LE@D - Laboratório de Educação a Distância e Elearning | Artigos em revistas / Papers in journals
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- Exploring the role of digital assistants and chatbots as learning companions in open and distance learningPublication . Morgado, Lina; Oliveira, Teresa; Afonso, Ana Paula; Carvalho, Isabel Cristina; Ferret, NathalieDigital assistants, virtual tutors or chatbots are new digital tools that significantly enhanced their support for teaching activities, especially in the case of distance learning. Technological advancements have made it possible for these devices to be integrated into various platforms, particularly LMSs or aggregated into virtual settings. In distance learning, student support is a crucial variable as this type of teaching is entirely mediated by technology. Based on the ODL literature, students often encounter difficulties due to a lack of comprehension of tasks, emotional factors and interaction with their teachers and tutors [1], [2]. This article reports on our experiences integrating digital assistants - Virtual tutors and Chatbots- in academic, professional development contexts of teacher training (TUTORIA VIRTUAL project - the virtual tutor as a mediating artefact for Higher education online learning) and scientific support for ODL students in a graduation course (IDEAS Project - An Innovative Digital Education and Skills Approach). The digital assistant (the Virtual Tutor) is a representation of a human teacher or tutor. It autonomously interprets each teaching-learning situation and intervenes with the student according to a specific tutoring plan. The plan includes instructions from the teacher/human tutor and is tailored to the field of knowledge and the student's profile. The Virtual Tutor was developed by a Portuguese consortium of researchers to analyse the pedagogical impact of integrating anthropomorphic interfaces with emotional characteristics, also known as Encapsulated Virtual Agents (ECA) or 'avatars', in online learning environments (OL) based on learning management systems (LMS) for online university teaching. The main idea is to explore how ECAs can be modelled, adapted, and used as virtual tutors in LMS to provide individual online support and follow-up to each student [3]. This presentation describes the implementation of this approach in a large ODL class for a degree in education. The course follows the institution's virtual pedagogical model and a specific scenario was designed for this intervention. Based on the analysis of student discourse and to improve and monitor the impact of the Virtual Tutor as a 'learning companion' [4], it was found that students perceive a lack of proximity, involvement (voice, gaze, affection), dialogue, and guidance in the implementation. The feedback points out that the design of "avatars" could be more intuitive and efficient.
- Improve teachers´ innovative digital skill across Europe: the role of IDEAS projectPublication . Afonso, Ana Paula; Carvalho, Isabel Cristina; Bidarra, José; Morgado, Lina; Rocha, Maria AntonietaThe Innovative Digital Education and Skills (IDEAS) ERASMUS+ project aimed to improve teachers' digital skills and competencies by directly responding to the EU's Digital Education Action-Plan (2021-27) Strategic-Priority 1. It involved the design of a 30-hour micro-credentialed teacher training course consisting of a digital toolkit with 14 bite-sized modules using adaptive learning models with the support of the IDEAS Mentors and implementing a pilot program that was tested and evaluated. To carry out the course's instructional design, a needs analysis was conducted based on a literature review and a baseline survey to assess teachers' strengths, weaknesses, and needs in implementing digital pedagogy. After identifying teachers' needs, specific content was conceived, designed, and made available on a platform that allows access to the knowledge society. The study showed four areas of digital competencies needing training, and a learner persona was profiled following a gap analysis of the 99 responses. This data informed a pilot program with 80 Vocational Education and Training and Higher Education teachers to test the functionality of the digital Toolkit, the e-learning platform, design, quality, and impact of the content. Data analysis indicates that participating teachers improved their digital competencies and facilitated innovative learning experiences in their practices.
- Learning design for flexible higher education : roadmap to an european pilot developmentPublication . Morgado, Lina; Afonso, Ana Paula; Carvalho, Isabel CristinaThis paper presents the development process for designing and implementing an innovative pilot course under the ERASMUS+ project, FLeD (Learning Design for Flexible Education), to promote flexible and effective pedagogical practices in higher education. This project arises in response to the identified need for effective learning in digitally mediated contexts, going beyond the mere adaptation of traditional teaching methods to virtual contexts, a gap highlighted by the COVID-19 pandemic and the European Digital Education Plan. The pilot project aims to explore and expand digital competencies and pedagogical innovation among the teaching staff of the six participating universities, which others can subsequently replicate. The main goal of the FLeD project is to help design flexible learning scenarios by applying the Flipped Learning (FL) method and optimising digital technologies to maximise asynchronous time and promote a sustainable shift towards flexible education. The objectives of the pilot design include testing the effectiveness of the FLeD project's tool, assessing the strengths and weaknesses of the process, and refining resources to ensure a playful experience and the development of inclusive learning scenarios. The phases of this pilot project cover preparation, implementation, evaluation, discussion, and refinement, emphasising co-designing FL scenarios, implementation in a real context, gathering evidence, and analysis for continuous improvement. During the preparation phase, learner personas were defined, and participants were selected, followed by an online workshop. In the implementation phase, teachers collaborated in the design of FL scenarios, registered in the FLeD tool, co-created FL scenarios, received peer feedback, and shared scenarios. The scenarios were implemented in real contexts with the support of the FLeD tool and the guidelines provided. The pilot course began in December 2023, with teachers designing its content and familiarising themselves with the FLeD platform. Course scenarios are currently being implemented, and assessment instruments are being applied. By promoting innovative teaching practices and providing a pedagogical framework and guidelines for developing innovative learning scenarios, this project contributes to training teachers who are better prepared to use flexible and effective teaching strategies. The pilot project raises awareness of flipped learning by testing and refining the resources designed. It facilitates the adoption of pedagogical approaches that respond better to students' needs in diverse contexts (face-to-face, hybrid, and online). The successful implementation of the FLeD Project can transform how teaching is pedagogically designed in universities, making it more adaptable, inclusive, and engaging. Furthermore, by emphasising collaboration, feedback, and iterative improvement, the project establishes a model for continuous pedagogical innovation, impacting the quality of higher education and preparing students for the challenges of the 21st century.
- "Mission Possible": supporting of an adoption of a distance learning model for schools during the pandemicPublication . Spilker, Maria João; Rocha, Maria Antonieta; Afonso, Ana Paula; Morgado, LinaThis investigation relates to the professional development of in-service teachers on online teaching in K-12/P-12 schools during the COVID-19 pandemic. The main questions concerned the autonomy and support from/in schools, alternatives found and implemented. A model was developed and applied in different institutions. This article will focus on analysing the results of one Portuguese school. The study follows a Design-Based-Research methodology. The results revealed teachers have knowledge gaps regarding intermediate/advanced digital skills. Through the training course, teachers’ awareness was raised about the distinction between Remote Education and Distance Learning and some skills inherent to online teaching were developed.