T ERESA O LIVEIRA A LCINO P ASCOAL L OURENÇO F RAZÃO FCT-UNL | PORTUGAL

1. VELVITT Conference “Portuguese Experience with VLEs” TERESA OLIVEIRAALCINO PASCOALLOURENÇO FRAZÃOFCT-UNL | PORTUGAL TEI of Crete | Heraklion – GREECE | October 11th, 2005

2. FCT-UNL IN A NUTSHELL • Established in 1977, as part of UNL (New University of Lisbon); • Approximately 6.500 undergraduate students; • Offers 19 degrees in Sciences and Engineering; • Offers 3 Science Teaching degrees, although 2 are suspended for the time being; • Only Maths Teaching degree is fully operational. Velvitt Conference | Heraklion (GR) | October 11th, 2005

3. VLEs’ USAGE @ FCT-UNL • No VLE adopted until 2004; • Initial trials comprised the use of a proprietary platform (FCT-UNL’s Training Institute) and in-house web-based portals with reduced features; • Academic year 2004-2005 marked the adoption of Moodle by FCT-UNL; • Not all courses are implemented in Moodle, but the activities are expanding significantly. Velvitt Conference | Heraklion (GR) | October 11th, 2005

4. IN-HOUSE WB PORTALS - 1 • Pioneering activity of the Educational Sciences Sector; • First experiments dated 1997-98; • In constant use from 1998-99 up to 2003-04; • Main objectives: • Information repository (FAQs, courses’ syllabi); • Download area (shareware software); • Students’ portfolios; • Administration area (calendar, summaries, etc.); • Evaluation area (detailed review and final marks). Velvitt Conference | Heraklion (GR) | October 11th, 2005

5. IN-HOUSE WB PORTALS - 2 • Main features / implementations / characteristics: • Companion ftp server with restricted access; • Specific mailing list (Yahoo groups); • Comprehensive list of educational software and other resources; • Regular updates (FAQs, calendar, administration area, etc.); • Support of external peers, whenever available (other tutors, software developers, etc.); • Html editing compulsory for assignments; • Reviewed profile: the word to the individual; • Flexible templates available. Velvitt Conference | Heraklion (GR) | October 11th, 2005

6. IN-HOUSE WB PORTALS - 3 • The pluses: • Intense collaborative work (within the groups and the class); • Development of social skills (communication…); • Exploitation of creativity with the assignments’ delivery; • Development of technical skills while manipulating different types of software; • Improved use of the www as a privileged source of information; • Enhanced thinking and reasoning; • Low level of drop-off rates; • Implementation of proto-learning communities. Velvitt Conference | Heraklion (GR) | October 11th, 2005

7. IN-HOUSE WB PORTALS - 4 • The minuses: • Requires huge administration work from the tutor; • Students’ registration is not automated; • Mailing list inefficient for sustaining a discussion; • Too much flexibility with templates can be a burden for the tutor; • Html editing and ftping might be complex for some students; • Calendar features proved to be insufficient; • Temptation to concentrate on aesthetics rather than contents; • Some simple tasks are not automated: it requires extra time from students enrolled. Velvitt Conference | Heraklion (GR) | October 11th, 2005

8. IMPLEMENTING Moodle - 1 • Pioneering activity of the Educational Sciences Sector; • First experiments dated 2003-04; • In constant use from 2004-05; • Main objectives: • Information exchange (FAQs, working documents, courses’ syllabi); • Interactive communication area (embedded); • Administration area (embedded); • Pool tests and self-assessment tools (embedded). Velvitt Conference | Heraklion (GR) | October 11th, 2005

9. IMPLEMENTING Moodle - 2 • The pluses: • Intense collaborative work (within the groups and the class); • Development of social skills (communication…); • Improved level of interactivity between peers; • Substantial time savings for administration tasks (tutors); • Easiness of use by students; • Multiplicity of embedded tools; • Threaded discussions are possible; • Open source software (flexibility and availability); • Expansion of the “learning community” concept. Velvitt Conference | Heraklion (GR) | October 11th, 2005

10. IMPLEMENTING Moodle - 3 • The minuses: • Portfolios are not developed in such a creative way; • Too much interactivity (discussions, chat, etc.) might have risks; • … • It is still a recent experience: additional data is required for a consistent comparison. Velvitt Conference | Heraklion (GR) | October 11th, 2005

11. PROJECT’s ACTIVITIES • General purpose tasks; • Common module delivery: “Basic Teaching Skills” module @ Huddersfield, using BlackBoard; • Evaluation report for module above by “PT-Testers”: • VLE access: difficulties, no. of trials; • Contents: categories, relevance, transferability to national context, overall structuring, portal design; • Additional comments. Velvitt Conference | Heraklion (GR) | October 11th, 2005

12. PT-TESTERS’ KEY FINDINGS • “Unknown” VLE didn’t turn to be a major burden; • “Language issue”: positive aspect, promotes practice; • Involvement of 4 countries contributed for a rich learning endeavor; • Strong commitment by learners is compulsory; • There should be a permanent tutoring and coaching; • It is critical to provide “instant” feedback to questions and activities accomplished by learners; • The way contents are organised play an important role for the success of learning. Velvitt Conference | Heraklion (GR) | October 11th, 2005

13. THE WAY AHEAD • Closing common module delivery: “Computer Mediated Skills” module @ Huddersfield, using BlackBoard; • Information sharing and further cooperation with TAOKK (also implemented Moodle); • Available online again a practical example of an “in-house web-based portal” for external examination; • Reporting procedures in place, with local tutoring. Velvitt Conference | Heraklion (GR) | October 11th, 2005