Gteavirtual: Federated Environment for Open Learning

Author(s):

Manuel Cebrián de la Serna(presenting / submitting)Daniel Cebrián Robles

Conference:

ECER 2013

Network:

16. ICT in Education and Training

Format:

Poster

Session Information

16 SES 05.5 PS, General Poster Session

General Poster Session

Time:

2013-09-11

12:30-14:00

Room:

FUAYE

Chair:

Contribution

Platforms are fully integrated into the daily practice of university teaching, which also counts on services which offer technical support. These services offer easy e-learning solutions, most of the time using tools from the 90’s technological context: BSCW (1995), ILIAS, WebCT, Blackboard (1997), Moodle (1998), Claroline/Dokeos, LRN (1999). Each of these tools is reinventing the wheel to be able to integrate the highest possible number of functions, from simple gadgets to an impossible ad infinitum (without limit).

Nowadays however, there seems to be consensus in that the capacity of platforms to transform the teaching and learning practice is increasingly low and that, although platforms were very useful in the recent past, the biggest potential change in educational practice currently lies in the interaction among different tools and technologies (as no single platform is able to integrate all the different practices), as well as in the customization of technological solutions, in focusing the attention onthe user rather than on technologies or platforms, and in the idea thatthe Internet is the platform itself rather thanthe other way round (Accino, J.A. & Cebrián, M. 2008).

In other words, education poses the need to focus the teaching practice on individuals (PLE) and their ability to self-regulate their own learning process in collaboration with others (Carneiro, E., Lefrere, P. & Steffens, K., 2007). In this context, it is essential to arrange flexible professional training environments (PLE) and teacher support services, to be able to assimilate a more customized attention model than platforms are currently able to offer.

Method

This model involves offering teachers more flexible technological services. Such services should be able to respond to a higher customization and flexibility of the PLEs, allowing teachers to cope with different teaching contexts and situations. Our research group -Gtea-[1] has experienced federation technologies in innovative contexts and in a number of educational cases. We have developed a federated environment, “Gteavirtual”[2], which offers our own tools and free services, such as the eRubric[3] for competency assessment. Likewise, we have federated other Internet tools, such as CaTool[4] at Harvard University, which is used to annotate videos. All these tools are available on Gteavirtual, where teachers can choose the tools they need according to the type of project. At the moment, we are conducting a number of research projects using these tools[5]. The present poster will offer a description of these tools, together with their function, the federated technology that underpins them, and some successful use cases.

Expected Outcomes

Nowadays there seems to be an increasing awareness of a change of paradigm with regards to the use and development of virtual tools to support teachers. Technological changes on the one hand, and the new organizational and institutional context on the other, have both come to change the scenario where these tools are used. Indeed, the increasing tendency to move and collaborate among users of different institutions and countries makes it unfeasible for services and institutions to interoperate based on the model of a single platform for everyone. This is why it could be said that the development strategy of most current platforms - which has consisted of integrating all the potential functions in an attempt to replace the Internet - has turned out to be unfeasible in the medium-term. It is therefore not surprising that a new generation of technologies have emerged based on the user’s identity management. Teachers are now starting to think about and experience the possibilities and limitations of Federation Technologies.

References

Notes [1] Research Group on New Technologies Applied to Education, University of Malaga. http://gtea.uma.es [2] http://gteavirtual.org [3] http://gteavirtual.org/rubric [4] http://gteavirtual.org/Catool [5] http://erubric.org References Accino, J.A, & Cebrián,M. (2008). The Platform is the Net: User Centered Learning and Identity Centered Architectures. Rev. journal Boletín de RedIRIS, no. 84. http://gtea.uma.es/mcebrian/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/rediris08eng.pdf Cebrián de la Serna,M.,Serrano Angulo,J. and Cebrián Robles,D. (2013) Design of the Federated eRubric Tool to support university learning. European Educational Research Association. (In press) Carneiro, E.; Lefrere,P & Steffens, K. (2007). Self-regulated Learning in Technology Enhanced Learning Environments: A European Review. http://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/docs/00/19/72/08/PDF/STEFFENS-KARL-2007.pdf Serrano Angulo, J. And Cebrián, M. (2011). Study of the impact on student learning using the eRubric tool and peer assessment. In Education in a technological world: coomunicating current and emerging research and technological efforts. Edit Formatex Research Center http://www.formatex.info/ict/book/421-427.pdf

Author Information

Manuel Cebrián de la Serna (presenting / submitting)

Málaga University

Didáctica y organización escolar

Málaga

Daniel Cebrián Robles

Málaga University, Spain

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