Sandra Aguirre Herrera

Using multimedia and peer assessment to promote collaborative e-learning

Collaborative e-learning is increasingly appealing as a pedagogical approach that can positively affect student learning. We propose a didactical model that integrates multimedia with collaborative tools and peer assessment to foster collaborative e-learning. In this paper, we explain it and present the results of its application to the “International Seminars on Materials Science” online course. The proposed didactical model consists of five educational activities. In the first three, students review the multimedia resources proposed by the teacher in collaboration with their classmates. Then, in the last two activities, they create their own multimedia resources and assess those created by their classmates. These activities foster communication and collaboration among students and their ability to use and create multimedia resources. Our purpose is to encourage the creativity, motivation, and dynamism of the learning process for both teachers and students.

A web tool to create educational content with gaming visualization

Students usually love games. They captivate their attention and hold it for lengthy periods of time. Educational systems have taken advantage of this fact and have used games in education for many years. However, teachers cannot create their own games as easily as they create other learning objects. A tool to assist this labor would be very useful for them. In this paper, we present NICE-Game, an innovative game-like educational content creation tool. It is divided into two modules, the builder to create the games and the viewer to play them. With NICE-Game, different kinds of educational contents (i.e. images, videos, texts) can be easily integrated into a game. Using personal handheld devices is a growing trend among students, hence multi-platform and multi-device issues have been also considered in this implementation. Details about the design, development and the tool itself are explained in this paper as well as an example of an educational game available online.