VELVITT Conference TERESA OLIVEIRA ALCINO PASCOAL LOURENÇO FRAZÃO

VELVITT Conference TERESA OLIVEIRA ALCINO PASCOAL LOURENÇO FRAZÃO FCT-UNL | PORTUGAL “Portuguese Experience with VLEs” Velvitt Conference | Heraklion (GR) | TEI of Crete | Heraklion – GREECE | October 11 th, 2005

FCT-UNL IN A NUTSHELL n Established in 1977, as part of UNL (New University of Lisbon); n Approximately 6. 500 undergraduate students; n Offers 19 degrees in Sciences and Engineering; n Offers 3 Science Teaching degrees, although 2 are suspended for the time being; n Only Maths Teaching degree is fully operational. FRAZÃO, L. | OLIVEIRA, M. -T. | PASCOAL, A. Velvitt Conference | Heraklion (GR) | October 11 th, 2005 2

VLEs’ USAGE @ FCT-UNL n No VLE adopted until 2004; n Initial trials comprised the use of a proprietary platform (FCT-UNL’s Training Institute) and in-house web-based portals with reduced features; n Academic year 2004 -2005 marked the adoption of Moodle by FCT-UNL; n Not all courses are implemented in Moodle, but the activities are expanding significantly. FRAZÃO, L. | OLIVEIRA, M. -T. | PASCOAL, A. Velvitt Conference | Heraklion (GR) | October 11 th, 2005 3

IN-HOUSE WB PORTALS - 1 n n Pioneering activity of the Educational Sciences Sector; First experiments dated 1997 -98; In constant use from 1998 -99 up to 2003 -04; Main objectives: ¨ ¨ ¨ Information repository (FAQs, courses’ syllabi); Download area (shareware software); Students’ portfolios; Administration area (calendar, summaries, etc. ); Evaluation area (detailed review and final marks). FRAZÃO, L. | OLIVEIRA, M. -T. | PASCOAL, A. Velvitt Conference | Heraklion (GR) | October 11 th, 2005 4

IN-HOUSE WB PORTALS - 2 n Main features / implementations / characteristics: ¨ ¨ ¨ ¨ Companion ftp server with restricted access; Specific mailing list (Yahoo groups); Comprehensive list of educational software and other resources; Regular updates (FAQs, calendar, administration area, etc. ); Support of external peers, whenever available (other tutors, software developers, etc. ); Html editing compulsory for assignments; Reviewed profile: the word to the individual; Flexible templates available. FRAZÃO, L. | OLIVEIRA, M. -T. | PASCOAL, A. Velvitt Conference | Heraklion (GR) | October 11 th, 2005 5

IN-HOUSE WB PORTALS - 3 n The pluses: ¨ ¨ ¨ ¨ Intense collaborative work (within the groups and the class); Development of social skills (communication…); Exploitation of creativity with the assignments’ delivery; Development of technical skills while manipulating different types of software; Improved use of the www as a privileged source of information; Enhanced thinking and reasoning; Low level of drop-off rates; Implementation of proto-learning communities. FRAZÃO, L. | OLIVEIRA, M. -T. | PASCOAL, A. Velvitt Conference | Heraklion (GR) | October 11 th, 2005 6

IN-HOUSE WB PORTALS - 4 n The minuses: ¨ ¨ ¨ ¨ Requires huge administration work from the tutor; Students’ registration is not automated; Mailing list inefficient for sustaining a discussion; Too much flexibility with templates can be a burden for the tutor; Html editing and ftping might be complex for some students; Calendar features proved to be insufficient; Temptation to concentrate on aesthetics rather than contents; Some simple tasks are not automated: it requires extra time from students enrolled. FRAZÃO, L. | OLIVEIRA, M. -T. | PASCOAL, A. Velvitt Conference | Heraklion (GR) | October 11 th, 2005 7

IMPLEMENTING Moodle - 1 n n Pioneering activity of the Educational Sciences Sector; First experiments dated 2003 -04; In constant use from 2004 -05; Main objectives: Information exchange (FAQs, working documents, courses’ syllabi); ¨ Interactive communication area (embedded); ¨ Administration area (embedded); ¨ Pool tests and self-assessment tools (embedded). ¨ FRAZÃO, L. | OLIVEIRA, M. -T. | PASCOAL, A. Velvitt Conference | Heraklion (GR) | October 11 th, 2005 8

IMPLEMENTING Moodle - 2 n The pluses: ¨ ¨ ¨ ¨ ¨ Intense collaborative work (within the groups and the class); Development of social skills (communication…); Improved level of interactivity between peers; Substantial time savings for administration tasks (tutors); Easiness of use by students; Multiplicity of embedded tools; Threaded discussions are possible; Open source software (flexibility and availability); Expansion of the “learning community” concept. FRAZÃO, L. | OLIVEIRA, M. -T. | PASCOAL, A. Velvitt Conference | Heraklion (GR) | October 11 th, 2005 9

IMPLEMENTING Moodle - 3 n The minuses: Portfolios are not developed in such a creative way; ¨ Too much interactivity (discussions, chat, etc. ) might have risks; ¨ … ¨ n It is still a recent experience: additional data is required for a consistent comparison. FRAZÃO, L. | OLIVEIRA, M. -T. | PASCOAL, A. Velvitt Conference | Heraklion (GR) | October 11 th, 2005 10

PROJECT’s ACTIVITIES n n n General purpose tasks; Common module delivery: “Basic Teaching Skills” module @ Huddersfield, using Black. Board; Evaluation report for module above by “PT-Testers”: VLE access: difficulties, no. of trials; ¨ Contents: categories, relevance, transferability to national context, overall structuring, portal design; ¨ Additional comments. ¨ FRAZÃO, L. | OLIVEIRA, M. -T. | PASCOAL, A. Velvitt Conference | Heraklion (GR) | October 11 th, 2005 11

PT-TESTERS’ KEY FINDINGS n n n n “Unknown” VLE didn’t turn to be a major burden; “Language issue”: positive aspect, promotes practice; Involvement of 4 countries contributed for a rich learning endeavor; Strong commitment by learners is compulsory; There should be a permanent tutoring and coaching; It is critical to provide “instant” feedback to questions and activities accomplished by learners; The way contents are organised play an important role for the success of learning. FRAZÃO, L. | OLIVEIRA, M. -T. | PASCOAL, A. Velvitt Conference | Heraklion (GR) | October 11 th, 2005 12

THE WAY AHEAD n Closing common module delivery: “Computer Mediated Skills” module @ Huddersfield, using Black. Board; n Information sharing and further cooperation with TAOKK (also implemented Moodle); n Available online again a practical example of an house web-based portal” for external examination; n Reporting procedures in place, with local tutoring. “in- FRAZÃO, L. | OLIVEIRA, M. -T. | PASCOAL, A. Velvitt Conference | Heraklion (GR) | October 11 th, 2005 13