1. VELVITT Conference “Portuguese Experience with VLEs” T ERESA O LIVEIRA A LCINO P ASCOAL L OURENÇO F RAZÃO FCT-UNL | PORTUGAL TEI of Crete | Heraklion – GREECE | October 11th, 2005

2. FRAZÃO, L. | OLIVEIRA, M.-T. | PASCOAL, A. Velvitt Conference | Heraklion (GR) | October 11th, 20052 / 13 FCT-UNL IN A NUTSHELL Established in 1977, as part of UNL (New University of Lisbon); Approximately 6.500 undergraduate students; Offers 19 degrees in Sciences and Engineering; Offers 3 Science Teaching degrees, although 2 are suspended for the time being; Only Maths Teaching degree is fully operational.

3. FRAZÃO, L. | OLIVEIRA, M.-T. | PASCOAL, A. Velvitt Conference | Heraklion (GR) | October 11th, 20053 / 13 VLEs’ USAGE @ FCT-UNL No VLE adopted until 2004; Initial trials comprised the use of a proprietary platform (FCT-UNL’s Training Institute) and in-house web-based portals with reduced features; Academic year 2004-2005 marked the adoption of Moodle by FCT-UNL; Not all courses are implemented in Moodle, but the activities are expanding significantly.

4. FRAZÃO, L. | OLIVEIRA, M.-T. | PASCOAL, A. Velvitt Conference | Heraklion (GR) | October 11th, 20054 / 13 IN-HOUSE WB PORTALS - 1 Pioneering activity of the Educational Sciences Sector; First experiments dated 1997-98; In constant use from 1998-99 up to 2003-04; Main objectives:  Information repository (FAQs, courses’ syllabi);  Download area (shareware software);  Students’ portfolios;  Administration area (calendar, summaries, etc.);  Evaluation area (detailed review and final marks).

5. FRAZÃO, L. | OLIVEIRA, M.-T. | PASCOAL, A. Velvitt Conference | Heraklion (GR) | October 11th, 20055 / 13 IN-HOUSE WB PORTALS - 2 Main features / implementations / characteristics:  Companion ftp server with restricted access;  Specific mailing list (Yahoo groups);  Comprehensive list of educational software and other resources;  Regular updates (FAQs, calendar, administration area, etc.);  Support of external peers, whenever available (other tutors, software developers, etc.);  Html editing compulsory for assignments;  Reviewed profile: the word to the individual;  Flexible templates available.

6. FRAZÃO, L. | OLIVEIRA, M.-T. | PASCOAL, A. Velvitt Conference | Heraklion (GR) | October 11th, 20056 / 13 IN-HOUSE WB PORTALS - 3 The pluses:  Intense collaborative work (within the groups and the class);  Development of social skills (communication…);  Exploitation of creativity with the assignments’ delivery;  Development of technical skills while manipulating different types of software;  Improved use of the www as a privileged source of information;  Enhanced thinking and reasoning;  Low level of drop-off rates;  Implementation of proto-learning communities.

7. FRAZÃO, L. | OLIVEIRA, M.-T. | PASCOAL, A. Velvitt Conference | Heraklion (GR) | October 11th, 20057 / 13 IN-HOUSE WB PORTALS - 4 The minuses:  Requires huge administration work from the tutor;  Students’ registration is not automated;  Mailing list inefficient for sustaining a discussion;  Too much flexibility with templates can be a burden for the tutor;  Html editing and ftping might be complex for some students;  Calendar features proved to be insufficient;  Temptation to concentrate on aesthetics rather than contents;  Some simple tasks are not automated: it requires extra time from students enrolled.

8. FRAZÃO, L. | OLIVEIRA, M.-T. | PASCOAL, A. Velvitt Conference | Heraklion (GR) | October 11th, 20058 / 13 IMPLEMENTING Moodle - 1 Pioneering activity of the Educational Sciences Sector; First experiments dated 2003-04; In constant use from 2004-05; Main objectives:  Information exchange (FAQs, working documents, courses’ syllabi);  Interactive communication area (embedded);  Administration area (embedded);  Pool tests and self-assessment tools (embedded).

9. FRAZÃO, L. | OLIVEIRA, M.-T. | PASCOAL, A. Velvitt Conference | Heraklion (GR) | October 11th, 20059 / 13 IMPLEMENTING Moodle - 2 The pluses:  Intense collaborative work (within the groups and the class);  Development of social skills (communication…);  Improved level of interactivity between peers;  Substantial time savings for administration tasks (tutors);  Easiness of use by students;  Multiplicity of embedded tools;  Threaded discussions are possible;  Open source software (flexibility and availability);  Expansion of the “learning community” concept.

10. FRAZÃO, L. | OLIVEIRA, M.-T. | PASCOAL, A. Velvitt Conference | Heraklion (GR) | October 11th, 200510 / 13 IMPLEMENTING Moodle - 3 The minuses:  Portfolios are not developed in such a creative way;  Too much interactivity (discussions, chat, etc.) might have risks;  … It is still a recent experience: additional data is required for a consistent comparison.

11. FRAZÃO, L. | OLIVEIRA, M.-T. | PASCOAL, A. Velvitt Conference | Heraklion (GR) | October 11th, 200511 / 13 PROJECT’s ACTIVITIES General purpose tasks; Common module delivery: “Basic Teaching Skills” module @ Huddersfield, using BlackBoard; Evaluation report for module above by “PT-Testers”:  VLE access: difficulties, no. of trials;  Contents: categories, relevance, transferability to national context, overall structuring, portal design;  Additional comments.

12. FRAZÃO, L. | OLIVEIRA, M.-T. | PASCOAL, A. Velvitt Conference | Heraklion (GR) | October 11th, 200512 / 13 PT-TESTERS’ KEY FINDINGS “Unknown” VLE didn’t turn to be a major burden; “Language issue”: positive aspect, promotes practice; Involvement of 4 countries contributed for a rich learning endeavor; Strong commitment by learners is compulsory; There should be a permanent tutoring and coaching; It is critical to provide “instant” feedback to questions and activities accomplished by learners; The way contents are organised play an important role for the success of learning.

13. FRAZÃO, L. | OLIVEIRA, M.-T. | PASCOAL, A. Velvitt Conference | Heraklion (GR) | October 11th, 200513 / 13 THE WAY AHEAD Closing common module delivery: “Computer Mediated Skills” module @ Huddersfield, using BlackBoard; Information sharing and further cooperation with TAOKK (also implemented Moodle); Available online again a practical example of an “in-house web-based portal” for external examination; Reporting procedures in place, with local tutoring.