Leaving the cave in search of life (A Platonic reading of R. Sirera's La caverna (The Cave)

The aim of this article is to show how a contemporary playwright thinks once more of the Platonic image of the cave in order to reflect on the necessary existential journey of men and women as in the case of a Bildungsroman. Sooner or later men and women must abandon the protection that any sort of cavern such as home, the family garden or family itself can offer. In spite of writing from a by no means idealistic or metaphysical point of view, thanks to R. Sirera and to the very applicability of Platonic images, Plato becomes once again a classical reference which is both useful and even unavoidable if one bears in mind the Platonic origin of all the literary caverns.

Patriarchal Hauntings: Re-reading Villainy and Gender in Daphne du Maurier's Rebecca

Criticism of Daphne du Maurier’s popular classic Rebecca (1938) can be divided into two mainstream interpretations. On the one hand, it was traditionally marketed as a gothic romance where the hero and the heroine conquered the evil women that separated them. On the other, certain feminist critics have recently provided a very diff erent view of the story, aligning it with gothic narratives that deal with the dangers women suff er under the patriarchal control of their husbands. Th is would imply that du Maurier’s novel should not be read as a traditional romance that promotes patriarchy, as the former interpretation suggested. In this article, I propose, through a Gothic Studies and a Gender Studies reading, that villainy in this novel is not exclusively linked to gender and, therefore, the victim and abuser statuses cannot be equated to femininity and masculinity, respectively. Instead, I argue that villainy in the novel is inextricably connected to being in a powerful position within patriarchy, and that it is the desire to maintain this position and perpetuate the patriarchal system that leads the main characters (men and women) to commit acts of villainy.

El dictado como tarea comunicativa

El artículo explora las utilidades didácticas del dictado (la práctica comunicativa de oralizar o leer en voz alta un escrito) para el aprendizaje funcional de una lengua materna o extranjera, en los diversos niveles de enseñanza. Después de criticar el uso tradicional de este ejercicio lingüístico, presentamos once formas diferentes de desarrollar un dictado en clase, con sus particulares contenidos, objetivos y metodologías. También analizamos con detalle la técnica más tradicional del dictado magistral, en la que el docente dicta palabra por palabra un texto al alumnado, poniendo énfasis en la ortografía; ofrecemos algunas orientaciones para incrementar el componente comunicativo de esta propuesta. Las conclusiones finales proponen entender esta técnica como un recurso metodológico variado, rico y sugerente, adaptado a cada situación de aprendizaje —y no como una práctica obligatoria y fosilizada.

Estudio de caso longitudinal de las creencias sobre el aprendizaje de la lectura y la escritura en la formación inicial de los maestros

Esta comunicación, que presenta el estudio de la evolución de las creencias, representacionesy saberes (en adelante CRS) de una estudiante entre el primer año y el segundo de formaciónuniversitaria, forma parte de un estudio longitudinal más amplio que analiza los CRS de sieteestudiantes del Grado de Maestro de Educación Infantil y ocho del Grado de Maestro de EducaciónPrimaria de la Universitat de Barcelona sobre la enseñanza y el aprendizaje de la lecturay la escritura. El objetivo principal que enmarca la investigación es estudiar en profundidadlos sistemas de CRS para poder comprenderlos, compararlos e identificar los momentos clave de tensión y cambio con el fin de realizar aportaciones que ayuden a mejorar el sistema de formación inicial de los maestros.

Estudio de caso longitudinal de las creencias sobre el aprendizaje de la lectura y la escritura en la formación inicial de los maestros

Esta comunicación, que presenta el estudio de la evolución de las creencias, representacionesy saberes (en adelante CRS) de una estudiante entre el primer año y el segundo de formaciónuniversitaria, forma parte de un estudio longitudinal más amplio que analiza los CRS de sieteestudiantes del Grado de Maestro de Educación Infantil y ocho del Grado de Maestro de EducaciónPrimaria de la Universitat de Barcelona sobre la enseñanza y el aprendizaje de la lecturay la escritura. El objetivo principal que enmarca la investigación es estudiar en profundidadlos sistemas de CRS para poder comprenderlos, compararlos e identificar los momentos clave de tensión y cambio con el fin de realizar aportaciones que ayuden a mejorar el sistema de formación inicial de los maestros.

The promotion and assessment of generic skills from interdisciplinary teaching teams

The paper explains a teaching project financed by the University of Barcelona (UB). It focuses on ageneric skill of the University of Barcelona, which is defined as "the learning capability andresponsibility”, and in which analytical and synthesis skills are included. It follows a multidisciplinaryapproach including teachers of Mathematics, World Economics and Economic History. All of us sharethe same students during the first and the second course of the grade in Economics at the Faculty ofEconomics and Business. The project has been developed in three stages. The first one has beendone during the first semester of the course 2012/13, being applied to first year students on thesubjects of Mathematics and Economic History. The second phase is being to be done during thesecond semester only on the Economic History subject. A third stage is going to be done next course2013/14 to second year students on the subject of World Economics. Each different teaching teamhas developed specific materials and assessment tools for each one of the subjects included in theproject. The project emphasizes two teaching dimensions: the elaboration of teaching materials topromote the acquisition of generic skills from an interdisciplinary point of view, and the design ofspecific tools to assess such skills. The first results of the first phase of the project shows cleardeficiencies in the analytical skill regarding to first year students.

The promotion and assessment of generic skills from interdisciplinary teaching teams

The paper explains a teaching project financed by the University of Barcelona (UB). It focuses on ageneric skill of the University of Barcelona, which is defined as "the learning capability andresponsibility”, and in which analytical and synthesis skills are included. It follows a multidisciplinaryapproach including teachers of Mathematics, World Economics and Economic History. All of us sharethe same students during the first and the second course of the grade in Economics at the Faculty ofEconomics and Business. The project has been developed in three stages. The first one has beendone during the first semester of the course 2012/13, being applied to first year students on thesubjects of Mathematics and Economic History. The second phase is being to be done during thesecond semester only on the Economic History subject. A third stage is going to be done next course2013/14 to second year students on the subject of World Economics. Each different teaching teamhas developed specific materials and assessment tools for each one of the subjects included in theproject. The project emphasizes two teaching dimensions: the elaboration of teaching materials topromote the acquisition of generic skills from an interdisciplinary point of view, and the design ofspecific tools to assess such skills. The first results of the first phase of the project shows cleardeficiencies in the analytical skill regarding to first year students.

The promotion and assessment of generic skills from interdisciplinary teaching teams

The paper explains a teaching project financed by the University of Barcelona (UB). It focuses on ageneric skill of the University of Barcelona, which is defined as "the learning capability andresponsibility”, and in which analytical and synthesis skills are included. It follows a multidisciplinaryapproach including teachers of Mathematics, World Economics and Economic History. All of us sharethe same students during the first and the second course of the grade in Economics at the Faculty ofEconomics and Business. The project has been developed in three stages. The first one has beendone during the first semester of the course 2012/13, being applied to first year students on thesubjects of Mathematics and Economic History. The second phase is being to be done during thesecond semester only on the Economic History subject. A third stage is going to be done next course2013/14 to second year students on the subject of World Economics. Each different teaching teamhas developed specific materials and assessment tools for each one of the subjects included in theproject. The project emphasizes two teaching dimensions: the elaboration of teaching materials topromote the acquisition of generic skills from an interdisciplinary point of view, and the design ofspecific tools to assess such skills. The first results of the first phase of the project shows cleardeficiencies in the analytical skill regarding to first year students.

Marketing education, distance learning and hypermedia : teaching 'current issues in marketing' in a virtual campus

This article reports on a project at the Universitat Oberta de Catalunya (UOC: The Open University of Catalonia, Barcelona) to develop an innovative package of hypermedia-based learning materials for a new course entitled 'Current Issues in Marketing'. The UOC is a distance university entirely based on a virtual campus. The learning materials project was undertaken in order to benefit from the advantages which new communication technologies offer to the teaching of marketing in distance education. The article reviews the main issues involved in incorporating new technologies in learning materials, the development of the learning materials, and their functioning within the hypermedia based virtual campus of the UOC. An empirical study is then carried out in order to evaluate the attitudes of students to the project. Finally, suggestions for improving similar projects in the future are put forward.

Evaluating teaching and management innovations in an online university: the case of the Universitat Oberta de Catalunya

The Universitat Oberta de Catalunya (UOC) is an online university that has innovation as a transversal feature in all its activities and processes. Therefore, innovation is present in the annual objectives of all the academic and management departments in order to increase student satisfaction. UOC stimulates innovation by funding strategic projects as well as organizing regular internal calls for small projects which brings about innovative academic and management proposals. In this paper we present the method for evaluating teaching and management innovations through internal calls (APLICA), by selecting which initiatives are suitable to become strategic innovative projects (INNOVA) or which features should compose any application available at the OpenApps platform. Besides, general indicators used by the Innovation Program to evaluate the activities carried out are also reported.

Open Apps: Opening Teaching Experiences and Applications

The Universitat Oberta de Catalunya (Open University of Catalonia, UOC) is an online university that makes extensive use of information and communication technologies to provide education. Ever since its establishment in 1995, the UOC has developed and tested methodologies and technological support services to meet the educational challenges posed by its student community and its teaching and management staff. The know-how it has acquired in doing so is the basis on which it has created the Open Apps platform, which is designed to provide access to open source technical applications, information on successful learning and teaching experiences, resources and other solutions, all in a single environment. Open Apps is an open, online catalogue, the content of which is available to all students for learning purposes, all IT professionals for downloading and all teachers for reusing.To contribute to the transfer of knowledge, experience and technology, each of the platform¿s apps comes with full documentation, plus information on cases in which it has been used and related tools. It is hoped that such transfer will lead to the growth of an external partner network, and that this, in turn, will result in improvements to the applications and teaching/learning practices, and in greater scope for collaboration.Open Apps is a strategic project that has arisen from the UOC's commitment to the open access movement and to giving knowledge and technology back to society, as well as its firm belief that sustainability depends on communities of interest.

An Empirical Study on Faculty Perceptions and Teaching Practices of Wikipedia

Some faculty members from different universities around the world have begun to use Wikipedia as a teaching tool in recent years. These experiences show, in most cases, very satisfactory results and a substantial improvement in various basic skills, as well as a positive influence on the students' motivation. Nevertheless and despite the growing importance of e-learning methodologies based on the use of the Internet for higher education, the use of Wikipedia as a teaching resource remains scarce among university faculty.Our investigation tries to identify which are the main factors that determine acceptance or resistance to that use. We approach the decision to use Wikipedia as a teaching tool by analyzing both the individual attributes of faculty members and the characteristics of the environment where they develop their teaching activity. From a specific survey sent to all faculty of the Universitat Oberta de Catalunya (UOC), pioneer and leader in online education in Spain, we have tried to infer the influence of these internal and external elements. The questionnaire was designed to measure different constructs: perceived quality of Wikipedia, teaching practices involving Wikipedia, use experience, perceived usefulness and use of 2.0 tools. Control items were also included for gathering information on gender, age, teaching experience, academic rank, and area of expertise.Our results reveal that academic rank, teaching experience, age or gender, are not decisive factors in explaining the educational use of Wikipedia. Instead, the decision to use it is closely linked to the perception of Wikipedia's quality, the use of other collaborative learning tools, an active attitude towards web 2.0 applications, and connections with the professional non-academic world. Situational context is also very important, since the use is higher when faculty members have got reference models in their close environment and when they perceive it is positively valued by their colleagues. As far as these attitudes, practices and cultural norms diverge in different scientific disciplines, we have also detected clear differences in the use of Wikipedia among areas of academic expertise. As a consequence, a greater application of Wikipedia both as a teaching resource and as a driver for teaching innovation would require much more active institutional policies and some changes in the dominant academic culture among faculty members.

Teaching, sustainability and environment in UPC buildings

Universities must motivate future professionals so that they are able to apply their experience over and beyond the scientific and technological context. These professionals should also be trained so that they are aware of the current position as regards the economy and limited energy resources, and they must be creative, knowledgeable and committed if they are to rethink the current model.The Departments of Architectural Technology II and Applied Physics, in collaboration with the Interdisciplinary Centre of Technology, Innovation and Education for Sustainability (CITIES), believed that students could be given the opportunity to specialise in the area of sustainable development by means of their final theses [2]. With this objective in mind, a line of theses called Energy Assessments was created as part of the Plan for Resource Consumption Efficiency (PECR). The line was based on a learning strategy that focused on the student.The teaching staff was able to observe that, in terms of cognitive aspects, the students improved their knowledge of environmental issues and the associated skills, and that they were more able to solve problems in the area of sustainability and had greater concerns about this subject matter after having completed their theses.

Estudio de caso longitudinal de las creencias sobre el aprendizaje de la lectura y la escritura en la formación inicial de los maestros

Esta comunicación, que presenta el estudio de la evolución de las creencias, representacionesy saberes (en adelante CRS) de una estudiante entre el primer año y el segundo de formaciónuniversitaria, forma parte de un estudio longitudinal más amplio que analiza los CRS de sieteestudiantes del Grado de Maestro de Educación Infantil y ocho del Grado de Maestro de EducaciónPrimaria de la Universitat de Barcelona sobre la enseñanza y el aprendizaje de la lecturay la escritura. El objetivo principal que enmarca la investigación es estudiar en profundidadlos sistemas de CRS para poder comprenderlos, compararlos e identificar los momentos clave de tensión y cambio con el fin de realizar aportaciones que ayuden a mejorar el sistema de formación inicial de los maestros.

Estudio de caso longitudinal de las creencias sobre el aprendizaje de la lectura y la escritura en la formación inicial de los maestros

Esta comunicación, que presenta el estudio de la evolución de las creencias, representacionesy saberes (en adelante CRS) de una estudiante entre el primer año y el segundo de formaciónuniversitaria, forma parte de un estudio longitudinal más amplio que analiza los CRS de sieteestudiantes del Grado de Maestro de Educación Infantil y ocho del Grado de Maestro de EducaciónPrimaria de la Universitat de Barcelona sobre la enseñanza y el aprendizaje de la lecturay la escritura. El objetivo principal que enmarca la investigación es estudiar en profundidadlos sistemas de CRS para poder comprenderlos, compararlos e identificar los momentos clave de tensión y cambio con el fin de realizar aportaciones que ayuden a mejorar el sistema de formación inicial de los maestros.