Presentation at the meeting with the members of the Council of University President of Thailand (CUPT), 29 September 2022.

1. Digital transformation
in education in Tallinn
University
Hans Põldoja

2. Online learning in Tallinn
University

3. Online learning before COVID-19
• Online learning was mostly used to provide blended learning
in courses with limited number of contact hours
• Some lecturers have prepared video lectures and complete
online courses
• University has no central online learning strategy, each
lecturer is free to decide on their approach

4. Support structure for online learning
• E-learning Centre
• Information Technology Of
fi
ce
• IT technicians / support staff in the schools

5. Online learning environments
• Moodle
• Google Classroom
• eDidaktikum

6. https://edidaktikum.ee

7. Väljataga, T., Poom-Valickis, K., Rumma, K., & Aus,
K. (2020). Transforming higher education learning
ecosystem: teachers’ perspective. Interaction Design
and Architectures, 46, 47–69.
Transforming Higher Education Learning Ecosystem:
Teachers’ Perspective
Terje Väljataga1
, Katrin Poom-Valickis1
, Kirsti Rumma2
, Kati Aus1
1
School of Educational Sciences, Tallinn University
Narva mnt 25, 10120, Tallinn, Estonia
2
Department of Economics and Finance, Tallinn University of Technology
Ehitajate tee 5, 19086, Tallinn, Estonia
{terje.valjataga, katrinpv, kati.aus}@tlu.ee
{kirsti.rumma}@taltech.ee
Abstract. As a result of the COVID-19 crisis, organizing, designing and
delivering learning programs in higher educational institutions needed to be
revised and transferred to the digital world without destroying the overall
cohesion and balance of the educational ecosystem. We present a case study of
transformation challenges of the institution during COVID-19 from the
perspective of teaching staff. The results of a survey indicate, that the learning
ecosystem was able to respond to the sudden external disturbances as it had the
basic conditions fulfilled. However, the transformation represents rather a first-
order change, being an online extension of previous everyday practices and not
bringing forth deep changes in ways of learning and teaching. As a result, the
institution’s management needs to invest in additional infrastructure as well as
in educational technologists who would support the teaching staff to
systematically widen their pedagogical repertoire and raise their digital
competencies to the next level.
Keywords: COVID-19, digital transformation, learning ecosystem, higher
education, ecosystem responsiveness
1 Introduction
Due to the COVID-19 situation higher education institutions found themselves in the
middle of unexpected and unprecedented challenges. Traditional ways of organizing,
designing and delivering learning programs needed to be revised and transferred to
the digital world without destroying overall cohesion and balance of the educational
system. Usually change in higher education institutions occurs over time altering
inter- and intra-individual processes and strategies. This sudden situation, however,
called for higher education institutions to mobilize all its parts to jointly deal with the
external interruption, build new capabilities and invest in those capabilities that had
not been essential before, revise and adjust their regulations, rules and strategies as
Interaction Design and Architecture(s) Journal - IxD&A, N.46, 2020, pp. 47 - 69
47
Study on online learning in Spring 2020

8. Some challenges
• Compared with contact studies, the students had less clear
undestanding about the organization of studies, less chances
to communicate and get feedback
• It was dif
fi
cult to analyze evidences of students’ learning and
to provide personalized learning for students
• Important factors affecting students’ learning: involvement in
learning, environment at home, self-regulation skills

9. Open learning environments

10. https://opikeskkonnad.ee

11. Course blog
Learner blogs
Blog-based open online courses

12. Course format
• Course blog + learner blogs
• Additional Web 2.0 and social media tools (Twitter, SlideShare,
YouTube, …)
• Open enrollment
• Open educational resources
• Assignments through blog posts
• Feedback and discussion in comments

13. Challenges in blog-based courses
• Coordinating and following the course activities
• Creating and sustaining the learning community
• Designing content and activities
• Feedback and assessment
(Väljataga, Põldoja, & Laanpere, 2011)

14. V
ä
ljataga, T., P
õ
ldoja, H., Laanpere, M. (2011).
Open Online Courses: Responding to Design
Challenges. In H. Ruokamo, M. Eriksson, L. Pekkala,
& H. Vuoj
ä
rvi (Eds.), Proceedings of the 4th
International Network-Based Education 2011
Conference The Social Media in the Middle of
Nowhere (pp. 68-75). Rovaniemi: University of
Lapland.
Proceedings of the NBE 2011
68
Open Online Courses: Responding to Design Challenges
Terje Väljataga
terje.valjataga@tlu.ee
http://terjevaljataga.eu
Hans Põldoja
hans.poldoja@tlu.ee
http://www.hanspoldoja.net
Mart Laanpere
mart.laanpere@tlu.ee
Tallinn University
Centre for Educational Technology
Narva road 25, 10120 Tallinn, Estonia
Tel: +372 6409 355, Fax: +372 6409 355
Open education and open educational resources movement as a recent trend in higher education focuses on providing free access to a
wide range of educational resources and online courses. However, such a narrow approach fails to acknowledge the transformative and
innovative opportunities openness can offer in higher education. The authors of the paper take a wider perspective to the concept of
openness in formal higher education. In addition to open technology, content and knowledge sharing openness in course design is an
important dimension to consider. Although open online course design solves many educational problems and challenges, at the same
time it also creates new ones. This paper discusses about the re-occurring course design challenges that facilitators face while designing
and running open courses. Through a multiple case study a variety of design responses to the design challenges is analyzed and
demonstrated.
Keywords: open online course model, open educational resources, pedagogical design, multiple
case study
1 Introduction
The concept of openness has multiple interpretations and dimensions in the context of higher education. Among
others, it has been used by proponents of open classroom approach in 1970-ties and by distance education
enthusiasts while establishing open universities”. The purpose was to solve a number of educational problems
and challenges, for instance, to improve access to existing study programmes and attract more (or better)
students following Huijser, Bedford, and Bull’s (2008) claim that everyone has the right to education. In
general, openness in education is attributed to a barrier-free access to education in terms of time, affordability
and admission requirements being freely available through the Internet.
A recent trend is the open educational resources (OER) movement (Atkins, Brown & Hammond, 2007), which
provides free access to a wide range of educational resources and online courses. OER and its importance has
been widely documented and demonstrated (Downes, 2007). The key tenet of open education is that “education
can be improved by making educational assets visible and accessible and by harnessing the collective wisdom
of a community of practice and reflection” (p. 2) (Iiyoshi & Kumar, 2008).
The notion of openness in education is clearly triggered by the opportunities technological development offers.
In addition to growing access to Internet, the latest evolution of digital technology and Web has fostered a new
culture of creating and sharing open content in online communities. It has been possible due to the blurred line
between producers and consumers of content allowing shifted attention from access to information toward
access to other people (Iiyoshi & Kumar, 2008). In the light of ongoing technological development, there are
educators who are exploring ways to expand the notion of openness in education beyond public sharing of
educational content. Iiyoshi & Kumar (2008) point out that with the concept of openness we might tend to grow
our collections of educational tools and resources and miss the transformative and innovative opportunities
“openness” can offer. One of the emerging practices in this direction is the open online course model.

15. http://www.edufeedr.net

16. P
õ
ldoja, H., Duval, E., & Leinonen, T. (2016). Design
and evaluation of an online tool for open learning
with blogs. Australasian Journal of Educational
Technology, 32(2), 64–81. http://dx.doi.org/
10.14742/ajet.2450
Australasian Journal of Educational Technology, 2016, 32(2).
64
ascilite
Design and evaluation of an online tool for open learning
with blogs
Hans Põldoja
Tallinn University, Estonia
Erik Duval
Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, Belgium
Teemu Leinonen
Aalto University, Finland
Blogs are used in higher education to support face-to-face courses, to organise online
courses, and to open up courses for a wider group of participants. However the open and
distributed nature of blogs creates problems that are not common in other learning contexts.
Four key challenges related to the use of blogs in learning were identified from earlier
research: fragmented discussions, a lack of coordination structures, weak support for
awareness, and a danger of over-scripting. The EduFeedr system has been designed to
address these issues. In this paper, the authors present their evaluation of its design and
effectiveness in a total of 10 courses. The results indicate that learners find the EduFeedr
system useful in following discussions and in comparing their progress with other learners.
The coordination and awareness issues are seen as more important than the fragmentation
of discussions and a danger of over-scripting.
Introduction
Blogs are used in higher education to provide a space for reflection, a forum for discussions, a portfolio of
completed assignments, and for opening up courses for a wider group of participants. While some recent
research has focused on the pedagogical aspects of using blogs in higher education, Sim and Hew (2010)
suggest that one focus of future research should be the development of web technologies that will
enhance the conversational and interactive aspects of blogging. Our study focuses on designing and
evaluating an online tool that aims to address some of the issues that impede the use of blogs in online
and blended learning courses.
A blog is a website where the content is comprised of posts that are displayed in reverse chronological
order. A typical blog is a personal website that is written by a single person; however it is also possible to
have several authors. Readers can become engaged by writing comments on blog posts. Syndication
technologies such as really simple syndication (RSS) and Atom enable readers to receive new posts and
comments automatically. All blogs and their interconnections are often referred to as the blogosphere.
The blogosphere can be seen both as a social network and as an ecosystem.
The possibilities for using blogs in learning became evident soon after blogs emerged (Oravec, 2003;
Williams & Jacobs, 2004). Sim and Hew (2010) identified six major applications for blogs in education:
(a) maintaining a learning journal, (b) recording personal life, (c) expressing emotions, (d)
communicating with others, (e) assessment, and (f) managing tasks.
Kim (2008) suggests that the use of blogs may help to overcome various limitations of other computer-
mediated communication systems, such as difficulties in managing communication, passiveness of
students, lack of ownership, instructor-centeredness, and limited archives of communication. Previous
studies show that reading other blogs and receiving feedback on one’s own blog posts were the more
effective aspects of using blogs in learning (Churchill, 2009; Ellison & Wu, 2008). Blogs are useful in
disciplines that require students to discuss, write, reflect, and make comments about content or ideas
(Cakir, 2013). Blogging has been found particularly beneficial in teacher education because it can
motivate learners, foster collaboration and cooperation, promote different instructional practices, and
enrich the learning environment (Goktas & Demirel, 2012). Teachers who acquire these competences
during the blogging assignments can later apply these methods in their own teaching.

17. Personal learning contracts,
Open Badges and personal
learning pathways

18. Learning contract template
• Topic: What is the topic I wish to learn about?
• Purpose: What is the purpose of my task? Why do I wish to learn about or learn to do a
particular task?
• Resources: What kind of technological, material and human resources do I need? How can I
get access to these?
• Strategy: How do I intend to go about learning this particular topic/task? What action may be
involved and in what order will these be carried out?
• Outcome evaluation: How will I know when I have completed the task/topic successfully?
How shall I judge success?
• Re
fl
ection: How well did I do? What has worked? What has not worked? Why? What remains
to be learnt? What are my strengths and what are my weaknesses? What shall I do next?

19. https://gettermagistriope.wordpress.com/2022/09/11/opileping/

20. https://opikeskkonnad.wordpress.com/2020/09/20/opilepingute-kokkuvote/

21. (Open Badges, 2013)

23. Badge points
• Basic knowledge badges — 10 points
• Golden badges for basic knowledge — 15 points
• Broken badge for basic knowledge — 5 points
• Learning resource author — 24 points (36 points for a golden badge)
• Researcher — 36 points
• Enlightener — 10 points
• Wikipedist — 12 points

24. Three methods combined
• Personal learning contracts
• Open badges
• Personal learning pathways

25. Põldoja, H., Jürgens, P., & Laanpere, M. (2016).
Design Patterns for Badge Systems in Higher
Education. In M. Spaniol, M. Temperini, D.K.W.
Chiu, I. Marenzi, & U. Nanni (eds.), Advances in
Web-Based Learning — ICWL 2016 (Vol. 10013, lk
40– 49). Cham: Springer. http://dx.doi.org/
10.1007/978-3-319-47440-3_5
Design Patterns for Badge Systems in Higher Education
Hans Põldoja
(✉)
, Pirje Jürgens, and Mart Laanpere
Tallinn University, Narva mnt 25, 10120 Tallinn, Estonia
{hans.poldoja,pirje.jurgens,mart.laanpere}@tlu.ee
Abstract. Open Badges as a method for assessment and recognition of learning
originates from the context of informal learning. Thus, it cannot be introduced
into formal higher education without reconsidering the existing assessment
processes.This paper presentsexperiencesfrom three years of using Open Badges
in a master level course. In each iteration, the badge system was revised based on
learners’ feedback. Special attention was given to supporting learners with
different learning styles. To summarize our findings, this paper proposes a set of
design patterns for developing badge systems in higher education. While the
learning styles proved to be useful as generic design guidelines for separating two
alternative learning pathways for the course, more research is needed on advanced
learning-style-based learning pathways.
Keywords: Open Badges · Assessment · Higher education
1 Introduction
Open Badges (OB’s) is a web technology for recognizing and verifying knowledge,
competencies or involvements gained in online or offline settings. In a basic sense,
badges are digital images that contain embedded information about the accomplish‐
ments. The development of the Open Badges technology started in 2010, when a group
of open education activists came up with the initial concept during the Mozilla Drumbeat
Festival. Inspired by the use of digital badges in gaming and various social apps, they
proposed that badges could be used for verifying learning. The technical specification
of the Open Badges Infrastructure (OBI) was developed together with the Mozilla
Foundation and released in 2012. While digital badges are typically used within a single
environment, OBI was developed as an open standard that allows people to collect
badges from different issuers. The initial scenarios about using open badges focused on
informal learning contexts [1]. However, in recent years there have been a number of
studies about using badges in schools [2, 3] and in higher education [4–6].
Introducing open badges to formal higher education courses provides an opportunity
to reconsider the existing assessment procedures. Recent research on open badges has
proposed a number of reasons for adopting badges. Ahn, Pellicone, and Butler [7] see
badges as motivators for behavior, pedagogical tools for promoting particular learning
activities, and credentials for recognizing learning achievements. While Jovanovic and
Devedzic [8] identify similar roles for open badges, they discuss additional benefits such
as supporting alternative forms of assessment (e.g. peer-assessment), providing learners
© Springer International Publishing AG 2016
D.K.W. Chiu et al. (Eds.): ICWL 2016, LNCS 10013, pp. 40–49, 2016.
DOI: 10.1007/978-3-319-47440-3_5

26. Photos
• Nick Morrison, https://unsplash.com/photos/FHnnjk1Yj7Y/
• Dom Pates, https://www.
fl
ickr.com/photos/globalismpictures/5441692868/
• Andy Lamb, https://www.
fl
ickr.com/photos/speedo
fl
ife/6924482682/

27. This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0
International License. To view a copy of this license, visit
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/
Hans Põldoja
hans.poldoja@tlu.ee
Tallinn University
School of Digital Technologies
http://www.hanspoldoja.net
https://www.slideshare.net/hanspoldoja