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- Digital literacy and undergraduates’ valuesPublication . Alves, Paulo; Morais, Carlos; Miranda, Luísa; Renés Arellano, PaulaDigital literacy has been in the spotlight at all levels of education and society in general. It has been treated and analysed within various dimensions and perspectives, namely dimensions associated with information, communication and technology, and perspectives related to technical and cognitive aspects. However, emphasis has seldom been laid on social values when handling digital literacy and particularly the Internet. It is important that digital literacy is not anchored in technology for the sake of technology only, but in the society’s coherent development, which cannot exclude the culture of consolidated social values and the construction of new values which enable the harmonious evolution of society in an era characterised by innovation, interconnection and knowledge. This study, conducted in the academic year of 2016/2017, involved a sample of 724 undergraduates attending two public higher education institutions, a Spanish one and a Portuguese one. Among the results obtained, we highlight that the majority of the undergraduates have been using the Internet for over 10 years and spend more than 30 hours a week searching for information predominantly related to academic life and current affairs. Most of the communications they establish online are with friends, relatives and colleagues. They give more attention to values when communicating online with friends and relatives than when communicating with colleagues. The identification of counter-values is higher in the communications established with colleagues than in those established with friends, and it is also higher in the communication with these latter than in the communication with relatives.
- Pedagogical methodologies: impact on remote emergency teaching and use perspectives in higher educationPublication . Alves, Paulo; Morais, Carlos; Miranda, Luísa; Pereira, Maria João; Vaz, Josiana A.The Covid-19 pandemic forced Higher Education Institutions to develop strategies that ensured the reduction of contagion to a minimum and, at the same time, the promotion of pedagogical methodologies that guaranteed the continuation and quality of the teaching and learning process of their students. While the strategy to reduce contagion was essentially based on the implementation of contingency plans defined at a national level, adapted to each Institution, the strategies associated with the teaching and learning process constituted a challenge for Higher Education institutions in the sense of creating and fostering pedagogical methodologies that would guarantee quality teaching and that would respond to the rapid and unexpected transition from predominantly face-to-face teaching to emergency remote teaching. This article intends to contribute to answering the following research question: What impact did pedagogical methodologies have on emergency remote education, and what impact might they have in the future? The answer to this question was guided by the following objectives: to analyse the perception of teachers about the use of pedagogical methodologies before and during the Covid-19 pandemic and to assess the degree of satisfaction of teachers and students about pedagogical methodologies. The research methodology adopted is predominantly quantitative, and in some situations, it may assume characteristics of a qualitative nature. Data were collected through a questionnaire administered online in May 2020 to 345 professors and 677 students at the institution to which the researchers belong. Of the pedagogical methodologies used by teachers before and during the pandemic, the following stand out: Lecture, Flipped Classroom, and Project/Problem Based Learning (PBL), having been used, respectively, before and during the pandemic, always or many times: class expository 70.7% and 54.5%; flipped classroom 22.0% and 45.8%; and PBL 32.9% and 37.9%. The assessment alternatives used during the pandemic were: face-to-face exams, oral exams, presentation and discussion of projects, reports, projects, online tests without supervision, online tests with supervision, presentation and discussion of papers, and practical assignments, the last two being the ones used most often. On the methodologies for the future, given the fact that they can be used sometimes, many times and always, the sum of the percentages that translate these options in teachers and students are respectively: lecture class 84% and 87%, flipped classroom: 78% and 77%; PBL: 71% and 70%, percentages much higher than those obtained in the never and rarely options. The pandemic associated with Covid 19 is not yet over what makes it difficult to predict the necessary changes in pedagogical methodologies for the future. We believe that it is of the utmost importance to address and deepen this theme, seeking to take advantage of the opportunity for change that has been created and use the know-how acquired by teachers in the meantime to implement innovative pedagogical methodologies that allow more effective monitoring of students inside and outside the classroom.
- Open educational resources: higher education students knowledge and usePublication . Alves, Paulo; Miranda, Luísa; Morais, CarlosInformation and communication technologies represent one of the main innovation factors within the teaching and learning process, especially in Higher Education. In this context, the search for building useful and grounded knowledge using strategies which meet students’ needs and interests requires the use of innovative resources, among which we highlight digital educational resources, particularly open educational resources (OER). The open educational resources issue has deserved the attention of teachers, students and institutions. Considering the present situation as well as the importance given to OER and to the role these may play in supporting learning, the aims of this paper are as follows: assess the digital educational resources features most valued by higher education students; verify the extent to which students’ IT knowledge influences their assessment of digital educational resources; identify the knowledge that higher education students have of OER; assess the knowledge that higher education students have of open educational resources platforms. In order to achieve the proposed aims, we focus our attention on open educational resources, starting by assessing digital educational resources’ features as well as the connection between students’ IT knowledge and that same assessment. We also assess the knowledge that higher education students have of OER as well as of their corresponding platforms. The data was obtained through a questionnaire conducted within a sample of 315 students at a Portuguese higher education institution. Among the results obtained, we highlight that the most valued features of digital educational resources are: free access; any time access; allows reuse; and free and open. The results show that there is a positive, low, or very low correlation between students’ IT knowledge and the features associated with digital educational resources. In addition to this, the results show an almost inexistent knowledge of the OER concept and of their uses as well as of the existing OER platforms. The data indicates that there is still a long way to go so that OER may be part of the resources used by students to improve their learning.
- Remote learning: students’ satisfaction and perspectives in higher educationPublication . Alves, Paulo; Morais, Carlos; Miranda, Luísa; Pereira, Maria João; Vaz, Josiana A.The Covid-19 pandemic has brought unexpected difficulties to higher education, which have been overcome by investing in training and reinforcing the use of digital tools. Considering the students' needs and interests in the pandemic context, the main objectives of this work were to: identify the perception of the use of digital tools by higher education students in the context of remote learning; evaluate the degree of satisfaction of higher education students with remote learning; analyze the perspectives of higher education students regarding the use of learning environments and tools in a post-pandemic scenario, and verify if there are significant differences regarding the students’ curricular year and the variables associated to the use of digital tools and virtual learning environments. A study of an essentially quantitative nature has been developed using a sample of 677 students from a Portuguese public higher education institution. The results highlight that the digital tools that had greater awareness from the students were Zoom and VLE (virtual learning environment). The VLE tools that were used most frequently were Resources and Activities. Inferential statistics were used to make comparisons between the scores obtained for each variable in the groups related to each curricular year that students attended. In general, students' appreciation for emergency remote learning was considered positive. Regarding the prospects for using digital tools, it appears that they will continue to privilege the tools used during the pandemic, with an emphasis on the institution's VLE.
- Publicação e Acesso a Conteúdos no Ambiente Virtual de Aprendizagem de uma Instituição de Ensino SuperiorPublication . Alves, Paulo; Miranda, Luísa; Morais, CarlosO artigo enquadra-se no âmbito da utilização de ambientes virtuais de aprendizagem em instituições do ensino superior. O principal objetivo do artigo é compreender, no período letivo de 2009/2010 a 2013/2014, a utilização de um ambiente virtual de um instituição de ensino superior português, em termos de publicação de conteúdos pelos professores, do tipo de conteúdos publicados, dos acessos dos estudantes a esses conteúdos, bem como a exploração de relações entre os conteúdos publicados e os acessos a esses conteúdos. Os dados foram obtidos por análise documental, recorrendo a bases de dados com os registos da publicação dos conteúdos e do seu acesso, no período em estudo. Os conteúdos publicados pelos professores foram integrados nas categorias: PDF, Documentos de Texto, Folhas de Cálculo, Apresentações; Imagens, Ficheiros Compactados, e Multimédia, sendo a maioria dos conteúdos disponibilizados aos estudantes em formato PDF.
- Open educational resources: higher education students knowledge and usePublication . Alves, Paulo; Miranda, Luísa; Morais, CarlosInformation and communication technologies represent one of the main innovation factors within the teaching and learning process, especially in Higher Education. In this context, the search for building useful and grounded knowledge using strategies which meet students’ needs and interests requires the use of innovative resources, among which we highlight digital educational resources, particularly open educational resources (OER). The open educational resources issue has deserved the attention of teachers, students and institutions. Considering the present situation as well as the importance given to OER and to the role these may play in supporting learning, the aims of this paper are as follows: assess the digital educational resources features most valued by higher education students; verify the extent to which students’ IT knowledge influences their assessment of digital educational resources; identify the knowledge that higher education students have of OER; assess the knowledge that higher education students have of open educational resources platforms. In order to achieve the proposed aims, we focus our attention on open educational resources, starting by assessing digital educational resources’ features as well as the connection between students’ IT knowledge and that same assessment. We also assess the knowledge that higher education students have of OER as well as of their corresponding platforms. The data was obtained through a questionnaire conducted within a sample of 315 students at a Portuguese higher education institution. Among the results obtained, we highlight that the most valued features of digital educational resources are: free access; any time access; allows reuse; and free and open. The results show that there is a positive, low, or very low correlation between students’ IT knowledge and the features associated with digital educational resources. In addition to this, the results show an almost inexistent knowledge of the OER concept and of their uses as well as of the existing OER platforms. The data indicates that there is still a long way to go so that OER may be part of the resources used by students to improve their learning.
- The internet and values in society: higher education students' perspectivesPublication . Morais, Carlos; Alves, Paulo; Miranda, Luísa; Renés Arellano, PaulaWe live in a society interconnected and mediated by the Internet, which has assumed a paramount role within human relations, where we witness a progressive decay of social values both at school and in society. Therefore, considering the area of Higher Education, the need for nurturing values conducive to a better life in society is viewed as one of the substantial references for the construction and transmission of social values. This reflection is developed from data obtained by questionnaire to a sample of 255 undergraduates in the Education field, from two higher education institutions, a Spanish one and a Portuguese one. The aim was to assess the undergraduates' perceptions on the promotion of values and counter -values over the Internet, as well as the consideration they give them while communicating online with colleagues, friends, and relatives. Among the values most remarked by students, the following stand out: respect, equality, freedom, honesty, and friendship. Among the counter -values emphasised by students, the authors highlight those of inequality, dishonesty, selfishness, disrespect, insecurity, irresponsibility, manipulation, oppression, and violence. The students believe that the abovementioned values and counter -values are promoted within online communication.
- Assessment of virtual learning environments by higher education teachers and studentsPublication . Miranda, Luísa; Alves, Paulo; Morais, CarlosThis research focuses on the problematic of the use of virtual learning environments in a higher education institution in the north of Portugal. In this study, we set the scientific and pedagogical background of virtual learning environments, and we analyze the responses obtained from an online questionnaire conducted to 536 subjects, all teachers and students at that same higher education institution, namely 347 students and 189 teachers. The research questions of this study were set out in order to assess the frequency with which the higher education students and teachers of that institution access virtual learning environments, the value they assign to those environments as well as to their integrated tools, and also to assess the influence of users’ computer skills on their access to virtual learning environments. Considering the computer skills classification of each subject of this study, three independent categories were created, both for teachers and students, associated with basic skills, intermediate skills and advanced skills, respectively. In this paper we adopt a descriptive and inferential data analysis, using the recommended statistical procedures. Results show that the majority of teachers and students access the institution’s virtual environment on a daily basis. However, there are significant differences between teachers who have intermediate computer skills and those who have basic skills, as the percentage of teachers with intermediate skills accessing the virtual learning environment everyday is higher than that of the teachers who have basic computer skills. No significant differences were found among students as far as the relation between virtual learning environment access and computer skills is concerned. With regard to the assessment of the virtual learning environment, more than 80% of the teachers consider that the use of the institution’s virtual learning environment is valuable to send messages or notices to students, provide the teacher’s office attendance hours, provide a schedule of activities, provide students’ assessment, provide the plan of students’ activities, and allow students to access resources and submit assignments online. The aspects valued by more than 80% of the students were: checking exam results and receiving messages or notices from teachers. The importance of this study is mainly related to knowledge sharing with the scientific community concerned with the implementation of virtual learning environments, based on the assessment of a specific situation which involved higher education students and teachers. Although the results cannot be generalized within the scope of other institutions as the sample belongs to one institution only, the study provides indicators which may represent an asset for future studies concerning the assessment and use of virtual learning environments and the digital tools they provide in the higher education context, as well as for the understanding of the relation between the use of these environments and their users’ computer skills.
- Learning analytics in higher education: assessing learning outcomesPublication . Alves, Paulo; Morais, Carlos; Miranda, LuísaStudents’ retention and dropout from degree courses before their completion continue to represent issues which challenge researchers, teachers and higher education institutions to seek solutions. Higher education institutions have been attempting different strategies to promote their students’ success, among which we highlight the implementation and use of virtual learning environments (VLEs). Through the use of learning analytics in the analysis of data regarding the frequency of access to a VLE as well as the learning outcomes of a sample of 2,636 undergraduates, we aimed to identify indicators which contribute to the possible prediction of student retention and dropout situations. The methodology followed is essentially quantitative and the desk review was the main data collection tool. The data was treated by using the statistic software SPSS for the organisation and descriptive statistic presentation, as well as inferential statistics through appropriate statistic tests. The outcomes of this study resulted in contributions which enable the prediction of undergraduates’ retention or dropout since we were able to prove that the lower the frequency of access to the institution’s virtual learning environment, the lower the attendance to on-site lessons and the lower the number of course units in which students obtain a passing mark. Absenteeism and the lack of course units passed represent indicators of school dropout and retention. This research work reveals to be of great importance since, through a framework associated with learning analytics, it provides indicators supported by a large amount of recent and validated data, which enables us to rethink the connection between undergraduates’ access to a virtual learning environment and its influence on educational attainment.