Papers by Francesca Pozzi
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Nowadays, technologies play a key role in educational research processes, especially in the conte... more Nowadays, technologies play a key role in educational research processes, especially in the context of complex designs or integrative perspectives (qualitative and quantitative). Affordances provided by new tools and technological devices are constantly impacting the way educational research is carried out. Consequently, this growing importance (and dependence on) technology for educational research calls for a deeper reflection, not only about its clear benefits, but also about its potential drawbacks and limitations. This paper explores this tension in a specific mixed-methods research design aimed at understanding the barriers preventing the adoption of Learning Design (LD) tools/methods, a significant problem in the research field of Technology Enhanced Learning (TEL). Different actors (teachers and researchers) were involved in the research design, which included a systematic literature review, a Delphi study and a case study. Such an articulated design required the adoption of...
Technology, Pedagogy and Education
The research field of Learning Design (LD) has been active for some time now, but several questio... more The research field of Learning Design (LD) has been active for some time now, but several questions remain open for the scientific community. In particular, the article tackles issues that have been core concerns in LD over the years: (1) how to support the different phases of the LD process; (2) what representations should be used in the various steps; and (3) to what extent should digital LD tools be structured or flexible, either guiding the teacher/designer or leaving them free to pursue their own design path and style. The authors investigated these open questions through an LD tool called the Pedagogical Planner. This tool has been evaluated in authentic contexts with the goal of providing input for the ongoing debate. Evaluation has focused on the perceptions and actual usage by teachers, generating significant evaluative data to be used as a spur for further reflection on LD.
British Journal of Educational Technology
One of the core activities teachers perform as part of their professional practice is conceptual ... more One of the core activities teachers perform as part of their professional practice is conceptual and practical planning of classroom activities, or, more generally, of educational interventions. This is a complex, demanding, problem-solving activity, entailing consideration of all the factors at play, including learning objectives, student-related variables and contextual constraints as well as available resources. The interplay between these variable elements informs teachers' decision making: a process aimed at creating a coherent, manageable plan, responding effectively to learners' needs-insofar as these can be determined a priori. The process is especially challenging in preparation of TEL (Technology-Enhanced Learning) interventions, which are potentially more complex endeavours, involving careful consideration of more open and dynamic elements and a number of additional actants.
Using Collaborative Techniques in Virtual Learning Communities
Ectel, 2009
... common to adopt “techniques” or “scripts” with the aim of providing a structure to activities... more ... common to adopt “techniques” or “scripts” with the aim of providing a structure to activities, so as to foster collaboration and exchange (Kanuka & Anderson, 1999; Dillenbourg 2002; Hernández-Leo et al., 2005; Persico & Sarti, 2005; Jaques & Salmon, 2007; Fischer et al., 2009). ...
Innovations in Education and Teaching International, Mar 20, 2007
Full terms and conditions of use: http://www.informaworld.com/terms-and-conditions-of-access.pdf ... more Full terms and conditions of use: http://www.informaworld.com/terms-and-conditions-of-access.pdf This article maybe used for research, teaching and private study purposes. Any substantial or systematic reproduction, redistribution , reselling , loan or sub-licensing, systematic supply or distribution in any form to anyone is expressly forbidden. The publisher does not give any warranty express or implied or make any representation that the contents will be complete or accurate or up to date. The accuracy of any instructions, formulae and drug doses should be independently verified with primary sources. The publisher shall not be liable for any loss, actions, claims, proceedings, demand or costs or damages whatsoever or howsoever caused arising directly or indirectly in connection with or arising out of the use of this material.
ULEARN: A project for building a European community of pioneer teachers
Ifip Tc3 Publications, 2002
Innovations in Education and Teaching International, 2007
Full terms and conditions of use: http://www.informaworld.com/terms-and-conditions-of-access.pdf ... more Full terms and conditions of use: http://www.informaworld.com/terms-and-conditions-of-access.pdf This article maybe used for research, teaching and private study purposes. Any substantial or systematic reproduction, redistribution , reselling , loan or sub-licensing, systematic supply or distribution in any form to anyone is expressly forbidden. The publisher does not give any warranty express or implied or make any representation that the contents will be complete or accurate or up to date. The accuracy of any instructions, formulae and drug doses should be independently verified with primary sources. The publisher shall not be liable for any loss, actions, claims, proceedings, demand or costs or damages whatsoever or howsoever caused arising directly or indirectly in connection with or arising out of the use of this material.
No reproduction, copy or transmission may be made without written permission from the individual ... more No reproduction, copy or transmission may be made without written permission from the individual authors. Papers have been doubleͲblind peer reviewed before final submission to the conference. Initially, paper abstracts were read and selected by the conference panel for submission as possible papers for the conference. Many thanks to the reviewers who helped ensure the quality of the full papers.
The present contribution tackles the issue of creativity in educational contexts and in particula... more The present contribution tackles the issue of creativity in educational contexts and in particular in online collaborative learning environments. The contribution proposes a model to evaluate collaborative learning activities oriented to the development of skills and attitudes underpinning the creative expression. The model is used in this study to evaluate two real online activities, based on two different collaborative techniques (namely the Role Play and the Discussion), so that it is possible to make some considerations about the two techniques and their ability to foster those skills and attitudes underpinning creativity.
Computers & Education
In CSCL contexts (Computer Supported Collaborative Learning) collaborative activities with differ... more In CSCL contexts (Computer Supported Collaborative Learning) collaborative activities with different levels of structuredeness are often used to foster discussion and exchange among students and enhance collaboration. In this field the debate around whether and to what extent it is useful to structure the activities proposed to students, is still very lively. In this paper two collaborative activities are explored, namely a simple Case Study (moderate level of structuredness) and the Case Study joint with the Jigsaw (higher level of structuredness). Starting from the analysis of the interactions occurred among students of two real online courses performing these activities, it is possible to identify strong points and weaknesses of the two activities, so to draw some reflections on the impact of structuredness on the collaborative learning process.
School innovation, ICT and pioneer teachers
Comunità di insegnanti pionieri in Europa
Recenti studi mettono in luce che, a causa dei rapidi cambiamenti che caratterizzano la nostra so... more Recenti studi mettono in luce che, a causa dei rapidi cambiamenti che caratterizzano la nostra società, il mondo della scuola, spesso basato su modelli e concetti ormai obsoleti, deve flessibilizzarsi e aprirsi al cambiamento. Su queste ipotesi, il progetto ha mirato a costruire un sistema pan-europeo, chiamato U-learn.it, in grado di favorire l’aggregazione di questi docenti pionieri in comunità di pratica e di stimolare quindi la circolazione dell’innovazione all’interno del sistema scolastico. In quest’articolo viene proposta una definizione di comunità di pratica nel contesto educativo; inoltre vengono illustrate le strategie adottate nel progetto ULEARN per stimolarne la creazione. Infine vengono proposte alcune riflessioni sulle possibilità di sviluppo di tale comunità e le condizioni per mantenerla nel tempo.
GE8. Un progetto educativo come laboratorio dell’innovazione scolastica nato in occasione del G8 a Genova
Il progetto GE8 nasce in occasione dell’evento del G8 a Genova, sollecitato da una duplice esigen... more Il progetto GE8 nasce in occasione dell’evento del G8 a Genova, sollecitato da una duplice esigenza contenutistica e metodologica. Riguardo ai contenuti, GE8 vuole dare ai giovani delle scuole medie superiori strumenti di indagine, riflessio- ne e produzione dell’informazione, basati sulle ICT, perché essi possano riflettere ed esprimersi su quei temi della globaliz- zazione, che li riguardano più da vicino e che più influenzeranno la loro vita. Dal punto di vista metodologico GE8 vuole mostrare come le nuove tecnologie dell’informazione e della comunicazione (ICT) consentano di realizzare a scuola percorsi di innovazione basati su processi di apprendimento collaborativo, prendendo spunto da temi di attualità emergenti dal territorio, in cui opera la scuola. Questo articolo presenta i presupposti teorici del progetto dal punto di vista dell’innovazione scolastica e del ruolo delle nuove tecnologie, descriveremo poi l’intera esperienza e infine discuteremo i primi risultati.
An overview of Initial Teacher education and Continuing Professional Development on ICT in Education across Europe
Focusing on the European situation regarding the teachers competencies in ICT for Education that ... more Focusing on the European situation regarding the teachers competencies in ICT for Education that emerge from teacher training processes, this paper provides a general approach to the differences between national practices.
The ULEARN project: school innovation, ICT and pioneer teachers
School innovation requires changes in aims, curricula, ways of learning, school buildings and org... more School innovation requires changes in aims, curricula, ways of learning, school buildings and organisation, equipments, learning materials, teachers, etc.: in other words, it is a holistic process affecting all the components of the school system. In this process, a key role is played by the teachers, especially early adopters of innovation, herein called "pioneer teachers", those on which the dissemination of innovation mainly relies. Carreid put in the context of the European programme called "eLearning initiative", ULEARN was aproject whose main aim was to create conditions favouring the birth of communities of pioneers teachers at national and international level.
Novel 3D Game-like Applications driven by body interactions for learning specific forms of Intangible Cultural Heritage
The main objective of the EU FP7 ICT i-Treasures project is to build a public and expandable plat... more The main objective of the EU FP7 ICT i-Treasures project is to build a public and expandable platform to enable learning and transmission of rare know-how of intangible cultural heritage. A core part of this platform consists of game-like applications able to support teaching and learning processes in the ICH field. We have designed and developed four game-like applications (for Human Beat Box singing, Tsamiko dancing, pottery making and contemporary music composition), each corresponding to one of the ICH use cases of i-Treasures project. A first preliminary version of these applications is currently available for further validation, evaluation and demonstration within the project. We have encountered a number of issues, most of which derive from the peculiarities of the ICH domains addressed by the project, and many have already been resolved. The evaluation results are expected to lead to further optimization of these games.
i-Treasures and intangible cultural heritage education
he paper draws on the i-Treasures project, an Integrated Project co-financed by EU under the ICT ... more he paper draws on the i-Treasures project, an Integrated Project co-financed by EU under the ICT theme (Information and Communication Technologies) of the FP7 (7th Framework Program), which deals with the use of advanced ICT technologies in the field of Intangible Cultural Heritage (ICH) education. The project aims at going far beyond the mere ICT-enhanced dissemination; rather it is meant to support the learning and passing down of the rare know-how behind the various ICHs by means of cutting edge ICT and sensor technologies. In doing so, it focuses on four use cases: a) Rare Traditional Songs, b) Rare Dance Interactions, c) Traditional Craftsmanship and d) Contemporary Music Composition. An open and extendable platform is being developed, which provides access to rare ICH resources and offers a dedicated Learning Management System, able to sustain innovative teaching and learning practices in ICH education
Serious Games to Support Learning of Rare 'Intangible' Cultural Expressions
The paper deals with the adoption of Serious Games (SGs) in the specific area of Intangible Cultu... more The paper deals with the adoption of Serious Games (SGs) in the specific area of Intangible Cultural Heritage Education (ICH). The transmission of some cultural expressions, like rare traditional singing or dancing, is more related to the acquisition of procedural knowledge (i.e. how to perform some tasks, like a dance step) rather than to declarative knowledge (i.e. knowledge that can be declared or stated through words or symbol systems, e.g. music notation). Coherently, so far knowledge in these areas has been transmitted mainly by observation or imitation of experts/performers in real contexts. Grounded on the research results in Game Based Learning and on the opportunity offered by cutting-edge sensor technologies, the i-Treasures project exploits the interesting potential of Serious Games in the ICH field. As a matter of fact, the capacity of games to train motor skills and to support sensorimotor learning, together with their ability to enhance engagement and motivation, are ...
A Learning Design Rashomon - exploring one activity through many lenses multiple tools and representations
This paper presents and compares a variety of approaches that have been developed to guide the de... more This paper presents and compares a variety of approaches that have been developed to guide the decision-making process in learning design. Together with the companion Learning Design Rashomon II (Prieto et al., 2013), devoted to existing tools to support the same process, it aims to provide a view on relevant research 20 results in this field. The common thread followed in these two contributions is inspired by Kurosawa’s Rashomon film, which takes multiple perspectives on the same action. Similarly, in this paper, Rashomon I, a lesson on ‘‘Healthy Eating’’ is analysed according to five different approaches, while the Rashomon II paper is used to exemplify the affordances of different tools. For this reason, this paper does 25 not follow the conventional structure of research papers (research question, method, results and discussion), but rather it moves froman introduction providing the rationale for the paper, to a description of the five different approaches to learning design (t...
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Papers by Francesca Pozzi