The parnters involved in TCA REAL meet together to exchange the good practices and experiences with the relevant aspects of their programs.
First transnational workshop on distance training is prepared by DP DÉCLIC in Beligum and all involved DPs will be present there.
The main tasks of the workshop:
1) to present the testing and verified approaches and methods
2) to discuss main questions and problems of e-learning education
3) to discover chances for transfering good methods and practices
4) to discuss the conditions for further development of distance training
5) to establish the network of experts to facilitate the exchange of information
6) to negotiate the possibilities and divide the tasks among the experts of all involved DPs to be able to produce useful common methodological guide of e-learning (it will be done on second planned workshop).
- To share the experiences in Distance Leaning in order to study, to experiment and to validate new pedagogical methods;
- To create a concrete tool, useful and relevant for each person who wants to begin a distance learning project.
Reminder of ESUS features:
- The design is still being developed ;
- The lodging is temporary. The study should be, at the end, on the portal Learn-on-Line and on the transnational partners website;
- As a visitor, it is possible to click on ‘Research’ in order to search in the three criteria (Role, theme, moment) or to display all the cards.
- When one clicks on one card title, one is given a summary of the situation and advices. More information are available under the ‘Details’ menu. The context of the experience is available under ‘project’ menu.
- The aim of the cards is to share experiences. Each card is different because it is created by different persons. Some of them focus on a theoretical point and other on the practice.
Participants’ opinion about the study:
- There is a debate about the cards content: should it be practical or theoretical? It is not a pedagogical guide with ‘recipes’. It is not possible to provide such a tool because each situation is different and could be solved in several ways. On the other hand, the experiences can be positive or not. The cards are not proposed in terms of ‘problem to solve’. They are problematical situations or not which appeared as interesting for other people involved in e-learning.
- The display seems clear.
Clarification as for the meeting objective:
Further to Katarina (Czech Republic) remarks/questions, it is remembered that the contract aim is to Create a common tool together. It means that each institution must provide others with new cards relating lived experiences (whitin Equat framework or not) and likely to be shared.
Proposal of experiences to share:
Laurine (France) relates several problems encountered during the creation of a course of mathematics. Technical problems (files formats…) and pedagogical ones related to the students’ motivation. Lots of animations were inserted in this course in order to attract students. The assessment after the course was pretty good but, after a very short period of time, students had forgotten everything! So, it is not an effective solution to learn.
Another problem (in France) according to Laurine is the institutional constraints. The Ministry of Education requires an assessment for each part of the course. So, how to motivate a student who would have acquired a whole part of the course and who must be assessed on the entire course?
Brec’Hed (Wales) talks about a course for nurses developed within the scope of Leonardo Project. The particularity of this course is that it offers several types of assessment (people can choose among them).
Decisions as for the continuation of the operations:
- By 1st May 2006, each partner sends to the PDD Déclic (
) the accurate list of the institutions most likely to encode the cards (in order to create a log-in);
- By 1st May, each partner sends to the PDD Déclic 5 proposals of new cards (title, role, theme, moment). If it is possible, each card has to be associated to an existing theme. If none of them is suitable, new theme can be proposed to the PDD Déclic. It could be good not to multiply them!
- A theme will be added : « technical aspects » ;
- The PDD Déclic translates in English the database for the 1st June 2006 ;
- The PDD Déclic provides the partners with directions to encode directly the card online (the 1st June 2006);
- By 15 June 2006, each partner adds his/her 5 cards to the database ;
- Each institution must reread his/her cards (in order to avoid the spelling mistakes or typos). The PDD Déclic maybe could ask for extra information about a card if there is a doubt about the content;
- Each institution introduces its cards in its language. The English cards will be translated in French by the CFA La Noue and the PDD Déclic ;
- The Bangor University is responsible for the translation from French ? English of the cards already written (Marie-France will come to an agreement with Brec’Hed).
- Other cards will have to be added all along the project. The partners did not give a precise number but one card each month could be a good number. This will be determined during the Meeting in November in Dijon.
Points about the categories proposed in the cards:
Framework of the cards « project »
Project name
Country :
Institution: the institution that presents this card (often the action coordinator or partner)
Project name: we can create it !
Project period of time: if it is related to an unremitting action, there is no need to write a date or, you can write the date of the beginning (‘Since…’)
Target public
The public whose action is dedicated.
Project objective
Constrains :
Trumps :
References :
A web site, theoritical references.
Framework Card « action »
Action
The code of the project ID:
Title:
Thematic path: People will choose it in a drop-down menu.
Role whose card is addressed: People will choose it in a drop-down menu.
Chronology: People will choose it in a drop-down menu.
Card author’s role: People will choose it in a drop-down menu.
Date : date of card creation
Environment:
Short summary of the action, problem identification,… it has to be very short, going straight to the point!
Advices:
What did we make that was useful and relevant?
What should have we done to make the action better?
If we had to do it again, what we should change?
Details of the experience:
This part will be available by clicking on the link. This part is dedicated to provide more information about the action. This could be an assessment, numbers, a deeper depiction…
1a. Users guide to distance learning, Coordinator : DP Déclic, Participants: all DPs,Timetable: May 2005-June 2007
During EQUAL 1 the Belgian DP carried out a study on the methodology of distance learning. The objectvies of this study were - to share different partners’ experiences of distance learning as a preliminary to developing and testing new methods of teaching and training, - to develop a practical, useful and relevant tool that could be used by anyone undertaking a distance learning project. Approximately 40 documents were developed around 6 topics ;1.how to introduce a distance learning approach in existing structures 2.how to develop links between the tool, the audience and strategies 3. how to develop appropriate teaching approaches to a distance learning course 4. how to evaluate the quality of a distance learning course 5.how to introduce trainees, or students (or others) to a distance learning approach 6.how to support tutors (learning at a distance).
An evaluation of the developed product revealed that while the content was interesting and useful for those wanting to become involved in distance learning, it was not very easy to use or visually appealing.
The Declic DP therefore wish to revisit the contents of this tool, to develop them further, and in particular, to carry out more work on the presentation to make it more dynamic, interactive, and genuinely useful. Thus preliminary work will be undertaken before involving transnational partners. Each DP will nominate someone to have particular responsibility for this work, but can include several people in this working group.
Transnational partners will be asked to report on their experience of distance learning, such as videoed interviews with users and project descriptions…The workshops will be structured and the content for them will be developed internally by each DP.
The guide will be made available in French and English on the common internet site, and on partners’ own sites if they so wish. As considerable preliminary work will be undertaken by the Declic DP, other DPs will be responsible for translation from French. The first transnational meeting for this topic will be organised in
Belgium in March/April 2006. This will be a complete day’s work. A second workshop will take place at the end of 2006/beginning of 2007, as part of a larger meeting. We would expect that in addition to attending workshops, each partner would need to contribute 25 days of work. The DECLIC DP as they have the main responsibility for this activity will need an extra 12 days work in order to co-ordinate and to put the guide on-line. The guide will be available in June 2007.
