Elearning History. Evaluating European Experiences

2006·11.5 MB·English

by  Sirkku Anttonen

-learning Histor
Evaluating European Experienc
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E-learning history
Evaluating European Experiences
Editedby
SirkkuAnttonen,TapioOnnelaandHenriTerho
PublicationsofeHLEE3.
PublicationsofeHLEE3.
DepartmentofHistory,UniversityofTurku,Finland
ISBN951-29-3041-2
PrintedbyYkkos-OffsetOy,VaasaFinland,2006
DesignedbyHenriTerho
TheEnglishlanguagehasbeeneditedbyDavidSephton
eHistoryLearningEnvironmentandEvaluation(eHLEE)isaprojectfinancedbyEuropeanCommissioninits
E-learninginitiative.eHLEEhasworkedincooperationwithSocratesThematicNetworkCLIOHnet.
--!.
Contents
E-learninghistory-foreseeingthefutureoflearninghistory 7
HenriTerhoandTapioOnnela,UniversityofTurku
Institutionalapproaches
%#*»
Th|eFinnishVirtualIIUIni*versityoftHIIi"stmory 27
TapioOnnela,UniversityofTurku
E-learningandtraditionaldistancelearninginHistoryinPortugal:
theUniversidadeAberta 33
RitaR(osdelaHaveandMaDoloresCabanasGonzalez.UniversidaddeAlcala
TheUKOpenUniversity 43
DavidSephton,PrimrosePublishing
ThewebapplicationattheDepartmentofHistory,UppsalaUniversity 56
PeterKnutar,UppsalaUniversity
ME—d|in|burghUniversitMyandI.tIhe1ft2/"\h1i'stIoryt.ut1orials 71
DavidSephton,PrimrosePublishing
Alllearn:consortiumofOxford.Yale&Stanford 75
DavidSephton,PrimrosePublishing
"GeschichteOnline"AnAustrianpilotprojectine-learningandhistory 79
RaphaelaAverkorn,UniversityofSiegen
TheUglawebattheUniversityofIceland 94
PeterKnutar,UppsalaUniversity
LearningHistoryataVirtualUniversityinSpain:
TheUniversitatObertadeCatalunya 104
RitaRfosdelaHaveandMaDoloresCabanasGonzalez,UniversidaddeAlcala
CJ..:...
'
BBCHistoryon-line 115
DavidSephton,PrimrosePublishing
Oscail-NationalDistanceEducationCentre
DavidSephton,PrimrosePublishing
Experimentsandpedagogies
Activatingthestudent.Analysisofassignmentsandactivating
methodsintheFinnishVirtualUniversityofHistory 129
SirkkuAnttonen,UniversityofTurku
MediaevalHistorycourseatICoN 137
EnricaSalvatoriandGiadaMarcazzani,UniversityofPisa
E-learninginHistory.TwoCase-StudiesinSwitzerland.
PrefacetotheSwisscasestudies 147
ChristianR.Raschle,UniversitadegliStudiBologna
CasestudyAntiquit@s-UniversitiesofFribourg,Zurich,
BerneandLausanne 152
ChristianR.Raschle,UniversitadegliStudiBologna
Case-studyAdfontes:AnIntroductiontotheAnalysisof ArchivedSources 171
ChristianR.Raschle,UniversitadegliStudiBologna
Theuseofweblogsinteaching."Lacompagniadelsigillo" 181
1E—nri1ca/S-\al|vatori,'IUIn'iversit,yofrrP-\isa
Networkingande-learninginGenderStudiesinGermanyPilotprogramme
VINGS(VirtualInternationalGenderStudies) 189
RaphaelaAverkorn,UniversityofSieqen
"WhokilledWilliamRobinson?",someunsolvedcasesrevisited.
CanadianHistoryreconstructedusinganunusualdidacticalapproach 205
MariannaBaldi,UniversitadegliStudiBologna
Qualitymanagementprocessesinweb-basedhistorylearning 228
SirkkuAnttonen,UniversityofTurku
TeachinghistoryintheageofdigitalisationandtheInternet 240
TapioOnnela,UniversityofTurku
CJ..:...
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E-learning history
foreseeingthefuture oflearning history
HenriTerhoandTapioOnnela
UniversityofTurku
eHistoryLearningEnvironmentandEvaluation(eHLEE)isaprojectincludedin
andfundedbytheE-learningInitiativeoftheEuropeanCommission.Ithashad
twoprimaryobjectives.Thefirsthasbeentotestthepossibilitiesthatinternation-
alco-operationofferswhenplanningandproducingane-learningcourseforad-
vanced-levelcurriculumstudiesinhistory.Forthispurpose,alltheprojectpartners
organizedajointe-learningcourseonIdentitiesinEuropeanHistory.Thesecondob-
jectiveoftheprojecthasbeentocreatethispresentbook.Startingwithasurveyof
priorexperiencesinusinge-learninginthestudyofhistory,theeHLEEgrouphas
carriedoutanin-depth,analyticalinvestigationintothepossibilitiesthate-learning
offersforhistory. Theyreporttheirfindingsinthisbook.
Thisvolumecovers20examplesofcourses,andotherpedagogicalandtechno-
logicalactivities,thatarebeingusedinawidevarietyofinstitutionsforstudying
history.Theexamplesinthesepagespresentsomecurrentexperiences.Buildingon
theirfindings,thegrouphasdrawnupguidelines,highlightingboththeadvantages
ofusinge-learningforhistoryandsomeofthedisadvantages-thethingstoavoid.
OurconsiderationhasbeenbasedonaSWOT-analysisaddressingthestrengths,
weaknesses,opportunitiesandthreatsofusinge-learningforhistory.Ourintention
hasbeennotonlytopresentthebest.Wehavealsonotedmanyshortcomingsand
problemshinderingthewiderapplicationofe-learning.
Since the 1990s therehasbeenavoguefore-learninginmostdisciplinesof
highereducation.Duringourresearchithasbecomeobviousthathistoryisamong
thosedisciplineswheree-learninghasnotbeenwidelyadopted.Nevertheless,ithas
becomeequallyclearthattherearegreatadvantagesincertainlearningsituations,
withspecificpedagogicalcasesandwithcertainhistory-specificthemes.Allinall,
weconsidertheretobeanumberofareaswheree-learningisespeciallyrelevantin
thestudyofhistory.Ourbookattemptstoillustratesomeofthese.
Digitalisationandtheemergenceofaglobaleducationmarketspawnedbythe
Internethaveconsequencesforthehumanitiestoo,andfortheteachingandlearn-
ingofhistory.Manyhumanistsinacademe-includinghistorians-areavoidingthe
wholephenomenoninsistingthatitispossibletoteachhistoryonlybytraditional,
face-to-facemethodsandtotransferhistoricalknowledgeonlybymeansofbooks
andjournalsprintedonpaper.
Technologicaldevelopmentwillinevitablyforcehistorianstoadoptnewmethods
indoingresearch,indistributingtheirfindings,andinteachinghistory.Thiswill
happenanywaywhenhistoriansarefacedwiththefactthattheirsourcematerials
areindigitalformat-asituationwhichhasalreadytoagreatextenthappened.For-
tunately,theconfrontationbetweentraditionalistsandenthusiastice-learninginno-
vatorsisgraduallyfadingaway.Itisnowgenerallyunderstoodthatbothtraditional
andnewmethodsareneededandthatICT-technologyandcomputernetworkswill
onlyenhancetheopportunitiesforhistorians.Theywillnotmakeolduniversities
obsoletenorreplacetraditionalteachingmethods,aswaspredictedsomeyearsago.
Changingattitudesisawelcomedsignbecausee-learninghistoryistooimportant
tobelefttothetechniciansandtorelentlesscommercialism.
Itisclearthattherearemanysituationswheretheuseofinformationtechnol-
ogyissuitableandwhereagoodcasecanbemadeforit.Thisisespeciallysowhen
internationalco-operationbetweenpeopleorinstitutions is involved.E-learning
technologyoffersuspossibilitiestore-organizeteachingandlearninginanalterna-
tiveway,itgivesteachersmoreflexibilityintheirworkanditallowsprofessionalsto
worktogetherregardlessofdistanceorgeographicalboundaries.
Thematicapproachtoe-learninghistory-ThecasestudiesofeHLEE
TheeHLEEprojectbeganon1stSeptember,2004,withgatheringandthemati-
callyanalysinginformationaboutcurrentandrecentexperienceinusinge-learning
forhistory.Thefirststageofanalysiswasconductedinthemonthsupto31stMarch,
2005.Theworkwascarriedoutjointlybytheentireconsortiumofnineuniversi-
tiesandofficialbodiesparticipatingineHLEE.Theinstitutionsinvolved,withtheir
countries,were:UniversityofAlcala,Spain;UniversityofBologna,Italy;Universi-
8°E-learninghistory-EvaluatingEuropeanExperiences
tyofHannover,Germany;UniversityofPisa,Italy;UniversityofSiegen,Germany;
UniversityofTurku,Finland;UniversityofUppsala,Sweden;PrimrosePublishing,
UnitedKingdom;andtheVirtualUniversityofHistory,Finland.
Eachparticipatinginstitutionwasgiventheinitialtaskofinvestigatingthecurrent
stateofaffairsine-learninghistoryintheirowncountryandinafewneighbouring
areas.Thecountriesthusinvestigated,inalphabeticalorder,were:Austria,Belgium,
Denmark,Estonia,France,Finland,Germany,Iceland,Ireland,Italy,Latvia,Lithua-
nia,theNetherlands,Norway,Portugal,Romania,Spain,Sweden,Switzerland,and
theUnitedKingdom.
Eachresearcherinvestigatedmanyuniversityweb-sitesandcontactedthekey
personnelresponsiblefore-learning.Tocarryoutthetaskinpractice,weneeded
aworkingdefinitionofe-learning.Itwasdecidedtoconcentrateonthreeseparate
levels:learning,teachingandthedeliveryofmaterials.E-learningcanbelearning
conductedonaLearningManagementSystem,onthepublicInternetoronaclosedin-
tranet.Itcanalsobedeliveryofalearning,trainingoreducationprogram,orofmaterials,by
electronicmeans.Itcanalsobeblendedlearningincombinationwithotherlearningand
trainingmethods.Inthecaseofdeliveryoflearning,oreducationmaterial,byelec-
tronicmeans,e-learninginvolvestheuseofacomputerorotherelectronicdevice
(suchasamobilephone)insomewayinordertoprovidetraining,oreducational
orlearningmaterial.Aparticularfeatureofe-learningisthatitcanbe"ondemand",
thusovercomingdifficultiesassociatedwithtiming,attendanceandtravelling.
Workingwithintheseagreeddefinitionsnarrowed the scope ofresearchtoa
particularsetoflearningexperienceswithaconnectiontodigital media,virtual
learningenvironmentsandlearningmanagementsystems.Aconsequenceofthis
wasthattheexamplesstudiedvariedgreatly.Theresearcherscalledtheirexamples
ofpriorexperiencescasestudies.Theyrangedwidelyinscopecoveringeverything
fromasingularcourseusingelectronicmeansoftransmissiontocompletedegree
programmes.
Asthebasisforanalysinge-learninghistory,eHLEEadoptedathematictool-kit.
Thevariousthemesareinformedbythefindingsoftheinvestigationsofpriorexpe-
rienceandreflectthegroup'sownexpectationsconcerningthepurposeofe-learn-
ing.Thethemesofimportanceinevaluatinge-learninghistoryarethefollowing:1)
Pedagogy,2)Materials,3)Platforms,4)Administration,5)Quality,6)Assessment,
7)Language,and8)Interculturalissues.Thesearethemesthatapply,inpart,toall
kindsofe-learning-notjustinthefieldofhistory.Manythemesarealsorelevant
tolearningingeneral-notjusttoe-learning.However,combiningalleightthemes
provideduswithatool-kitparticularlyappropriateforanalysingexperiencesofe-
learning.
Thisbookisdividedintotwoparts:1)institutionalapproachestoe-learninghis-
toryand2)pedagogicalexperimentsande-learninghistorycourses.Thechapters
E-learninghistory.Foreseeingthefutureoflearninghistory °9
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ofthebookpresentcaseswithavarietyofstarting-points.Manyofthecasesarerel-
evantfromthepointofviewofthevariousthematicstructures.Inhisarticleabout
Swissexperiencesine-learninginhistory,ChristianR.Raschlepresentstheuseful
learningactivitiesforon-linecourse-designassetoutbyWilliamHorton.Thefive
activitiesareimportantintermsofpedagogyforalllearningactivities,evenfor
aself-studycourse: Presentingsequences;designingdrillsandpracticeactivities;
guidedanalysisofdata;casestudiesofreal-worldevents;andvirtuallaboratories.
Thefivecoveralistofcomputer-basedactivitiesconducivetolearning.Itisa
setofactivatingmethodsforlearningwhichcanbedevelopedfurther.Thecrucial
pointisnotwhatisbeingtaught,butwhatisbeinglearned.Thisisacentraldichotomy
presentedinseveraldifferentchaptersofthebook.Thebasisofourconsiderationof
pedagogyliesintheprocessesoflearning.Differenttypesofassignmentinhistory
coursesarepresentedinthearticlebySirkkuAnttonen.Shedividestheseintotwo
groups:writingtasksanddiscussionassignments.Thematerialshehasbeenwork-
ingwithisasetofcoursesorganizedbytheFinnishVirtualUniversityofHistory.
Whereaswritingassignmentsanddiscussionassignmentsdonotdifferdrastical-
lyfromwhatcanbeaccomplishedinaclass-room,anexamplepresentedbyEnrica
SalvatoriinhercaseonTheSigilCompanysetsoutascenariowithexclusivelycom-
puter-drivenpossibilities. Thecourseisbasedonafascinatinginvestigationtrig-
geredbythemurderofahigh-rankingmunicipalofficialin12thCenturyPisa.The
studentsformgroupsandworkwithindividualtaskstryingtosolvethemystery.As
EnricaSalvatoriargues,thecourseisstructuredlikewritingahistoricalnovelwith
thenovelistaskingstudentstojoinher"researchteam".
Formanycasesin thebook,learningtogetheris afeature thatcomesacross
strongly.Thecombinationofplayinggamesand studyinghistoryis highlighted
inthechapterwrittenbyChristianR.RaschleonAntiquitas,especiallywherehe
describeshowthestudenthastoplaythepartofalibrarianworkinginaRoman
library.Canyouplacethebooksintheircorrectplacesaccordingtotheinstructions
laiddownbytheancientRomantutor?
"Bestpractice",newpossibilitiesandourconcernsaboute-learninghistoryin
termsofPEDAGOGY.Theseinclude:1
1) Therearewaysofteachingandlearninghistorythatarespecifictoe-learn-
ing.E-learningprovidesteachersandlearnerswithnewwaysoflearning
2) Learningismoreimportantthanteaching.Contentismoreimportantthan
technology
3) E-learningisbasedonavarietyoftasksandassignments.Ideally,courses
shouldincludedifferenttypesofassignments
10°E-leaminghistory-EvaluatingEuropeanExperiences
4) Studentsalsolearnfromeachother,sogroupdynamicsoflearningare
important
5) Narrativesofe-learninghistorycanbeaidedbyusingstoriesandplots
6) Sourcecriticismofnewformsofdigitalanddigitizedmaterialsneedstobe
donepainstakingly
7) E-learningpedagogyisbasedonscholarlynetiquette,whichisallabout
discussing,ratherthanmerelychatting
8) Studentsshouldbeencouragedtoavoiddownloadingmaterialunneces-
sarilyandtoworkoutthebestwayofstudyingusinge-learning
9) Students should be aware ofthe importance ofschedulingtheirwork
withinthetimeallowed
10)E-learninghistoryshouldfindwaystoaccommodatenewtechnologiesof
communication,toexploit"socialsoftware"suchasblogs,wikisandpod-
casts,andtoseekwaysofcombininge-learningwithvirtualcommunities.
Apartfromprovidinganexceptionalsettingintermsofpedagogy,casesofmur-
dermysteriesalsoguidestudentstothevarietyofmaterialse-learningcanoffer.
Byaremarkablecoincidence,thisbookhasanotherexampleofadetectivestory:
Whokilled WilliamRobinson?byMariannaBaldi.Awebsitewiththisprovocative
namewaspartofaCanadianinitiativelaunchedin 1997toprovidelearningma-
terials.Fromtherelevantrecordsavirtualarchivewasassembledincludingallthe
keydocumentsavailableonthedeathofWilliamRobinson,aswellasinformation
illustratingthebackgroundtotheincident.Eachofthedocumentswastranscribed
andthesewerethenallassembledthematically.Teachers'guideswerepreparedto
assistimplementationintheclass-roomandstudentswereinvitedto"solve"this
oldcrime.InherarticleaboutWilliamRobinson,MariannaBaldiextendsthedis-
cussionbeyondtheparticularcoursetotherelevancethaton-linearchivesmight
haveforthestudyofhistory.
Atitssimplest,ane-learningcoursecanbeasetofmaterialsavailablethrough
awebbrowser.Manyhigher-educationinstitutionshaveplacedgreatemphasison
deliveryofmaterialsusingnewmeansofcommunication.DavidSephtonpresents
1 Thesuggestionsand"bestpractice"arearesultoftheworkshopsoftheeHLEEgroupheldinTurkuon
31stMarchand1stApril,2006.Therehavebeenmanyexpertsine-learninghistoryandhistoryprofessorsat
universitiesthathaveinfluencedtheconclusionsoftheproject.Thepersonsinvolvedinvariousmeetings
aRinods,diMsc1uDsoslioornseshCavaebabneaesn:anTdapMioonOincnaelOali,vaHreensri(UTneivrehrosiatnydoSfiArlkcaklua)A,nCtatrolnaeSnal(vUantievrrear,siAtlyesosfaTnudrrkouC)r,isRtiot-a
fori,ChristianR.Raschle,MariannaBaldi,GaiaFanelli,VittorioCaporrella,HansDecropandFaustoCar-
mianti(UniversityofBologna),InesKatenhusenandAnnetteWeyergraf(UniversityofHannover),Ann
KatherineIsaacs,EnricaSalvatori,AnnaMariaPult,GiadaMarcazzani,LauraBurgisano,StefanoVillani,
MaurizioArfaioliandPasqualeCuomo(UniversityofPisa),RaphaelaAverkorn,BrittaAnzenhofer(Uni-
versityofSiegen),GyorgyNovaky,SofiaLingandPeterKnutar(UniversityofUppsala);DavidSephton
(PrimrosePublishing);andSabineLiebigandAntonyDay(KarlsruhePedagogicalUniversity).
E-kaminghistory.Foreseeingthefutureoflearninghistory 011
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