Browsing by Author "Otto, Daniel"
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- Can MOOCs empower people to critically think about climate change?: a learning outcome based comparison of two MOOCsPublication . Otto, Daniel; Caeiro, Sandra; Nicolau, Paula Bacelar; Disterheft, Antje; Teixeira, António; Becker, Sara; Bollmann, Alexander; Sander, KirstenClimate change can be regarded as one of the key topics of sustainable development where public awareness and education are crucial. In the field of education, Massive Online Open Courses (MOOCs) have raised remarkable attention throughout the last decade as their initial objective is to provide massive open online education for everyone. This article aims to explore the impact of MOOCs on learning about climate change. This is necessary in order to evaluate whether MOOCs can make a substantial contribution to lifelong learning about sustainable development for a wider audience. We therefore present findings from self-assessment questionnaires of participants from two climate change MOOCs provided by two-distance learning universities in Germany and Portugal. Both MOOCs aimed at imparting to the participants the competencies to better understand the topic of climate change. The objective of the survey was a competency-based evaluation to review which learning outcomes have been achieved. The results indicate that taking part in either of the MOOCs increased the participants’ competencies to critically engage in the climate change debate. MOOCs are able to convey certain learning outcomes to the students and thus can contribute to climate change literacy. For further research, we recommend a more differentiated view on MOOCs and the learning opportunities for participants. Options for potential improvement are to think of better ways of how to integrate MOOCs into climate change education or to consider possibilities to increase the attractiveness of MOOCs for instance by using innovative formats to overcome the barriers between formal and informal learning
- Sustainability and distance learning: a diverse European experience?Publication . Bell, Simon; Douce, Chris; Caeiro, Sandra; Teixeira, António; Martin-Aranda, Rosa M.; Otto, DanielHigher Education (HE) is experiencing disruption from technologies, demographics, the globalising world and longer life expectancy. Historically Higher Education has had a legacy of being seen as the requirement for an educated ‘elite’, there has been a policy ambition set in various countries (including the UK) for it to become the expectation for much wider segments of the population as a whole. As students become ‘everyone’ and learning becomes ‘all the time’ Distance Teaching and Research Institutions have a tremendous opportunity but there are also many disruptions and barriers to overcome. Higher Education institutions have an important role within Education for Sustainable Development and sustainable lifestyles; one of the important goals and targets of the United Nations Sustainable Development goals for 2030. Higher Education can contribute to sustainability in many ways – social, technical and environmental; globally and locally. In particular distance-learning universities due to the flexibility in the learning process, use of technologies, and inter-disciplinary approach to teaching and learning, constitute key factors in education for sustainable development. But what will this contribution look like? In this paper, the responses from senior leaders in four major European distance-learning universities are presented, compared and discussed. The tentative conclusions draw out some strategic imperatives for sustainable higher education in the twenty first century
- T869 Climate change: from science to lived experience. Module 1: Introduction to climate change in the context of sustainable development. TextbookPublication . Wilson, Gordon; Fairén, Victor; García-Sanz, Javier; Zúñiga, Ignacio; Breitmeir, Helmut; Abbott, Dina; Kroeze, Carolien; Otto, Daniel; Nicolau, Paula BacelarThe Lived experience of climate change: interdisciplinary e-module development and virtual mobility project concerns education and lifelong learning in relation to climate change, to contribute to an informed and active European citizenry and to inform EU policy on this major challenge. Focusing on the lived experiences of climate change -- how individuals, communities and organisations conceive and respond to its perceived local impacts (e.g. extreme weather, biodiversity changes) – the project complements other work in the area. Through collaboration between nine participating institutions, designing innovative teaching modules and a virtual learning space, it aims to create a European community of scholars, students and citizens who collectively make a major contribution to the United Nations decade on education for sustainable development.This document contains Module 1 Textbook : "Introduction to climate change in the context of sustainable development".
- T869 Climate change: from science to lived experiences. Module 1: Introduction to climate change in the context of sustainable development. WorkbookPublication . Wilson, Gordon; Otto, Daniel; Abbott, Dina; Kraker, Joop de; Nicolau, Paula BacelarThe Lived experience of climate change: interdisciplinary e-module development and virtual mobility project concerns education and lifelong learning in relation to climate change, to contribute to an informed and active European citizenry and to inform EU policy on this major challenge. Focusing on the lived experiences of climate change - how individuals, communities and organisations conceive and respond to its perceived local impacts (e.g. extreme weather, biodiversity changes) – the project complements other work in the area. Through collaboration between nine participating institutions, designing innovative teaching modules and a virtual learning space, it aims to create a European community of scholars, students and citizens who collectively make a major contribution to the United Nations decade on education for sustainable development. This document contains Module 1 Workbook : "Introduction to climate change in the context of sustainable”.
- "The heat is Up" : cross -disciplinary perspectives on climate change negotiationsPublication . Caeiro, Sandra; Nicolau, Paula Bacelar; Becker, Sara; Otto, Daniel