DIGICOMP / 2014­1­HR01­KA201­007185

Erasmus+, Key Action 2

Digital competencies for teachers

DIGICOMP / 2014­1­HR01­KA201­007185

THE METHODOLOGY FOR PREPARATION

OF MATERIALS FOR ON­LINE COURSES

Approved by:

Agencija za strukovno obrazovanje i obrazovanje odraslih, Croatia Kaunas Science and Technology Park, Lithuania, PIA, informacijski sistemi in storitve d.o.o., Slovenia Miska d.o.o., Slovenia Konya Il Milli Egitim Mudurlugu, Turkey Fundación para la Formación, la Cualificación y el Empleo en el Sector Metal de

Asturias, Spain

Updated: 12th of February, 2015

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Project description

Enhancing digital competences is one of the priorities under the Europe 2020 strategy; consequently, the priorities in Erasmus+ program emphasizes developing basic and transversal skills, and among them digital skills in all fields of education and training, using innovative and student­centered pedagogical approaches and developing appropriate assessment and certification methods, based on learning outcomes and enhancing ICT uptake in teaching and learning, through the support of learning and access to open educational resources (OER) in the education and training fields.

This project recognizes the importance and necessity of improving the system of permanent teacher training in the field of digital competencies. The project is dedicated to the development of a set of open educational resources (OER) for training teachers in the field of digital competence, and assessment of their knowledge at the end of the seminar. The important goal of this project is developing a system of training and assessment with minimal financial investments by introducing a peer review system. Also, project will enable education authorities to ensure a number of digitally competent teachers and monitor their learning progress.

Final coursework will be in­service oriented, to show the ability of use of digital competencies in local environment and own classes. Furthermore, so far existing practice of expensive commissions’ assessment will be avoided by introducing a peer review system. In this way, the costs will be minimized and self­sustain project’s results will be enabled.

In the pilot phase of the project, two teachers per country will be trained in all five of digital competencies (Information, Communication, Content creation, Safety on internet and Problem solving) and skilled as a further trainer of teachers, called also Country digital competence promoters.

Also, dissemination of project’s results is foreseen, which will be provided thru wide educational network of the partners in the project. While the two Slovenian partners will provide methodology for digital competence training and development of tools, other partners will implement new resources in their school networks. Croatian partner is Agency for Vocational Education and Training and Adult Education, a key stakeholder in Croatia in the field of VET and Adult Education, Spain partner is training and professional qualifications body for the metal sector in the Asturias province and Turkish partner is Provincial education directorate in Konya. This way, project’s results will be addressed to a large number of teachers, trainers and all relevant stakeholders in partner’s country.

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Introduction

This document provides guidance in the project on how to design an e­learning online course, creating interactive content from the application of learning strategies and media to courseware development.

The DIGCOMP Project gives the opportunity to upgrade the teaching competences on five topics directly related to ICTs: Information, Communication, Content­Creation, Safety and Problem­Solving with developing of five online courses. Each course will be focused on developing one of the five key competencies.

Besides of all this five online courses there will be two more:

Opening (introductory) on line course Final on line course ­ peer evaluation

For all the participants there will be opening course. The aim of the opening course is to give participants main technical information about the use of online learning environment Moodle, some organizational information and at the end the examination of their knowledge before they can enter the other five courses.

When participants finish entrance online course they can start with other five on line courses about digital competency. They will have the opportunity to choose the online course as they wish (they can start with third or fifth competence online course). They will complete way to e­competency with final online course ­ peer evaluation.

During the development process of online courses it is important to have in mind that contents will be designed exclusively for distant learning in Moodle environment with the use of other digital means (audio, video, games, graphs, applets), different method to carry the info (storytelling, intro video, problem, example) and implementation of interactivity elements.

Also, it is important to pay attention on: structure ­ template of one course – scenario timeframe and estimated number of pages per course, obligatory elements and possible forms for content, assessment of knowledge, learning

materials for the users need to be developed and activities created to encourage users to apply the content,

layout and design of online course a team for designing online course CC license

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Theoretical background

The Conditions of Learning (by Gagne) will help us to develop content of the on­line courses.

According to Robert Gagné (1985) there are nine events that provide a framework for an effective learning process:

1. Gain attention: storytelling, demonstrations, presenting a problem to be solved, stressing why it is important to them

2. Provide a Learning Objective: This allows the learners to organize their thoughts on what they will learn and to perform.

3. Stimulate recall of prior knowledge: Taking practice tests allows learners to retrieve and then reconstruct their knowledge. Remembering information we are organizing allows us to create cues and connections that our brains later recognize.

4. Present the material: Chunk the information to avoid cognitive overload. Blend the information to aid in information recall. Bloom's Taxonomy and Learning Strategies can be used to help sequence the lesson by helping you chunk them into levels of difficulty.

5. Provide guidance for learning: Provide coaching on how to learn the skill. Coaching the learners to learn­to­learn also has the benefit of helping them to gain metacognitive skills that will aid them with future performance initiatives.

6. Elicit performance: Practice by letting the learner do something with the newly acquired behavior, skills, or knowledge

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7. Provide feedback: This can be a test, quiz, or verbal comments. The feedback needs to be specific, not, “you are doing a good job.”

8. Assess performance: Test to determine if the lesson has been learned and provide general progress information.

9. Enhance retention and transfer: Inform the learner about similar problem situations, provide additional practice, put the learner in a transfer situation, review the lesson.

Static and interactive elements

Simple learning resources such as documents, PowerPoint presentations, videos or audio files are non­interactive resources. These materials are non­interactive in the sense that learners can only read or watch content without performing any other action. These resources can be quickly developed and, when they match defined learning objectives and are designed in a structured way, they can be a valuable learning resource even though they don’t provide any interactivity.

Increased interaction in distance courses is associated with higher achievement and student satisfaction (Roblyer and Wiencke, 2003):

Complements different learning styles Can promote higher­order thinking Provides online adaptations of activities that occur in face­to­face classrooms Engages student interest in material

Things to remember about interactivity:

Establish clear learning goals, matched to learning objectives Type of activity chosen should complement content to be learned Interactivity must serve a purpose—not “technology for technology’s sake” Include clear, concise instructions Maintain learner orientation through use of visual cues Use logical links, buttons, and menu items Include consistent formatting and use of color No unnecessary graphics or content should be used

The most common approach for self­paced e­learning is Web­based training consisting of a set of interactive e­lessons. An e­lesson is a linear sequence of screens, which can include text, graphics, animations, audio, video and interactivity in the form of questions and feedback. E­lessons can also include recommended reading and links to online resources, as well as additional information on specific topics.

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Most commonly used on­line learning elements in Moodle

Lessons /with interactive elements (treat them as PowerPoint slides, but with the ability of interactive navigation through questions)

Quizzes (quizzes are generated from question base and are very powerful for assessment, grading and report generation)

Resources (documents and links that are not interactive)

Structure of online courses

On WEB page of the project there will be short description about the way towards e­competency and link to each course.

1. Opening course

For all the participants there will be opening course. The aim of this course is to give participants main technical information about the use of online learning environment Moodle, some organizational information about all online courses and at the end examination their knowledge before they can enter the other five courses. If participants don’t achieve the threshold performance they wouldn’t be able to enter next e­competency course.

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1.1 General technical guidelines:

navigation where the user is (what has been done and what has to be done) description of the activities in Moodle how it works and how it will be used

(content, text, video, podcast, tests, quiz, examination, assessment knowledge, ….)

map of the world and the location of individual participant a description of all the tools that are available in the courses (Padlet, Tricider,

GDrive, ...).

1.2 The content ­ how to reach the way to e­competence and what the participant has to do:

what is e­competency: the number of courses, timing, description of how participants can solve specific courses, one at a time ­ participants they can not have open all at the courses at the same time

descriptive part for participant of each course (reading literature, watching videos, listen to podcasts – a digital audio file, solving the quiz,....)

each course have a quiz (with 60% performance threshold) how to do the final coursework with peer review how to get diploma and portfolio

1.3 Quiz checking for all participants: how participants read the instructions, what to do to successfully complete all courses.

2. Five online course for digital competency

Obligatory elements, mandatory parts of each chapter, content in each online course:

description of the e­competence, aim, objective, content what participant will learn in this course central part of the course are lectures (each of them no longer than 30 minutes) ­

lectures should be interrupted with some question, interactive element, quiz or other activities

final quiz (with 60% performance threshold)

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Some options for communicating course content:

Strive for a variety of methods to appeal to a broad range of learning styles Readings, including the textbook, articles, websites, books, or essays Written material that author type up Video lectures of author talking about a topic – flipped learning Videos of someone else talking about a topic Narrated animations Humorous yet educational videos PowerPoint slides the users view and read Narrated PowerPoint slides with a voice­over by author Questions that lead to directed reading and writing Visualizations, interactive media and simulations

Some examples of media elements:

Realistic pictures

Illustration

Visual list

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Simple diagram

Flow chart

Example of assessment tests:

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The main document for the developing the content of all five online courses is DIGICOMP: Framework for Developing and Understanding Digital Competence in Europe (2013). For each area of digital competence there is description of the area and a list of competence, three proficiency levels, a list of examples of the knowledge, attitudes and skills that can illustrate the each competence and the applicability of these competence for selected purposes.

For example:

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3. Final course

Content:

instructions for the complex coursework (with all five competences areas integrated) criteria for the coursework instructions for the peer review criteria for the peer review

Timeframe

Each course is composed of several e­lessons. A single e­lesson should not take more than 30 minutes of learning time.

A 30­minute e­lesson approximately requires 10­15 pages of content would that includes 30 screens (using an estimate of 1 minute per screen).

For example, the following is a structure of an interactive e­lesson:

Timeframe for learning­participant:

o one course should not last more than 4 hours for average user (4 hours per course x 5 courses = 20 hours work for users)

o 1 hour for entrance course o 3 hours for coursework o 1 hour for 2 peer review evaluation

Total time for participants: 25 hour

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Timeframe for the way to the e­competency:

o Opening course + one competence course = 1 week

o 4 competence course (each 1 week) = 4 weeks

o Final coursework = 1 week

o 2 peer reviews = 1 week for both

Total time for participants: 7 week

Important steps for creating online course

Develop learning strategy per following, closely aligning goals for each to learning course:

o select content (remix, reuse, create) o create activities to guide users to apply content and build knowledge o develop/select assessment methods o identify/methods standards for course evaluation

The workflow to produce and deliver e­learning content – online courses:

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Storyboard

In context of e­learning the storyboard is tool, which describes screen by screen what will happen in the final lesson. The storyboard is not a final product. It is an intermediate product, which is then used by WEB developers to create the final interactive e­lesson and online course.

Authors develop storyboard in PowerPoint slides.

Example for 2. competence:

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The team

At the beginning project partners need to identify the role course design plays in creating interactive and engaging courses.

Several levels of expertise are needed when developing online course:

subject matter experts (SMEs) content creator – authors

pedagogic experts ­ knowledge of pedagogical methods & learning theory

WEB developers and media editors ­ knowledge of the tech tools, applications

Authors contribute the knowledge and information required for a particular online course. In self­paced e­learning authors can be charged with writing the text of e­learning lessons – content development – author. Authors need to develop storyboard, a document that describes all the components of the final interactive online course, including images, text, interactions, questions, assessment tests, etc. This document is in Power Point, where each slide is one screenshot in online course.

Pedagogic experts need to understand the training goal, pedagogically revise the content and storyboard provided by authors, collaborate with authors to define and knowledge need to be covered in the course, choose the appropriate instructional strategy and support the team in defining delivery and evaluation strategies.

WEB developers and media editors are responsible for developing self­paced courses; they assemble course elements, develop media and interactive components, create courseware, adapt the interface of a learning platform – Moodle and install the courseware on the WEB server. They assist both producers and users of e­learning courses at every stage of the process.

CC license of e­learning materials

The Creative Commons (CC) Copyright licenses and tools forge a balance inside the traditional “all rights reserved” setting that copyright law creates. These tools give everyone from individual creators to large companies and institutions a simple, standardized way to grant copyright permissions to their creative work.

As the owner of the online course: CC­BY­SA

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The license for the materials authors will include in e­lessons: public domain or CC licensed (CC­BY, CC BY­NC­SA, CC­BY­SA, CC BY­NC­ND, CC BY­NC).

It is very important indication of the author and original source, not just a website, where the work was published.

IMAGE

A.) image we have made yourself ­ write the title picture in brackets author­ Pythagoras (Photo: John Collick)

B) Image in the public domain: If the author set out to write the same as in A.), otherwise, write down the web address of where the image was downloaded: Pythagoras (http://web_addresss.com)

C.) Photo by Creative Commons license:

We write the title picture in parentheses write the author of the image (as stated in the license itself, and attributed to a web address where it is located Original) ­ Pythagoras (author: name_author, http://web_address_where_original_is_located.com): Public domain or license (CC­BY­SA,…)

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MONOGRAPHS ­ ONE AUTHOR ­ Name, first name. Year of publication. Title: subtitle. Edition. Place of publication: Publisher. (Collection; counting). ISBN.

MISCELLANY ­ Title: Subtitle. Year of publication. Name and surname of the editor (ed.). edition. Place of publication: Publisher. (Collection; counting). ISBN.

ELECTRONIC MONOGRAPHS ­ Name, first name. Year of publication. Document Title [type of medium]. Place of publication: Publisher, date of issue. [Cited date; time]. Available online at: <http: // ...>. ISBN.

FIGURES, TABLES, GRAPHS, ETC. FROM THE WEB ­ Name, first name. Year. Title of the figure / table ... [type of medium]. [Cited date; time]. Available online at: <http: // ...>. ISSN5.

SOUND & VIDEO RECORDING ­ Name, first name. Year of publication. Address material: material subtitle [type of medium]. Place of issue: Publisher.

Resources:

http://www.fao.org/docrep/015/i2516e/i2516e.pdf

http://www.nwlink.com/~donclark/hrd/learning/id/nine_step_id.html

http://search.creativecommons.org/

http://ftp.jrc.es/EURdoc/JRC83167.pdf

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