Showing posts with label online education. Show all posts
Showing posts with label online education. Show all posts

Wednesday, 8 April 2020

How to transform F-2-F #exams into online exams #onlineAssignments #onlineExams #pedagogy

As #COVID19 seems to disrupt our teaching and learning for a longer period of time, I wrote up a document based on requests from colleagues to look into the delivery of online exams and assignments, and what the options are.
The document is entitled "Transforming face-to-face exams into online exams: considering proctoring tool security and creative pedagogical options".

The document is shared under Creative Commons Share Alike license which aligns with the EU directive on transparency and sharing as EIT InnoEnergy for which I work, has a supporting role to the EU and the EU promotes sharing to ensure mutual growth.

This document is an addition to a previous document I wrote with 10 fast tips to move from face-to-face learning to online learning (with a lot of English resources from the University of Cape Town; South Africa; Harvard business, USA; University of North-South Wales, Australia; and EU commission on education, ... as well as tools).

(Disclosure: I don’t get or have any benefits suggesting any of the tools or solutions in these documents).
The following topics are discussed:
  • Comparing online proctoring tools which can be used to ensure safe online exams and assignments (the term ‘safe’ means non-cheating here). Can we use proctoring tools for team exams, how secure are they, what are some of the options and prices?...
  • Limiting online exam costs by looking into the usefulness of using group or team exams and open book exams in a digital learning world (benefits, as all of us can transform some or more of our usual closed book exams (CBE) towards an open book exam (OBE).
  • Using best online exam practices without proctoring tools with audio/video 1on1 only and assignments (useful for those not having the financial resources, or with limited internet access).
The full document (11 pages) can be found here.

Tuesday, 13 November 2018

#MOOC free report, event MOOC for refugees (w travel fund options) and #CfP eMOOC2019

Two interesting MOOC events coming up one focused on MOOCs for refugees, and one for all you out there involved in researching or experiencing MOOCs (the eMOOC2019 conference). 

Free MOOC report

Linked to the MOONLITE event, there is a free MOOC report (130 pages) on : “Exploiting MOOCs for Access and Progression into Higher Education Institutions and Employment Market”
The report gives an overview of the goals of the project, the methodology, and finishes with the practical recommendations for using online courses to enhance access and progression into higher education and the employment market (for refugees). 

MOONLITE multiplier event (part of a EU Erasmus+ project)

The MOONLITE event supports learning without borders, practically it harnesses the potential of MOOCs for refugees and migrants to build their language competences and entrepreneurial skills for employent, higher education, and social inclusion. 

There are bursaries to help cover your travel expenses which you can apply for at the venue!
23-24 November, UNED (Madrid, Spain).
Friday November 23
15:20. Welcome (Timothy Read & Elena Barcena, UNED, Spain)
15:30-16:30. Presentation of the MOONLITE project and its outputs (Jorge Arús-Hita, UCM, Spain & Beatriz Sedano, UNED, Spain)
16:30-17:30. Open Education Passports and Micro Credentials for refugees and migrants (Ildiko Mazar, Knowledge Innovation Centre, Malta)
17:30-18:00 Coffee
18:00-19:00 Kiron Educational Model and Quality Assurance for MOOC-based curricula (María Bloecher, Kiron, Germany)
Saturday November 24
10:00-11:00:  Inclusive by design: how MOOCs have the potential to reach people in ways other online courses do not (Kate Borthwick, University of Southampton, UK)
11:00-12:00: A tool for institutions for quantifying the costs & benefits of Open Education (Anthony Camilleri, Knowledge Innovation Centre, Malta)
12:00-12:30 Coffee
12:30-13:30: Workshop on how to design a socially inclusive MOOC (Elena Martín- Monje & Timothy Read, UNED, Spain)
13:30. Farewell (Timothy Read & Elena Barcena, UNED, Spain)

See travel details, online registration and more info here. No attendance fee. Limited places. 
➢ Sign up here: https://goo.gl/forms/RXYWS8MiQgYqfLkC2 (to obtain attendance certificate, materials, coffee).
➢ Venue: C/ Juan del Rosal, 16 - 28040 Madrid. How to get there: Metro until the stop: “Ciudad Universitaria” + Bus “U” until
the stop: UNED-Juan del Rosal: http://www.ia.uned.es/llegar-etsii

Call for papers eMOOC2019

Dates: 20 - 22 May 2019 
Venue: University of Naples, Federico II in Italy

Important Dates:
16 Jan 2017: Paper submissions for Research Track.
24 Feb 2017: Notification of acceptance/rejection
20 Mar 2017: Camera-ready versions for Springer LNCS Proceedings and copyright form.

The Higher Education landscape is changing. As the information economy progresses, demand for a more highly, and differently, qualified workforce increases, and HE Institutions face the challenge of reskilling and upskilling people throughout their lives. The corporate and NGO sectors are themselves exploring the benefits of a more qualified online approach to training, and are entering the education market in collaboration with HE Institutions, but also autonomously or via new certifying agencies. Technology is the other significant player in this scenario. It allows for new, data-driven ways of measuring learning outcomes, new curriculum structures and alternative forms of recruitment strategy via people analytics.

MOOCs represent the crossroads where the three converge. Come to EMOOCs 2019 and explore the impact and future direction of open, online education on a social, political and institutional level.

The eMOOC summit has four tracks: research, business, policy and experience track.
At the MOOC crossroads: where academia and business converge

The Higher Education landscape is changing. As the information economy progresses, demand for a more highly, and differently, qualified workforce and citizens increases, and HE Institutions face the challenge of training, reskilling and upskilling people throughout their lives, rather than providing a one-time in-depth education. The corporate and NGO sectors are themselves exploring the benefits of a more qualified online approach to training, and are entering the education market in collaboration with HE Institutions, but also autonomously or via new certifying agencies. Technology is the other significant player in this fast-changing scenario. It allows for new, data-driven ways of measuring learning outcomes, new forms of curriculum definition and compilation, and alternative forms of recruitment strategy via people analytics.

At the MOOC crossroads where the three converge, we ask ourselves whether university degrees are still the major currency in the job market, or whether a broader portfolio of qualifications and micro-credentials may be emerging as an alternative. What implications does this have for educational practice? What policy decisions are required? And as online access eliminates geographical barriers to learning, but the growing MOOC market is increasingly dominated by the big American platforms, what strategic policy do European HE Institutions wish to adopt in terms of branding, language and culture?

The EMOOCs 2019 MOOC stakeholders summit comprises the consolidated four-track format of Research and Experience, Policy and Business. And will feature keynote speakers, round table and panel sessions as well as individual presentations in each track. The aim is for decision-makers and practitioners to explore innovative and emerging trends in online education delivery, and the strategic policy that supports them. Original contributions that share knowledge and carry forward the debate around MOOCs are very welcome.The number of HE institutions involved in MOOCs, and the numbers of courses and enrolled students, has increased exponentially in recent years both in Europe and beyond. One of the results of this growing MOOC movement is an increasing body of research evidence that positions itself within the established research communities in technology enhanced learning, open education and distance learning. Key trends that are accelerating HE technology adoption are blended learning design and collaborative learning as well as a growing focus on measuring learning and redesigning learning spaces, and, in the long-term, deeper learning approaches and cultures of innovation.

This track welcomes high-level papers supported by empirical evidence to provide a rigorous theoretical backdrop to the more practical approaches described in the experience track, and particularly invites contributions in the area of these key trends.

  • Learning Designs – blended learning, collaborative learning, learner-generated content, open textbooks, immersive learning, relating course and content to learning outcomes
  • Defining and Measuring learning – learning analytics, educational data mining, user behaviour studies, adaptive and personalisation studies, cognitive theories and deep learning
  • Technology – infrastructure and interface, tools and methods to provide learning at scale; tools and methods for assessment; tools and methods for data collection and processing; blockchain technology; AI + automated feedback

Submission of Papers
This is a one-step process, via direct submission of abstract and full paper.

Full paper: up to 10 pages including references

There will be official conference proceedings for this track and submissions will be handled through EasyChair.

The use of the supplied Springer template is mandatory: https://www.springer.com/it/computer-science/lncs/conference-proceedings-guidelines

Please remember to indicate the relevant Track when you submit your paper.

Proceedings

The Proceedings of the Research Track will be published by Springer in the Lecture Notes in Computer Science (LNCS) Series.
Submission of Work-in-Progress Short Papers

Short papers (up to 6 pages) are also accepted in this track, reflecting work in progress, for publication in Online proceedings with ISBN.

The use of the Springer template is mandatory:
https://www.springer.com/it/computer-science/lncs/conference-proceedings-guidelines

When submitting your paper, please indicate type of paper and track in the submission process.

Proceedings

The Work-in-Progress proceedings will be submitted to CEUR-WS.org for online publication. Outstanding short papers may be included in the Springer Proceedings.

Important dates:
25 February 2019: Short Paper submissions for Research Track.
25 March 2019: Notification of acceptance/rejection
29 April 2019: Camera-ready versions for online Proceedings with ISBN and copyright form

Tuesday, 20 February 2018

Call for proposals: 8 conferences and workshop #CfP #elearning #mlearning



This is a Call for Papers delight! It seems that an array of inspiring conferences is open for proposals, workshops, doctoral consortium options. Listed below are one workshop on Artificial Intelligence and Ethics, six academic conferences (mLearn conference in Chicago, , the ECTEL conference in Leeds, UK, the Australian International Education Conference (AIEC) in Sydney, Australia, IAU global university partnerships, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, EdMedia in Amsterdam, Netherlands, the Alt-C conference in Manchester, UK) and two grand elearning conferences (mixing academia, policy and corporate): DevLearn in Las Vegas, USA and Online Educa Berlin (OEB) in Berlin Germany.

mLearn2018 – International Mobile Learning conference
Where: Concordia University, Chicago, USA
When: 11 – 14 November 2018
Deadline for proposals: 30 April 2018
General theme and description
Mobilized Learning: Pedagogical and Technological Innovation for Teaching & Learning
mLearn is the leading international conference on mobile and contextual learning and attracts participants annually from more than 60 countries. mLearn 2018 provides a forum for researchers, policy makers, professionals and educators from higher education, school education and vocational education, government departments, industries and international organisations as well as IT developers and solutions providers to share knowledge, research and practices and debate critical issues pertaining to sustainable futures for mobilized learning.

EC-TEL – European Conference on Technology Enhanced Learning
Where: University of Leeds, UK
When: 3 – 6 September 2018
Deadline for abstracts: 15 April 2018 (with statement of Open Science!)
General theme and description
‘Lifelong technology enhanced learning: Dealing with the complexity of 21st century challenges’.
We live in an increasingly digital and globalized world that offers great opportunities for information sharing and the generation of new knowledge. This reality has enabled us to move forward rapidly as a society in many respects, but has also led us to complex, diverse and interdisciplinary challenges that affect all areas of knowledge such as health, demographic change and wellbeing; food security and bio-economy; secure and clean energy; smart and green energy; or climate action and environment - to name just a few that are emphasized by the European Union.

Australian International Education Conference (AIEC)
Where: Sydney Conference Centre, Sydney, Australia
When: 9 – 12 October 2018
Deadline for proposals:9 – 12 October 2018
General theme and description
The theme is 'empowering a new generation' and the program will feature world leading experts, unique social events and an exhibition, all hosted in and around the new Sydney Convention Centre, ICC Sydney.
With over 1300 attendees, AIEC 2018 will once again be the leading event on the international education calendar in Australia.

Higher Ed Partnerships for Social impact - IAU International Conference
Where: Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
When: 13 – 15 Nobember 2018
Deadline for proposals: 3 April 2018
Call for cases: https://etouches-appfiles.s3.amazonaws.com/html_file_uploads/359a2a74df239ceb38058b89d2a040c5_Callforcasestudies.pdf?response-content-disposition=inline%3Bfilename%3D%22casestudies2018%22&response-content-type=application%2Fpdf&AWSAccessKeyId=AKIAJC6CRYNXDRDHQCUQ&Expires=1519126805&Signature=z%2F34LHX4LaVnayZo7CpkoKNo3TY%3D
General theme and description
The conference will address the theme ‘Higher education partnerships for societal impact’.
IAU believes that higher education institutions (HEIs) play an important role in the development of societies. Higher education institutions engage with society in a variety of ways. Partnerships with civil society, the private sector, the local authorities and decision-makers or between HEIs take on numerous forms and shapes. IAU invites its Members, the global higher education communities, and their partners to reflect on and discuss their mandate and social responsibility, while presenting different forms of partnerships adopted around the world and for what societal impact. The conference will also be a venue to discuss the challenges and obstacles related to this mission.
Call for case studies
Several breakout sessions will show-case examples of partnerships from around the world between higher education institutions and different partners (civil society, the private sector, local authorities etc.). If your institution is pursuing partnerships for societal impact and you wish to show-case your experience during the conference, please send a short description of the partnership and its purpose to IAU.

EdMedia
Where: Amsterdam, Netherlands
When: 25 – 29 June 2018
Deadline for proposals: 9 April 2018
General theme and description
Innovation and Education
EdMedia + Innovate Learning, the premier international conference in the field since 1987, spans all disciplines and levels of education attracting researchers and practitioners in the field from 70+ countries.
This annual conference offers a forum for the discussion and exchange of research, development, and applications on all topics related to Innovation and Education.
EdMedia + Innovate Learning is an international conference organized by the Association for the Advancement of Computing in Education (AACE)

Alt-C
Where: Manchester, UK
When: 11 – 13 September 2018
Deadline for proposals: 8 March 2018
General theme and description
Will you be a part of it?
For ALT’s 25th Annual Conference we will bring together different critical perspectives in Learning Technology from across our community that will examine the challenges ahead and question the shape of things to come. Will you be a part of it? This is your invitation to make your contribution to our 25th year as the UK’s leading professional body in Learning Technology

Workshop Ethics for Artificial Intelligence
Where: University College London, UK
When: 30 June 2018
Deadline for proposals: 30 April 2018
Call for abstracts (sending via email): https://aiedethics.wordpress.com/join-us-get-involved/
General theme and description
Ethics in AIED
The field of AIED raises far-reaching ethical questions with important implications for students and educators. However, most AIED research, development, and deployment have taken place in what is essentially a moral vacuum (for example, what happens if a child is subjected to a biased set of algorithms that impact negatively and incorrectly on their school progress?).

OEB – Online Educa Berlin
Where: Berlin, Germany
When: 5 – 7 December 2018
Deadline for proposals: 30 April 2018
More info: https://oeb.global/
General theme and description:
Learning to Love Learning!
OEB, incorporating Learning Technologies Germany, is the global, cross-sector conference on technology supported learning and training. Shape the agenda of the 24th edition of OEB by proposing a topic, talk or session under the overall theme “Learning to Love Learning”: Technology is changing society. The way we live and the jobs we do will never be the same again. In twenty years, the world of work will be unlike anything we have ever known. The development of artificial intelligence will allow machines to replace workers in many industries on an unprecedented scale. Humankind will face some fundamental, existential questions. Why are we here? What are we doing? How are we different from the machines? Education will shape our response to the immense challenge of this new age. But education and training will have to change too. So will the nature of employment. Learning will no longer be a brief phase in life. It will become a central part of our existence. In an era of constant and increasing change, we will discover a new appreciation of learning and an understanding of its place in the future. We will learn to love learning. At its 100+ sessions and at the exhibition, the conference will bring you to the forefront of learning and technology developments, give you new insights on opportunities and challenges that are changing the world of learning, show you the latest best practice from leading organisations and allow you to meet, discuss and network with more than 2,000+ international learning professionals from the workplace learning, education and public service sectors.

DevLearn
Where: Las Vegas, USA
When: 24 – 26 October 2018
Deadline for proposals: 9 March 2018
General theme and description
Developing Learning
DevLearn Conference & Expo, North America’s leading event focused on learning technologies, is where the entire industry gathers to share and learn about innovative thinking and emerging technologies, explore the possibilities they present, and define how they can drive innovation within our industry … our organizations … and our learning. It is the place where you can meet with industry thought leaders, share strategies with colleagues, discover best practices, and learn about the hottest topics and ideas for learning. Join the community of industry pioneers that is defining the future of training and performance!





Tuesday, 30 January 2018

Top 10 open access papers from 2017 @nidl_dcu #research #onlinelearning #open

The National Institute for Digital Learning in Dublin (NIDL), Ireland has listed what they see as the top 10 open access articles worth reading in 2017 here (with a small abstract for each). All the top reads are featured in open access journals with high quality criteria. The paper by Perkins and Lowenthal is of interest, as they ranked open access journals. I have the impression open access is (luckily!) still on the rise. Unfortunately, open access papers are rarely seen as a valuable career move for early to experienced researchers.The NIDL launched the top papers one by one through twitter @NIDL_DCU .

Last year one of my co-authored papers with Aras Bozkurt (who was also a top author in the 2017 papers!) and Nilgün Ozdamar Keskin entitled Research Trends in Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) Theses and Dissertations: Surfing the Tsunami Wave was part of the top 10 reads for 2016 (which we only found out just now *blush*). For those wanting to read the full list of 2016 articles, feel free to find them listed here.

These are the 10 publications that NIDL has considered for the 2017 list, although it needs to be stressed that there are many other journal articles worthy of consideration and further evaluation depending on your specific interests:

No. 1: Blended Learning Citation Patterns And Publication Networks Across Seven Worldwide Regions

Authors: Kristian Spring & Charles Graham Journal: Australasian Journal of Educational Technology

No. 2 Review and Content Analysis of International Review of Research in Open and Distance/Distributed Learning (2000–2015)

Authors: Olaf Zawacki-Richte, Uthman Alturki & Ahmed Aldraiweesh
Journal: International Review of Research in Open and Distributed Learning

No. 3 Trends and Patterns in Massive Open Online Courses: Review and Content Analysis of Research on MOOCs (2008-2015)

Authors: Aras Bozkurt, Ela Akgün-Özbek, & Olaf Zawacki-Richter
Journal: International Review of Research in Open and Distributed Learning

No. 4 Theories and Frameworks for Online Education: Seeking an Integrated Model

Author: Anthony G Picciano
Journal: Online Learning Journal 

No. 5 A Critical Review of the Use of Wenger’s Community of Practice (CoP) Theoretical Framework in Online and Blended Learning Research, 2000-2014

Authors: Sedef Uzuner Smith, Suzanne Hayes & Peter Shea
Journal: Online Learning Journal

No. 6 Refining Success and Dropout in Massive Open Online Courses Based on the Intention–behavior Gap

Authors: Maartje A. Henderikx, Karel Kreijns & Marco Kalz
Journal: Distance Education

No. 7 Special Report on the Role of Open Educational Resources in Supporting the Sustainable Development Goal 4: Quality Education Challenges and Opportunities

Author: Rory McGreal
Journal: International Review of Research in Open and Distributed Learning

No. 8 A National Study of Online Learning Leaders in US Higher Education

 Author: Eric Fredericksen
Journal: Online Learning Journal

No. 9 Bot-teachers in Hybrid Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs): A post-Humanist Experience

Authors: Aras Bozkurt, Whitney Kilgore & Matt Crosslin
Journal: Australasian Journal of Educational Technology

No. 10 Gamifying Education: What is Known, What is Believed and What Remains Uncertain: A Critical Review

Authors: Christo Dichev and Darina Dicheva
Journal: International Journal of Educational Technology in Higher Education

    Great reads, each one of them.

    Monday, 11 December 2017

    Free report on #digital competences of educators #EUpolicy #education @EU_ScienceHub

    This 95 page report on Digital Competences of Educators was brought to my attention by the fabulous Yannis Angelis, who is also a great twitter networker (@YannisAngelis). This recently published report offers a European Framework for the Digital Competence of Educators and is written by Christine Redecker and Yves Puni.

    This is a really strong framework (really good read) and it does touch all the competences a contemporary educator should have (and already has in many occasions). I think this framework can easily be tailored for practical use inside educational institutions. Another thought that crossed my mind: look at the competencies and than try to come up with any profession that includes all of these competencies as well... not easy, as it implies communication skills, technological skills, social skills and pedagogical skills.... and all in an increasingly complex world of learners. So what I hope is that this report will see the start of a reappreasal of the educator in the whole of society... I mean, you got to love the teachers!

    The tagline of the report is: the European Framework for the Digital Competence of (DigCompEdu) responds to the growing awareness among many European Member States that educators need a set
    of digital competences specific to their profession in order to be able to seize the potential of
    digital technologies for enhancing and innovating education.

    Content of the report
    The report focuses on 22 competences, organised in 6 areas:
    Area 1: Professional engagement, using digital technologies for communication, collaboration
    and professional development.
    Area 2: Digital Resources sourcing, creating and sharing digital resources.
    Area 3: Teaching and Learning Managing and orchestrating the use of digital technologies
    in teaching and learning.
    Area 4: Assessment using digital technologies and strategies to enhance assessment.
    Area 5: Empowering learners using digital technologies to enhance inclusion,
    personalisation and learners’ active engagement.
    Area 6: Facilitating learners’ digital competence, enabling learners to creatively and responsibly use digital technologies for information, communication, content creation, wellbeing and problem-solving.

    For each of these competences more information is given, including a description of what the authors define the competence to be, and how to achieve it.

    Nice side note: self-regulated learning is part of the competences of an educator. I really like the addition of this aspect to the teaching and learning competence.

    Take into account competence levels of the educators
    Another nice point of attention used in this report is the levels given to the competences in relation to the digital experience of the educator: in the first two stages of DigCompEdu, Newcomer (A1) and Explorer (A2), educators assimilate new information and develop basic digital practices; at the following two stages, Integrator (B1) and Expert (B2), educators apply, further expand and reflect
    on their digital practices; at the highest stages, Leader (C1) and Pioneer (C2), educators pass on their knowledge, critique existing practice and develop new practices.
    The labels for each competence level were selected to capture the particular focus of digital technology use typical for the competence stage. the descriptors also relate to an educator’s
    relative strengths and roles within a professional community. And within the report a clear proficiency progression by area is also provided (page 31). Adding examples to make this theoretical framework a practical document (e.g. finding digital resources and what this entails for all 6 competency levels). A lot of work is put into making this theoretical framework accessible for practical implementation, an aspect I really appreciate and like a lot.



    background of publication
    This publication is a Science for Policy report by the Joint Research Centre (JRC), the European Commission’s science and knowledge service, which you can follow @EU_ScienceHub. It aims to provide evidence-based scientific support to the European policymaking process, but it also offers great insight into what policy makers find of interest, and where they think educators will benefit from in order to ensure digitally competent education.


    Abstract from the report
    As educators face rapidly changing demands, they require an increasingly broader and more sophisticated set of competences than before. In particular, the ubiquity of digital devices and the duty to help students become digitally competent requires educators to develop their own digital competence. On an international and national level a number of frameworks, self-assessment tools and training programmes have been developed to describe the facets of digital competence for educators and to help them assess their competence, identify their training needs and offer targeted training. Based on the analysis and comparison of these instruments, this report presents a common European Framework for the Digital Competence of Educators (DigCompEdu). DigCompEdu is a scientifically sound background framework which helps to guide policy and can be directly adapted to implementing regional and national tools and training programmes. In addition, it provides a common language and approach that will help the dialogue and exchange of best practices across borders.
    The DigCompEdu framework is directed towards educators at all levels of education, from early childhood to higher and adult education, including general and vocational education and training, special needs education, and non-formal learning contexts. It aims to provide a general reference frame for developers of Digital Competence models, i.e. Member States, regional governments, relevant national and regional agencies, educational organisations themselves, and public or private professional training providers.

    Thursday, 7 December 2017

    360 camera use in online/blended courses #elearning #IDesign #MOOC

    Sometimes simple instructional design tools can add to the efficiency of learning in an online or blended course. One of the simple options is using a 360° camera to immerse learners in a specific setting providing a more indepth learning context. Creating, using and providing a 360° experience has a long standing use especially with artists who wanted to use multiple visual angles to create a more captivating piece of art using multiple mirrors.

    At the same time, using 360° cameras to give contemporary (MOOC) learners a better idea of what is meant by specific descriptions is now being fully tested in online courses. The real-life example provided a bit further down, relates to a MOOC on Climbing and the effect of using 360° videos to instruct online learners (comparing fully online with blended learners and the effect of those videos... really great research read!).


    Description 

    The 360° camera is a camera which records or captures visuals in a 360° field (so the entire sphere). This offers the viewer the ability to move through the full panorama by choosing a specific or multiple viewing directions, using either a keyboard, pointers or by simply tilting their head in the direction they want to view when using Virtual Reality glasses.

    360° camera functionality

    As a 360 degrees camera will allow you to capture a scene or setting with a 360° angle, this means you - as a learner - can manipulate what you see with your keyboard or mobile phone buttons and get a full visual overview of ... for instance an engineering plant, the inside of an ambulance which is filled with medical equipment, a specific controller room, an event where all of the surrounding areas are of importance to the learner... all shown from one particular point in that space (that being where the picture or movie is taken) but enabling the learner to shift through that space to see all of the potentially interesting features as they can be seen in real life.

    An example of this can be seen here, which depicts a room at the Gaudi Exhibition Center in Barcelona, Spain, where I took a picture of a historical artist set-up for 3D capturing (old style). You can see the whole room by using the pointers at the bottom of the picture frame.

    Today the 360° camera can be purchased at a reasonable price (e.g. Ricoh Theta S) which allows you to make pictures as well as 360 degrees videos. Although these more reasonably priced camera's come with some restrictions (e.g. size of the videos), they are a good testing board to see what you can do with such a device. Once you realise its applications, you can consider implementing it in a bigger online or blended course.

    When to use this tool

    A 360 degrees learning element is of use in any situation that demands a full surround understanding of a certain context. If you are looking for an instructional decor which has multiple elements all gathered in one space, or related to each other in a space, than this is the way to go. Providing a 360 overview of such spaces enables the learner to grasp all the elements influencing each other. For instance if you are a medic in an ambulance, you need to know where to find specific equipment in a moments notice in order to save the life of the patients. At the same time the driver of the ambulance can benefit from a 'real life' drive through traffic after picking up a patient, and see which traffic situations (being able to see full street coverage) to watch out for while having a patient in the back.

    Example of implementing 360° video in online and blended learning

    A great research example can be read in this paper shared and co-authored by Martin Ebner.
    Abstract:
    In this research study a course, combining both computer-supported and face-to-face teaching using the concept of blended learning, has been designed. It is a beginners climbing course called “Klettern mit 360° Videos“ (climbing with 360° videos) and the online part has been implemented as a Massive Open Online Course (MOOC). This research study presents the background of the course, the course concept, the course itself and the results of the evaluation. To measure the difference between the pure online participants and the blended learning participants the MOOC has been evaluated independently from the blended learning course. It should be mentioned that all participants (whether pure online or both) evaluated the course in a positive manner. The use of technology enhanced learning realized by the concept of blended learning proved to be a well-suited method for this course setting. Furthermore, many advantages of computer based learning, blended learning and 360°-videos have been reported by the participants.

    Thursday, 16 November 2017

    Free mLearning eBook: Mobilizing and supporting educator practice #mLearning

    At the mLearn2017 in Cyprus, a free and useful eBook was launched by the International Association for Mobile Learning (IAmLearn). It is a free book entitled 'Mobilizing and supporting educator practice', edited by top mLearning experts (Robert Power, Mohamed Ally, Dean Cristol and Agnieszka Palalas) and as such available to all. They even have a download button (tucked away in the table of contents tab) where you can download the free book as a PDF, right here. The other download formats are ePub and mobi (great!).

    Description (from their own website)
    "Teachers are more likely to experiment with and integrate mobile learning strategies if they feel confident in their ability to do so. Professional development resources and activities that focus on making instructional design decisions can help to increase teachers’ confidence with mobile learning. Teachers have indicated that a community of practice would also help them to increase their confidence with mLearning. To that end, mobile learning experts and practitioners from the International Association for Mobile Learning (IAmLearn) have prepared this open access eBook to help create such a community of practice."
    The chapters in this book are useful for researchers implementing mobile learning (eg. 6 mobile learning theories!), but above all to educators, as each chapter gives a clear description of what you - as an educator - can do and specifically, the authors added digital extra's (although I did not get the tub-tub app to work). Yes, those are ready to use in a classroom or training setting (eg. https://iamlearning.pressbooks.com/chapter/digital-extras-activity-1/ using the jigsaw method).

    The table of contents:

    Ch 1: MALL Gains, Barriers, and Opportunities

    Mobile Application Use to Support Vocabulary Knowledge in a Japanese High School: Learning Gains, Barriers, and Opportunities

    Digital Extras - Supplementary Materials


    Ch 2: Enhancing Residential Student Leadership Training with AR mLearning

    Enhancing Residential Student Leadership Training with Appropriate Augmented Reality mLearning Trail Design

    Digital Extras - Teacher and Student Testimonials

    Ch 3: Resourceful Instructors & Students

    Resourceful instructors and students: Overcoming barriers to integrating mobile tools

    Digital Extras - The Course Assistance App


    Ch 4: Teacher Training and PD in Mobile Pedagogy for English Language Teaching

    Teacher Training and Professional Development in Mobile Pedagogy for English Language Teaching

    Digital Extras - Tasks and Guidelines for Teacher Development Questions
    Digital Extras - Activity 1
    Digital Extras - Activity 2
    Digital Extras - Reflection Activities


    Ch 5: Moving to Seamless Learning

    Moving to Seamless Learning: A Framework for Learning Using Multiple Devices

    Digital Extras - Appendix 5.1


    Ch 6: An mLearning Toolset

    An mLearning Toolset for Leveraging Learning Theory
    Six Learning Theories
    The Analytical Tools

    Digital Extras - Design Rubrics
    Digital Extras - The Digital Analyzer


    Additional Resources:
    The Collaborative Situated Active Mobile (CSAM) Learning Design Framework
    CSAM References
    The Mobile Teacher's Sense of Efficacy Scale (mTSES)
    mTSES References