Julián Gutiérrez

Student-generated online videos to develop cross-curricular and curricular competencies in Nursing Studies

In response to the necessity of implementing innovative strategies and new teaching methodologies for the design of University degrees curricula according to the new educational model put forward by the European Space of Higher Education, we launched a pilot project in the Department of Nursing Studies of a university of the north of Spain based on the use of three technological tools (Power point, OpenMeetings and Babelium). Nursing students (n=29) were asked to create video recorded oral presentations about different techniques of diagnosis in medical imaging that were peer-, self- and teacher assessed. Self-report questionnaires were used to assess the effectiveness of the experiment and Kappa statistic analysis was used to determine the suitability of the assessment method. The results of the study showed that working with self and peer recorded videos proves to be a better didactic method to develop both cross-curricular competencies (intrapersonal, interpersonal and instrumental) and curricular specific competencies (in this case, knowledge about different techniques of diagnosis in medical imaging) than traditional methodologies. The data also suggest that there is an acceptable correspondence between self-, peer- and hetero-assessment.

Calibration of an item bank for the assessment of Basque language knowledge

The main requisite for a functional computerized adaptive testing system is the need of a calibrated item bank. This text presents the tasks carried out during the calibration of an item bank for assessing knowledge of Basque language. It has been done in terms of the 3-parameter logistic model provided by the item response theory. Besides, this work focuses on the most important decisions taken and the algorithms followed during the process. Actually, the most significant novelties introduced to the traditional calibration procedure deal with the adaptation of the algorithm and the putting into practice of both supervised and non-supervised web-based subtest administrations. Once the item bank had been calibrated, it was added to the generator of computerized adaptive admission tests that is expected to be operative in the new version of Hezinet, a multimedia Basque language e-learning management system that is being used since 2000 in more than 60 Basque-adult schools.

A proposal for a computer security course

Computer security is a relatively new subject in computer science curricula. We notice this in a moderate academic incidence or in an incomplete syllabus in most of the computer science teaching. The main goal of this article is to share the two years academic experience of the authors in this matter. The article makes a proposal for a first computer security subject. This proposal discusses theoretical and practical contents and the use of a different didactic methodology. Finally, the article refers to the positive results obtained on the students learning and acceptation of the contents taught and the used methodology. Marks and the results of a test made to the student population have confirmed this.

Learning Basque in a Distance-Adaptive way

Distance education has experienced a great surge in our society in the past few years. New technological advances have allowed the diffusion of many courses and in a quicker way. Among the scientific advances, we have the creation of the WWW, which has become the information medium with the greatest diffusion, in spite of the fact that it has only been around for a short time. HEZINET is an Adaptive Hypermedia System, which benefits from the advantages of the WWW offering a complete course in Basque for distance learning.

Introducing computer-based concept mapping to older adults

ABSTRACT The dramatic eruption of information and communication technology has had a remarkable effect on modern life, including the capacity to help older adults improve their quality of life and remain independent longer. However, while technology use is generally widespread, there is an observable underutilization by older people. There is sound evidence that older adults can learn and acquire computer skills just like younger people do, although they might need more time to reach a similar level of mastery. Concept maps (CMs) are considered to be an efficient creativity tool, as they allow the user’s view to be drawn over any domain or issue. An experiment was conducted with older adults using CM-ED (a concept map editor). The experiment had a twofold objective. The first objective was to measure how certain characteristics of the participants (gender, age, background) affect both their performance with such a tool and the quality of the CMs they developed. The second objective was to determine whether CM-ED is suitable for older people.

Some Innovations for Keeping an E-Learning System Alive

Keeping an e-learning system alive consists not only in developing and installing it, but also in maintaining the system updated, improving its features and adding new ones. Hezinet is a commercial e-learning system for Basque language learning that is being used since 2000 in more than 60 Basque-adult schools. In this period, although the good results achieved, authors have realized the necessity of some improvements and new features. This paper introduces three new components of Hezinet as a way to present some key issues in the development of a successful e-learning tool: a computer adaptive admission test generator, an on-line calibration supporting component, and an item/test authoring tool.

Guiding the User

When developing intelligent tutoring systems, we design plan modules to establish which order the concepts are to be presented to the student. This option is feasible because these systems retain the control over navigation through the sea of contents. In hypermedia systems the student has the control. They decide which contents they want to visit next. In this paper we present a way of adapting those didactic planning modules of intelligent tutoring systems into help elements for those students with problems in adaptive hypermedia systems for education. Our main objective is to preserve constructive characteristics of the system.

Pedagogical Strategies With Hypermedia

Creators of hypermedia documents for interactive learning hyperenvironments for instruction frequently need to establish certain restrictions on the navigation in hyperspace. They are normally influenced by a specific learning strategy. For example, they may not want a student to visit nodes on multiplication before visiting nodes related to addition. In traditional systems those restrictions are established by limiting the existence of the elements that make the relationship between concepts effective: links. In this paper we propose a simple way of limiting access, by avoiding the creation of incorrect mental maps of hyperspace by the student.