occ2011 keynotes: demetrios g. sampson

University of PiraeusDepartment of Digital Systems

Centre for Research and Technology – Hellas (CE.R.T.H.) Informatics and Telematics Institute (I.T.I.)

D. Sampson EDEN 2011, Athens, Greece, October 2011

Research Unit on Advanced Digital Systems and Services for Education and Learning (ASK)

Open Educational Resources and Practices at the Open Educational Resources and Practices at the Knowledge CloudKnowledge Cloud

Demetrios G. Sampson

Department of Digital Systems, University of Piraeus&

Informatics and Telematics Institute, Centre for Research and Technology Hellas

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivs-NonCommercial License. To view a copy of this license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd-nc/1.0 or send a letter to Creative Commons, 559 Nathan Abbott Way, Stanford, California

94305, USA.

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About ASKAbout ASK• ASK - Advanced Digital Systems and Services for Education and Learning (ASK)

– Founded in 1999– More than 250 publications in scientific books, journals and conferences– Around 1.000 Citations (h-index 19)– Participation and Leadership in 40 International R&D Projects in the field of Technology-

enhanced Learning (>5 Μ €)– Six (6) times Best Paper Award in International Conferences on Advanced Learning

Technologies– Chairship of the IEEE Computer Society Technical Committee on Learning Technologies (TCLT)– Co-Editorship of the Journal of Educational Technology and Society [13 years, with impact

factor 1.066/2010 - Thomson Scientific 2010 Journal Citations Report]– Associate Editorship of the IEEE Transactions on Learning Technologies (+16 other

international journals in TeL)– Co-Chairship of major International Conferences on Learning Technologies:

• IEEE International Conference on Advanced Learning Technologies (ICALT) • IEEE International Workshop on Wireless, Mobile and Ubiquitous Technologies in Education (WMUTE) • IEEE International Conference on Technology for Education (T4E)• IEEE International Conference on Digital Game and Intelligent Toy Enhanced Learning (DIGITEL)• IADIS International Conference on Cognition and Exploratory Learning in Digital Age (CELDA)

– Participation in European and International Centers of Excellency such as, CEN/ISSS Learning Technologies Workshop and the IMS Global Learning Consortium, Inc.

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Presentation OutlinePresentation Outline

Open Educational Resources (OERs)Learning Object Repositories (LORs)Open Learning Designs (Open LDs)Learning Design Repositories (LDRs)A Model Learning Design Repository: The Case of COSMOS LD

RepositoryComparison of COSMOS LD Repository with other existing LDRsCOSMOS Learning Design Repository – Main FeaturesDiscussion - Conclusions

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Open Educational Resources (OERs)Open Educational Resources (OERs)DefinitionDefinition

Open Educational Resources (OERs) are defined by UNESCO as the:

“technology-enabled, open provision of educational resources for

consultation, use and adaptation by a community of users for non-

commercial purposes”

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UNESCO, Forum on the Impact of Open Courseware for Higher Education in Developing Countries-Final Report, http://unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0012/001285/128515e.pdf. 2002





Open Educational Resources (OERs)Open Educational Resources (OERs)AdvantagesAdvantages

They are free to use and publicly available. They can be used and/or reused in teaching and learning (usually with

attribution to the creator). They can be repurposed, that is, modified/adapted for a educational

different context of use. They can improve teaching by building on other people’s work. Their development is a global movement and as a result educational

communities across boarders can be created around them.

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T. Caswell, S. Henson, M. Jensen and D. Wiley, “Open Educational Resources: Enabling universal education”, The International Review of Research in Open and Distance Learning, vol. 9, no. 1, 2008.





Open Educational Resources (OERs)Open Educational Resources (OERs)Organization, Classification and StorageOrganization, Classification and Storage

They are represented in the form of Learning Objects (LOs) and include: “video and audio lectures (podcasts), references and readings, workbooks and textbooks, multimedia animations, simulations, experiments and demonstrations, as well as teachers’ guides and lesson plans”

They are classified and stored along with their associated metadata in web-based repositories which are called Learning Object Repositories (LORs)

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R. McGreal, “A typology of learning object repositories”. In H.H. Adelsberger, Kinshuk, J. M. Pawlovski and D. Sampson, eds., International Handbook on Information Technologies for Education and Training, 2nd Edition, Springer, pp. 5-18, 2008.





Title: Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (AIDS)

Description: This Learning Object explains Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) infection and how that turns into AIDS. It stresses risk factors, screening, and prevention. This is a MedlinePlus Interactive Health Tutorial from the National Library of Medicine, designed and developed by the Patient Education Institute.

Material Type: Audio Lecture

Source: OER Commons (http://www.oercommons.org/)

Learning Objects Examples (1/4)Learning Objects Examples (1/4)

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Title: DNA from the Beginning

Description: DNA from the Beginning is an animated tutorial on DNA, genes and heredity. The science behind each concept is explained using animations related to DNA topics, an image gallery, video interviews, problems, biographies, and links related to DNA.

Material Type: Simulation

Source: MERLOT (http://www.merlot.org/)


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Title: The Ear

Description: An overview of the ear. Do you manage to put the names right?

Material Type: Drill and Practice

Source: Learning Resource Exchange (LRE) (http://lreforschools.eun.org/)


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Title: Hot potatoes quiz - Flash

Description: Hot Potatoes quiz: multi-choice quiz covering the basics of Flash.

Material Type: Quiz

Source: JORUM (http://resources.jorum.ac.uk/)


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Learning Object Repositories (LORs)Learning Object Repositories (LORs)DefinitionDefinition

LORs are defined as systems that: “enable users to locate, evaluate and manage learning objects

through the use of “metadata”, namely descriptors or tags that systematically describe

many aspects of a given learning object, from its technical to its pedagogical characteristics”.

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R. McGreal, “Online Education Using Learning Objects”, Washington, D.C.: Falmer Press, 2004.





Learning Object Repositories (LORs)Learning Object Repositories (LORs)Existing LORsExisting LORs

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OER Commons, USA Learning Resource Exchange, EU

Le@rning Federation, Australia Jorum, UK e-yliko, Greece

MERLOT, USA





LOR Name Educational Sector Subject Domain Region Coverage No of LOs

OER Commons (http://www.oercommons.org/)

All Sectors Cross-Disciplinary InternationalBetween 10.000 to

50.000 (Medium LOR)

MERLOT (http://www.merlot.org/)

All Sectors Cross-Disciplinary International More than 50.000 (Large LOR)

LRE (http://lreforschools.eun.org/)

Primary and Secondary Education

Cross-DisciplinaryRegional (Europe)

More than 50.000 (Large LOR)

Le@rning Federation(http://

econtent.thelearningfederation.edu.au

/)

All Sectors Cross-DisciplinaryNational

(Australia)

Between 10.000 to 50.000

(Medium LOR)

JORUM (http://resources.jorum.ac.uk/)

Higher Education Cross-DisciplinaryNational

(UK)Less than 10.000

(Small LOR)

e-yliko(http://www.e-yliko.gr)

Primary and Secondary Education

Cross-DisciplinaryNational (Greece)

Less than 10.000 (Small LOR)

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Learning Object Repositories (LORs)Learning Object Repositories (LORs)LimitationsLimitations

Typically, although it appears that people visit regularly and download heavily LOs from those LORs, still, there is limited offer of LOs from those people and there is limited feedback on the actual use eventually made by them.

As a result, we have limited evidences on LORs’ impact towards supporting teachers and/or educational practitioners in enhancing their teaching practices.

It might be argued that this is due to the fact that existing LORs are lacking systematic mechanisms for relating their educational resources to their learning and educational context of use.

Teachers and/or educational practitioners could benefit from having access to best teaching practices, sharing their teaching practices with other teachers and/or educational practitioners and reflecting on each others’ teaching practices.

This also bares the potential to provide learning and educational contextual knowledge to educational resources available in LORs.

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From LORs to Open Learning Designs (Open From LORs to Open Learning Designs (Open LDs) and Learning Design Repositories (LDRs)LDs) and Learning Design Repositories (LDRs)

LO #1

LO #2

LO #N

….. Learning Object

RepositoryLearning Design

Repository

Open LD #1…..Move to…

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Open Learning Designs (Open LDs)Open Learning Designs (Open LDs)DefinitionDefinition

An Open Learning Design (Open LD) is defined as: “the description of the teaching-learning process, which follows a specific

pedagogical model or practice that takes place in a unit of learning (e.g., a course, a learning activity or any other designed learning event) towards addressing specific learning objectives,

for a specific target group in a specific context or subject domain”

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R. Koper and B. Olivier, “Representing the Learning Design of Units of Learning”. Educational Technology & Society, vol. 7 no. 3, 2004, pp. 97-111





Title: Developing Research-Based Thinking

Description: In this Open LD you will be reflecting upon the value of research based learning and teaching, and designing a research study of your own.

Pedagogical Model: Research-based learning

Source: LAMS LD Repository (http://lamscommunity.org/lamscentral/)

Open Learning Designs Examples (1/3)Open Learning Designs Examples (1/3)

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Title: Proteins

Description: In this unit we explore how proteins are the 'doers' of the cell. They are huge in number and variety and diverse in structure and function, serving both the structural building blocks and the functional machinery of the cell. Just about every process in every cell requires specific proteins. The basic principles of protein structure and function which are reviewed in this unit are crucial to understanding how proteins perform their various roles.

Pedagogical Model: Guided Research

Source: iCOPER LD Repository (http://www.icoper.org/repository/learning-design)


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Title: Cosmic Collisions

Description: An examination of the cosmic battles being waged between celestial bodies

Pedagogical Model: Inquiry-based Teaching

Source: COSMOS LD Repository (http://www.cosmosportal.eu/)


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Open Learning Designs (Open LDs)Open Learning Designs (Open LDs) Organization, Classification and StorageOrganization, Classification and Storage

Open LDs along with their associated metadata can be organized, classified and stored in web-based repositories which are referred to as Learning Design Repositories (LDRs).

LDRs are built so as to support storage, discovery, retrieval, use, re-use and sharing of Open LDs and Open LD templates (that is, Open LDs without specific educational content) among educational communities.

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Title: Explore, Describe, Apply

Description: The strategy used in this learning design is problem-based and has been applied to a subject in a graduate certificate of online learning although the strategy could be used in many undergraduate and postgraduate subjects.

Pedagogical Model: Problem-based Learning

Source: Learning Designs Repository (http://www.learningdesigns.uow.edu.au/)

Open LD Templates Examples (1/2)Open LD Templates Examples (1/2)

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Title: Inquiry-based Teaching

Description: This strategy is often contrasted with more traditional expository methods and reflects the constructivist model of learning, often referred to as active learning, so strongly held among science educators today.

Pedagogical Model: Inquiry-based Teaching

Source: COSMOS LD Repository (http://www.cosmosportal.eu/)

Open LD Templates Examples (2/2)Open LD Templates Examples (2/2)

Consider Other Explanations

Phase 4Discussion

Phase 1Question Eliciting Activities

Exhibit Curiosity

Phase 3Creation

Phase 5Refl ection

Communicate Explanation

Explanation based on Evidence

Gather Evidence from Observation

Define Questions from Current Knowledge

Phase 2Active I nvestigation

Propose Prel iminary Explanations or Hypotheses

Plan and Conduct Simple Investigation

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Learning Design Repositories (LDRs)Learning Design Repositories (LDRs)Existing LDRsExisting LDRs

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LAMS Repository, AustraliaThe Canadian LD

Repository, Canada

The Learning Designs Repository, Australia

iCOPER LD Repository, EU





LDR Name Educational Sector

Subject Domain

Region Coverage No of Users No of Open

LDs

The Canadian LD Repository

(http://www.idld.org) – Not Currently in Operation

All Sectors Cross-Disciplinary

National (Canada)

N/A N/A

LAMS Repository(http://

lamscommunity.org/lamscentral/)

All Sectors Cross-Disciplinary International 7.163 875

The Learning Designs Repository

(http://www.learningdesigns.uow.

edu.au/)


National(Australia)

N/A 32

iCOPER LD Repository(http://www.icoper.org/

repository/learning-design) All Sectors Cross-

DisciplinaryRegional (Europe)

N/A 520

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Overview of Existing LDRsOverview of Existing LDRs





Learning Design Repositories (LDRs)Learning Design Repositories (LDRs)Populating LDRs - RequirementsPopulating LDRs - Requirements

The process of populating LDRs requires: Authoring Tools that can represent the pedagogical design adopted in

the educational scenarios (that is, a structured flow of learning activities populated with resources and facilitated by certain tools and devices, where teachers and students participate assuming certain roles).

Strategies for using these tools so as to express the learning designs following consistent and commonly recognized terms among the educational practitioners of a given community

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Learning Design Repositories (LDRs)Learning Design Repositories (LDRs)Tools for Populating LDRsTools for Populating LDRs

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Learning Activity Management System

(LAMS) ReCourse

MOT+ LD Editor

ASK Learning Designer Toolkit (ASK-LDT)

Open Graphical Learning Modeler

(OGLM)





A Model Learning Design RepositoryA Model Learning Design RepositoryThe Case of COSMOS LD RepositoryThe Case of COSMOS LD Repository

The COSMOS LD Repository (http://www.cosmosportal.eu/) was developed in the framework of the COSMOS Project (http://www.cosmos-project.eu/) and provides access to Science Education Open LDs (compatible with IMS LD Specification) for school and higher education.

In order to enable the users of the COSMOS LD Repository (namely, Science Education Teachers) to develop their Open LDs in a commonly understandable manner and share them through the COSMOS LD Repository, we defined a strategy that includes: The expression of typical pedagogical models used in Science Education, in the form of Open LD Templates by using an

existing LD authoring tool, namely the ASK Learning Design Toolkit (ASK-LDT)

The customization of the selected authoring tool (the resulted tool was named COSMOS ASK-LDT), so as to incorporate the produced Open LD Templates and facilitate science education teachers to develop their Open LDs (based on these Open Learning Design Templates ) and share them through the COSMOS LD repository.

The COSMOS LD Repository has more than 1.650 registered users from 65 countries and includes more than 350 Open LDs and more than 100.000 OERs

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LDR Name Educational Sector

Subject Domain

Region Coverage No of Users No of Open

LDs

The Canadian LD Repository (http://www.idld.org) – Not

Currently in OperationAll Sectors Cross-

DisciplinaryNational (Canada)

N/A N/A

LAMS Repository(http://lamscommunity.org/

lamscentral/)All Sectors Cross-

Disciplinary International 7.163 875

The Learning Designs Repository

(http://www.learningdesigns.uow.edu.

au/)


Regional (Australia)

N/A 32

iCOPER LD Repository(http://www.icoper.org/

repository/learning-design) All Sectors Cross-

DisciplinaryRegional (Europe)

N/A 520

COSMOS LD Repository(http://www.cosmosportal.eu/)

School and Higher

Education

Science Education

Regional (Europe)

1.650 350

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Comparison of COSMOS LD Repository with Comparison of COSMOS LD Repository with existing LDRsexisting LDRs





COSMOS Learning Design RepositoryCOSMOS Learning Design RepositoryMain Features (1/5)Main Features (1/5)

Store Open LDs and/or Open LD Templates along with their educational metadata descriptions conformant with IEEE LOM Standard.

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Submit the file of the Open LD produced by COSMOS

ASK-LDT

Submit the Open LD metadata file conformant with IEEE LOM Standard






Search for Open LDs and/or Open LD Templates based on their metadata descriptions

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Search Open LDs based on their

metadata descriptions

Number of searching results

Presentation of the searching results






Download Open LDs and/or Open LD Templates

Rate/Comment Open LDs and/or Open LD Templates

View Open LDs and/or Open LD Templates Metadata

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Provide ratings for the selected

Open LD

Download the Open LD in IMS

LD FormatDownload the Open LD metadata in IEEE

LOM Format

Presentation of Open LD Educational Metadata

descriptions






Browse Open LDs and/or Open LD Templates: by selecting the top rated

Open LDs by the users of the repository

by selecting the Open LDs, which have been viewed by the most users of the repository and

by selecting the Open LDs, which have been recently stored to the repository.

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Top rated Open LDs by the users of the

repository

Most Popular Open LDs

Recently added Open LDs






View/Play an Open LD

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Structure of Open LD Learning

Activities

Tools/Services needed for the execution of the

Open LD

Associated LO of the selected

Learning Activity

Title: Extrasolar Planets

Description: An Open LD concerning the study of extrasolar planets

Pedagogical Model: Project-Based Learning





Discussion-ConclusionsDiscussion-Conclusions OERs are classified and stored along with their associated metadata Learning

Object Repositories (LORs). However, there are limited evidences on LORs’ impact towards supporting

teachers and/or educational practitioners in enhancing their teaching practices.

We consider that this might be improved if we move towards the design and development of Learning Design Repositories for storing, classifying and sharing Open LDs.

Nevertheless, this would require: (a) authoring tools and (b) appropriate strategies for populating the LDRs, as well as appropriately designed LDRs

Within this context, we consider COSMOS LD Repository as a model LD Repository, which can contribute to the advancement of the efforts for building LDRs

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Stay in contact …Stay in contact …

e-mail me: [email protected]

skype me: dem-sampson

Google me: http://www.ask4research.info

Linkedin with me

or come and visit me: Department of Digital Systems,University of Piraeus, Greece

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occ2011 keynotes: demetrios g. sampson

Education

exploratory learning

distance learning

learning objects examples

educational technology

international journals

international handbook

impact of open courseware

ubiquitous technologies