Selection of eContent for the pilot application Pristina, 2-3. October 2010 Moderators: Karolina Horvatinčić and Sonja Prišćan

Topics – 1st day Introduction to the project Introduction to e-learning Presentation of available eContent Learning theories and teaching methods Group work about learning theories Introduction to eContent library Familiarizing with the interface

Objectives for Day 1 Define and describe e-learning Discuss the advantages and weaknesses of e-l. Implement collaborative method in online and classroom environment Browse eContent library

Introduce yourself Institution Occupation Your experiences with e-learning, so far Something personal

INTRODUCTION TO THE PROJECT

Goals and objectives 1/2 The objective of this project is to support the Kosovo Government in improving the quality and efficiency of education and training services. This is to be done through support in introducing ICT technology in teaching and learning process.

Goals and objectives 2/2     To support Kosovo Government to improve education system through support in ; ICT, e-education and e-learning awareness, training and practice, development of eContent and its delivery, improving e-learning competence among teachers, teacher trainers and in school administration, creation of educational network

Stakeholders, target group(s), overall duration, funding, staff Beneficiaries of the project: schools, didactic centres, municipalities, University of Prishtina, MEST Stakeholders: beneficiaries, donors & their projects, training centres, public libraries, Ministry of Transport, backbone providers Target groups: Stakeholders, educators, IT technicians, students, trainers, professors, researchers & administrators in education sector Duration: 24 month starting from 1st February 2010,

Overview of components EU - IT Pilot Project will work with limited number (~25 schools and education institutions)  of beneficiaries to be involved in the pilot as a test bed for use of ICT and e-learning in education to assess the level of assessment and commitment of stakeholders The project is linked separate 1 Million Euro Supplies Contract/Tender to equip beneficiaries. The project has 5 main components: eReadiness and Policy of eEducation Identification of Pilot Schools and Equipment required ICT trainings and training institutions Development of eContent for Education Development of EDUNet and community portal

Component 1: Institutional Readiness for use of ICT in learning, teaching and administration in education Analysis of eReadiness of the Education System in Kosovo (use questionnaires, focus group, available data and side visits) Development of an eEducation Strategy and Action Plan on use of ICT in Education in Kosovo (based on results of the analysis and in the framework of group decision making methodology) Recommendation for the legal framework (to examine, through consultations and legislative review, the need and requirements for developing a legal framework and prepare recommendations)

Component 2: Identification of Pilot Schools and Equipment required Identification of beneficiaries of IT Pilot Project Definition of priorities and transparent criteria for selection of beneficiaries Design a template/questionnaire to assess proposed beneficiaries Collecting and analyzing answers Cross checking (visiting) preselected beneficiaries, final selection Review and Finalize draft Dossier for Supplies Tender/Contract Review, proposal & consultation with stakeholders Finalize draft Tender Dossier

Component 3: Provision of ICT Trainings and capacity building of ICT training institutions Support in establishment of ICT Centre at Prishtina University, MoU Technical assistance support in the establishment of ICT support centers Training of IT technicians to support schools (60 technicians) Training of teachers and education staff in ICT (2000 persons) Training of eContent developers (100 developers)

Provide Repository for efficient eContent Management Component 4: Development and piloting of eContent Material for Education Development of eContent Material for selected number of courses for pilot testing (eContent should be piloted in chosen schools to provide MEST with guidelines and recommendations) Provide Repository for efficient eContent Management         (to share and reuse the developed content)

Component 5: Development of EDUNet and community portal Development of central academic network preliminary design (for pilot project but able to scale up to NREN) , analysis of existing facilities, list of standards for center and members Training of staff and support personnel (NOC, Helpdesk) Final design, deployment, testing, improvements Development of Web portal for academic community design as CMS and communication platform, inclusion of repository and LMS training of Web Editor, preparing training material for users, initial roll out conducting Pilot system system deployment, monitoring, review of results

INTRODUCTION TO E-LEARNING

Education in 21 century 1/4 Traditional education systems funded by government supplied trained workers structured, standardized suitable for predictable labor market needs, unchanged for decades Mass education systems as we have known them for years have been established in the time of industrialization (in the West), and it suited the need of that kind of society. Those education systems were well organized, but they became too big and could not respond to the needs of the changing labor market.

Education in 21 century 2/4 What has changed in the post-industrial world? At global level Shift from production to services Globalization (of education) Commercialization of education It could be said that shift from production to services mostly happened in the West, in the developed countries, as many shipyards, mines and big factories closed down and this kind of production is now provided by China, Korea etc. This is not completely accurate, as for example India is doing very well on the market for new, Internet based services. Globalization is taking places in all spheres of the life: world is connected better by all means of transportation and traffic, people are travelling more, tv, internet, same products are available everywhere (McDonald’s). Similar is happening with education.

Education in 21 century 3/4 What has changed in the postindustrial world? At personal level Change of employers during career Change of career Re-training for new technology Combination of education and work People are much more mobile not only in physical sense, but also changing employers or entire career several times in life has become normal. For this, people need to be trained for new technologies and new jobs. Short discussion: ask participants if they have noticed these changes in their environment. Have their parents worked in big factories, devoted to the company from the first working day to retirement? Are they prepared to do the same, would they have a chance to do it?

Education in 21 century 4/4 Governments are tightening education budgets demanding more accountability Education institutions are expected to generate income and provide for themselves be managed as enterprise treat their students as customers Mills, R. & Tate, A. 1996. This is from a book edited by Mills and Tate, many articles in which these changes are described. In UK they started to notice and analyze these changes since 1970-s, where is in this part of the world we are just becoming aware of it.

Learning in the 21 century 1/7 Explosion of information – requires prolonged education Life-long learning New competencies needed for knowledge based society Exponential growth of information has caused that we must stay in school longer. But even that is not enough so eventually we start working and then we go back for more education. Trends are “just in time training” “up to date training” informal, non-formal… All is included under the expression “life long learning” (one of the aspects if it is also learning for 3rd generation, as life expectancy is now much longer, older people also want to learn new things, be active mentally)

Learning in the 21 century 2/7 Key competences (EU) Communication in mother tongue Communication in foreign languages Mathematical literacy and basics of science Digital competencies Learning to learn Interpersonal competencies Entrepreneurship Cultural expression http://ec.europa.eu/education/policies/2010/doc/basicframe.pdf This framework of key competencies for knowledge based society was set in 2004 as EU objective to be achieved in education by 2010. Is it achieved? How can we work on it? How important it is for young people who are much more mobile today – they travel for fun and sometimes live and work in other countries.

Learning in the 21 century 3/7 How do young people learn? In school, from books? From elders? From TV, Internet? From friends? From friends they have never met? Show bullets one by one. Discussion – ask the participants if they noticed young people around them learning more from media, friends and networks then in traditional ways. This may be slightly different in Kosovo, but it seems to be a global trend.

Learning in the 21 century 4/7 Who are digital natives, y generation, millenials, Net generation…? “We're very independent and tech savvy." “…been brought up in the most child-centered generation ever.” "They've grown up questioning their parents, and now they're questioning their employers.” Stephanie Armour, USA TODAY Some of the things listed here are culturally dependent. What is listed on the slide is from American context. Ask the participants if, however, they have noticed something similar with young people in their environment. Also notice that even though we are here speaking of education, some of the characteristics of new generations are of a wider meaning, it is their psychological profile which will influence their behavior at school (such as independence, questioning authority ) and there are other characteristics that are of even wider meaning (they are tolerant, socially aware, …) – probably irrelevant here. This presentation should only acknowledge the difference in behavior between younger and older generation – no intention to criticize anybody, there may be presenters or participants from both generations in the classroom!

Learning in the 21 century 5/7 “They are the most technology-fluent, multi-tasking, adaptable and team-oriented group in history.” “…are not shy about flaunting personal details about their lives on YouTube and MySpace.” Bryan Patterson, Heraldsun.com.au After presenting what is on the slide, ask the participants if they noticed some common points. If not, point out that on previous and this slide an orientation towards collaboration, team work and multitasking as well as familiarity with technology should be noticed. What was listed in this and previous slide is not a result of scientific research, however, the fact that online media gives it attention, means it matters. In contrast to this, next slide presents some concrete research results.

Learning in the 21 century 6/7 How has technology influenced learning of young people? Preference for simple/visually attractive contents Need for immediate response (information) Serendipitous (by chance) learning, skimming Multi-tasking Knowing together http://www.asis.org/Conferences/AM09/open-proceedings/posters/75.xml Unlike previous slides, here we speak about the results of a research of the ways young people behave when they are using Internet for learning. Eliza Dresange regularly presents the results of her research but all materials are protected by copyright, so there is only a link to one of the conference materials were she presented a poster. One of her main points is that student-computer interaction should not be seen as socially isolating, that students are now also very well connected with other students/learners and that this component may be stronger than it was before.

Learning in the 21 century 7/7 Can we assume that young people can and will use information technology for learning? Not always, as there are big differences within young population Not always, as many use it for entertainment but not for learning Not always, as many use it without sufficient knowledge and awareness Yes many times, and of some older ones http://web.ffos.hr/lida/datoteke/lida_2010_proceedings.pdf Human computer interaction is studied and discussed world wide. Some results show that technology has similar effect on users of all ages, not just young ones. We must be careful and not easily accept generalizations about young people. Many of them need help when using technology: if they are from the environments in which they were not exposed to technology, if they have not used it for learning before, and because young people accept too easy whatever they find on the Internet (they are not aware that Internet is not organized and not controlled)

E-learning as technological imperative? Should technology be adopted in education for new learners: to suit the needs and habits of new learners? to retain their motivation? because it is a novelty or…

E-learning as technological imperative? What weaknesses of the traditional education can be overcome with technology? Improved communication? Better visualization of the contents? Interactivity with content? Interactivity among participants? Provision of education for distanced participants? Depending on time and atmosphere, either make comments on all bullets from the slide, or show examples from next slide for each.

Examples Better visualization Improved interactivity Distance audience http://faraday.physics.utoronto.ca/PVB/Harrison/Flash/ClassMechanics/FoucaultSimple/FoucaultSimple.html Improved interactivity http://www.funderstanding.com/coaster Distance audience http://www.academicearth.org/courses/linear-algebra

E-learning is… …implementation of IT in education. Can we agree on this definition – it is vey simple, but very wide. Let us see many possible interpretations

Modes of delivery 1/4 E-learning continuum In the classroom Hybrid Fully online http://telr.osu.edu/teachonline/continuum.htm After the examples, we move to interpretations of e-learning. First one is called e-learning continuum. It is best to look at it on the Ohio University web site, drawing is on the slide in case Internet doesn’t work.

Modes of delivery 2/4 E-learning continuum = In the classroom, enhanced with technology Hybrid, blended, mixed mode Fully online Explain the interpretation of e-learning by which, depending on how much technology is being implemented, e-learning can take place in the classroom or in combination of classroom and online or fully online.

Modes of delivery 3/4 Synchronous Asynchronous In the classroom Video conferencing Chat Online forums LMS

Modes of delivery 4/4 Mentored Cohort participation … Self paced Individual participation …

Discussion Is any type of e-learning we mentioned today implemented in your context? Please describe it Where would you place it on e-learning continuum? Small group discussion. Discuss among group members and then present to the whole audience.

Discussion Who initiated implementation of e-learning in your context? When? Why? What did you think of these reasons? Do you now see some other reasons for e-l?

6 reasons for e-l. Why education institutions implement e-learning? Provide participants with ICT skills Improve teaching Technological imperative Initiate new collaborations Increase access to higher education Improve cost-effectiveness T. Bates: Managing Technological Change Elaborate a little on each reason. Emphasize how important it is to equip students with skills and knowledge needed for living and working in 21st ct. Remind participants on what was said in the morning about the improved quality of teaching with e-l. This is based on the research done in many American and Canadian higher education institutions. When asked why they started implemented e-l. most of their reasons could be put in these 6. Some of these are only applicable in higher education context (increased access). However, encourage thinking of some other groups of people who cannot be physically present in the classroom and how some forms of e-learning could enable them to participate (people with disability, school children engaged in sport acitivities, ….) Also, encourage thinking of some other reasons that have not been listed here. For example in Croatia some universities have a problem with insufficient number of classrooms. They see a possibility of organizing some classes online to overcome this problem. Cost effectiveness can be discussed more. If online materials are developed once and reused many times the university management see this as cost effective. Also, the institutions (particularly the new ones, smaller, privately owned) see e-learning as their opportunity for profit, as with e-l. they can reach much wider audience.

Advantages and weaknesses of e-l. Improved visualization of contents Improved communication Improved interactivity Time independent Distance independent Automated testing Easier administration Easier update of materials … Are students ready? Are teachers ready? Is technology available? Is support available? Infrastructure? Costs? + weakness: cost

Preliminary conclusion When proposing e-learning consider: What are the objectives of participants’ learning? Can these objectives be achieved through e-learning and how? Who are the participants? Where are they? What technology is available…

INTERNET IN EDUCATION

The use of Internet world-wide http://www.socialtimes.com/2010/02/20-impressive-internet-statistics/ 91 mil Google searches per day 500 mil active Facebook users 2 bill YouTube videos watched every day If it is not possible to watch this video, then extract some statistics How many computers connected How many users everyday How many sites registered with Google Emails a day…

The use of Internet in Kosovo ~ 50% Internet penetration (recent info) 20.9% penetration - 377,000 Internet users (December 2008) Schools with computers: 10% 1 computer/270 students Better situation at University Level Shkumbin to add data Ask a volunteer to come to the presenter’s computer and show the links

Popular services Online newspaper Weather forecast Cinema programs www.rtklive.com www.telegrafi.com www.koha.net http://zeri.info Weather forecast http://www.bbc.co.uk/albanian/institutional/weather.shtml, http://www.timeanddate.com/weather/kosovo/pristina Cinema programs http://www.kinoabc.info/oraret.html Ask if there is a volunteer in the room who is familiar with reading newspaper online and using other resources to come to the presenter’s computer and show the links www.rtklive.com – public broadcasting website news – information in Albanian, Serbian, English and other languages www.telegrafi.com – Online only popular news website, www.koha.net, zeri.info – both online portals of daily newspapers Koha Ditore and Zeri. http://www.bbc.co.uk/albanian/institutional/weather.shtml, http://www.timeanddate.com/weather/kosovo/pristina Weather for Kosovo. Also news portals ofers information about weather http://www.kinoabc.info/oraret.html – Main Cinama in Prishtina – the timetable of movies

Popular services Hotel reservations http://www.hotelskosova.com/ http://www.kosovoguide.com/?cid=2,196 Booking and tickets www.flyksa.com http://www.airportpristina.com/ Online shopping www.maxiks.com http://www.hotelskosova.com/ - Hotel information and rezervation portal http://www.kosovoguide.com/?cid=2,196 offera a comprehensive information on hopefully everything one can do in Kosovo. www.flyksa.com – online reservation of airline tickets http://www.belleair.it/default.aspx?lang=al - because of too many examples, this link moved to notes www.maxiks.com – online shoping in Prishtina. The orders are delivered and paid on door. Allow time for participants to look at these examples on their pcs?

Popular services Services for citizens wikipedia(s), dictionaries www.rks-gov.net www.atk-ks.org wikipedia(s), dictionaries http://sq.wikipedia.org http://argjiro.net/fjalor http://fjalorshqip.com http://sq.wikibooks.org Libraries www.biblioteka-ks.org www.rks-gov.net - Kosovo’s Government Official Portal with mainly information for citizens and businesses. It offers some online services as well. Is available in Albanian, English and Serbian. www.atk-ks.org – Kosovo Tax Administration web site. Offers information and service of downloading tax declarations. Alb/Eng/Srb. http://argjiro.net/fjalor, http://fjalorshqip.com – Online dictionairies english-albanian. www.biblioteka-ks.org – National–University Librarary of Kosovo. Offers online catalog of books.

Education on the Internet Informal online education Language course http://www.english-online.org.uk/begvideocourse/begvideo3.htm Formal online education University courses http://onlinecourses.conted.ox.ac.uk/ Master degrees http://www.worldcampus.psu.edu/MasterinGIS.shtml PhD http://cde.athabascau.ca/programs/doctoral/index.php Here we don’t mean only that information about education is available on the Internet, which is also true, but we mean delivering and participating in education over Internet. http://www.english-online.org.uk/begvideocourse/begvideo3.htm –video lekcije za učenje engleskog http://onlinecourses.conted.ox.ac.uk/ - several online courses on offer at Oxford University UK autumn 2010 http://www.worldcampus.psu.edu/MasterinGIS.shtml – Penn State University (USA) master degree in GIS http://cde.athabascau.ca/programs/doctoral/index.php – Doctor of Education at Athabasca University, Canada With mentioning online degrees we enter the problem of credibility which will be discussed later. And we enter into the question of how Internet works.

Repositories of learning materials MIT http://ocw.mit.edu/index.htm http://blossoms.mit.edu/library.html University of Wisconsin http://www.wisc-online.com/Objects/ViewObject.aspx?ID=AP11403 BBC Learning zone http://www.bbc.co.uk/learningzone/clips/cubes-cuboids-in-the-kitchen/3116.html Check for more or better examples Online Albanian books for download : http://www.letersia.synthasite.com/libra-shqip.php – copyright unknown

Learning theories and teaching methods

Evaluation of group work Define criteria in advance: Compare results with criteria: For the evaluation of group work, we must start the next topic. Evaluation (assessment) of students learning is an important part of education. It could be done in many different ways: for example with grades or without, for individual work or group work, by testing… For evaluation of group in this exercise we will agree on the criteria, write them on the slide and put the slide up when needed Agree on what will be criteria, for example: The quality of content 1-4 points The look and feel of the slides 1-3 points Presentation skills 1-3 points Agree on how will the results be compared: Will all groups evaluate others? Will teachers grade be more important then other participants?

Giving feedback Give feedback with intention to assist learning Emphasize the positive Point out possible improvement Objectivity Tactfulness Comment on results, not the person Emphasize your perspective - For your perspective: Say something like “I believe…” or “My impression is…”

Feedback influences Self confidence Motivation Active participation Results

Receiving feedback Accept in good will Write down Ask for clarifications Implement

Learning theories 1/3 Biheviorism “learning is a change in behavior” it must be evident it can be measured reinforcement/punishment emphasis on facts, testing

Learning theories 2/3 Cognitivism “learning is a change in mental processes” learning must be meaningful understanding must be achieved emphasis on processes

Learning theories 3/3 Constructivism “people construct their knowledge through experience” Teachers do not teach, they enable discovery Emphasis on personal interpretations, playing, experimentations

Teaching strategies Lecturing Collaborative Self directed Lectures, presentations Collaborative Group work, distributed work Self directed Independent reading, research Recommended by experts: combination of theories and strategies! Only explain each strategy in one sentence. Loosely match lecturing with behaviorism and cognitivism, self directed with cognitivism and constructivism, collaborative learning with constructivism.

Teacher centered vs. Student centered Ongoing debate O’Neill & McMahon (2005) Explain the two approaches to education. Untill recently most education institutions encouraged teacher-centered as it was an imperative to follow the program which is not always easy to achieve if students are in control. However, if results of such approach are poor, then the more modern approach should be taken.

Collaborative learning Advantages Difficulties Active participation Identification with results Building social skills Learning to distribute work Managing a group Issues with evaluation of group/team work If possible discuss with participants their experience from these two days of work. Have they experienced some of the advantages and difficulties?

Topics – 2nd Day Individual or work in pairs Writing reports – presenting results

Objectives for Day 1 To select lessons from different subjects to adapt them for using in pilot schools To present results to group