Toolbox 2.0: Web-based OER for Connectivism Learning Paper presented at ELSE 2014 _ International Conference on eLearning and Software for Education, 24-25 April 2014, Bucharest http://www.elseconference.eu/ Using Open Educational Resources (OER) provides opportunities for collaboration both in the classroom and beyond. Many universities have embraced video conferencing tools such as Skype and Google Hangouts for common learning activities with students in classrooms across the street, across the country, or across the globe. This paper describes an ongoing collaboration between two universities, one in the United States and the other in Romania, where students use synchronous and asynchronous communication tools to complete a combined work product during the course of a semester. The project requires students to create, curate and publish digital media using established and emerging open educational and social media tools such as VoiceThread, ThingLink, SoundCloud, and YouTube. Each year, students work in groups with their international partners to create digital media artifacts that share their findings related to a current technology trend. Students chronicle their work, share resources, and collaborate using the ViCaDiS (Virtual Campus for Digital Students) platform and select the means of digital communication that they deem most appropriate for the various tasks involved. In the process, they also experience global cultures while communicating with international partners, and develop critical thinking and problem solving skills while using the Web as a research tool. This paper presents an analysis of student and faculty experiences over a five-year period using a variety of open educational tools as resources for creating an international Connectivist, learning environment. The analysis is based on authors’ records, initial and final surveys of student experiences each year, and their feedback. The paper concludes with recommendations on using these tools as OER in an international collaborative learning environment using Connectivist principles, thus creating a Connectivist OER (xOER).

1. Toolbox
2.0:
Web-­‐based
OER
for
Connec9vism
Learning
Mark Frydenberg
Bentley University, USA
Diana Andone
Politehnica University of Timisoara
ELSE
2014

2. Connec9vism
G.
Siemens,
“Connec9vism:
learning
as
network
crea9on,”
ASTD
Learning
News,
vol.
10,
no.
1,
2005.
S.
Downes,
“An
introduc9on
to
connec9ve
knowledge,”
S,
22
December
2005.
[Online].
Available:
hPp://www.downes.ca/post/33034.
ELSE
2014

3. TalkTech
-­‐
Connec9vism
Learning
and
knowledge
rest
in
diversity
of
opinions.
Learning
is
a
process
of
connec9ng
specialized
nodes
or
informa9on
sources.
Capacity
to
know
more
is
more
cri9cal
than
what
is
currently
known
Decision-­‐making
is
itself
a
learning
process.
Choosing
what
to
learn
and
the
meaning
of
incoming
informa9on
is
seen
through
the
lens
of
a
shiVing
reality.
ELSE
2014

4. TalkTech
project
2008-­‐2013
UPTimisoara
Romania
BU,
Boston,
USA
ELSE
2014

5. TalkTech
2008
–
2013
Where
We
Are
ELSE
2014

6. TalkTech
2008
–
2013
Students
Bentley
University
• IT
101,
Informa9on
Technology
• 50
students
• Spoke
English
• Web
literate
• PC
Literate
• Age
18-­‐21
UP
Timisoara
• TMM,
Technologies
of
Mul9media
• 40
students
• Spoke
English
• Web
literate
• PC
Literate
• Age
21-­‐24
ELSE
2014
587
students
involved,
no
dropout

7. TalkTech
2008
–
2013
Students
ELSE
2014

8. ViCaDiS
campus
ELSE
2014

9. TalkTech
2008
–
2013
2008
• Create
a
web
page
with
images,
a
video,
a
PowerPoint
or
Google
presenta9on,
a
recorded
audio
conversa9on,
or
a
combina9on
of
any
of
these
that
presents
your
group’s
understanding
of
a
current
issue
in
technology
and
culture
• Post
content
and
group
progress
to
a
collabora9ve
Google
Site
TalkTech2008
2009
• Research
a
web-­‐based
collabora9on
tool
• Create
a
wiki
page
with
images,
blog
entry,
video
or
video
tutorial
of
a
tool;
post
link
on
ViCaDiS
2010
• Create
a
short
video
evalua9ng
two
similar
online
collabora9on
tools
(screen
sharing,
forms,
presenta9ons,
video
conferencing,
scheduling,
project
management,
mind
mapping)
from
the
perspec9ves
of
usability
and
entrepreneurship
• Summarize
findings
in
a
Google
Doc
or
video.
ELSE
2014

10. ELSE
2014

11. TalkTech2010
project
ELSE
2014

12. TalkTech
2008
–
2013
2011
• Create
a
presenta9on
in
which
your
group
analyzes
and
discusses
the
poten9al
of
various
start-­‐up
Internet
companies
• Use
VoiceThread
to
add
comments
or
narra9on
to
the
presenta9on’s
slides;
integrate
in
ViCaDiS
blog
2012
• Create
a
presenta9on
in
which
your
group
researches
innova9ve
methods
used
in
business
by
promising
start-­‐up
companies
• Use
VoiceThread
to
add
comments
or
narra9on
to
the
presenta9on’s
slides;
integrate
in
ViCaDiS
blog
2013
• Research
popular
web
or
mobile
apps
• Create
an
interac9ve
image
using
ThingLink
Annota9ons
must
include
audio
and
video
clips
in
which
interna9onal
partners
appear
simultaneously
discussing
their
topic
• Post
ThingLink
to
ViCaDiS
blog
ELSE
2014

13. TalkTech
2008
–
2013
ELSE
2014

14. ELSE
2014

15. ELSE
2014

16. TalkTech
2008
–
2013
• Mul9cultural
• Online
–
different
9mezones
• Simulate
real
wolrd
work
in
an
IT
company
• Students
freely
choose
the
tools,
communica9on,
working
9me
and
hours
• All
students
finished
and
delivered
the
ar9fact
ELSE
2014

17. TalkTech
2008
–
2013
OER
Tools
ELSE
2014

18. TalkTech
2008
–
2013
• Connec9vist
OER
-­‐
xOER
• introduced
students
to
real-­‐world
technology
topics
and
trends
and
facilitated
their
use
of
a
variety
of
OER
and
tools
within
an
interna9onal
educa9onal
context
• create
the
learning
and
working
environment
for
producing
the
final
ar9fact,
in
a
self-­‐organized,
networked-­‐based
and
quite
oVen
complex
and
chao9c
manner
ELSE
2014

19. Curaj!
ELSE
2014

20. CONTACT
Dr.eng. Diana Andone
Director
e-Learning Center
Tel: +40.256403300,
Email:
diana.andone@upt.ro
Web
Elearning.upt.ro
UPT
–
CeL
Campus
Virtual
www.cv.upt.ro
@diando70
hPp://www.slideshare.net/diando70/