Knowledge spirals, situational leadership and informal learning applied on b-learning methodology

The methodology “b-learning” is a new teaching scenario and it requires the creation, adaptation and application of new learning tools searching the assimilation of new collaborative competences. In this context, it is well known the knowledge spirals, the situational leadership and the informal learning. The knowledge spirals is a basic concept of the knowledge procedure and they are based on that the knowledge increases when a cycle of 4 phases is repeated successively.1) The knowledge is created (for instance, to have an idea); 2) The knowledge is decoded into a format to be easily transmitted; 3) The knowledge is modified to be easily comprehensive and it is used; 4) New knowledge is created. This new knowledge improves the previous one (step 1). Each cycle shows a step of a spiral staircase: by going up the staircase, more knowledge is created. On the other hand, the situational leadership is based on that each person has a maturity degree to develop a specific task and this maturity increases with the experience. Therefore, the teacher (leader) has to adapt the teaching style to the student (subordinate) requirements and in this way, the professional and personal development of the student will increase quickly by improving the results and satisfaction. This educational strategy, finally combined with the informal learning, and in particular the zone of proximal development, and using a learning content management system own in our University, gets a successful and well-evaluated learning activity in Master subjects focused on the collaborative activity of preparation and oral exhibition of short and specific topics affine to these subjects. Therefore, the teacher has a relevant and consultant role of the selected topic and his function is to guide and supervise the work, incorporating many times the previous works done in other courses, as a research tutor or more experienced student. Then, in this work, we show the academic results, grade of interactivity developed in these collaborative tasks, statistics and the satisfaction grade shown by our post-graduate students.

Open educational resources: the role of OCW, blogs and videos in computer network classrooms

This paper analyzes the learning experiences and opinions obtained from a group of undergraduate students in their interaction with several on-line multimedia resources included in a free on-line course about Computer Networks. These new educational resources employed are based on the Web 2.0 approach such as blogs, videos and virtual labs which have been added in a web-site for distance self-learning.

Augmented Reality for preschoolers: an experience around Natural Sciences educational contents

Early education is a key element for the future success of students in the education system. This work analyzes the feasibility of using augmented reality contents with preschool students (four and five years old) as a tool for improving their learning process. A quasi experimental design based on a nonequivalent groups posttest-only design was used. A didactic unit has been developed around the topic “animals” by the participant teachers. The control group followed all the didactic activities defined in the developed didactic materials, while the experimental group was provided in addition with some augmented reality contents. Results show improved learning outcomes in the experimental group with respect to the control group.

Green education using open educational resources (OER): setting up a green OER repository

A wealth of open educational resources (OER) focused on green topics is currently available through a variety of sources, including learning portals, digital repositories and web sites. However, in most cases these resources are not easily accessible and retrievable, while additional issues further complicate this issue. This paper presents an overview of a number of portals hosting OER, as well as a number of “green” thematic portals that provide access to green OER. It also discusses the case of a new collection that aims to support and populate existing green collections and learning portals respectively, providing information on aspects such as quality assurance/collection and curation policies, workflow and tools for both the content and metadata records that apply to the collection. Two case studies of the integration of this new collection to existing learning portals are also presented.

Research-action Methodology between Computer Science and Educational Psychology: a Multidisciplinary Approach

Computer science studies possess a strong multidisciplinary aptitude since most graduates do their professional work outside of a computing environment, in close collaboration with professionals from many different areas. However, the training offered in computer science studies lacks that multidisciplinary factor, focusing more on purely technical aspects. In this paper we present a novel experience where computer studies and educational psychology find a common ground and realistic working through laboratory practices. Specifically, the work enables students of computer science education the development of diagnosis support systems, with artificial intelligence techniques, which could then be used for future educational psychologists. The applications developed by computer science students are the creation of a model for the diagnosis of pervasive developmental disorders (PDD), sometimes also commonly called the autism spectrum disorders (ASD). The complexity of this diagnosis, not only by the exclusive characteristics of every person who suffers from it, but also by the large numbers of variables involved in it, requires very strong and close interdisciplinary participation. This work demonstrates that it is possible to intervene in a curricular perspective, in the university, to promote the development of interpersonal skills. What can be shown, in this way, is a methodology for interdisciplinary practices design and a guide for monitoring and evaluation. The results are very encouraging since we obtained significant differences in academic achievement between students who attended a course using the new methodology and those who did not use it.

Indicators of obesity and the educational attainment of the Czech female population

The aim of this paper was to evaluate the relationship between selected indicators of obesity and the highest completed level of education in the adult female population of the Czech republic. As basic indicators of obesity, these following parameters were selected and measured via the bioimpedance method on the device InBody 720: BMI, WHR (waist-to-hip ratio), % body fat, % skeletal muscle mass, fitness score. The educational attainment of the tested women was inquired by a questionnaire. Based on the responses, we subsequently divided our sample into four categories according to the level of education: primary education, secondary education-apprenticeship, secondary education-graduate diploma, and university. The research was realized within the project CZ.1.07/2.3.00/20.0044. The measurements on the device InBody 720 and the accompanying survey were conducted between 2011-2013 in different regions of the Czech Republic. The sample consisted of 754 women divided into 3 age groups (18-39, 40-59, 60+ years). Based on the results (p<0.05), we can say that average values of the indicators obesity (BMI: 22.76, 24.88, 26.49 kg/m2, WHR: 0.85, 0.88, 0.90 and % body fat: 25.76, 30.23, 34.62%) increase with the increasing age of examined women. The average values of the fitness score (75.53, 73.86, 70.04 points) and % skeletal muscle mass (40.78, 38.15, 33.95%) decrease with increasing age. With regard to the educational attainment, women with secondary education-apprenticeship achieved the worst results. In contrast, the values in university educated women were the best in most indicators of obesity.

Management of social networks in the educational process

The research developed in this work consists in proposing a set of techniques for management of social networks and their integration into the educational process. The proposals made are based on assumptions that have been proven with simple examples in a real scenario of university teaching. The results show that social networks have more capacity to spread information than educational web platforms. Moreover, educational social networks are developed in a context of freedom of expression intrinsically linked to Internet freedom. In that context, users can write opinions or comments which are not liked by the staff of schools. However, this feature can be exploited to enrich the educational process and improve the quality of their achievement. The network has covered needs and created new ones. So, the figure of the Community Manager is proposed as agent in educational context for monitoring network and aims to channel the opinions and to provide a rapid response to an academic problem.

Test of the User Experience on two Open Educational - Questionnaire

Test of the User Experience on two Open Educational Resources websites: OER4All and OER Commons. The questionnaire consists of pairs of contrasting attributes that may apply to the website. The gradations between the opposites are represented by numbers from -3 to 3 from very bad to extremely good opinion about the issue. The value 0 shows a neutral opinion.

MOOCs, Open educational resources and social networking: bridging the gap between informal and formal learning

MOOCs and open educational resources (OER) provide a wealth of learning opportunities for people around the globe, many of whom have no access to formal higher education. OER are often difficult to locate and are accessed on their own without support from or dialogue with subject experts and peers. This paper looks at whether it is possible to develop effective learning communities around OER and whether these communities can emerge spontaneously and in a self-organised way without moderation. It examines the complex interplay between formal and informal learning, and examines whether MOOCs are the answer to providing effective interaction and dialogue for those wishing to study at university level for free on the Internet.

La mediación universitaria: un recurso de orientación. Experiencia en la Universidad de Alicante

Este trabajo de investigación parte del concepto de orientación que compartimos con Bisquerra (2008), definiéndola como un proceso de ayuda continuo a todas las personas, en todos los aspectos, con la finalidad de potenciar el desarrollo humano a lo largo de toda la vida. En este marco de referencia caben todas las acciones dirigidas hacia quien necesita y busca apoyo para su crecimiento personal, académico y profesional. En el ámbito universitario, históricamente poco receptivo a este tipo de actuaciones, se vienen generalizando a raíz de las nuevas concepciones metodológicas que exige la convergencia europea conceptos novedosos e innovadores y que avalan la orientación en la Universidad, como tutorización, transición universitaria, o mediación. Y son ya muchas instituciones las que han puesto en marcha organismos y programas de innovación para su desarrollo efectivo. La Universidad de Alicante viene trabajando en estos temas desde hace unos años y una de las experiencias más novedosas la desarrolla la Facultad de Educación, implantando la figura de la mediadora como recurso de resolución de situaciones conflictivas. En el marco de esta innovación nos planteamos abordar qué se entiende por mediación y cuál es su funcionalidad, al tiempo que realizar una reflexión sobre los agentes implicados y las competencias necesarias para su implementación. Ha participado en la investigación un grupo de alumnas solicitantes del recurso y un equipo docente constituido en Red de investigación. De los resultados obtenidos en la búsqueda de delimitación conceptual y funcional, de estrategias de gestión y de propuestas de actuación en el proceso mediador podemos concluir que es un aspecto positivo y necesario que rentabiliza las tareas de gestión universitaria y que soluciona al alumnado situaciones que pueden entorpecer un desarrollo personal y académico adecuado.