José María Cela-Ranilla

Recent Developments in Technology-Enhanced Learning: A Critical Assessment

Our societies are considered knowledge societies in which lifelong learning is becoming increasingly important. At the same time, digital technologies are entering almost every aspect of our lives and now play an important role in education. The last decade has seen numerous new developments in the field of technology-enhanced learning. In 2004, George Siemens presented connectivism as a learning theory for the digital age. His ideas inspired the creation of Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs), which have recently received a great deal of attention. Theoretical works on the use of digital devices for learning have focused on the affordances users perceive in these devices. Design research has also shown us that learning environments enriched by digital technologies are extremely complex and should be viewed as learning ecologies. The discussions on connectivism and MOOCs, affordances of digital devices, and design research have taken place in different discourses that have paid hardly any attention to each other. It is important to point out, however, that the developments in technology-enhanced learning not only can but need to be related to each other.ResumenNuestras sociedades son consideradas sociedades del conocimiento, donde el aprendizaje a lo largo de la vida obtiene cada vez más importancia. Al mismo tiempo, las tecnologías digitales forman parte de casi todos los aspectos de nuestra vida y juegan un papel importante en la educación. En la última década se han visto numerosos avances en el ámbito del aprendizaje enriquecido por la tecnología. En 2004, George Siemens presentó el conectivismo como teoría del aprendizaje para la era digital. Sus ideas inspiraron la creación de cursos online masivos abiertos (MOOGs), que han sido objeto de gran atención recientemente. La literatura científica relacionada con el uso de dispositivos digitales para el aprendizaje se ha centrado en las potencialidades que los usuarios perciben de estos dispositivos. La investigación del diseño también nos ha mostrado que los entornos de aprendizaje enriquecidos por la tecnología son complejos y deben ser vistos como ecologías de aprendizaje. Las discusiones sobre conectivismo y MOOGs, las potencialidades de los dispositivos digitales y la investigación del diseño han aparecido en diferentes discursos observados de manera aislada. En este sen tido, es importante señalar que los avances en el aprendizaje enriquecido por la tecnología no solo pueden sino que deben mostrarse relacionados entre sí.

ETeach3D: Designing a 3D Virtual Environment for Evaluating the Digital Competence of Preservice Teachers.

The acquisition of teacher digital competence is a key aspect in the initial training of teachers. However, most existing evaluation instruments do not provide sufficient evidence of this teaching ...The acquisition of teacher digital competence is a key aspect in the initial training of teachers. However, most existing evaluation instruments do not provide sufficient evidence of this teaching competence. In this study, we describe the design and development process of a three-dimensional (3D) virtual environment for evaluating the teacher digital competence of future teachers, through a performance-based, collaborative and contextual evaluation. This environment, named ETeach3D, has been constructed using the educational design research approach. It is based on successive iterative cycles and is in accordance with the criteria of usefulness, validity, and effectiveness. In addition to the research team responsible for the project, participating in this study were 187 Spanish undergraduate students of Education and 22 experts in the field of educational technology. Results show that these environments, in addition to other characteristics, should (a) function smoothly and have simple interfaces, realistic scenes, and interactive activities and (b) follow a systematic evaluation procedure that integrates several strategies and levels of complexity. This research helps to improve the initial training of preservice teachers and contributes to the growing number of educational design research studies that focus in the field of evaluation of the curriculum domain.

Learning Patterns as Criterion for Forming Work Groups in 3D Simulation Learning Environments

This study analyzes the relationship between the use of learning patterns as a grouping criterion to develop learning activities in the 3D simulation environment at University. Participants included 72 Spanish students from the Education and Marketing disciplines. Descriptive statistics and non-parametric tests were conducted. The process was analyzed by means of teamwork measurements and the product was analyzed by assessing the final group performance. Results showed that learning patterns can be an effective criterion for forming work groups, especially when the students do not know each other.

Avances en el aprendizaje enriquecido con la tecnología: una evaluación crítica

Our societies are considered knowledge societies in which lifelong learning is becoming increasingly important. At the same time, digital technologies are entering almost every aspect of our lives and now play an important role in education. The last decade has seen numerous new developments in the field of technology-enhanced learning. In 2004, George Siemens presented connectivism as a learning theory for the digital age. His ideas inspired the creation of Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs), which have recently received a great deal of attention. Theoretical works on the use of digital devices for learning have focused on the affordances users perceive in these devices. Design research has also shown us that learning environments enriched by digital technologies are extremely complex and should be viewed as learning ecologies. The discussions on connectivism and MOOCs, affordances of digital devices, and design research have taken place in different discourses that have paid hardly any attention to each other. It is important to point out, however, that the developments in technology-enhanced learning not only can but need to be related to each other.ResumenNuestras sociedades son consideradas sociedades del conocimiento, donde el aprendizaje a lo largo de la vida obtiene cada vez más importancia. Al mismo tiempo, las tecnologías digitales forman parte de casi todos los aspectos de nuestra vida y juegan un papel importante en la educación. En la última década se han visto numerosos avances en el ámbito del aprendizaje enriquecido por la tecnología. En 2004, George Siemens presentó el conectivismo como teoría del aprendizaje para la era digital. Sus ideas inspiraron la creación de cursos online masivos abiertos (MOOGs), que han sido objeto de gran atención recientemente. La literatura científica relacionada con el uso de dispositivos digitales para el aprendizaje se ha centrado en las potencialidades que los usuarios perciben de estos dispositivos. La investigación del diseño también nos ha mostrado que los entornos de aprendizaje enriquecidos por la tecnología son complejos y deben ser vistos como ecologías de aprendizaje. Las discusiones sobre conectivismo y MOOGs, las potencialidades de los dispositivos digitales y la investigación del diseño han aparecido en diferentes discursos observados de manera aislada. En este sen tido, es importante señalar que los avances en el aprendizaje enriquecido por la tecnología no solo pueden sino que deben mostrarse relacionados entre sí.