poroamo o prvih izkunjah in rezultatih online teaja Zasnova in priprava spletnih unih gradiv, osnovanih na certifikatu EUCIP, ki smo ga izvedli v sklopu mednarodnega projekta SLOOP2DESC sklada Leonardo da Vinci. Teaj je bil namenjen predvsem izobraevalcem poklicev v informatiki. Nanj se je prijavilo 64 udeleencev, od teh najve uiteljev informatike in raunalnitva v osnovnih in srednjih olah. Slaba polovica udeleencev je uspela priti do zadnjega modula teaja. Pokazalo se je, da je za uspeh online teajev kljuna nenehna komunikacija med udeleenci teaja in tutorji ter podajanje natannih in konkretnih navodil za izdelavo nalog. Teajniki, ki so uspeno konali teaj, bodo lahko postali ambasadorji sistema certificiranja EUCIP, za katerega upamo, da ga bomo uspeli uvesti tudi v Sloveniji.
KEYWORDS: EQF, EUCIP, skills, competences, online course in Slovenia
KEYWORDS: EQF, EUCIP, spretnosti, kompetence, online teaj v Sloveniji
1. RATIONALE EUCIP IN SLOVENIA
The need for trained and experienced Informatics professionals in Slovenia is considerable, but for various reasons (e.g. low interest of students for the study of demanding disciplines), the national education system does not deliver enough qualified professionals. The result of this disproportion is that there are many self-declared professionals who cannot produce any kind of certificate to prove their alleged experience in information technology. There are, however, various industry and company certification schemes and certificates available, but mostly in large multinational companies. There are several disadvantages of such schemes, but a major weakness of industry certificates is that in most cases they are not supported by any national or international standard and, consequently are not commonly and publicly recognised as generally valid certificates. The Slovenian society INFORMATIKA (SSI) has seen EUCIP as providing a possibility to introduce a recognised training and certification program for those who work in information technology but have no formal qualification. Moreover, as SSI has successfully introduced ECDL, it was confident that EUCIP - although much more demanding in this respect than ECDL - could be established in Slovenia as a scheme desirable both by those with no formal qualification and by employers alike. The first attempt in this direction was made in 2005, when SSI, two faculties and some commercial companies agreed that they would collaborate in a project which would lead to the availability of EUCIP training and certification. Also a study has been carried out which has shown that the project was viable, but for various reasons it did not take off at that time. However, the idea has not been forgotten and the SLOOP2DESC project has been perceived as a welcome opportunity to revisit the idea and to develop it further. Therefore, the decision was made to introduce the EUCIP certification scheme to Slovenian teachers of Informatics through an online course Developing e-learning teaching and learning resources based on the EUCIP standard, adapted from an Italian pilot course.
Giovanni FULANTELLI, Lucian OPREA
50 2. THEORETICAL BACKGROUND
Innovations in e-learning technologies point toward a revolution in education, allowing learning to be individualised (adaptive learning), enhancing learners' interactions with other students (collaborative learning), and transforming the role of the teacher (Ruiz, Mintzer & Leipzig, 2006). This claim was supported by reviewing the growth of scientific literature in the field of e-learning on Web of Science, since a great increase in the number of publications was detected in the recent years (from 2005 to 2011), Figure 1. Ranking the records published in the last years (2005 - 2011) by subject area further reveals that e- learning approaches are well established in a series of disciplines: Education (33.6 % of records), Computer Science (28.8 % of records), Engineering (8.8 % of records), Health Care (6.0 % of records), Information Science & Library Science (3.4 % of records), and Operation and Management Science (3.2 % of records).
0 500 1000 1500 2000 2500 N o .
o f
p u b l i c a t i o n s 2005 - 2011 2004 - 1999 1998 - 1993 1992 - 1987
Fig. 1: Growth of scientific literature on e-learning
Learning Management Systems (LMS) - support administrative tasks such as registration, scheduling, and learner tracking Managed Learning Environment (MLE) - includes the whole range of information systems and processes that contribute directly or indirectly to learning and learning management Learning Content Management Systems (LCMS) - allow developers to store, manage and provide access to pieces of content used in e-learning Virtual Learning Environments (VLE) - the components in which learners and tutors participate in several online interactions, including online learning. (p. 401, Costa & Silva, 2010). E-learning technological systems differ in the level and quality of interactions and orientations between students and tutors (teachers) during the learning process from low level (LMS) to high-level online interactions for VLE. The research work of Chen and Huang (2010) has indicated that the lack of orientation and interactions as well as formative assessment leads to higher dropout rates, since from the perspective of students these elements of the system generate criticism and suggestions that guide them toward ultimate learning goals and improve their rates of sustainability. The authors have suggested blending the web-based learning platform with external and human- involved interactions and assessment. From the educators perspective the most important aspect of e-learning is its impact on academic achievements, competencies and attitudes. A content analysis of studies in the field of cognition in e-learning that were published in five Social Sciences Citation Index journals from 2001 to 2005, made by Shih, Feng & Tsai (2008), revealed 444 studies as being related to the specified field. Instructional approaches, learning environment and metacognition were recognised as the most popular research orientations, but the analysis of the citation counts suggested that the studies related to instructional approaches, information processing and motivation might have a greater impact on subsequent research. The research findings of Harteis, Gruber & Hertramph (2010), who studied practices of e-learning among 256 employees of various hierarchical status and working in companies of different sizes, indicated that the individual understanding of the nature of knowledge and the creation of knowledge had a more significant impact on the quality of knowledge increase than did the amount of professional e-learning. Their conclusions offer new impulses for the study of knowledge management. De-Marcos, Hilera, Barchino et al. (2010) have presented a new tool designed to reinforce students knowledge by means of self- assessment. The evaluation of the tool by three different experimental groups of students aged from 14 to 21 years has shown that this kind of tool improved student achievements, especially amongst younger learners, while the impact of current teaching activities and methodology used was rather low. A study by Choudhury, Gouldsborough & Gabriel (2010) revealed that a combination of interactive sessions with e-learning modules for students of a functional anatomy course, which was introduced during the first year of their studies contributed to a significant increase in the mean examination score as compared to scores, achieved by students in previous years. The positive impact of e- learning system quality and readiness on e-learners' competency and learning outcomes was also revealed in the study by Ho, Kuo & Lin (2010). In addition, teaching with evidence-based practice elements blended with e-learning activities proved to be a challenge for further activities for medical and professional development, as indicated in the study by Potomkova, Mihal & Zapletalova J et al. (2010). Hildrum (2010), in his case study of e-learning in Cisco's Network of System Integrator Partner Firms, challenged the widespread argument that ICT-mediated communication is inadequate for the sharing of tacit knowledge. However, he found that advanced e-learning systems - remote laboratories in particular - make possible efficient sharing of tacit knowledge between internationally dispersed technicians. A study by Orvis, Fisher & Wasserman (2009), in which a sample of 274 undergraduates completed an e-learning program, either with or without interactive learner control tools, suggested that both training satisfaction and off-task attention predicted subsequent learning. SLOOP2DESC - Sharing Learning Objects in an Open Perspective to Develop European Skills and Competences
51 The findings of Mutula, Kalusopa, Moahi & Wamukoya (2006) have revealed that an online mode of information literacy could improve students' competencies perhaps even more than the face-to-face instruction approach. Furthermore, respondents preferred a blended instruction approach to a single learning mode. Engelbrecht (2005) in his study reported the evaluation of the implementation of an e-learning Masters Program in Taxation in South Africa, based on the feedback from students. Students reacted positively to the use of technology but expressed concern about the lack of interaction among students, and between students and teachers. He concluded that getting students to take responsibility for their own learning was a bigger challenge than improving their computer and information technology skills. The research findings of Kian-Sam & Lee (2008) pointed to the need for the e-learning facilitator to encourage students not only to be active in seeking knowledge, but to also engage in giving and sharing opinions among their peers outside the classroom. Results suggested that there were blended learning benefits for these students, as they were given improved opportunities to learn outside the classroom. Kramarski B, Michalsky T (2009), who examined the impact of the learning environment of pre-service teachers on their pedagogical knowledge, cognition and motivation, found that apart from the learning environment (e-learning or face-to face), the metacognitive self-questioning method IMPROVE contributed to better study outcomes and motivation. Byman A, Jarvela S, Hakkinen P (2005) stressed that, due to the rapidly growing applications of e- learning and web-based courses in education, there is a need to analyse the issue of reciprocal understanding in web-based learning in order to develop more profound pedagogical models. The results of their research show that during the web-based course there was a reciprocal discussion between the participants. The participants had mutual negotiations and they discussed issues from a variety of different viewpoints. Seven different ideas were found for the mechanisms of reciprocal understanding. They concluded that this information is useful for developing a new pedagogical model for web-based learning and enhancing the quality of virtual interaction.
3. THE SLOVENE ONLINE COURSE ADAPTATIONS
Based on the research findings and their recommendations, we adapted the original Italian pilot course Developing e-learning teaching and learning resources based on the EUCIP standard in order to obtain a good rate of sustainability and motivation of participants throughout the course duration. The goals and the framework of the course remained as originally planned and the course timeline was not substantially changed. The course remained structured in five modules: Module 1 Using Moodle as a trainee and as a teacher, Module 2 Being an online tutor and using Web 2.0 tools, Module 3 Designing and sharing learning objects in an open perspective, Module 4 European Qualification Framework (EQF), e-Competence Framework (e-CF) and the EUCIP standard, Module 5 - Collaborative development of educational resources based on the EUCIP standard. The first module was dedicated to the introduction of the Moodle learning management system from the viewpoint of students and teachers. Instead of videos, demonstrations made with Wink software were used for content presentation. In addition to assignments requiring forum participation, we introduced a series of specific tasks. Participants had to prepare a lesson, a quiz and optionally a book and questionnaire in Moodle in order to gain a wider notion of the learning environments capabilities. For maintaining participants interest it was extremely important that their assignments were regularly evaluated by tutors and the feedback on improvements was given to them through e-mail contact or discussion forums. The majority of students took tutors recommendations seriously and they improved their products. The second module, Being an online tutor and using Web 2.0 tools, introduced the role of the tutor in the e-learning environment to the participants and presented a series of Web 2.0 tools particularly useful in computer-supported collaborative learning. Students were assigned some individual tasks, but the most important were the collaborative assignments for which they were divided into six groups of 10-11. Each group had to prepare a presentation of a selected Web 2.0 tool, using Google Docs. In another task they had to design a list of Web 2.0 tools with a short presentation of each tool, using a pre-prepared Wiki. The main addition to the third module, Designing and sharing learning object in an open perspective, was an assignment to prepare an interactive learning resource in SCORM format and publish it in the trial area of the course. For this task they were given detailed guidelines including the topic selection and didactical approach in designing learning materials. A model SCORM resource, prepared by a third year student of Chemistry and Biology, was added to the module. The tutors also added a Moodle quiz on Creative Commons licences for participants knowledge assessment. Participants work needed to be permanently monitored and stimulated in order to sustain motivation for completing assignments. Module 4 was adapted as well. Since we expected students to experience difficulties in correlating the module content to their daily school practice, two Moodle quizzes were added to assess their knowledge, first on the European Qualification Framework (EQF) and its relation to the e-Competence Framework and the second on the EUCIP certification system. Monitoring of students activities revealed that some students started entering the quizzes before having carefully studied the available learning resources. However on their second or third try they managed to improve their knowledge and achieve higher scores. The most important participants task of this module was to select three favourite topics and/or modules from the EUCIP Core and IT Administrator syllabi and rank their selection by preference. These preferences were used in order to divide participants into groups for their final task - collaborative design of an online course - in Module 5. The following groups were set up: A7 Legal and Ethical Issues (six participants), B2 Data Management and Databases (six participants), B4 User Interface and Web Design (seven participants), M1 PC Hardware (six participants), M2 - Operating systems (six participants). Giovanni FULANTELLI, Lucian OPREA
52 4. PARTICIPANTS AND DROPOUT RATE
The recruitment of teachers for the online course was not an easy task. Unresponsiveness/indifference to our invitations was observed especially among the authorities in charge of technical and vocational schools for computer and Informatics technicians, as well as faculties producing secondary school Informatics teachers. Several e-mails with kind invitations and appeals for cooperation remained unanswered. From this unpleasant experience we learned that only the school headmasters had the power to delegate teachers to in-service training. Once again personal contact proved to be a guarantee of success. 0 10 20 30 40 50 Middle school High school SMEs University Ministry Undefined No. of participants registered
Fig. 2: Participants of the online course by place of employment
With the support of the Institute of Education we managed, through personal contact, to address the school headmasters directly, thereafter we eventually started to receive teachers applications for the online course. The final number of applicants for the EUCIP online course (64) and their structure of employment are presented in Figure 2. The majority of course applicants were secondary school teachers. The dropout rate of participants during the progress of the course is presented in Figure 3.
0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 55 60 65 70 applied not started C. M 1 C. M 2 C. M 3 C. M 4 C. M 5 N o .
o f
p a r t i c i p a n t s
Legend: C. completed, M - Module
Fig. 3: Participants by completion level Out of 64 applicants three never enrolled on the course; the majority of entrants dropped out from the course after the first (30%) or the second (20%) course module, but approximately 50 % of those who originally entered remained in the course and entered the final Module 5 of the course. It needs to be noted that some of those completed most, but not all of the required assignments in modules 2-4. The moderate dropout rate can be attributed to tutors support and high motivation of the participants, as found also by Chen and Huang (2010). When confronted with a demanding task to prepare learning materials for their own online course, only the most motivated ones persisted and finished the course, therefore the final drop- out rate was 74 % indicating that only 17 participants out of 64 fulfilled all the requirements of the Slovenian EUCIP pilot online course.
5. QUALITY OF PARTICIPANTS' ACTIVITIES
Module 1 - Using Moodle as a student and as a teacher Out of 61 participants who actually entered in the first Module of the course, 51 were able to add resources and 52 to create a forum in the module trial space. More demanding tasks - preparing a lesson and quiz in Moodle - were successfully completed by 46 participants and 41 respectively, while optional tasks - preparing a questionnaire and book in Moodle - were accomplished by 13 and 15 participants respectively. These numbers could be misleading unless the quality of participants lessons and quizzes are taken into account. In this respect we were unpleasantly surprised. The online course was not meant to address didactical aspects of lessons and quizzes, as the majority of participants were teachers. We assumed that they would be knowledgeable in the didactics of the subjects they are teaching. However, the lessons they produced were poor representations of their efforts, most often presented even without titles, goals, and defined topics. In most cases participants only created three or four pages of the lessons framework without any real content. In the case of quizzes they did not use all possible options for preparing test items; they chose just the easiest one true/false. Instead of 10 test items as recommended, the majority prepared only between 2 and 5 test items, preferably of the same type. Only 10 participants joined a discussion forum on the usefulness of quizzes in Moodle. Out of 17 participants in the discussion on the usefulness of Moodle lessons, 15 were introduced to this tool for the first time, whereas all claimed that they would use lessons in Moodle more often.
Module 2 - Being an online tutor and using Web 2.0 tools First the participants were asked to express their view on the role of an online tutor, which was done on the forum by 32 participants. In the next task, 38 participants described their current use of Web 2.0 tools. From the discussion forum on the use of Web 2.0 tools, we could conclude that they were familiar with most of the Web 2.0 tools and that they are using them regularly in their SLOOP2DESC - Sharing Learning Objects in an Open Perspective to Develop European Skills and Competences
53 everyday life. Also the discussion on the role of tutors in e-learning was very vivid. The prevailing opinion was, however, that it is difficult to draw a line between a tutor and a teacher since their roles are often interwoven. Further tasks included adding entries on Web 2.0 tools in Delicious (completed by 30 participants), publishing a document in Google Docs (32) and adding entries on Web 2.0 tools to a Moodle Wiki (30). Some of the tasks mentioned were completed with some delay. In the main collaborative task, all participants starting the course were divided into groups (alphabetically) of 10-11 that had to prepare learning materials on selected Web 2.0 tools using Google Docs. The level of collaboration within groups varied greatly, from 2 to 8 active members. 30 participants, in some cases with delay, successfully completed this task. As expected from the findings of Engelbrecht (2005), participants of the online course were poorly prepared to assume responsibility for their own learning especially when they were confronted with collaborative tasks. Some of them declared that they were not used to collaboration and one even expressed that she didnt want to work in a group. As a result some either dropped out of the course or skipped the tasks. Tutors were faced with a reaction that one would not expect from teachers. Since the introduction of new school curricula in 2008 and 2010 all teachers are being encouraged to use active teaching and learning strategies enriched by interdisciplinary approaches in their classes. This new paradigm could be realised only in close cooperation with teachers of different disciplines and even different schools.
Module 3 - Designing and sharing learning objects in an open perspective All participants assignments in this Module were individual; 32 solved the quiz (mean score 8.89 out of 10), 29 prepared their own PowerPoint presentation and uploaded it in the Slide Share, 27 produced and uploaded their own movie in YouTube, but the most demanding task preparing and uploading in the trial space a SCORM of e-unit, was completed on time by only 19 participants. In the middle of Module 4, four more participants managed to upload their SCORMs; and thanks to the detailed guideline referring to the structure and content of the e-unit and critical analyses of their lessons and quizzes prepared in the first module, the quality of their products increased substantially. Therefore we gained confirmation of the importance of tutors intervention and permanent participants guidance throughout the e-course in order to achieve the sustainability and quality of learning outcomes. The participation in the discussion forums also improved as compared to that for Module 1. Altogether, 30 participants joined the discussion on Creative Commons licences and their applications. The majority would assign a licence to their resources: approval of the authorship, non-commercial and share alike, and 32 of them participated in the discussion on usefulness of sharing open learning objects for promotion of e-learning. They mostly agreed that the idea of open learning resources of a high quality would be welcome promotional material for broadening the use of e-learning in our schools.
Module 4 - European Qualification Framework (EQF), e-Competence Framework (e-CF) and EUCIP certificate
The quiz on the European Qualification Framework and e-competences was solved by 24 participants (mean score 9.56 out of 10) while the quiz on the EUCIP certificate was solved by 20 participants (mean score 8.5/10). 25 participants supported the idea of introducing the European Qualification Framework and e-Competence framework in Slovenia, but they were rather critical in their opinion and some of them even claimed that they didnt see any particular benefit of such an endeavour. Especially participants without formal education in Informatics endorsed the idea of EQF, as they saw the possibility of obtaining a formal recognition of their competences and knowledge through this system. In addition, 24 participants took a Proximity Profile test; all of them found the test useful and all of them declared that the results met their expectations. At the end of Module 4, participants had to identify three categories of knowledge/modules from the EUCIP Core and/or IT Administrator syllabi and to order them according to their preferences.
Module 5 - Collaborative development of educational resources based on the EUCIP standard
Based on the participants preferences five workgroups were formed by tutors: A7: Legal and Ethical Issues (six participants), B2: Data Management and Use (six participants), B4: User Interface and Web Design (7 participants), M1: PC Hardware (six participants), M2: Operating Systems (six participants). On one hand, such composition of groups ensured an even distribution, and on the other the majority of participants were assigned the topic of their highest defined priority. Before designing the content of their online course, the groups were instructed to cover the knowledge categories that they recognised as important for their work. In the first two weeks of Module 5, workgroups had to select a group leader and produce an outline of their course according to the guidelines given by the tutors. The course outlines were then analysed and commented on by the tutors, after which the groups had five weeks to prepare courseware materials. For this part, the tutors offered a series of suggestions and hints about the most appropriate tools for presentation of different courseware elements. This final task needed very dedicated and permanent on-time collaboration by all group members.
6. SELF-EVALUATION
Each course module ended with two questionnaires: self-evaluation questionnaire and module evaluation. The questionnaires were designed in the form of simple statements, and participants were asked to respond to these statements on a 5-point Likert scale ranging from 1 - not at Giovanni FULANTELLI, Lucian OPREA
54 all true, to 5 - very true for me. Frequencies of responses to both questionnaires are presented in Figure 4.
0, 0 10, 0 20, 0 30, 0 40, 0 50, 0 60, 0 70, 0 80, 0 90, 0 100, 0 Module 1 Module 2 Module 3 Module 4 Module 5 F r e q u e n c y
( % ) Self -ev al. Module ev al.
Fig. 4: Frequencies of responses
Participants were generally more reluctant to evaluate the modules than their learning outcomes, Figure 4. Approximately 20 % more participants evaluated the first module and 9 % more participants evaluated the second module than giving an evaluation of their own learning outcomes of these modules. The frequencies of responses to the third and the fourth module are levelled on both questionnaires, while approximately 8 % less participants evaluated Module 5 than their own learning outcomes. With the first one - the self-evaluation questionnaire - participants of the course were expected to reflect on their knowledge increase while studying the materials of the modules and fulfilling their assignments.
Module 1: Part one - Moodle from the students point of view (44 respondents) Self-evaluation categories and average rank assigned to each category: Registration (4.8) Editing a user profile (4.9) Exchange of messages (4.4) Entering a trial area (4.6) Cooperation in discussion forums (4.0)
Part two Moodle from the teachers point of view Self-evaluation categories and average rank assigned to each category: Following student activities (4.0) Editing course settings (4.3) Adding resources (4.4) Adding activities (4.1) Adding a link to a Web page and code from You tube (4.2)
Module 2: (28 respondents) Self-evaluation categories and average rank assigned to each category: Understanding the role of an online tutor (3.9) Linkography (3.9) Social bookmarking (3.8) Using Skype (3.7) Using forums (4.6) Google Docs (4.6) Wikis (4.1) Role playing and simulations (3.5) Module 3: (23 respondents) Self-evaluation categories and average rank assigned to each category: Understanding the meaning of open resources and learning objects (4.3) Understanding the meaning of CC licences (4.0) Familiarity with online databases with free teaching resources (3.7) Exchange of resources using Web 2.0 tools (4.1) Use of eXe Learning software for production of interactive learning resources (3.9) Understanding the SCORM model (3.9) Production of a SCORM package using eXe Learning (4.0)
Module 4: (18 respondents) Self- evaluation categories and average rank assigned to each category: Understanding the meaning of EFQ (3.8) Understanding the structure of the EU framework of e-competences (3.8) EUCIP competences and Informatics profiles (4.0) EUCIP certificates and procedure of certification (3.6) EUCIP and IT administrator competences for Informatics professionals (3.7) Usefulness of Proximity Profile test for further education (3.6)
Module 5: (15 respondents) Self-evaluation categories and average rank assigned to each category: Planning learning resources (courseware) (4.1) Production of courseware (4.4) Sharing learning resources in an open perspective (4.1) Collaboration in preparation of a Moodle course (4.5)
The dropout rates of respondents for self-evaluation questionnaires are presented in Figure 5. 0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 Module 1 Module 2 Module 3 Module 4 Module 5 R e s p o n c e s
Fig. 5: Drop-out rates of respondents
Only 72.1 % of participants who originally enrolled for the online course responded to the first questionnaire, 46 % responded to the second, 38 % to the third, 28 % to the fourth, and 23 % to the fifth. Such results could be SLOOP2DESC - Sharing Learning Objects in an Open Perspective to Develop European Skills and Competences
55 explained either by indifference or forgetfulness on the part of the participants, since they were always specifically invited at the end of the module to fill-in both questionnaires. From the results of the self- evaluation questionnaires it is possible to conclude that participants evaluated their study outcomes for each module as above average (< 3) or good (= < 4). Unfortunately, these high average scores were not always reflected, either in the quality of their assignments or in the timeliness of completion. For example, they claimed high proficiency in using Google Docs (4.6) and Wiki (4.1), but they had problems in collaborative tasks of the second module. Also on using eXe and producing a SCORM package of their own they achieved above-average scores of 3.9 and 4.0 respectively, but only 19 participants managed to complete the task on time. In spite of having had the possibility to address the problems encountered in using the eXe programme and SCORM production through the discussion forum, only a few participants used this option to overcome problems. They also very highly rated their abilities to plan and collaboratively prepare courseware, but their products and the high dropout rate from their workgroups did not support their claims.
7. EVALUATION OF MODULES
All modules were evaluated using the same categories: correlation between the objectives and the content presented, level of fulfilment of participants expectations, content novelties, adequacy of the modules timing, approaches used, usefulness of the content, learning environment, tutor support, and overall grade of the module. The participants were asked to respond to statements on a 5-point Likert scale ranging from 1 - not at all true, to 5 - very true for me. Participants evaluation of Module 1 - results are presented in Figure 6. 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100 Goals Expectations Upgrade k. Usefulness Approaches Timeline Learning envir. Tutor's support Total grade Percent (%) 5 4 3 2 1
Fig. 6: Evaluation of Module 1
The participants assigned the highest possible scores of 5 or 4 to all categories, only 4 % of the participants did not feel that they had upgraded their knowledge on the use of Moodle, and 5 % of them claimed that the content of the module was not useful for their work. Participants evaluation of Module 2 results are presented in Figure 7. 0 20 40 60 80 100 Goals Expectations Upgrade k. Usefulness Approaches Timeline Learning environment Tutor's support Total grade Percent (%) 5 4 3 2 1
Fig. 7: Evaluation of Module 2
Only 3 % of the participants assigned the lowest grade 1 to tutors support and timing of the course, and a further 6 % gave grade 2 to tutors support, while 56 % and 38 % assigned the highest respective grade (5) to the same categories. However, Figure 7 shows that marks 5 and 4 are prevailing in the assessment of all categories of the evaluation: 13 % of the participants claimed that they had not advanced their knowledge with the content of Module 2, and 6 % did not recognize any value in the content of this module. These low scores might be due to the fact that some participants had been already well familiarized with the applications of Web 2.0 tools - as they expressed in the forum - and that some participants work in activities where the application of Web 2.0 tools is not needed. But, in spite of the prevailing high scores assigned to all categories of the second module, their difficulties in completing this modules activities did not support their evaluation scores. Participants evaluation of Module 3 - results are presented in Figure 8.
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100 Goals Expectations Upgrade k. Usefulness Approaches Timeline Learning envir. Tutor's support Total grade Percent (%) 5 4 3 2
Fig. 8: Evaluation results of Module 3 Giovanni FULANTELLI, Lucian OPREA
56 Apart from the adequacy of timing, which was given the highest score by 44 % of the participants, all other categories got the highest score (5) by from over 50 % up to 78 % of participants (tutors support). The reason for that might be that the tutors had also learned from experiences obtained in the first two modules, and they also participated more frequently in the discussion forums and commented on participants efforts. Participants evaluation of Module 4 - results are presented in Figure 9. 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100 Goals Expectations Upgrade k. Usefulness Approaches Timeline Learning environment Tutor's support Total grade Percent (%) 5 4 3 2
Fig. 9: Evaluation results of Module 4
Again, the majority of the participants assigned high scores to all categories (4, or 5), but 6 % of them were - according to their responses (low scores) - already familiar with the EUCIP system, and e- competences, therefore they did not upgrade their knowledge, in addition 11 % of participants obviously did not see the content of the module as being useful. Such a response from the participants came as rather a surprise, since we had thought that the major reason for joining the online course was to gain a deeper insight into the EUCIP system and programme. Participants evaluation of Module 5 results are presented in Figure 10
0 20 40 60 80 100 Goals Expectations Upgrade k. Usefulness Approaches Timeline Learning environment Tutor's support Total grade Percent (%) 5 4 3 2 1
Fig. 10: Evaluation results of Module 5 In the fifth module high scores (4 or 5) were assigned to all categories of the evaluation, but 20 % assigned low scores to tutors' support, and 10 % (one participant) did not upgrade his/her knowledge. We added some additional questions to the questionnaire since we wanted to get participants' reflections on their own efforts in collaborative design of their online course; 70 % of them claimed that the workgroup they were assigned to was appropriate (score 5), 60 % were satisfied with the number of workgroups (score 5), and an equal percent were happy with the number of participants within the group; 40 % assigned the highest score to the clarity of instructions for drafting the course, and 30 % to the clarity and usefulness of tutors' hints for preparing courseware; 50 % assigned the highest score to the usefulness of the prior knowledge gained in previous modules, but only 10 % were satisfied with the level of collaboration within group, while 40 % claimed that the level of collaboration was low or extremely low. This is not in line with the self-evaluation results where the average number of scores assigned to the collaboration of participants in online course preparation was 4.5. The feeling of low level of collaboration within workgroups during the production of courseware was further confirmed by the number of participants within each workgroup who actually contributed to the design of the course: workgroup A7 (two out of six); workgroup B2 (three out of six); workgroup B4 (five out of seven); workgroup M1 (four out of six) and workgroup M2 (two out of six). Participants were also asked to evaluate the level of satisfaction with the online course they had produced. They were quite critical, as only three participants were satisfied with the course they had produced and chose score 5, while all the others were either partially satisfied (score 4 or 3) or not at all (score 2).
8. FINAL RESULTS
As the final result of the course, which ended on the 10 th of April 2011, participants managed to design and prepare courseware for 5 online courses, aimed to achieve goals of three EUCIP Core Syllabus knowledge categories (A7, B2 and B4) and selected knowledge areas from two modules of IT Administrator (M1 and M2). For the evaluation of the quality of products, the tutors developed a special method and a respective evaluation template was prepared. The following building blocks of the course were evaluated: (1) diversity of teaching tools used (28 points maximum), (2) adequacy of content selection (maximum 50 points), and (3) adequacy of didactical approaches (50 points maximum). Results of the evaluation are presented in Table 1.
Table 1: Evaluation of online courses prepared by five working groups of participants
Working group No. of active participants No. of points achieved Comments A7: Legal and Ethical Issues 4 out of 6 94/128 73 % Strengths: variety of tools used, good course structure Weakness: not all topics covered SLOOP2DESC - Sharing Learning Objects in an Open Perspective to Develop European Skills and Competences
57 Working group No. of active participants No. of points achieved Comments B2: Data Manage ment and Use 3 out of 6 88/128 69 % Strengths: good structure and didactical design of courseware Weakness: low variety of teaching tools, not all topics covered B4: User Interface and Web Design 7 out of 7 123/128 96 % Strengths: good coverage of topics, great variety of teaching tools selected Weakness: introduction missing M1: PC Hardware 4 out of 6 92/128 72 % Strength: the course represents coherent teaching material Weakness: topics only partially covered M2: Operating Systems 2 out of 6 71/128 55 % Strength: two high quality SCORMs prepared with a SCORM test Weakness: the course does not meet the criteria for the course design since only two participants remained in the group
From the results in Table 1 it can be concluded that the major strengths of the online courses produced by five working groups of participants are the variety of teaching tools used and well structured content divided into sub-topics, which results in coherent teaching materials. The major weakness is the coverage of the content, which is in all cases but one (B4) incomplete. This drawback is on the one hand the result of a low level cooperation among participants of the group and poor management of the group work by group leaders, and on the other an irresponsible attitude of some groups members who ignored the fact that their contributions would be of utmost importance for the quality of the final product. The level of cooperation during the 5th module of the online course confirmed our previous observation, that some Slovenian teachers are not ready to accept the responsibility for their own learning process and for consequent actions needed to successfully reach the learning goals.
9. WHAT DID WE LEARN?
Monitoring the participants throughout the duration of the course has shown that transferring the course content from one cultural background into another was not a trivial task. We should be more familiar with the real expectations and prior knowledge of the course participants before we start designing the content of each module. From the weaknesses of each module that participants openly expressed in the Modules' evaluation questionnaires we have learned that - particularly in the first module - from their perspective and needs, the content was presented too mechanically, while they needed didactical guidance on the use of Moodle. In fact, for each task assigned they expected to be given an example together with didactical instructions so that it could be used as a model for their own products. This shortcoming was corrected in Module 3 where they were given an example of the SCORM, whereupon they followed the example in preparing SCORMs of their own teaching units. In evaluating Module 2, again some participants were missing didactical instructions on how to integrate and effectively use Web 2.0 tools in a controlled learning environment. Some of them expected tutors to enter their Google Docs and Wiki and help them carrying out the tasks since they were not able to work collaboratively without the tutors' support. One participant claimed that too many tools were presented for her capabilities and so she lagged behind. In evaluating the content of Module 3, participants did not mention any weakness. One even claimed that he got exactly what he needed and that he was eager to provide his colleagues with the content of this module. In the case of Module 4 some technical problems with sound were mentioned as a weakness. One participant expected the translation of the EUCIP core and IT Administrator curricula in Slovenian, a claim that we considered unusual for someone who works in Informatics. We carefully designed the content of Module 5 based on the participants feedback, especially in the first and the second module. As the final task of the fourth module, the participants had to identify three knowledge categories from EUCIP Core syllabus and/or modules from the IT Administrator syllabus and arrange them in order of their preferences. From participants preferences the tutors selected five categories and divided participants into groups, taking their preferences into account as much as possible. We have also structured the design of their online course into two phases. First they had to prepare the draft structure of the course according to guidance and then develop their own online course in a trial area of each group. These efforts paid off since the participants, who in spite of all their problems completed their assignments, contributed to the quality of the courses produced and at the same time successfully completed the EUCIP course. The results allow us to conclude that benefits from this online course are mutual; participants have deepened their knowledge and we, the tutors, have learned that playing a tutors role is a demanding task that requires patience, persistence and more than just a bit of diplomacy in order to be completed satisfactorily.
10. CONCLUSIONS
The Italian online course was successfully adapted and modified to meet the needs of Slovenian Informatics teachers. The adaptation refers primarily to adding elements that according to a series of research results proved to support sustainability and better orientation of participants throughout the online course. It has been found that, from the participants viewpoint, the most demanding part of the course was collaborative tasks, which is an observation indicating that our teachers were poorly prepared to take the responsibility of their learning process. The dropout rate (68.25 %) was considerable but in line with our expectations. However, additional research would be needed in order to find out the real reasons behind the dropout, since during the course, a significant number of participants notified us that they were unable to continue in the course due to the high workload. The interest of the Giovanni FULANTELLI, Lucian OPREA
58 community of practice in the EUCIP standard was extremely low, as neither members of the Slovenian Society INFORMATIKA nor Informatics professionals who were personally invited to take part in the discussion forum ever entered into discussions at the special forum EUCIP in Slovenia. A similarly indifferent attitude was also observed in institutions and individuals in charge of the education of Informatics teachers at all levels. But those teachers who persisted in the course as well as the tutors are proud to have overcome all challenges and managed to finish the course delivering useful products of reasonable professional and didactical quality.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
We would like to express our sincere thanks to the Leonardo da Vinci fund for financial support of the project. We are also grateful for the support of AICA, in particular to Pierfranco Ravotto for his advice on the structure of the online seminar, Paolo Schgr for his swift answer to our needs regarding EUCIP syllabi, and Roberto Bellini and Carlo Tiberti for their access to and help with the Proximity Profile questionnaire. The project would not have been possible without the dedication and hard work of all participants. For their persistence in the course we would like to express our deepest gratitude.
REFERENCES
[1] Caballe, S., Xhafa, F.,CLPL: Providing software infrastructure for the systematic and effective construction of complex collaborative learning systems, Journal of Systems and Software, Vol. 83, Iss. 11, pp. 2083-2097, 2010 [2] Chen, TH., Huang, JC., A novel user-participating authentication scheme, Journal of Systems and Software, Vol.83, Iss.5, pp. 861-867, 2010. [3] Choudhury, B., Gouldsborough, I., Gabriel, S., Use of Interactive Sessions and E-learning in Teaching Anatomy to First-year Optometry Students, Anatomical Sciences Education, Vol. 3, Iss. 1, pp. 39-45, 2010. [4] Costa, GJM., Silva, NSA., Knowledge versus content in e-learning: A philosophical discussion, Information Systems Frontiers, Vol. 12, Iss. 4, pp. 399-413, 2010. [5] de-Marcos, L., Hilera, JR., Barchino, R., et al., An experiment for improving students performance in secondary and tertiary education by means of m-learning auto-assessment, Computers & Education, Vol. 55, Iss. 3, pp. 1069-1079, 2010. [6] Engelbrecht, E., Adapting to changing expectations: Post-graduate students' experience of an e-learning tax program, Computers & Education, Vol. 45, Iss. 2, pp. 217-229, 2005.
[7] Harteis, C., Gruber, H., Hertramph, H., How Epistemic Beliefs Influence e-Learning in Daily Work-life, Educational Technology & Society, Vol. 13, Iss. 3, pp.201-211, 2010. [8] Hildrum, JM., Sharing Tacit Knowledge Online: A Case Study of e- Learning in Cisco's Network of System Integrator Partner Firms, Industry and Innnovation, Vol. 16, Iss. 2, pp. 197-218, 2009. [9] Ho, LA., Kuo, TH., Lin, BS., Influence of online learning skills in cyberspace, Internet Research, Vol.20, Iss. 1, pp. 55-71, 2010. [10] Kian-Sam, H., Lee, JAC., Postgraduate students' knowledge construction during asynchronous computer conferences in a blended learning environment: A Malaysian experience, Australasian Journal of Educational Technology, Vol. 24, Iss. 1, pp. 91-207, 2008. [11] Kramarski, B., Michalsky, T., Investigating Preservice Teachers' Professional Growth in Self-Regulated Learning Environments, Journal of Educational Psychology, Vol. 101, Iss. 1, pp. 161-175, 2009. [12] Mutula, S., Kalusopa, T., Moahi, K., et al., Design and implementation of an online information literacy module - Experience of the Department of Library and Information Studies, University of Botswana, Vol. 30, Iss. 2, pp. 168-187, 2006. [13] Orvis, KA., Fisher, SL., Wasserman, ME., Power to the People: Using Learner Control to Improve Trainee Reactions and Learning in Web-Based Instructional Environments, Journal of Applied Psychology, Vol. 94, Iss. 4, pp. 960-971, 2009.
[14] Potomkova, J., Mihal, V., Zapletalova, J., et al., Integration of evidence-based practice in bedside teaching paediatrics supported by e-learning, Biomedical Papers-Olomouc, Vol. 154, Iss. 1, pp. 83-87, 2010. [15] Ruiz, JG., Mintzer, MJ., Leipzig, RM., The impact of e-learning in medical education, Academic Medicine, Vol.81, Iss. 3, pp. 207-212, 2006 [16] Shih, ML., Feng, J., Tsai, CC., Research and trends in the field of e-learning from 2001 to 2005: A content analysis of cognitive studies in selected journals, Computer & Education, Vol. 51,Iss. 2, pp.955- 967, 2008.
SLOOP2DESC - Sharing Learning Objects in an Open Perspective to Develop European Skills and Competences 59
A LESSON LEARNED AND RECOMMENDATIONS FOR FUTURE ACTIONS IN E-LEARNING
1 DEIS, Cork Institute of Technology 2 Faculty of Natural Sciences and Engineering, Department of Chemical Education and Informatics, University of Ljubljana 3 Institute for Educational Technologies - National Research Council of Italy maria.murray@cit.ie metka.vrtacnik@guest.arnes.si, danica.dolnicar@ntf.uni-lj.si, giovanni.fulantelli@itd.cnr.it
Abstract
This chapter summarises the lessons learned from the SLOOP2DESC project, and in particular from the online courses for teachers and trainers in Italy, Romania and Slovenia. Actually, online courses represent the most central part of the project, where all the strategies and methodologies behind the project were put in practice and tested. For this reason, the analysis of the online courses presents facts and findings from the various project stages and offers critiques and recommendations for the future.
KEYWORDS: Evaluation, elearning, moodle, LMS, web 2.0, European Qualification Systems, teacher training.
SLOOP2DESC was a far-reaching initiative that involved a large number of trainees across three European countries. Logistically speaking, the project was ambitious; there was a palpable challenge in the content being covered, the scope in terms of number of participants, the diversity of those participant backgrounds and also the geographical spread of participants. The hope for SLOOP2DESC was to enable teachers across the target countries to use web2.0 tools in their teaching practice and to introduce European qualification schemes (such as EUCIP) to the participants. The introduction of these qualification schemes was done with the view to adapting the various curricula to incorporate content cohesive with the qualification schemes Thereby connecting with their students in a language they could understand, bringing the digital revolution into the classroom with the aim of more fully equipping students for future accreditation. Finally, an important objective of the project was the involvement of stakeholders, and in particular representatives from companies, in order to stimulate a debate amongst teachers and companies on the application of European qualification systems, both from the teachers' perspective and the companies' point of view. The SLOOP2DESC courses ran in Italy, Slovenia and Romania. The project was structured into two phases in Italy, the training of a number of trainee- tutors in Moodle and web 2.0 tools with a view to those tutors going on to become proficient enough in the tools to be able to train a further, larger group of teachers, thus exponentially widening the knowledge pool. The project in Slovenia and Romania learned from the approaches and experiences of the Italian teacher-training course and implemented Slovenian and Romanian teacher-training courses. The project used Moodle as the LMS platform for designing the course, delivering the courseware, organising and delivering student assignments and connecting tutors with students, and students with students. Moodle itself served as course content as the first three modules of the SLOOP2DESC course were dedicated to training students and tutors in the various aspects of the Moodle platform. In Italy, the project portal (based on Joomla) was also used to stimulate public discussions on the different aspects covered by the project; these discussions were not exclusively for the teachers enrolled in the online curses, rather we developed a Community of Practice involving also stakeholders, representatives from companies, people visiting the portal, and so on, and for this reason we decided to use the portal as the main access point to the public forums. This chapter focuses mainly on the experience of the online courses, which represent the main activity of the project. Specifically, lessons learned relate not only to the pedagogical aspects to training such a large number of teachers in web2.0 tools, but also in how best to use Moodle to achieve this end. While the project yielded many interesting and positive results, there is of course always room for critical reflection. This chapter aims to outline possible improvements that could be made to the course for future iterations and to highlight both the strengths and weaknesses of the course.
1. STRENGTHS AND WEAKNESSES
As a result of a continuous user-feedback process and following discussion amongst course facilitators in the Giovanni FULANTELLI, Lucian OPREA
60 different countries involved, a number of strengths and weaknesses of the course were identified.
Strengths A number of participants spoke about the value of on-going feedback and support from the tutors, both via email and in forum discussions in Moodle. Moodle was also utilised to good effect as the inclusion of additional specific assignments (e.g. production of quizzes, lessons, SCORMs) and back up resource material was seen as a positive bonus. The ability to adapt courseware and assignments to suit participants needs as they arose was also a positive bonus of the Moodle platform. It is worth pointing out that while Moodle had many strengths that added to the success of the program, face-to-face meetings with tutors was still seen as a bonus. While the learners became very accustomed to Moodle and could identify many strengths of the platform, they still valued the face-to- face support from tutors where it was possible to provide this. Much of the learning involved current web2.0 tools. The methodology encouraged was to learn by doing. That is, the technical practice in creating content using these tools was infinitely superior to any academic explanation of the tools. The final output was to create an online course in Moodle, thus putting into practice in a very practical way all the new knowledge acquired. The courses itself were developed bearing in mind that the methods learned needed to be relevant to teachers in the classroom. This proved to be one of the strengths of the course as teachers reported back that they were indeed using the techniques and tools taught in the courses. In addition, some participants claimed that they would be happy to recommend the SLOOP2DESC approaches and courseware to their colleagues. The homogeneous groups in terms of a shared skill set fared quite well, citing their shared knowledge pool as an advantage in tackling the course. A strength that came up time and time again was the peer-to-peer and peer-to-tutor interaction. This was greatly facilitated by the use of the Moodle platform forums as they gave learners constant access to other learners and the tutors. The face-to-face meetings also enhanced this, when these were possible. Successful completion of the course could be recorded in the teachers job promotion scheme. For some (mostly younger) teachers, this was an additional motivating factor. Finally, in Italy the participation of the Business Mentors (tutors from companies) in the final part of the online course, despite an initial skepticism amongst the trainees, stimulated a meaningful debate on the application of competences-based training principles to the educational settings.
Weaknesses As previously mentioned, the group of learners was very large, and their areas of expertise reflected the diversity and number of the participants. It was difficult to design a course that would suit all levels of IT expertise, as some learners had a greater degree of prior knowledge than others. Those groups that had a very mixed level of abilities in terms of computer literacy ran into more difficulties than those groups that were more homogenous in this respect. Some participants didnt take assignments, either individual or collaborative, as mandatory, and they didnt recognise them as testimonies of their own learning process. Additionally some participants proved to have low level didactical expertise of their discipline, this drawback was particularly evident in informatics teachers. This issue occurred both in Slovenian and Italian contexts. There was also a feeling that group leader roles could have been more explicit, as some group leaders possibly did not fully understand the importance of their role. Varying levels of motivation was also reported as a weakness in the course, perhaps this is due to the differing levels of expertise within the different groups, time constraints also proved a major factor in dropout rates. As a serious weakness, which is also often discussed in the literature, a missing readiness of some participants to take full responsibility for their own learning process, was observed by some tutors. Additionally, Slovenian tutors and participants stressed the irresponsible attitude of the authorities responsible for teachers formal education, in-service teacher training and application of ICT in the classrooms, as a weakness. This was highlighted as one of the main reasons for informatics teachers at vocational and technical school not taking part in the online course, in spite of the fact that the Leonardo da Vinci projects are primarily focused at teachers of these schools in order to improve their programs and teaching approaches. Poor levels of collaboration within some groups could be also attributed to the lack of use of synchronous communication tools. Where there were no face-to-face meetings, Skype or chat sessions could probably speed up the decision process, improve the group spirit, and invoke more responsibility. Scheduled forum meetings could also help in this direction. Even when working within a group, some participants still function as individuals who carry out the tasks assigned to them but remain uninvolved with other members work, e.g. making comments, corrections or suggestions in order to improve the group product. This may be due to a perceived lack of competences, reluctance to critique a colleague or simply lack of group spirit. This approach could be overcome by specific assignments to enforce proper collaboration and not just task distribution. The use of the SLOOP2DESC portal to promote an open public community of practice in Italy caused some confusion amongst trainees, who were required to use both the Moodle and Joomla forums, for different purposes.
2. CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
A number of recommendations arose from subsequent feedback from participants and discussion amongst course leaders. SLOOP2DESC - Sharing Learning Objects in an Open Perspective to Develop European Skills and Competences 61 A close cooperation between teachers, headmasters and authorities (e.g. Ministries, Faculties) who are responsible for teachers education and in- service training could be recommended as a pre- condition for the successful on-line education. One impediment to successfully completing the course was the time constraints on the learners. The course is aimed at practicing teachers, many of which work fulltime in addition to studying the course. Some of the suggestions by participants included the option to take breaks from the course if needed. There could be benefits to this approach but the impact to group work would need to be carefully considered. Good, on-time communication among the participants is crucial for collaborative work, therefore efforts should be made by the tutors to encourage and promote the use of various methods, especially synchronous. This could be incorporated into assignments. Participants appreciate the interactive quizzes to test their acquired theoretical knowledge, so it would be good to have them incorporated into courseware wherever applicable. Assignments on practical topics should be hands- on, with specific instructions and good examples, followed by feedback/evaluation from the tutors. It might be beneficial to add grading to at least some of the assignments. In order to minimize any negative impact caused by varying degrees of subject matter expertise, it may be beneficial to group students in terms of their prior learning. Following on from this, if resources allowed it, it may be desirable to devise different courses for different levels. If this is not possible, it is advised that course facilitators be very prescriptive in terms of levels of expertise needed to complete the course. It is of paramount importance that any subsequent revisions to the course keep as their focus those topics that are most relevant and practical to teachers. Many cited the practical aspect of the course, as its strongest asset. The Sloop methodology is based on intensive collaborative activities amongst participants. Bearing this in mind, it is advisable to have all participants at the same point in the course. However, tutors should think carefully about any decision related to imposing limits on the duration of the modules and hiding proceeding modules as a method to keep all participants at the same juncture. Imposing limits and restrictions in this way with the aim of enforcing an unnatural equilibrium can be frustrating and counter-productive for students. Tutors must be aware that being a tutor is a demanding and responsible task, which needs a lot of patience, perseverance, didactical expertise and more than just a little bit of diplomacy, but knowing the expectations of course participants in advance could substantially ease the role of the tutors. Business Mentors, who were involved in the final part of the online course, should be involved at an earlier stage, in order to have time to develop interpersonal relationships with other participants, propose the difficulties met by companies in identifying qualified workers, thus reducing the gap between education and training institutions and the labor market. A centralizing of assets and communication platforms should be established in order to avoid confusion on where to find information and where to best communicate with peers and teachers. As previously mentioned the SLOOP2DESC project was far-reaching and ambitious. The project involved hundreds of people at a pan-European level. The feedback from participants was insightful and useful. As demonstrated above, many positive aspects of the course were identified, as were areas that could be improved. The need for teacher training in the area of web 2.0 tools was evident based on the feedback of participants and the high number of teachers that are using the technology in their classrooms as a result of the course.
Centro METID Metodi E Tecnologie Innovative per la Didattica www.sloop2desc.eu Preparing the teachers for a competence-based education system Editors: Giovanni Fulantelli Lucian Oprea Sloop2desc Sharing learning objects in an open perspective to develop European skills and competences The SLOOP2DESC-Sharing Learning Objects in an Open Perspective to Develop European Skills and Competences-is a project funded by the European Commission under the Lifelong Learning programme, Leonardo da Vinci sub-programme. This publication reflects the views only of the authors and the European Commision cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of information contained therein. " Project number: LLP-LDV/TOI/09/IT/0461CUP Code: G72F09000050006 Coordinator: Italian National Research Council Institute for Educational Technologies Phone: +39 091 6809220 - Fax: +39 091 6809239 e-mail: giovanni.fulantelli@itd.cnr.it
This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-No Derivs 3.0 http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/3.0/ ISBN: 978-606-8216-94-2