Section
1
1Moodle For Teachers
2General information and resources on E-Learning
E-learning includes all forms of electronically supported learning and teaching, including Edtech. The information and communication systems, whether networked learning or not, serve as specific media to implement the learning process.
Case Studies
Links and Resources
3Education use of Blogging and Micro-Blogging
A blog (a portmanteau of the term web log)is a discussion or informational site published on theWorld Wide Web and consisting of discrete entries ("posts") typically displayed in reverse chronological order (the most recent post appears first).(Wikipedia)
Pedagogy
In addition to the technological characteristics (including ease of posting and asynchronous consultation) pedagogical features (metacognition and the opportunity for interactions) of blogs, the use of microblogs in a pedagogical context allows the following techno-pedagogical features:
- Provide access to a community
- Participate in events
- Supporting cooperative learning
Case Studies
Cooperative Writing
In this type of activity, the tweeters agree on the use of a hashtag and on the posting rules for tweets. For example, tweeters wrote a novel together that did not contain the letter e. They chose a hashtag (#romanSansE) and had to consider previously posted tweets before adding their own contribution.
All of the posts were then collated into six chapters to which illustrations were added. The result is available at the blog of the project's instigator.Links and Resources
4The use of mlearning in Education
Any activity that allows individuals to be more productive when consuming, interacting with, or creating information, mediated through a compact digital portable device that the individual carries on a regular basis, has reliable connectivity, and fits in a pocket or purse.(elearning Guild)
Pedagogy
Free e-book: Mobile Learning: Transforming the Delivery of Education and Training edited by Mohamed Ally (2009)
'This collection is for anyone interested in the use of mobile technology for various distance learning applications. Readers will discover how to design learning materials for delivery on mobile technology and become familiar with the best practices of other educators, trainers, and researchers in the field, as well as the most recent initiatives in mobile learning research.' http://www.aupress.ca/index.php/books/120155
JISC TechDis Advice and Guidance on M-learning
'A good deal of the value added by m-learning is not to do with specific technology or resources but the new things that can be done given the portability of the technology and the resources. This section examines alternative ways of using the same features of a portable device to create completely different learning experiences and argues that the more engaging the task, the more likely it is to create the motivation that reduces access barriers.'
http://www.techdis.ac.uk/index.php?p=9_5_32_4Pedagogy in the Mobile Learning Environment, by Josie Taylor
'Recent developments in pedagogy, moving away from the transmissive, behavioural models and more toward the constructivist or socio-cognitive models, place the active learner at the heart o activities.'
http://kn.open.ac.uk/public/document.cfm?docid=2842(source mlearning.org)
Case Studies
Mobl21 is an award-winning, mobile learning application that supports a dynamic, unstructured way of learning. Using Mobl21, educators can develop content that learners can access from their mobile devices, allowing them to study at their own pace and therefore, perform better.
Mobl21 gives students instant access to valuable learning material, anywhere, anytime. As a result, students can now make use of those idle minutes between classes, or commuting, to glance through notes or review material before the next class.
Mobl21 also helps educators easily create learning material, and publish to multiple users or groups. Additional tool features enable educators to track and monitor content access and view test performances.
Links and Resources
5The Education use of Augmented Reality
Augmented reality (AR) is a live, direct or indirect, view of a physical, real-world environment whose elements are augmented by computer-generated sensory input such as sound, video, graphics or GPS data. It is related to a more general concept called mediated reality, in which a view of reality is modified (possibly even diminished rather than augmented) by a computer. As a result, the technology functions by enhancing one’s current perception of reality. (Wikipedia)
Pedagogy
Augmented reality applications can complement a standard curriculum. Text, graphics, video and audio can be superimposed into a student’s real time environment. Textbooks, flashcards and other educational reading material can contain embedded “markers” that, when scanned by an AR device, produce supplementary information to the student rendered in a multimedia format. Students can participate interactively with computer generated simulations of historical events, exploring and learning details of each significant area of the event site. Augmented reality technology also permits learning via remote collaboration, in which students and instructors not at the same physical location can share a common virtual learning environment populated by virtual objects and learning materials and interact with another within that setting.
Links and Resources
6MOOCs
Massive: designed for large-scale participation by dozens or even thousands of people.
Open: freely available with free access to all course materials.
Online: available through any web browser on any mobile device or computer.
As the MOOC model has gained acceptance it continues to be redefined and changed to suit the needs of learners, teachers, and institutions.
Pedagogy
MOOCs:
- can encourage communication among participants who bring a variety of viewpoints, knowledge, and skills to the course. This serves to create communities of interest along with broadening the scope of the MOOC.
- could inspire people to “try on” subjects that they wouldn’t otherwise pursue or even try on education itself.
- can provide multiple ways to engage with course material, encouraging multimodal learning that can address the needs of learners with a variety of learning styles (i.e. Universal Design for Learning or UDL).
- by developing for multimodal learners, could inspire better teaching and use of technologies in general for face to face courses.
Case Studies
A nonprofit effort run jointly by MIT, Harvard, and Berkeley.
Leaders of the group say they intend to slowly add other university partners over time. edX plans to freely give away the software platform it is building to offer the free courses, so that anyone can use it to run MOOC’s.
A for-profit company founded by two computer-science professors from Stanford.
The company’s model is to sign contracts with colleges that agree to use the platform to offer free courses and to get a percentage of any revenue. More than a dozen high-profile institutions, including Princeton and the U. of Virginia, have joined.
Another for-profit company founded by a Stanford computer-science professor.
The company, which works with individual professors rather than institutions, has attracted a range of well-known scholars. Unlike other providers of MOOC’s, it has said it will focus all of its courses on computer science and related fields.
A non-profit organization founded by MIT and Harvard graduate Salman Khan.
Khan Academy began in 2006 as an online library of short instructional videos that Mr. Khan made for his cousins. The library—which has received financial backing from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and Google, as well as from individuals—now hosts more than 3,000 videos on YouTube. Khan Academy does not provide content from universities, but it does offer automated practice exercises, and it recently debuted a curriculum of computer science courses. Much of the content is geared toward secondary-education students.
A for-profit platform that lets anyone set up a course.
The company encourages its instructors to charge a small fee, with the revenue split between instructor and company. Authors themselves, more than a few of them with no academic affiliation, teach many of the courses.
Source The Chronicle
Links and Resources
The Chronicle of Higher Education has compiled a timeline of their articles related to MOOCs at “What You Need to Know About MOOCs.”
7
8