Donatella Persico

Online or face-to-face? Experimenting with different techniques in teacher training

This paper illustrates a 5-year case study (from 2001 to 2005) regarding a course in educational technology that involved from 100 to 150 student teachers per year for a total of more than 500 trainees. Since the first version of the course, which was entirely based on a face-to-face approach, computer mediated collaborative learning techniques have gradually been introduced into the training program. The paper outlines the main problems faced in the various versions of the course, where different combinations were experimented with, and discusses the solutions adopted. The difficulties concern the demands of a large, diversified population and the methodological problems related to the non-neutrality of the introduction of online learning in the socio-cultural and organizational context of the study. The solutions include a highly flexible course design and a good balance and strict integration between traditional and online training techniques in the delivery of the course and in the assessment of trainees. Finally, we suggest possible directions for further research aimed at facilitating the infusion of online techniques in initial teacher training.

A general framework for tracking and analysing learning processes in computer‐supported collaborative learning environments

This paper describes a method for analysing the learning processes that take place in a computer‐supported collaborative learning (CSCL) environment. The approach is based on tracking the interactions between learners and tutors. Keeping track of meaningful events serves three main purposes: evaluation of the quality of the process, monitoring students’ performance in real time and the assessment of individual learning performances. The results can be of benefit to course designers, tutors/instructors and researchers involved in collaborative learning experiences. The method is based on a five‐dimensional model that includes a participative, an interactive, a social, a cognitive and a teaching dimension. Each dimension can be analysed through a set of indicators obtained by tracking course participants’ behaviour within the learning environment. Examples of significant indicators, drawn from the literature and the authors’ field experience, are discussed for each dimension. The paper also proposes a taxonomy of the data needed to obtain the described indicators. Finally, possible directions for further research are outlined.

Informing learning design with learning analytics to improve teacher inquiry

This paper proposes an analysis of current research in learning design ( LD), a field aiming to improve the quality of educational interventions by supporting their design and fostering the sharing and reuse of innovative practices among educators. This research area, at the moment, focuses on three main strands: the representations that can be used as a common language to communicate about pedagogical plans and other half-fabricates of the design process, the methodological approaches to LD and the tools that support the LD process. For each of the three strands, the current landscape is discussed, pointing at open issues and indicating future research perspectives, with particular attention to the contribution that learning analytics can make to transform LD from a craft, based on experience, intuition and tacit knowledge, into a mature research area, grounded on data concerning the learning process and hence supporting enquiry while teachers design, run and evaluate the learning process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Monitoring collaborative activities in computer supported collaborative learning

Monitoring the learning process in computer supported collaborative learning (CSCL) environments is a key element for supporting the efficacy of tutor actions. This article proposes an approach for analysing learning processes in a CSCL environment to support tutors in their monitoring tasks. The approach entails tracking the interactions within the communication platform to identify cues of the participative, social, cognitive, and teaching dimensions of the learning process. Both quantitative and qualitative indicators are employed to achieve a complete and thorough picture of the learning dynamics. A set of methodological and technological tools based on this approach has been tried out in the context of the online component of a blended course in educational technology addressing trainee teachers. The results of the study support the applicability of the proposed approach to content domains where discussion and reflective practice are the most effective learning strategy.

Techniques for fostering collaboration in online learning communities : theoretical and practical perspectives

This book provides a focused assessment of the peculiarities of online collaborative learning processes by looking at the strategies, methods, and techniques used to support and enhance debate and exchange among peers - Provided by publisher.

Fostering self-regulated learning through ICT

This book presents the relationship between SRL and ICTs from several standpoints, addressing both theoretical and applicative issues, providing examples from a range of disciplinary fields and educational settings - Provided by publisher.

Self-Regulated Learning in Technology Enhanced Learning Environments

Self-regulated learning refers to learners’ ability to plan, conduct and evaluate their own learning. Research into self-regulated learning dates back to the 1970s, but the topic has received new attention in the discourse on competency-based learning, starting at the end of last century. It can also be argued that advances in digital technologies have helped to create technology enhanced learning environments that support self-regulated learning, but at the same time also require this competence to a greater degree than traditional learning environments. In our contribution, we will first present a short overview of the state-of-the-art of research in self-regulated learning. We will then discuss different aspects of self-regulated learning in technology enhanced learning environments. In particular, we will focus on metacognition, assessment, and personalisation of learning environments. We will conclude our contribution with a note on the role of self-regulated learning in enquiry learning and provide the reader with an outlook on challenges and promises in the field of self-regulated learning in technology enhanced learning.

Methodological approaches in MOOC research: Retracing the myth of Proteus

This paper explores the methodological approaches most commonly adopted in the scholarly literature on Massive Open Online Courses ( MOOCs), published during the period January 2008- May 2014. In order to identify trends, gaps and criticalities related to the methodological approaches of this emerging field of research, we analysed 60 papers selected across four relevant scientific databases plus one journal in the sector of e-learning that published a special issue on this topic. The emerging picture is that of a research field in its infancy, heavily relying on theoretical research and JOUR studies, which is just beginning to identify suitable methods to deal with large cohorts of learners, very large amounts of data and new ways of learning. The state-of-the-art is also quite fragmentary, due to the different epistemological and ontological conceptions of the authors of the papers about the nature of the issues faced and the way they should be studied. In this paper, we compare the problems related to the definition of the methodological approaches in this research field with the Greek myth of Proteus, the elusive, multiform divinity whose wisdom would only be revealed to those capable of catching him. We therefore advocate the need for catching Proteus, that is, better identifying and choosing the methodological approaches for MOOC research as a condition for its development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Design patterns for monitoring and evaluating CSCL processes

Both quantitative and qualitative methods are being increasingly used to investigate the learning dynamics that take place within CSCL environments. Since such practices are a crucial aspect of the CSCL field, Design Patterns (DPs) can be used for capitalizing on experience and sharing know-how among practitioners. This paper describes three DP instances that have been developed and fine tuned by a community of practice consisting of researchers, instructional designers and tutors with the aim of supporting monitoring and evaluation of CSCL interactions. The DP solutions are based on a set of indicators, some of quantitative and some of qualitative nature, as well as on the methods to gauge these indicators, starting from data tracked by the e-learning system. The process of development of these DPs is described and examples of use are reported and discussed in order to advance the instructional design field and inform the development of CSCL systems. The proposed DPs belong to a Language, aimed at describing tracking problems in different types of e-learning systems and at capturing in their solutions the know-how developed by communities of experts in the different fields.

Self-Regulated Learning in Virtual Communities

This paper investigates self‐regulated learning (SRL) in a virtual learning community of adults interacting through asynchronous textual communication. The investigation method chosen is interaction analysis, a qualitative/quantitative approach allowing a systematic study of the contents of the messages exchanged within online communities. The results of this study consist of data on SRL‐related events that took place during two subsequent learning activities, aiming to understand if any facet of SRL was privileged over the others. These events were coded according to an original taxonomy of SRL indicators distinguishing between the three cyclical phases of SRL (planning, monitoring and evaluation), between cognitive and metacognitive versus motivational and emotional aspects, as well as between actions carried out at individual or social level. This approach provides data which reflect the evolution in time of the investigated aspects.