Supporting Blended-Learning: tool requirements and solutions with OWLish

Currently, most of the educational approaches applied to higher education combine face-to-face (F2F) and computer-mediated instruction in a Blended-Learning (B-Learning) approach. One of the main challenges of these approaches is fully integrating the traditional brick-and-mortar classes with online learning environments in an efficient and flexible way. In this paper, we present a set of requirements to be met by a computer system in order to adequately support both students and teachers in a B-Learning context. Then, it defines a suitable conceptual architecture to meet the requirements, and the multi-agent implementation of the architecture. Next, it presents the evaluation of the functionality implemented. Finally some conclusions are drawn.     

The Effectiveness of Concept Maps in Teaching Physics Concepts Applied to Engineering Education: Experimental Comparison of the Amount of Learning Achieved With and Without Concept Maps

A study was conducted to quantify the effectiveness of concept maps in learning physics in engineering degrees. The following research question was posed: What was the difference in learning results from the use of concept maps to study a particular topic in an engineering course? The study design was quasi-experimental and used a post-test as a measuring instrument. The sample included 114 university students from the School of Industrial Engineering who were divided into two equivalent homogeneous groups of 57 students each. The amount of learning attained by the students in each group was compared, with the independent variable being the teaching method; the experimental group (E.G.) used concept maps, while the control group (C.G.) did not. We performed a crossover study with the two groups of students, with one group acting as the E.G. for the topic of optical fibers and as the C.G. for the topic of the fundamental particles of matter and vice versa for the other group. For each of the two topics studied, the evaluation instrument was a test of 100 dichotomous items. The resulting data were subjected to a comparative statistical analysis, which revealed a significant difference in the amount of learning attained by the E.G. students as compared with the C.G. students. The results allow us to state that for the use of concept maps, the average increment in the E.G. students’ learning was greater than 19 percentage points.     

The Accelerating Roles of Higher Education in Regions through the European Lifelong Learning Initiative

This article assesses the network development and promotion of the learning region model in HEIs in the framework of the European Higher Education Area (EHEA), focusing on quality, partnership and social equality in the Hungarian context. It argues that the learning city-region model can be used and put into practice in many different ways for a new learning climate to occur, as in the case of the Pécs Learning City-Region Forum. However, there are parallel ways to implement the model for HEIs. The first is a purely economically centred one for those HEIs that reflect a reformed social identity to serve mainly employability, economic productivity and innovation through education and research in post socialist countries. The second is more holistic, reflecting not only education and research, but also making use of innovation based on economic and social partnership and networking in local, regional, national and international contexts. The article elaborates on the opportunities for this model as one into which Hungarian HEIs may develop.     

Formación de profesorado en España orientada a la sostenibilidad: implementación y análisis de una ‘ecometodología’

Es indudable que la preocupación por el medio ambiente es una nueva seña de identidad de la sociedad al comienzo del siglo XXI. Pero ésta preocupación no siempre lleva aparejada los conocimientos, las actitudes y, sobre todo, la competencia necesaria para su protección. En este contexto, cobra sentido una educación superior orientada hacia la sostenibilidad que involucre a la comunidad universitaria, y en concreto a los futuros docentes, capacitándolos para participar, individualmente y colectivamente, a favor de la sostenibilidad. Para tal fin, la implementación de una ‘ecometodología’ basada en la aplicación de la Agenda 21 y el cálculo de la ‘huella ecológica’, se revela como una eficaz herramienta para avanzar hacia la sostenibilidad en la formación del profesorado en España, tal como pone de manifiesto el análisis y la discusión de los resultados del estudio realizado.

Teacher training in Spain towards sustainability: implementation and analysis of ‘ecomethodology’

There is no doubt that concern for the environment is a new feature of society’s identity at the beginning of the twenty-first century. But this concern is not always accompanied by the necessary knowledge, attitude, and above all competence to ensure its protection. In this context, it makes sense for higher education to be oriented towards sustainability, involving the university’s community, especially future teachers, and enabling them to participate, individually and collectively, in favour of sustainability. To this end, the implementation of an ‘ecomethodology’ based on the application of Agenda 21 and the calculation of the carbon footprint, is revealed as a powerful tool for progressing towards sustainability in teacher training in Spain, as shown by the analysis and discussion of the results of this study.     

The Relationship Between Running Economy and Biomechanical Variables in Distance Runners

In this study, we analyzed the relationship between running economy (RE) and biomechanical parameters in a group running at the same relative intensity and same absolute velocity. Sixteen homogeneous male long-distance runners performed a test to determine RE at 4.4 m.s^-1, corresponding to 11.1% below velocity at the ventilatory threshold. We found significant correlations between RE and biomechanical variables (vertical oscillation of the center of mass, stride frequency, stride length, balance time, relative stride length, range of elbow motion, internal knee, ankle angles at foot strike, and electromyographic activity of the semitendinosus and rectus femoris muscles). In conclusion, changes in running technique can influence RE and lead to improved running performance.     

The Distance Education Programme of Verkmenntaskolinn at Akureyri (VMA)

Abstract

This article details the distance education (DE) courses that have been set up and run by the Verkmenntaskolinn at #atAkureyri (VMA) in Iceland. It describes how students are led into their course, how contacts are maintained and assignments dealt with using the net. It looks to future expansion, even in a country with a population of only 250,000.

Abstract français: Cet article donne des informations sur les cours d'enseignement à distance qui one été créés et donnés par le Verkmenntaskolinn a Akureyri (VMA) en Islande. Il décrit comment les élèves sont guides dans leurs coins, comment les contacts sont maintenus et les exercices faits en utilisant le réseau. On cherche à étendre ce système même pour une population de seulement 250,000 habitants.     

Assessment of special educational needs integration by the educational community in Spain

The study collected and contrasted the opinions of different sectors of the educational community about the functioning and integration of students with special educational needs. In order to do this, a broad questionnaire was sent to teachers of diverse educational stages, to counsellors, parents and to students, both with and without special educational needs. The objective was to examine the respondents’ approach to mainstream integration and their opinions about how their school operated. At the same time, the study examined their opinion concerning the work of the teachers, the learning and social development of the students, the relationships with families and the input of the education authorities. Barriers which create difficulties for educational integration were assessed.     

Thinking more deeply about networks in education

In education, initiatives to restructure and reculture schools through their involvement in intra- and inter-institutional networks have grown in number in recent years. Networks of teachers and schools (often linked to institutions outside education) are becoming a key focus of change efforts promoted by professionals and policymakers. However, in current research, writing and policymaking, the use of the network concept has been generally vague, normative and mostly instrumental. This paper develops a discussion of network concepts and proposes more systematic, less normative ways of addressing and researching network issues in education. It outlines a set of key dimensions of intra- and inter-organizational networks and makes a case for more a comprehensive research approach to these phenomena.     

The politics of historical discourse analysis: a qualitative research method?

This article deals with the ways in which historical discourse analysis is at once different from and similar to research described as qualitative or quantitative. It discusses the consequences of applying the standards of such methods to historical discourse analysis. It is pointed out that although the merit of research using historical discourse analysis must not be judged by the standards of qualitative methods alone, it can be easier to admit the influence of the discourse on methodology. Therefore, the article considers whether and how the ideas of validity, reliability, sample, and transferability can be used to explain the merit of study using historical discourse analysis. The author also discusses the basic concepts and principles of historical discourse analysis, and he describes step-by-step a particular way of conducting historical discourse analysis.