Esther Martínez-Figueira

Electronic Rubrics to Assess Competences in ICT Subjects.

Helping students to acquire specific competences is nowadays one of the basic pillars of university teaching; therefore its evaluation and accreditation is of key importance. As of late, rubrics and in particular electronic rubrics (e-rubrics) have become an important resource to assess competences and guide students in their learning processes. In this contribution, the authors present a quasi-experimental study that was conducted to explore and evaluate the use of the e-rubrics in subjects related to information and communication technology (ICT). Data were collected on how students viewed their use of e-rubrics in self-evaluation and peer evaluation. They show that the experimental groups using e-rubrics were better evaluated by their professors than the control groups who did not engage in self-evaluation using e-rubrics. The students see e-rubrics as a positive resource because they feel e-rubrics allow for a truly objective evaluation. Additionally, e-rubrics are considered to be helpful in improving learning and self-regulation.

Un estudio sobre los componentes pedagógicos de los cursos online masivos = A Study on the Pedagogical Components of Massive Online Courses

A finales de la primera decada del siglo XXI, el rapido aumento de cursos MOOC dibuja un nuevo panorama educativo planteando nuevos retos a la ensenanza y al aprendizaje debido, fundamentalmente, a sus caracteristicas de masividad, ubicuidad y gratuidad. En estos cursos se da una confluencia de mediaciones tecnologicas y pedagogicas aun por explorar en todas sus dimensiones. Este trabajo, utilizando un instrumento de indicadores educativos e interactivos en un MOOC (INdiMOOC-EdI) de elaboracion propia, se centra en averiguar que componentes pedagogicos posee la actual oferta de MOOC en lengua hispana, para poder dirimir aquellos elementos dependientes de las plataformas que los soportan. Para ello se realiza una investigacion mixta de tipo exploratoria y secuencial que analiza un total de 117 cursos ubicados en 10 plataformas diferentes, utilizando el instrumento creado y validado a tal efecto. Con la informacion obtenida se lleva a cabo un analisis de contenido en su vertiente cualitativa, mientras que con la cuantitativa se efectuan analisis estadisticos complementados con algoritmos propios de la mineria de datos. Los resultados muestran que las diferentes plataformas condicionan los disenos pedagogicos del MOOC en cinco aspectos fundamentales: el aprendizaje, las actividades y tareas, los medios y recursos, la interactividad y la evaluacion. Se concluye con una serie de indicadores de tipo descriptivo, formativo e interactivo que pueden orientar la pedagogia de futuros Cursos Online Masivos Abiertos.At the end of the first decade of the 21st century, the rapid growth in the MOOC offering brought about a new educational landscape, posing new challenges to teaching and learning, mainly due to massive participation, ubiquity and free enrollment. These courses embody a confluence of technological and pedagogical mediations yet to be fully explored. This study, applying an instrument of educational and interactive indicators on a MOOC (INdiMOOC-EdI) designed by the authors, seeks to ascertain the pedagogical components of MOOCs delivered in the Spanish language in order to establish which course features are platform dependent. An exploratory sequential mixed methods study was carried out on a total of 117 courses within 10 different platforms via an instrument developed and validated ad hoc. The data obtained is subjected to a content analysis for a qualitative perspective; while a quantitative perspective is obtained through a statistical analysis complemented with classification algorithms typical in data mining. The results suggest that the different platform providers condition the pedagogical design of the MOOC in five key areas: learning, activities and tasks, means and resources, interactivity and assessment. It concludes with a series of descriptive, educational and interactive indicators that can be a pedagogical benchmark for future MOOCs.