Materiais e Recursos para ELearning (MREL)

Temática III: Produção de Recursos Educacionais Abertos

A.Exploração de ferramentas e serviços que possibilitam a criação e publicação de Recursos Educacionais Abertos.
As ferramentas/serviços que pesquisei e que me permitiram a elaboração e publicação de Recursos Educacionais Abertos foram as seguintes:
Slideshare, Vuvox, Gogster, Prezi, Go!Animate, Voice Thread, Screencast, Toonlet Web, youtube, Wix, Diigo, Goggle Docs, Delicious, Wikispaces, Blogger.

B. Reflexão sobre as temáticas estudadas nas UCs deste primeiro semestre e escolha de um tópico a tratar.
Fazendo uma breve reflexão sobre as temáticas estudadas, começo por referir o Módulo de Ambientação online, o qual nos deu a possibilidade de conhecer bem o ambiente virtual de aprendizagem, onde está a ter lugar a nossa formação, assim como familiarizarmo-nos com as ferramentas de comunicação e com os modos específicos de comunicar em ambiente online. No meu caso houve uma série de aprendizagens importantes, das quais gostaria de destacar a plataforma virtual do Second Life. Tenho vindo a usar com alguma frequência, pois para mim, a ideia de que do outro lado estão pessoas reais, é algo que acho fascinante e que nunca tinha perspectivado deste modo.

1- Comunicação Educacional (CE)- temas tratados:

• O que é a Presença? Quais os diversos tipos de Presença? (Presença Física, Co-Presença, Presença Social, etc.)
• Quais as diversas definições de Presença Social?
• Como varia a Presença nos diversos media? (Por exemplo, num filme, numa videoconferência, numa comunicação assíncrona num Forum).
• Como se expressam e manifestam as emoções em contextos de comunicação mediada por computador?
• Qual a relação entre os aspectos sociais e sócio-emocionais e os aspectos cognitivos e de aprendizagem num ambiente online?
• Como se investiga e como se mede a Presença Social?

Reflexão: O objectivo desta Unidade Curricular foi o de nos introduzir no estudo do campo específico da Comunicação Educacional Mediatizada e em particular da Comunicação Mediada por Computador em contextos de educação online. Por um lado, permitindo-nos analisar diferentes tipos de comunicação mediatizada em função do modo de simbolização, do grau e tipo de interactividade, das exigências cognitivas colocadas aos sujeitos e do contexto psico-sociológico e cultural em que se processa a mediatização da comunicação. Por outro lado, permitiu-nos identificar factores sociais, relacionais, emocionais e cognitivos que afectam os processos de comunicação mediatizada em ambientes virtuais de aprendizagem.

2- Educação e Sociedade em Rede (ESR)- temas tratados:

• Sociedade em Rede
• Cibercultura
• O positivo e o negativo da realidade virtual.
• Autenticidade e Transparência Online
• Partilha e a co-produção do conhecimento

Reflexão: esta Unidade Curricular permitiu-nos distinguir a noção de sociedade em rede do conceito corrente de sociedade da informação e do conhecimento. Esta sociedade em rede (virtual) é aqui referido como sendo um dos aspectos fundamentais da nova cibercultura, formada a partir do caos gerado pela internet, mas que possibilita uma grande diversidade de contextos formativos numa sociedade que tem de se reinventar. Haverá questões tidas como positivas, assim como haverá um grande número de questões tidas como negativas, que nos leva necessariamente a mais duas questões importantes: a questão da autenticidade e da transparência.

3- Processos Pedagógicos em ELearning (PPEL)- temas tratados:

• Liberdade Cooperativa
• Técnicas de Ensino Online
• Transparência online
• Auto e hetero-avaliação.

Reflexão: esta Unidade Curricular permitiu-nos obter uma base partilhada de conhecimento, skills e valores que são essenciais na pedagogia do eLearning, independentemente da área de saber de cada um dos mestrandos. Os trabalhos realizados deram-nos uma visão do que é o trabalho cooperativo realizado online, levando-nos necessariamente para as questões da autenticidade e da transparência. Qual é o nível adequado de transparência que se deve ter em ambientes virtuais? Questão interessante, mas para a qual ainda não há respostas para todas as situações.
Os trabalhos práticos realizados permitiram-nos aprender/aperfeiçoar os nossos skills na criação de LO (Learning Objects).

4- Materiais e Recursos para ELearning (MREL)- temas tratados:

• REA – encontrar, usar, misturar, licenciar
• Repositórios/fontes de REA
• Ferramentas para elaboração/Publicação de REA

Reflexão: esta Unidade Curricular permitiu-nos compreender o significado de Recursos Educacionais Abertos (REA). Estes REA que numa primeira fase pareciam simplesmente fáceis de entender, mas que numa segunda fase deixaram simplesmente de ser tão fáceis, o que se tornou um grande desafio. O resultado é bastante positivo. Penso que o trabalho colaborativo aqui foi importante, apesar de nem sempre ser fácil.
Reflexão geral: Devo dizer que estou muito satisfeito com as aprendizagens que tive até agora, sendo no meu caso uma enorme quantidade e variedade, mas que sinto alguma frustração (culpa minha) devido à falta de tempo (queixa generalizada dos Portugueses ), sentindo ao mesmo tempo algum cansaço.
Gosto de tudo o que é prático e que me faz pensar na utilidade que pode ter perante os alunos. Aprendi, na minha actividade, que a razão de ser dela são os alunos. Associo o nosso dia a dia ao ao vídeo que vi sobre: “A vision of students today”. Eles são considerados multi-tasked persons porque após a contagem de horas das diferentes actividades o número de horas diário ultrapassa as 26 por dia (fazem mais do que uma coisa ao mesmo tempo durante alguns momentos do dia).
No nosso caso a designação será apenas bi-tasked teachers: 4 horas diárias com os alunos mais 14 com os mais variados documentos para preencher/planificar, mas em que das 14 horas, 13 horas e 45 minutos o aluno nunca entra, não está presente!!!
Começo, finalmente, a perceber a importância da cibercultura e, devo confessar, que o que me levou a esta mudança foi toda a aplicação prática que vejo neste curso, sendo ele mesmo baseado em práticas cooperativas das quais se “sentem” os resultados, isto é, são palpáveis.

C. Apresentação de uma proposta de trabalho:

Estou a ponderar realizar um trabalho no Hot Potatos, ferramenta que me seduz pela facilidade de uso, utilidade, variedade de opções, leveza na plataforma, esteticamente podendo ser muito apelativa.
Hot Potatoes contém um pacote de seis programas, que possibilitam a criação de 6 tipos de exercícios interactivos para a Web.
O programa aceita caracteres portugueses e pode ser completamente configurado para a nossa língua, assim como quase todos os aspectos do interface (cores, tipo de letra, etc.). Outro dos aspectos que me seduz é a possibilidade de configurarmos a nossa caixa de correio em todos os exercícios que preparamos, obrigando o aluno a registar o seu nome, sendo enviado o exercício automaticamente para a nossa caixa de correio, assim que o aluno chegue ao final do mesmo.
O Hot Potatoes é gratuito para educação bastando preencher um formulário no site do programa.

online teaching techniques

1. Which online teaching techniques do you prefer?
As far as I know we cannot find the “magical” online teaching techniques, as well as we cannot find the magical traditional classroom techniques that allow us to make a perfect teaching.
Concerning online teaching I am still trying different techniques and I cannot refer myself about the best ones. As I do not ask many written information from my students I do not feel the effect of the workload teaching online, but I imagine it can be a problem. Even when we are debating online (and that feeling I experienced more than once) sometimes we can feel stressed because we know that it is impossible to give all the answers at the same time. For the learners it can be frustrating if they don’t have the answer the moment they need, but no system is perfect. I do not know how to avoid this problem.

2. What are the implications of using individual and group assignments in online education?
Individual and group assignments in online education are rather important, but I really think there is much value for the teacher of being visible in the different group discussions, with some posts in the discussion groups during every group discussion assignment. My experience now tells me that the role of the teacher must be the monitor and the facilitator. When I began the master degree I felt lost more than once and I clearly remember the importance the teachers had for me with the post they made, even if it was just to cheer me up on and let me know I was doing my job. We cannot lose touch: teacher<>students; students<>teacher; students<>students.

3- How can we secure a reasonable workload for online teachers?
This is one of the most important questions. I think it is very difficult to avoid the workload for the teachers, especially if they are really involved in the process and want to give all answers to all issues. Maybe in a long term one of the solutions can be a kind of database with some FAQ. The questions is that it can take some time, but with the web 2.0, if we think for example in the Wikipedia, we can involve many people ate the same time to create this database. It can be very challenging and it can avoid a lot of workload to many different teachers.

Annotated Bibliography - Online Teaching Techniques

Pedagogical Techniques for Computer-Mediated Communication
The rise of computer-mediated communication and the Internet has reshaped the uses of computers for teaching and learning. With the advent of the Internet, the computer—both in society and in the classroom—has been transformed (in a first step) from a tool for information processing and display to a tool for information processing and communication. In a second step, with the web 2.0, the idea is linking people, “sharing, trading and collaborating”. (WEB 2.0)

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Paulsen, M. F. Online Education and Learning Management Systems: Global E-learning in a Scandinavian Perspective (http://www.studymentor.com/)

Prof. Morten Paulsen defines the Computer-Mediated Communication (CMC) like the “transmission and reception of messages using computers as input, storage, output, and routing devices. CMC includes information retrieval, electronic mail, bulletin boards, and computer conferencing”.

Prof. Paulsen also refers the different pedagogical techniques according to the criteria of "who to whom”:
a) One-alone Techniques with online databases, online journals, online applications; software libraries, online interest groups, interviews;
b) One-to-one Techniques with learning contracts, apprenticeships, internships, correspondence studies;
c) One-to-many Techniques with lectures, symposiums, skits;
d) Many-to-many Techniques with debates, simulations or games, role plays, case studies, discussion groups, transcript based assignments, brainstormings/brainwritings, Delphi techniques, nominal group techniques, forums, project groups.

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http://c4lpt.co.uk/handbook/examples.html

Top 100 Tools for Learning 2009
Here we have a presentation of the top 100 tools for learning created with the contributions 278 Learning Professionals worldwide. Many of this tools can be use to apply teaching online techniques mentioned in previous articles. Here is a list of the things we can do with the LTs:
BLOGGING
COLLABORATIVE CALENDARING
PODCASTING
RSS READERS
COLLABORATIVE MIND MAPPING
MICRO-BLOGGING/MESSAGING/UPDATING
PHOTO SHARING
SCREENCAST SHARING
PRESENTATION SHARING
VIDEO SHARING
SOCIAL BOOKMARKING
COLLABORATIVE EDITING
COLLABORATIVE WORKING
COLLABORATIVE PRESENTATIONS
SOCIAL NETWORKING
PERSONALISED START PAGES
INTEGRATED SOCIAL/COLLABORATION ENVIRONMENT

My personal opinion:

1. Online teaching techniques
Talking with some people and, at first glance, I understood that for them online education seemed like an easy and undervalued way of obtaining our education. As it was a bit shocking for me this pre-conceived idea, I decided to study the case a bit more and what I understand now is that, after years of testing and constant studies, online learning is gaining acceptance by the education industry as an acceptable and productive way of obtaining our own education. Some of the opinions suggest that online learning is actually a more efficient and effective way for students to learn.
a) What are the implications of using individual and group assignments in online education?
b) Both individual and group assignments are the best way to avoid the distant or disadvantaged locations;
c) Online education is easy to access and provides a convenient way to obtain course materials such as homework, exam schedules, test scores and more;
d) Facilitates easy information transfer and makes possible to be always updated with the information (good for students, workload for teachers);
e) For most online schools, all course information is obtained by browsing the internet and sending/receiving email. This instant and secure transfer of information provides a convenient way for students to communicate with their instructors and fellow classmates. Some classes can even participate in chat sessions, the best way for students to interact with each other while learning a particular subject.

2. What are the common problems we are facing in some schools?
Changing technology may create barriers to accessing learning environments. In our school, because of the “technological impact” we are changing everything (PCs, servers, web services, etc.). What is still happening is that there are many days that we have problems to connect, so we must always be prepared with the alternative of the traditional classroom.
Another difficulty we feel is that it is not so easy for the students to exchange ideas and questions with one another providing another valuable learning medium. I am still convinced that first-hand interaction with the educating teacher/person also allows for ideas to be exchanged freely and without any communication barriers.

3- How can we secure a reasonable workload for online teachers?!
The truth to the matter is that there are advantages and disadvantages to every type of learning environment. On the one hand online classes allow for a more individual perspective from the teachers standpoint due to most of the communication being easily handled through email and chat. On the other hand that can lead to an unreasonable workload that will be almost impossible to deal with.
So the best choice, as far as I imagine, is to use the advantages that each method offers to their fullest extent. It appears that a combination of online and classroom learning to convey subject matter to students will be the best teaching method.

Learning Object

Review of AB & LO

Unit 1; Activity 3 - PPEL

Annoted Bibliography:
From the ABs I have seen from my classmates I’ve learnt a lot and I would like to point out the following works:

Maria João Spilker: she has done a very good job in the AB, which makes us possible to understand the real meaning of transparency in cooperative freedom.

António Pedro: in his AB he tried to illustrate the theme "Transparency in Online Education". He tried to use a wide variety of scenarios to make clear that diversity is also important in elearning and that transparency can and should be global. He also wanted to show the transition of an enclosed school.

I think all classmates understood the difference among Individual, Collaborative and Cooperative learning. It is also a fact that most of them understand the meaning of the different levels of transparency and the importance of the cooperative freedom.



Learning Object:
In the different LOs we can find the presence of the teacher, but also the presence of the student, what is something important, since most of us are dealing with students and all our work must lead to this final goal: students.

In general I enjoyed all Los, but I would like to mention Joaquim, and his LO, which I think is really good, but maybe there is not a totally clear distinction between collaborative and cooperative learning.

I am glad because I could see a great variety of Los in the works of my classmates and I am now trying to learn and use some of them.
What are the cons of some of the used LOs?
Lately I must confess that I am a bit more worried with the question of authorship. After the MPEL04 conference, where some of the classmates presented their works, I found something interesting… One of the photos that was used was described as the perfect image to describe a particular situation. Is it possible to imagine that I used the same photo in the school magazine, with exactly the same explanation, but in a completely different situation!!!
I realized that this global net can be a very small net (it’s a small world after all!). So I decided from that moment on to try to produce my own photos, even if the quality is not so good.

A "NOVA" web 2.0

Estive a rever o vídeo Web 2.0: “The Machine is Us/ing Us”, de Michael Wesch. Novamente a ideia que me ficou do novo uso dado à plataforma Web é a mudança na forma como os utilizadores usam este ambiente virtual, passando a ser muito mais interactiva. Tal como é referido neste vídeo: “Web 2.0 is linking people…people sharing, trading and collaborating”.
Uma das questões principais que se levanta com esta nova forma de interagir e partilhar informações é obviamente a questão dos direitos de autor. Se um documento é escrito de forma partilhada, como poderá ou deverá ser assinado? Mas haverá outras questões fundamentais que surgem com esta nova abordagem como, por exemplo, a questão da identidade, da ética, da retórica, da privacidade e até mesmo da estética, entre outras. Questões que terão de ser repensadas, uma vez que nesta fase inicial do processo ainda não foram encontradas respostas.
Penso, contudo, que em termos de conteúdos dos sítios web houve um grande “impacto tecnológico” com a Web 2.0, possibilitando a participação a qualquer utilizador da rede, resultando numa maior informação e bastante mais diversificada. Grande mais-valia acrescida a este facto é que toda a informação, todos os conteúdos, podem ser melhorados e/ou enriquecidos através de comentários, da avaliação dos diferentes utilizadores, ou mesmo da personalização.
É assim visível que a nova Web 2.o não se refere a uma melhoria nas suas especificações técnicas, mas a uma mudança na forma como ela é encarada pelos utilizadores, permitindo um ambiente de interacção único e muito mais enriquecedor.

Annotated Bibliography - Topic 3: Cooperative learning in online environment

Topic 3: Cooperative learning in online environment.

The change from traditional classroom education to computer-mediated distance learning poses enormous challenges to teachers and students. The concept of the classroom where students meet to interact with other learners and the instructor no longer exists in the virtual model.
Vygotsky’s social development theory states that social interaction is vital to cognitive development; all higher-order functions originate as the relationships among individuals. In 1996, Moore and Kearsley described three types of interactions that are necessary in distance education: learner to learner, learner to content and learner to instructor. I think these interactions are fundamental to make possible apprenticeship and at the same time make the process transparent.
Selznik (1996) identifies seven elements of community as a very important part for the learning environment: history, identity, mutuality, plurality, autonomy, participation, and integration. With respect to virtual learning communities, Schwier (in press) adds: an orientation to the future, technology, and learning. Some of these characteristics of community will be present from the beginning. Others will have to grow into. One thing is certain: these characteristics will strengthen all the interactions and will make possible the sense of identity, a very important feature in the cooperative learning online environment.
We learnt also something very important in our master degree course: without active participation in discussions and other activities, we are not part of this community. We can even say that if we do not take part in the forums, we do not even “exist.”
In an online learning process, we must make a concerted effort to communicate with others in order to exist. That’s why some basic strategies are needed for creating a strong community.

• Palloff and Pratt (1999) recommend the following steps:
• Clearly define the purpose of the group.
• Create a distinctive gathering place for the group.
• Promote effective leadership from within.
• Define norms and a clear code of conduct.
• Allow for a range of member roles.
• Allow for and facilitate subgroups.
• Allow members to resolve their own disputes (p. 24)
  

Many of these steps are automatic, but they should still be given careful consideration which will make possible the interaction at three different levels: communication, cooperation, and collaboration.
Communication: Online communications today means more than a snazzy website and an enewsletter.
Combine a slew of new web-based technologies with a society that is rapidly coming to think of online interactions as just as real as face-to-face ones and you have the possibility of what Marty Kearns of Green Media Toolshed has described as “Network-Centric Advocacy.” What does he mean by this? That the incredible advances in communications technology over the past quarter-century make possible an entirely new model of organizing and ways of bringing people and resources together quickly and efficiently to tackle a single problem or to form lasting communities. In short, online communications today is about forming connections, creating community, and organizing action in previously unimaginable ways. (Building community in an online learning environment)
Communication is defined here as the basic level of discussion in an online format. Students must participate in discussion to have any sort of presence in the class whatsoever. Communication can be focused around readings, lectures, and any other ideas based on course content or course administration. Communication can occur asynchronously in the SSF or via e-mail, or synchronously via chat rooms or telephone.
Cooperation: cooperative learning is a successful teaching strategy in which small teams, each with students of different levels of ability, use a variety of learning activities to improve their understanding of a subject. Each member of a team is responsible not only for learning what is taught but also for helping teammates learn, thus creating an atmosphere of achievement. Students work through the assignment until all group members successfully understand and complete it. (Cooperative Learning)
For example, students may divide up a project, but are eventually assigned individual grades for their work. Examples of cooperative tasks include: dividing up sections of a report to write and doing peer review of each other’s work.
Collaboration: Collaboration is an essential ingredient in the recipe to create an "effective learning environment" as it provides learners with the opportunity to discuss, argue, negotiate and reflect upon existing beliefs and knowledge. The learner is "involved in constructing knowledge through a process of discussion and interaction with learning peers and experts." Harasim (1989, p.51)
Collaboration is the most integrated form of group work, and is therefore potentially the most difficult and the most rewarding. In the case of collaboration, the group members work toward a common goal, one that carries a mutual investment. For example, students may each work on every part of the report, consulting each other and re-reading each other’s edits. They are invested in every part of the project because they will share a common grade. Examples of collaborative tasks include group writing and creating an instructional design model.

Annoted Bibliographie: Topic 2- Types of work in learning

Annoted Bibliographie
Topic 2:
Types of work in learning

Searching the web I could find many definitions about different types of work in learning, some scientific, other philosophical, pedagogical, and some psychological definitions. Must confess that most of them are quite interesting definitions, as for example in:

“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Learning#Simple_non-associative_learning” which mentions that “Learning is a change in behavior based on previous experience”. But based on the study we are doing, and also based in Morten Flate Paulsen’s work:

“http://www.slideshare.net/MortenFP/cooperative-freedom-as-a-guiding-star-for-online-education”, I will concentrate myself in the slide number nine that mentions three types of learning:

* Individual learning: which provides much individual flexibility but little learning community;
* Collaborative learning: which provides much individual flexibility and access to a learning community;
* Cooperative learning: which requires participation in a learning community, but limits individual flexibility.

Analyzing the pros and cons of each one what can we say?
In my opinion the three different types of learning can be important in different steps of learning, but no doubt that in all schools there must be a big change. We have to consider the third type, cooperative learning, as the most important change we have to make in the traditional schools. We cannot stop the general feeling that "Unity is Strength" or Unity is Power or Unity is Knowledge. We are realizing that together we can make better and more and that feeling is bigger than the feeling of flexibility.
http://toonlet.com/archive?m=s&i=10870 , (Theory of Cooperative Freedom, Morten Paulsen): this cartoon analyzes the collaborative and cooperative learning and the difference between them. What I understand is that cooperative learning can provide individual freedom and participation in a global group of work. In my point of view the biggest challenge in a short term will be a general “negotiation” to increase the flexibility in the cooperative learning, but, no doubt, this is the best way at this moment to make possible a successful learning.

PPEL: Difference between collaborative and cooperative learning.

PPEL
Topic 1:
Difference between collaborative and cooperative learning.

After some research I’ve found out information about collaborative and cooperative learning. So I'm going to present my reflection about the topics and the bibliography.

Difference between collaborative and cooperative learning:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Collaborative_learning: “Collaborative learning is a situation in which two or more people learn or attempt to learn something together. More specifically, collaborative learning is based on the model that knowledge can be created within a population where members actively interact by sharing experiences and take on asymmetry roles”.

Paulsen, M.F. 2003, Part One: Online Education, Teaching and Learning, Cooperative Freedom: An Online Education Theory (p. 39 – 50): “Houle (1984) states that education is a cooperative rather than an operative art: it implies voluntary interaction among individuals during learning. Even solitary students guiding their own programs without the help of an instructor seek help and encouragement from others.”

This means that the traditional role of teachers, for example, is no longer the same. Although he is still the authority, the information is not belonging to one single person that teaches the others, but each of the participants must have an active role in the process, a contribution to a collective apprenticeship.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Collaborative_learning: “Cooperative learning is an approach to organizing classroom activities into academic and social learning experiences. Students must work in groups to complete the two sets of tasks collectively. Everyone succeeds when the group succeeds”.

Collaborative Versus Cooperative Learning- A Comparison Of The Two Concepts Which Will Help Us Understand The Underlying Nature Of Interactive Learning, Ted Panitz: “Collaborative learning (CL) is a personal philosophy, not just a classroom technique. In all situations where people come together in groups, it suggests a way of dealing with people which respects and highlights individual group members' abilities and contributions. There is a sharing of authority and acceptance of responsibility among group members for the groups actions. The underlying premise of collaborative learning is based upon consensus building through cooperation by group members, in contrast to competition in which individuals best other group members. CL practitioners apply this philosophy in the classroom, at committee meetings, with community groups, within their families and generally as a way of living with and dealing with other people. Cooperative learning is defined by a set of processes which help people interact together in order to accomplish a specific goal or develop an end product which is usually content specific. It is more directive than a collaborative system of governance and closely controlled by the teacher. While there are many mechanisms for group analysis and introspection the fundamental approach is teacher centered whereas collaborative learning is more student centered.”

This means that there must be a strong connection among the members of the group, based in several categories with a well defined goal, and where the Social Skills must be trained to reach the goals. The group is responsible for the outcomes, not every single person.

What I can understand from the two definitions is that Cooperative and collaborative learning may be used interchangeably, because in both cases we can have the same goal: favor small-group active student participation over passive, lecture-based teaching and each require a specific task to be completed, but the teacher’s role is slightly different: while in cooperative learning the teacher is the center of authority in the class, with group tasks usually more closed-ended and often having specific answers, in collaborative learning the instructor abdicates his authority and empowers the small groups who are often given more open-ended, complex tasks.

Bibliography:
http://www.wcer.wisc.edu/archive/Cl1/CL/question/TQ13.htm
Paulsen, Morten, The Hexagon Of Cooperative Freedom: A Distance Education Theory Attuned to Computer Conferencing, DEOSNEWS Vol. 3 No. 2. ISSN 1062-9416. Copyright 1993 DEOS
Paulsen, Morten, Part One: Online Education, Teaching and Learning, Cooperative Freedom: An Online Education Theory (p. 39 – 50), 2003
Paulsen, Morten, Cooperative Freedom as a guiding star for Online Education, slideshare.net
Paulsen, Morten Theory of Cooperative Freedom, toonlet.com
Wikipedia – collaborative learning and cooperative learning.

Learning Object related to transparency in online education

Activity 2 (from 10.05 to 16.05) - producing a learning object related to transparency in online education.
First Learning Object


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Second Learning Object


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Third Learning Object




It's free and fun!

Transparency in Online Education

1. How much transparency should we allow in online education?

Surfing the internet, trying to find something to help me, a bit worried because I didn’t want to copy the information, I found this interesting thought:
“Before you start screaming that you’ve already written about this and I haven’t cited you, notice what I’m asking here. I’m giving a talk with the following abstract in a few weeks and am still doing research for the talk. If you have written something on the topic, let me know so I can be sure to include you. If you know of something interesting in this area that you didn’t write, please let me know anyway!” (David Wiley)
Open Educational Resources demonstrate that educational materials are increasingly becoming a free, ubiquitous infrastructure for teaching and learning. The increasing connectivity of teachers and learners via email, SMS, instant messenger, Twitter, Face book and other tools allows us to move beyond “groups” in our thinking of multi-person assignments to a broader, more loosely knit notion of networks. Large-scale, collaborative social networks challenge our ideas of academic honesty but are a simple fact of life that instructors can either fight against or leverage to better support learning.
ReTrying to promote transparency in education there are institutions delivering distance learning programs (as it is the case of Universidade Aberta). Institutions might consider these principles even for a self-serving reason. Transparency can lead to a greater trust in the integrity of people or institutions.
Social networking does not necessarily involve communication, dialogue, or collaboration (Morten Flate Paulsen). Instead, the authors argue that transparency is a unique feature of social networking services. Transparency gives students insight into each other’s actions. Cooperative learning seeks to develop virtual learning environments that allow students to have optimal individual freedom within online learning communities.

2. What are the implications of transparency in online education?

Paulsen argues that transparency is important to distance education. He discusses transparency in relation to flexible education with continuous enrolment and examination. A challenge of flexible education is to get students to engage in joint work. Paulsen argues that transparency is a prerequisite for distance students to work cooperatively. Transparency means that students are visible to each other as potential partners and resources.
Watching others learn is an act of learning.
If we see the others materials we can learn with them and at the same time we can always give some input to that materials. This means that we can get a better outcome if we work together.
The other thing is that we can learn with the experts. When we begin a new process, for example in my case teaching, I usually worried about what I consider now as superfluous elements: I considered that quality was the only important thing in education. Nowadays I consider that what is really important is to communicate, no matter if you can make mistakes, because when you communicate you can always learn something. Better to have good and many ideas than to have good and many grammar rules, for example.

3. What are the pros and cons of global student catalogues?

In my opinion global student catalogues can be a cutting-edge, interdisciplinary, that can prepare students to make a difference in the world (and I think we are beginning to see that difference). The open resources put in student catalogues can produce systemic thinkers and problem solvers with a global perspective who will be trained in open resource issues and who will be able not only to learn, but also to teach representing high levels of cultural diversity.
Multidisciplinary themes will be developed in the different contexts of education affecting global open education resource systems.
About the cons I am not so sure but maybe I can think of two:
- Arrangement of information sometimes can be confusing, especially to the novice;
- Students can just copy the information rather than develop.