VELVITT Conference
TERESA OLIVEIRA
ALCINO PASCOAL
LOURENÇO FRAZÃO
FCT-UNL | PORTUGAL
“Portuguese Experience with VLEs”
TEI of Crete | Heraklion – GREECE | October 11th, 2005
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.
FRAZÃO, L. | OLIVEIRA, M.-T. | PASCOAL, A.
Velvitt Conference | Heraklion (GR) | October 11th, 2005
2 / 13
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.
FRAZÃO, L. | OLIVEIRA, M.-T. | PASCOAL, A.
Velvitt Conference | Heraklion (GR) | October 11th, 2005
3 / 13
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).
FRAZÃO, L. | OLIVEIRA, M.-T. | PASCOAL, A.
Velvitt Conference | Heraklion (GR) | October 11th, 2005
4 / 13
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.
FRAZÃO, L. | OLIVEIRA, M.-T. | PASCOAL, A.
Velvitt Conference | Heraklion (GR) | October 11th, 2005
5 / 13
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.
FRAZÃO, L. | OLIVEIRA, M.-T. | PASCOAL, A.
Velvitt Conference | Heraklion (GR) | October 11th, 2005
6 / 13
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.
FRAZÃO, L. | OLIVEIRA, M.-T. | PASCOAL, A.
Velvitt Conference | Heraklion (GR) | October 11th, 2005
7 / 13
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).
FRAZÃO, L. | OLIVEIRA, M.-T. | PASCOAL, A.
Velvitt Conference | Heraklion (GR) | October 11th, 2005
8 / 13
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.
FRAZÃO, L. | OLIVEIRA, M.-T. | PASCOAL, A.
Velvitt Conference | Heraklion (GR) | October 11th, 2005
9 / 13
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.
FRAZÃO, L. | OLIVEIRA, M.-T. | PASCOAL, A.
Velvitt Conference | Heraklion (GR) | October 11th, 2005
10 / 13
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.
FRAZÃO, L. | OLIVEIRA, M.-T. | PASCOAL, A.
Velvitt Conference | Heraklion (GR) | October 11th, 2005
11 / 13
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.
FRAZÃO, L. | OLIVEIRA, M.-T. | PASCOAL, A.
Velvitt Conference | Heraklion (GR) | October 11th, 2005
12 / 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.
FRAZÃO, L. | OLIVEIRA, M.-T. | PASCOAL, A.
Velvitt Conference | Heraklion (GR) | October 11th, 2005
13 / 13