The VTT-BOX, Pedagogical and Quality Considerations

Ebba Ossiannilsson

, Maria Ampartzaki

, Michail Kalogiannakis

and Peter Mazohl

Swedish Association for Distance Education, Lund, Sweden, Swedish Association for Distance Edcuation,

Kung Oscars väg 27, Lund, Sweden

University of Crete, Faculty of Education, Department of Preschool Education, 74100, Crete, Greece

University of Technology Vienna, Wiedner Hauptstraße 8-10, 1040 Wien, Austria

Keywords: Blended Learning, Pedagogical Considerations, Quality Considerations, VTT-Box.

Abstract: The Virtual Teachers’ Toolbox’s (VTT-BOX.EU) aims to create a special virtual and sophisticated tool for

teachers to guide them in developing open, online, flexible and technology enhanced education and learning

(OOFAT). The paper presents the pedagogical and quality framework which embeds the Toolbox which

refers to international frameworks that need to permute e-learning. Quality in pedagogy and technological

provision focuses today more on developing the learner’s autonomy, collaborative skills and self-evaluation.

Technology is expected to create a well-fitting “learning offer” tailored to the typical behaviour and needs

of the modern students.

https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8488-5787

https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5978-3415

https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9124-2245

https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7888-0835

1 INTRODUCTION

Blended learning is not the same as technology-rich

instruction. It goes beyond one-to-one computers

and high-tech gadgets. Blended learning involves

leveraging the Internet to afford each student a more

personalized learning experience, including

increased student control over the time, place, path,

and/or pace of learning. The definition of blended

learning is a formal education program in which a

student learns (Christiansens Institute, n.d):

• at least in part through online learning, with

some element of student control over time,

place, path, and/or pace;

• at least in part in a supervised brick-and-

mortar location away from home;

• and the modalities along each student’s

learning path within a course or subject are

connected to provide an integrated learning

experience.

The efficacy of blended learning greatly depends

on its specific implementation and the particular

problem it is designed to solve.

The paper explores a two-year EU funded project

the Virtual Teachers’ Toolbox (VTT-BOX.EU),

which aims to create a special virtual toolbox for

teachers as a sophisticated tool for developing open,

online, flexible, blended and technology enhanced

education, and learning (OOFAT). The project

duration is 2017-2019.

The project bundles the experience,

competences, and knowledge of five institutions in

Europe, from different educational backgrounds and

it consists strategic cooperation between formal and

non-formal/informal educational providers.

Being in the almost final phase of the project

period, most of the intellectual outcomes are

developed, but not yet tested at scale, i.e. a toolbox

and a MOOC aiming to innovate OOFAT and to

make learners more successful, and to take the

responsibilities for their own learning (Gutierrez,

2014; Liang, et al., 2008; Redecker and Punie,

2017). This will be achieved by innovative,

motivating and self-evaluation methods, with an

innovative and learner-centred pedagogical

approach. The pedagogical approach is mainly based

on heutagogy (self-directed learning) described by

Hase and Kenyon (2000).

654

Ossiannilsson, E., Ampartzaki, M., Kalogiannakis, M. and Mazohl, P.

The VTT-BOX, Pedagogical and Quality Considerations.

DOI: 10.5220/0007876506540659

In Proceedings of the 11th International Conference on Computer Supported Education (CSEDU 2019), pages 654-659

ISBN: 978-989-758-367-4

Furthermore, an all-encompassing quality

enhancement framework described by Kear et al.

(2016), in line with the 21

century demand, and the

UNESCO sustainability goals on education (SDG 4)

(UNESCO, 2015a; 2015b), serves as the foundation

for the pedagogical and quality considerations.

Teachers will hence be supported in course creation

by an innovative web-based toolbox (VTT-Box).

Accordingly, this will enhance teachers’

professional development and support learners’

acquisition of values, skills, and competences. In

addition, within the project pilot courses as samples

of proven praxis will be produced and be published

as Open Educational Resources (OERs). The

toolbox will assist teachers/trainers in the course

creation by offering a pedagogical framework with a

special learner’s view, a quality enhancement

framework, together with a self-evaluation technic,

the mandala evaluation (Mazohl, et al., 2018). The

project’s target groups are:

• Teachers (School Education) teaching

learners in the age of 13 -19 years and

• Learners, special focus on the age group of

15 - 19 years old.

Project results can even be used in Early

Childhood Education (ECE), Primary Education

(PrE), Adult Education (AE) and Higher Education

(HE) as well, therefore trainers and educators in

ECE, PrE, AE or HE are a secondary target group

also. A transferability guide will provide the

project’s results for these groups.

In this paper, the pedagogical and quality

framework will be elaborated.

2 METHOD

The method used is three-folded. First, a literature

review has been conducted to form basis for the

development of a state-of-the-art framework that

corresponds to all current needs and trends in

education. Second, previous experiences in the field

by the partners have been shared and elaborated

during an interactive five-day training event. Third,

the pedagogical framework has been tested in

practical setting, among some of the partners, but

not yet at scale.

All the above were the subject of the teacher

training event in February 2017, in which teachers

from 3 different European high schools (Italy, Spain,

and Austria) were trained to use the method, the

materials and the tools of the Toolbox.

2.1 Tools and Materials

The project is using Moodle 3.2 as the learning

platform for the development of the blended

learning. Moreover, the teachers’ toolbox also

includes:

• A proposal of the course structure including

pedagogical hints.

• A proposal for the quality criteria and

valuable quality cycles.

• Checklists for teachers, which covers

course preparation, course execution and

assessments and evaluation of taught

competencies.

• Materials for the course evaluation.

• A tool for the definition of competence-

based course outcomes.

• A tool for using self-evaluation mandalas

including the templates to define

competence description.

• Various checklists such as checklist to

evaluate the definition of competence-based

course outcomes, checklist for the quality

enhancement process in a course definition,

checklist for learner-centered activities in

courses.

• A selection of possible interactive eTivities

(following the concept of Salmon (2007)),

with a special focus on collaboration

between students, a complete description of

each eTivity with instructional design hints

and possible assignment methods (if

applicable for the eTivity).

New courses were created on the basis of this

framework and tested in real classrooms to test the

validity and practicality of the framework. Three

major challenges of this implementation were

addressed:

(a) increased students’ autonomy (heutagogy),

(b) increased collaborative tasks as opposed to

individual work, which was a well-

established practice in the past, and

through the use of the Mandala tool.

The VTT-BOX, Pedagogical and Quality Considerations

655

3 RESULTS

The project is its final stage, most deliverables and

intellectual outcomes are almost finalized. Overall

the results are encouraging. In the first pilot

environment, the Mandala self-evaluation was

performed and evaluated (in a small case study).

The sample group covered a high school class (24

students) at an age of 16 years old.

The evaluation was done by a guided interview

and focused on the feedback from the students

describing the acceptance and the usability of the

Mandala self-evaluation. The system was well-

received and effective and the feedback was

positive, and the students appreciated the quick

visibility of learning success by comparing the two

conducted mandalas (at start, and after training).

This small case study had an impact already in the

teaching and training session held

The development of the pedagogical and quality

framework has been in progress, especially in

autumn 2018, and its results have had an impact on

active learning methods, the intense use of

interactive multimedia material and engagement of

learners in group work.

Without a doubt the use of multimedia is a

promising way of teaching. Following the ideas of

Jon Bergmann (2015, p. 29) the concept of

activating students is integrated into the project.

The idea is that students do not only watch a video

or perform some interactive tasks, but they also

learn something during the interaction. The open

concept in teaching and learning is a promising

strategy for the future. Using open educational

resources (OER) enables students to select from a

wide scope of educational offers and to decide on

their own what they will use. This decision

motivates students in self-directed learning. Most

students are motivated by the self-evaluation

Mandalas and enjoy seeing that they have increased

their competences and, in each field, (knowledge,

understanding, and skills, or in their behavior).

The current state of the project brings up the

positive results and offers a promising preview to

the final products. The selection of the used

elements in the quality and pedagogical framework

is finalized and shows up a practicable method of

teaching. As the project is in its final phase, testing

has not been possible at scale yet. Next the

developed pedagogical and quality framework

within the project is presented

3.1 Pedagogical and Quality

Framework

This pedagogical and quality framework for course

design have its foundation in current common

research in the field. The epistemological base of

the framework lies in social constructivism.

Knowledge is perceived as constructed and

negotiated with the socio-cultural environment; it is

also situated and needs to include analyzing,

evaluating and creating (Dumont, et al., 2010;

Lombardi, 2007).

The pedagogical considerations also draw from

work by researcher as Conole, Laurillard and

Salmon (2005) and current experience and good

praxis. Current research and experience show that

todays’ largest challenges are to make learning in

the cyberspace as much interactive and

communicative as possible, creating “high-level

attractions and capacities in the area of recruitment

and education for individuals and users in

cyberspace” (Sadeghi, 2019, p. 16).

The quality considerations have their

foundation on the work by the European

Association of Distance Teaching Universities

(EADTU), the E-xcellence quality label (Kear et

al., 2016), and by work of Ossiannilsson, Williams,

Camilleri, and Brown (2015). In the EADTU E-

xcellence quality label there are in total 35

benchmarks covering six domains (strategic

management, curricula design, course design,

course delivery, student and staff support). VTT-

Box’s pedagogical and quality framework focuses

especially on the benchmarks and indicators

referring to course design that set the international

guidelines and frameworks.

The indicators for course design are presented

in Table 1 below. However, the table features, and

indicators should be read and interpreted aligned

with the benchmarks of theinterpreted aligned with

the benchmarks of the EADTU Excellence

guidelines which can be found in the Excellence

Manual.

CSEDU 2019 - 11th International Conference on Computer Supported Education

656

Table 1: Pedagogical and quality framework for courses

within the VTT-BOX project.

Basic course

elements

Pedagogical features, and quality

indicators related to EADTU

Course design

Present an

explicit

educational

strategy

Decisions about the use of e-learning

should be made on the basis of

providing the most effective means

of achieving the learning outcomes in

particular contexts.

Describe the

Course

identity

The title of the course, and course

number/date should be included.

Details about the creator, and the

profile of the creator should be given.

The roles of tutors and mentors

in e-learning must be defined

as set by the EADTU

Process management details

as set by EADTU

The course includes details about the

language, the date of creation, and

the last update of the course.

Include details about the

subject/topic(s)

The course should contain a course

outline

Educational approach should be

adequately explained.

Blended learning models as for

example.

The rationale for the blend should be

clearly communicated to students in

course documentation.

The course design process should

also be defined.

The course should contain details

about the target group (primary or

secondary school); the Grade; the

Age-range.

Relationship with curriculum -The

course should describe how it links to

the curriculum and other subjects

Include details

about the

subject content

& learning

outcomes

Content and its main dimensions

Concepts should be clearly drawn out

the and there should be a full course

specification.

The rationale and the learning

outcomes should be comprehensively

presented and the relationship with the

whole curriculum should be drawn.

Provide well

designed

activities/

e-tivities

Provide resources, describe, where

activities will take place.

Describe how the following indicators:

Independent learning materials.

Basic course

elements

Pedagogical features, and quality

indicators related to EADTU

Course design

Provide well

designed

activities/

e-tivities

Provide resources, describe, where

activities will take place.

Describe how the following indicators:

Independent learning materials.

Learning and content design.

Materials and production design.

Technical design.

User interface.

E-learning elements and activities.

Open educational resources.

Massive open online courses.

Estimated length

Prerequisites

Stages (if any)

Assessment

Continuous format assessments and

not just summative assessments

Activities/e-tivities

Interactivity (with peers, material and

academics) and cross-actions should

be secured.

The course should contain

collaborative tasks

The examination process should be

clearly defined.

The course should contain assignments/

quizzes/other learning products

Any other complementary

information should be utilised.

Assessment/

Evaluation

Self-assessment, collaborative

assessment (for learners), summative

assessment

Describe how assessment is used as

learning and not just of or for learning

Course evaluation and approval:

Describe how it is conducted, by

whom and when

Additional

information, as

learning

resources

Due to

affordance and

learning

strategies it is

recommended

to use a variety

of resources

Multimedia

Bibliography

Online resources

Open educational resource

Massive open online courses ( MOOC)

Social media

Extension activities

Games

Attachments/

mischelaneous

resources

could be added

Other complementary material

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657

4 CONCLUSIONS

The pedagogical and quality framework for courses

within the VTT-Box project builds on contemporary

theories and principles or learning and uses up-to-

date principles drawn from extensive research in e-

learning.

The general aim is to help teachers build a

learning environment in cyberspace, which is

learner-centered, interactive, provocative and

challenging but also supportive for the learners. It

also aims to help educators build affordable, user-

friendly and competitive education for their students.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

The authors would like to express

acknowledgements and thanks to the European

Commission, who is funding the VTT-Box project

(2017-1-ES01-KA201-038199), under the

ERASMUS + KA2-Cooperation for Innovation and

the exchange of good practice, and KA201-

Strategic Partnership for School Education.

The authors would also like to express

acknowledgements and thanks to all partners in the

project.

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