1

Virtual Learning

Environment

2

D7 Virtual Learning Environment Deliverable Title D7– Virtual Learning Environment

Deliverable Lead

Related Work

package

WP 4 Learning Relay Centres establishment and technological

development

Author(s) Laure Lhermet

Contributor(s)

Reviewer(s)

Dissemination level

Project Number 519278-LLP-1-2011-1-FR-KA3-KA3MP

Instrument Lifelong learning programme

Start date of Project 01/01/2012

Duration 26 months

Project coordinator IPERIA

3

> Versioning and contribution history

History Version Date Modification reason Modified by

V1 6/11/2014 First draft Laure Lhermet

4

> Licence and copyright

© careNET 2013, all rights reserved.

This deliverable contains original unpublished work except where clearly indicated otherwise.

Acknowledgement of previously published material and of the work of others has been made

through appropriate citation, quotation or both.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

5

> DOCUMENT SUMMARY 6 > INTRODUCTION 7

OBJECTIVES AND FIRST CHARACTERISTICS 7 THE SOCIAL NETWORKING TOOL 7 THE COMPETENCY WIKI 7

DEVELOPMENT 7 OBJECTIVES 9 FUNCTIONS 9

THE FUNCTIONS FOR FACILITATORS 9 THE FUNCTIONS FOR LEARNERS 12

OBJECTIVES 14 TECHNICAL SPECIFICITIES 14 FUNCTIONS 14 OBJECTIVES 17 TECHNICAL SPECIFICITIES 17

6

> Document summary

This report is produced within the framework of the WP4: Learning Relay Centres establishment

and technological development. It offers to the partners and especially to the piloting partners a

developed introduction of the technological framework of the careNET learning and provides a

technical and visual overview of each instrument to simplify and support the pilots

implementation.

The document is structured from 5 parts :

Introduction: reminds the first objectives and characteristics of the competency wiki and the

social network and explains the further develop of a learning platform.

Learning platform: explains in details the objectives and the function of three careNET Moodle

platforms with the help of printscreens taken from the tablet Nexus 7 3G.

Social network: expounds the objectives and the function of the French and Spanish social

network developed under Drupal Commons with the help of printscreens taken from the tablet

Nexus 7 3G.

Competency wiki: describes the the objectives and the function of the competency wiki

avaialable on the project website running through Wordpress with the help of printscreens taken

from the tablet Nexus 7 3G.

Interoperability of the instruments: established and mapped the links and division of role

between the VLE instruments which foster the project learning objectives.

7

> Introduction

Objectives and first characteristics

The VLE aims to foster cooperative learning between care workers and care recipients, and peer

learning between care workers. It encompasses and gathers two learning tools of the careNET

project, i.e the competency wiki and the social networking tool.

THE SOCIAL NETWORKING TOOL

An open source networking tool was build to allow social interaction between the members of

the community, both care workers and care recipients, to provide access to the learning

material and to a diverse range of communication tools allowing social interaction between care

workers, care workers and older people, and older people. On top of the social networking

possibilities, the care workers area were enhanced with access to a e-Portfolio where the care

worker can describe and support (with digital evidence of performance) the newly acquired

competences of a technological platform allowing distance learning and peer learning.The

technological development was based on Drupal Commons where the e-Portfolio was

implemented.

THE COMPETENCY WIKI

It is an online website allowing the co-edition and creation of content that stores the

competency map and contains the description of each domains of digital competences. During

the pilots, the competency wiki was open to the participants to add and comment on any

content, module, coursers and other resources they have come across, or as simple as a ways

of sharing experiences and providing support related to the development of a given

competence. According to this approach, each competence is described in one page with a

unique web identifier. The competency wiki allows a non-structured management of content, its

continuous improvement and enrichment by users, the open management of co-edition history

and translations and abottom-up approach to knowledge management by a given community,

rather than the top-down approach to competency frameworks stable and ready-to-use made

by sole experts.

Development

To make the Virtual Learning Environment much more comprehensive and structured and to

allow a more interactive and attractive learning for participants the work package leader

identified an additional instrument: the learning platform. Considering the low digital skills of

the project learning publics the environment should be developed with an optimum ergonomics

and a clear structure. The Moodle technology offers a simple access and presentation of learning

8

materials, several plugins to assess the training, and allows the creation, management and

evaluation of training groups.

9

> Learning platform

Objectives

The learning platform is an environment dedicated to collective distance learning. Within the

careNET project the learning platform is a tool of the Virtual Learning Environment (VLE) which

introduces the curriculum.

Technical specificities The careNET learning platform is developed through Moodle, a free learning management

system (LMS).

The addresses of the English, Spanish and French learning platforms are:

EN: http://training.carenetproject.eu

ES: http://formacion.carenetproject.eu

FR: http://formation.carenetproject.eu

Functions

The facilitators and the learners will use different functions of the platform during the pilot.

THE FUNCTIONS FOR FACILITATORS

The facilitators may use the platform creating groups of participants, using plug-ins to organise

the learning, send message through the forum and access reports.

1. Creation of groups of learners

The facilitators may create groups through the block “administration of the course” within the

“users” section

10

The facilitators have to go to the sub-section “groups”. On the group page they will be able to

create groups through the button “create groups” and add members of the groups through the

button “Add/remove users”.

2. Use of plug-in

Some plug-in are already available in the platform. The facilitators could use the plug-in by

editing the course.

They will edit the course through the section “Turn editing on” then by going to the selected

activity and clicking/touching the “Add an activity or resource” link underneath the activity.

The facilitators could then select and add the plug-in.

11

The feedback plug-in allows learners to answer questions through a text box.

The choice plug-in allows learners to answer questions by ticking boxes.

3. Access to the forum

In the course page the facilitators can access to the News forum and add a new topic.

4. Report

The facilitators may find reports about the learners’ activity in the block “administration of the

course”.

12

The Activity report gives access to the learners’ answers.

The Training sessions show the time spent by learners on the platform for every activity.

THE FUNCTIONS FOR LEARNERS

The participants will be able to manage their learning from their home reading and doing the

learning activities.

Home page

Login area

Blocks

You can reduce a block by touching the arrow button on the right

13

The course on the home page

The course page

The learners may access the activities icon by clicking/touching the icon

Through the feedback and the choice icons the learners may answer questions.

14

> Social network

Objectives

The social network will allow social interaction between care workers and care recipients. It will

give access to an e-Portofolio to enhance the acquired digital competences of care workers. The

e-Portfolio was designed following the architecture and content of the Europass curriculum

vitae. The care workers will be able to self assess and record their digital competences on the e-

Portfolio.

Technical specificities

The social network is based on Drupal as free and open source content management system.

The address of the social network for the Spanish pilot is www.red.carenetproject.eu .

The adress of the careNET group in the French social network is

http://www.reseau.iperia.eu/groups/exp%C3%A9rimentation-carenet .

Functions

The social network offers to participants the main following functions:

The e-Portfolio “My e-Portfolio”

A space of self-expression “My profile”

A space of groups “My groups”

The possibility to have relationships with other users “My relationships”

The participants will access to the social network through registration.

The social network will also provide participants a personal messaging and a “news” page

including the news from their groups and personal publications.

1. The e-Portfolio

It will allow participants to fulfill the same categories as the Europass CV in XML format and to

export it as a Europass CV.

The page to fulfill the e-Portfolio :

15

1. The space of self-expression

This space called “My profile” will allow participants to publish personal content, i.e. text, photo,

file and link.

Other participants may comment or like the publications (named also posts) and also add some

content (text, photo, file, and link).

My profile:

2. The space of groups “My groups”

The participants will be able to join a group without previous request and they may create

groups. In the French network there will be a careNET group where participants will be able to

share their professional practices and problems and also discuss about the careNET training.

They may ask questions and post evidence of performance. This space will support thus peer

learning between participants.

16

The group should be introduced by a small description and through tags.

Participants may publish content, i.e. text, photo, file and link. They may also comment and like

publications.

The training facilitators may use the page to send to the group some message and files

regarding the training.

My groups:

Each group is divided in 3 pages: publications/members/files.

3. The space to have relationships “My relationships”

This space will allow participants to develop personal relationships with other participants and

thus foster peer learning.

My relationships:

17

> Competency wiki

Objectives A wiki is a webpage that allows participants of the careNET pilots you to co-edit and create content through an identifier. The content of this wiki is the domains and areas of digital competences for care workers and care recipients. This competence wiki is one of the 3 tools of the Virtual Learning Environment (VLE) of the careNET pilot. It introduces :

The Map of domains of competences. The Map shows the 3 domains of digital

competences. Each domain is divided into several areas of competences.

The domains and areas of competences.

Technical specificities

The competency wiki is developed as a Wordpress plugin in the website of the careNET project.

The URL of the competency wiki are:

EN : http://www.carenetproject.eu/wiki/competency/

FR : http://www.carenetproject.eu/wiki/competences/?lang=fr

ES : http://www.carenetproject.eu/wiki/competencia/?lang=es

Functions

The facilitators should introduce the competency wiki at the beginning of the training as an

instrument of the VLE. They should invite the participants to add comments and additional

contents to the description of the domains and areas of competences.

The wiki is addressed at the following stages of the training:

Within the Learner’s diary at the end of each activity

Within the 2nd activity „Using the Virtual Learning Environment“of the module 1 of the

foundational pathway.

Within the module „Employability“of the vocational pathway.

18

During the training the participants will thus use this competency wiki in 3 ways:

1) To discover and understand the domains and areas of the digital competences that you will

acquire.

2) To answer the Learner’s diary after each activity of the training.

3) To edit or comment the domains and areas of digital competences. We invite you to express

yourself on the domains and areas of competences.

At the end of the training the participants will continue to access to the wiki and to contribute to

its improvement and enrichment.

Visual presentation of the wiki

1. Location in the navigation bar on the website

2. First page with a presentation (what is it? Why to use it? How to use it?)

The category “How to use it?” explains how to comment, edit and add pages on the wiki. The

participants will have to login to edit and add pages.

No content is ever lost on the wiki. The participants may modify the pages as they

want.

19

3. Organisation of the wiki through sub-wikis and in the drop down menu:

20

> Interoperability of the instruments

The interoperability of the VLE instruments is based on their interconnexion and to the

complementarity of their respective roles.

Each instrument of the VLE will provide access to the other instruments through several links

and referenced. The social network is thus related to the learning platform and to the

competency wiki. The participants will access to these instruments through different identifiers.

The participants will access to the training in the learning platform and will acquire competences

thanks to the learning pathways and materials. They will display the evidence of acquired digital

competences in the social network by sending message to their training facilitators or by

publishing them on their personal profile or group. They will self-assess their competences on

their e-Portfolio with the support of the competency wiki. The participants may support each

other and learn from peers in the social network through publications and personal messages.

They will also comment and edit the definition of the digital competences on the competency

wiki.

The following map explains the interoperability of the instruments of the VLE:

21

Map of the interoperability of the VLE instruments