Developing digital language skills: A MOOC on Personal Language Learning Environments
1. Developing digital language
skills: A MOOC on Personal
Language Learning Environments
Marta Fondo Garcia
Universitat Oberta de Catalunya, Spain
email: martafondogarcia@gmail.com
Twitter: @Marta_Fondo
Angelos Konstantinidis
University of Nottingham, UK
email: angelos.konstantinidis@nottingham.ac.uk
Twitter: @angelntini
EUROCALL 2017 “CALL in a climate of change: adapting to turbulent global conditions”
2. Web 2.0 is reshaping how we do things…
Over the last decades web
technologies have changed the
way people live, work,
communicate, and study.
Photo credit: Emilie Ogez https://www.flickr.com/photos/eogez/5014296718/
3. … but we do not take full advantage of it!
Photo credit: CollegeDegrees360 https://tinyurl.com/ybje5n7g
Only some of the learners establish
more complex relationships between
tools, contents, tasks and themselves
enriching each other.
4. What we did to address this issue
We designed a MOOC
on Personal Language
Learning Environments
aimed to support
language learners in
becoming autonomous
learners and self-
managing their own
language learning and
practice
5. The course
Week 1. PLLE concepts and practice
Week 2. Digital tools for enhancing listening and speaking skills
Week 3. Digital tools for enhancing reading and writing skills
Week 4. Hands on and revision
Weekly
topics
•4 weeks course
•4 different activities each week
•Video tutorials
•Written content created under creative commons
•Written content re-used (OERs)
6. Method - Research
RQ1: To what extent have language learners changed the way they use web 2.0 tools at
the end of the course?
RQ2: What is the relationship between language learning barriers and their use of online
language learning tools in PLLEs?
• The research method is based on an action research in which each phase
informs the design and development of the next one according to the results
obtained.
• Mixed methods approach
7. Method - Design
The ADDIE model has been employed
for the development of the MOOC.
The theoretical foundations lie in the
theory of connectivism.
The aim is to not only answer the
research questions but to better
adapt the content to learners’ needs.
8. Analysis
Aim: identify the needs of language learners regarding internet use.
1. Provide participants with tools to develop their
language learning and digital skills
2. Organise a research scenario for exploring the use of
the internet for language learning and the current
limitations language learners experience
9. Design - Pedagogy
The main instructional strategies, the learning activities, the assessment methods, and the technologies to
be used were determined
10. Design - Research
Data gathering tools were included as part of the learning activities proposed in the course in order to
minimise their intrusiveness in the learning process
11. Development
Development of the curriculum
(create + use of OER)
We returned to the design phase
quite often to revise the activities,
materials, etc.
13. Evaluation
Some of the tasks needed to be redesigned before the
implementation in the pre-pilot and will need further
adjustments for the pilot.
Applying the ADDIE model for MOOC design can be
challenging (i.e. the collaborative environment created in
the course presented problems in terms of language
barriers).
Evaluation of the course has been designed to be both
formative and summative.
14. Conclusion
-The ADDIE model could be applied in an action research design as it is
based on iterations.
-The adaptation to the learner in higher scales (MOOCs) is possible in a
broader perspective.
-The adaptation and evolution of the learner in higher scales (MOOCs) is
essential: Autonomy, self-management and digital skills.
-MOOCs (Open initiatives) teaching how to learn in such environments can
be very helpful.
15. In summary
The key is to not only provide open educational resources (OERs) on the
internet and open up education online but help the learners to optimise
their use of such resources.
It is not about opening the biggest library in the world but to help them to
learn how to read, what to read and where to find the best book for their
purposes.
16. Thanks for attending - Any questions?
Marta Fondo Garcia
email: martafondogarcia@gmail.com
Twitter: @Marta_Fondo
Angelos Konstantinidis
email: angelos.konstantinidis@nottingham.ac.uk
Twitter: @angelntini
Blog: http://angelos.ict4all.gr/Photo credit: Roland O'Daniel https://www.flickr.com/photos/rlodan01/4555108439/