Experience of a Plan for a Repository of Reusable Digital Learning Objects

1. Experience of a Plan for a Repository of Reusable Digital Learning Objects Aristóteles Cañero Universidad Politécnica de Valencia

2. Valencia, a place to visit

3. Universidad Politécnica de Valencia • Public academic institution since 1971 • 4 campuses • 15 colleges • 40 research centers • 40 official degrees • 20 post graduate studies • 40.000 students • 2.600 teachers • 1.400 staff

4. Valencia Campus

5. Sakai in the UPV • Full production system in 2006-2007 • 4.000 sites per year • 40.000 active students

6. “Network teaching” plan • One of the objectives of the Strategic Plan of the UPV: Intensify the use of Information Technologies • Action lines • Training • Incentives for production Docencia en red

7. Sakai is the e-learning support platform in the UPV “Network teaching”: Sakai Syllabus Melete Resources Polimedia Virtual labs Assignments Samigo E-mail Chat Forums Drop box Group management Site stats Grading tools Content providing tools Experimentation tools Evaluation tools Communication tools Management Tools Subject management – Sakai framework 7

8. Learning objects: Polimedia • Polimedia is a streaming media technology developed by the UPV to produce learning multimedia contents, in a special way that can combine several technologies simultaneously in a web browser • Show presentations • Use an electronic whiteboard • Use computer applications 8

9. Learningobjects: Virtual labs Virtual labs is a new set of tools that allow instructors to create learning objects for experimentation in an easy and intuitive way through the use of scientific software applications such as Matlab, Mathematica or LabView. These learning objects are generated and accessible via the Internet 9

10. Some types of objects can be reused and shared between different subjects Reusing objects Syllabus Melete Resources Polimedia Virtual labs Assignments Samigo E-mail Chat Forums Drop box Group management Site stats Grading tools Content providing tools Experimentation tools Evaluation tools Communication tools Management Tools Subject management – Sakai framework 10

11. Reusing objects The goal of the project is to build a repository of reusable learning objects within our University based in some of the materials produced during this first year for the Sakai sites, and also with the creation of new multimedia and interactive contents.

12. Our concept of reusable object • A digital, self-contained, reusable entity with a learning aim that contains the content, the metadata and the information which helps its identification, storage, and recovery. • Learning modules can be created combining different learning objects within a certain context

13. Depending on their pedagogical content: Conceptual Procedural Attitudinal Depending on the format Text Image / sound / video / multimedia Interactive applications Types of learning objects

14. Determine the objectives: conceptual, procedural or attitudinal Create the objects Choose format (text, multimedia, interactive) Create the introduction of the content Create the content Fill up the metadata form LO Comittee: Evaluate the quality of the learning object Steps in the creation of a LO

15. Example of a MetadataForm

16. From LO to Learning Modules • Any object that can be used, reused or referenced within a learning process Digital object + Pedagogical purpose Learningobject • Introductory guide, practical activity, evaluation of the module and summary + Coupling objects Learning module

17. Learning session created by the contextualization of one or several learning objects within a didactic environment with the addition of coupling objects The approximate working time of the student in a learning module is one hour, including all the activities proposed in the module Learning modules

18. Select the competences to develop in the student Select the kind of objects to work in: conceptual, procedural or attitudinal Define the structure of the module Search for already created learning objects which can fit in our structure Create non-existing learning objects Configure the module: create coupling objects Test the module Evaluate the module Process in creating learning modules

19. Our goal is to create a high quality learning object repository: Training as a requisite Assistance and support to the teacher through all the creation process Validation of objects by a LO Committee Quality criteria

20. All the objects have to be stored in a common database, catalogued by the Library and with three types of access rights: Any student in the same Knowledge Area (minimun requirement) Any student from the UPV Free access The kind of license is not determined by the plan. Each teacher can decide which one to use Creation of a repository

21. Dspace has been chosen as the tool to create the learning object repository It can store, classify, search and distribute all kinds of digital contents It’s an open source project: www.dspace.org At this moment we are starting the process of creation of the repository Dspace

22. The main goal of the plan is to start the creation of the repository The specific actions are: Extensive training on learning objects theory and practice Economic incentive to teachers in the creation of the objects Assistance through the creation process Creation of the repository The types of objects preferred are Polimedia Virtual labs Any other multimedia or interactive object Objectives of the plan

23. The plan started in June 2007 216 teachers from 37 different departments have joined the plan. All of then have gone through training on these methodologies in 14 specific courses (from June to October) They have proposed the creation of around 2,000 learning objects that should be completed during this academic year Numbers of the plan so far

24. Process of the plan Resources reservation Economic Incentives Content production VTIC VCE Resolution of the plan Training courses Evaluation Metadata creation VTIC VCE ICE ASIC GOA Catalog Repository publishing Access rights BIB BIB ASIC ICE 24

25. Results of the first months

26. Some examples

27. Gracias por su atención Thank you for your attention Aristóteles Cañero: acanero@asic.upv.es