Social Inclusion in a Virtual Learning Environment

1
Social Inclusion in a Virtual Learning Environment

• An evaluation Online courses on the theme of
  Social Inclusion

2
The process of the project
Evaluation
Unit 1
Piloting
Designing unit 1
Final Report
Unit 2
Testing
Evaluation
Unit 3
3
Theory background

• Social Inclusion
• What is Social Inclusion
• Why Social Inclusion
• Critique and contradictions in Social Inclusion
• Teaching and learning in VLE
• Distance learning students
• Three components of learning
• Students self-regulation
• Journal writing and self-reflection

4
Module 1 What is Social Inclusion
Unit 1 Philosophy
Unit 2 Values
Unit 3 Collaboration
What is social Inclusion?
What does Collaboration Mean?
Theories
Values and Attitudes
Philosophical Perspective
Different Perspectives
Power
Bromfenbrenner (Micro-Macro)
Theories of Collaboration
Assessment
Assessment
Assessment
5
The piloting of unit one

• The Scottish group 9 students 2 tutors
• The Icelandic group 8 students 2 tutors
• Evaluation built on
• Online discussion about subjects
• Student journals
• Meetings of each countries group
• Evaluation meeting in the Virtual Classroom

6
The evaluation

• The material was examined in relation to
• Knowledge
• Reflection, values and attitudes
• Interactive discussion
• Technical matters

7
Evaluation findings

• In relation to knowledge
• Learning about lives of people in each others
  country was interesting
• The subject matter was relevant

8
Evaluation findings

• In relation to values and attitudes
• The course had changed their thinking
• They had learned to value others views
• They had reflected on being equal in society and
  in this group
• The process of thought being encouraged by the
  cultural differences

9
Evaluation findings

• In relation to interactive discussion
• People were very friendly towards each other
• Reacting and commenting on each others input in
  the discussion was not common

10
Evaluation findings

• In relation to technical matters
• Blackboard was not difficult, even for those with
  little confidence in computer literacy

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Evaluation of findings

• Views on the organisation of the unit were
  diverse
• Some wanted more framework
• Others did not
• One student said
• That sounds like another module then

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Findings and thoughts taken into the making of
unit 3

• More focus on affective and reflective goals
• Using little text and giving students opportunity
  to choose interesting reading material
• The use of pictures, visual literacy
• The possibilities of using the course with
  in-service preschool staff

13
Conducting Unit three

• Using pictures
• Using little text
• Encouragement to connect to theory and practice
• Students self-control
• Students co-construction
• Creating environment for self-control, reflection
  and requirements

14
Unit three - Collaboration
15
Evaluation findings unit two and three

• Participants
• Two students and two teachers from Scotland
• Two students and two teachers from Iceland were
  guests in the course

16
Evaluation of pre-test unit two and three

• Findings
• Using Blackboard was not a problem
• Difficult to come into a group which had already
  started
• Working with values and attitudes was complicated
  but interesting
• Using pictures and students choosing reading
  material was appealing
• Possibility of using the course with groups of
  staff from preschools

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Questions put forward

• Does the use of technology change the process of
  learning?
• How do the students manage to use the
  organisation of the course in relation to three
  aspects of teaching and learning?
• Does the use of technology change the teachers
  methods?
• How does Social Inclusion, affect the process of
  learning?

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Conclusions

• The using of Social Inclusion in VLE
• The concept is broad and has many meanings and
  the critiques say it is full of contradictions
• Why do we need to encourage students
  self-reflection?
• Social Inclusion has it!
• Changing teaching and learning methods
• It takes two! Teachers and learners
• Problems, technical, organizational, personal
• Students self-control and self-reflection through
  journal writing.