User Requirements and Systems Design

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1 Enhancing the Teaching and Learning of Early Statistical Reasoning in European Schools User Requirements and Systems Design Circulation: Public Partners: Authors: Doc. Ref. N : Version: 01 Stage: UTH, CC, HiST H. Tsalapatas, M. Meletiou-Mavrotheris, E. Mavrotheris, John Stav DR.V01.UTH.EARLYSTATISTICS Draft Date: 15/9/2006 This project has been funded with support from the European Commission. This publication [communication] reflects the views only of the author, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.

2 COPYRIGHT Copyright 2006 EarlyStatistics Consortium consisting of: Cyprus College (CC), Cyprus Sor Trondelag University College (HiST), Trondheim, Norway University of Thessaly (UTH), Volos, Greece Aristotle University of Thessaloniki (AUTH), Thessaloniki, Greece University of Cadiz (UCA), Cadiz, Spain This document may not be copied, reproduced, or modified in whole or in part for any purpose without written permission from the EarlyStatistics Consortium. In addition to such written permission to copy, reproduce, or modify this document in whole or part, an acknowledgement of the authors of the document and all applicable portions of the copyright notice must be clearly referenced. All rights reserved. This document may change without notice. September 2006 URV01 Page 2

3 CONTRIBUTORS Spyros Tsalapatas Pilar Azcarate Goded Ana Serrado Bayes Jose Cardenoso Theodore Chadjipadelis Ioannis Andreadis Efi Paparistodemou September 2006 URV01 Page 3

4 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY The Lisbon European Council of 2000 placed the development of a knowledge-based society at the top of the Union s policy agenda. The development of a statistically literate society is a key factor in achieving the objective of an educated citizenry. In a world where the ability to analyze, interpret and communicate information from data are skills needed for daily life and effective citizenship, statistical concepts are occupying an increasingly important role in mathematics curricula. However, despite the larger place for statistics in school curricula, the subject has been introduced without adequate attention paid to teachers professional development. There is substantial evidence of poor understanding and insufficient preparation to teach statistical concepts among both pre-service and practicing teachers (Carnel, 1997; Begg & Edward, 1999). As Lajoie and Romberg (1998) point out, statistics may be as new a topic for teachers as for children. Many of the older teachers have never formally studied statistics. Younger teachers may have taken an introductory course at college, such a course however does not typically adequately prepare future teachers to teach statistics. College-level statistics courses are often lecturebased courses that do not allow future teachers to experience the model of data-driven, activity-based, and discovery-oriented statistics they will eventually be expected to adopt in their teaching practices. EarlyStatistics aims to enhance the quality of statistics education offered in European schools by facilitating intercultural professional development of teachers using exemplary web-based educational tools and resources. Acknowledging the fact that teachers are at the heart of any educational reform effort, the project will develop and pilot test an innovative online professional development course in statistics education to geographicallydispersed elementary and middle school teachers across Europe. The design of the course will be based on current pedagogical methodologies utilizing collaboration, statistical investigation, and exploration with online interactive problem-solving activities. Teachers in different countries will have the opportunity to collaborate and build communities of practice in social constructivist learning environments. Long-term sustainability will be assured through support of multilingual interfaces and online services for the accumulation of collective knowledge from teachers and teacher educators. An online information base will offer access to usable and validated pedagogical models, didactic approaches, and innovative instructional materials for the teaching and learning of statistics, resulting in a complete and flexible teacher professional development program, that will be of use not only to the teachers participating in the course, but also for independent study. The project outputs and services will be useful not only to teachers, but also to academic experts in statistics education, to national and European Education boards, to teacher training institutions, and to designers of online professional development programs. The ultimate beneficiaries will be students, who will eventually benefit from improved curricula and teaching practices that will help them build their statistical reasoning. September 2006 URV01 Page 4

5 Table of Contents 1. INTRODUCTION 6 2. EARLYSTATISTICS OBJECTIVES 7 3. TARGET GROUPS 8 4. STAKEHOLDER MAPPING 8 5. OVERVIEW OF EXPECTED OUTPUTS CURRICULAR AND INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS FOR STATISTICS TEACHING AND LEARNING A PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT COURSE IN STATISTICS EDUCATION FOR ELEMENTARY AND MIDDLE SCHOOL TEACHERS A PEDAGOGICAL FRAMEWORK FOR THE EFFECTIVE DELIVERY OF HIGH-QUALITY ONLINE PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT IN STATISTICS EDUCATION INDEPENDENT PROJECT INFORMATION BASE ISSUES TO BE CONSIDERED FOR DEFINING USER REQUIREMENTS USER REQUIREMENTS USER REQUIREMENTS FOR INFORMATION CONSUMERS Specialized requirements for novice information consumers Special requirements for advanced information consumers USER REQUIREMENTS FOR INFORMATION PRODUCERS Specialized requirements for experienced information producers Specialized requirements for end-users sharing informal information USER REQUIREMENTS FOR TEACHER EDUCATORS EARLYSTATISTICS ACTIVITY-BASED COURSE STRUCTURING EARLYSTATISTICS SCENARIOS EDUCATIONAL CONTENT MANAGEMENT THE NS-ECMS SYSTEM NS-eCMS educational content structure NS-eCMS services THE MOODLE SYSTEM Course setup using Moodle Supporting applications: the Google Calendar FACILITATING TECHNOLOGY FOR COMMUNITIES OF KNOWLEDGE DIGITAL LIBRARIES BLENDED LEARNING COMMUNITIES OF KNOWLEDGE BLENDED LEARNING FOR KNOWLEDGE AND SKILL AMELIORATION CONCLUSIONS 40 REFERENCES 43 September 2006 URV01 Page 5

6 1. INTRODUCTION New values and competencies are necessary for survival and prosperity in our modern, knowledge-based society. In a world where the ability to analyze, interpret and communicate information from data are skills needed for daily life and effective citizenship, statistical concepts are occupying an increasingly important role in mathematics curricula. Statistics has already been established as a vital part of the K-12 mathematics curriculum in many countries. Despite the larger place for statistics in mathematics curricula, the research literature indicates that people continue to have poor statistical reasoning even after having formally studied the subject. Most college-level students and adults have little understanding of data beyond the simple and often misleading bar-charts and pie-charts encountered in the media (Rubin, 2002), and exhibit a strong tendency to attribute deterministic explanations to situations involving chance (e.g. Hirsch & O Donnell, 2001). While university level statistics instruction can indeed be successful in helping students improve their stochastical reasoning (e.g. Meletiou-Mavrotheris & Lee, 2002), poor intuitions and biases acquired early on can be extremely difficult to change (Fischbein, 1975). It is now widely recognized by leaders in mathematics education that the foundations for statistical reasoning should be built in the earliest years of schooling rather than being reserved for high school or university studies (National Council of Teachers of Mathematics, 2000). One of the most important factors in any educational change is the change in teaching practices. Teachers are in the critical path to the implementation of any innovation (Frykholm, 1999). The direct relationship between improving the quality of teaching and improving students learning in mathematics and science is a common thread emerging from educational research (Stigler & Hiebert 1999). For it is what a teacher knows and can do that influences how she or he/she organizes and conducts lessons, and it is the nature of these lessons that ultimately determines what students learn. Statistics has been introduced into mainstream math curricula without adequate attention paid to teachers professional development. There is substantial research evidence of poor understanding and insufficient preparation to teach statistical concepts among both pre-service and practicing teachers (Carnel, 1997; Begg & Edward, 1999). The majority of teachers worldwide have weak knowledge of statistical concepts and tend to focus their instruction on the procedural aspects of statistics, and not on conceptual understanding (Nicholson & Darnton, 2003; Watson, 2001). Intuition and mindset about data and variation are systematically ignored in the mathematics classroom (Makar & Confrey, 2003). Technology advances, and especially web-based training, are helping to remove the idea of distance from online education and open up new possibilities for teacher professional development in statistics education. They make it possible to overcome restrictions of shrinking resources and geographical locations and to offer, in a cost-effective and nondisruptive way, high quality collaborative learning experiences to geographically dispersed teachers across Europe. The web offers the potential for teachers in different countries to build communities of practice in social constructivist learning environments. Collaborative and participatory communities of teachers have been shown to act as vehicles that promote teacher learning and development (Tinker & Haavind, 1996). September 2006 URV01 Page 6

7 2. EARLYSTATISTICS OBJECTIVES EarlyStatistics is designed in response to the high level of interest in statistics and the need for further improving the quality of statistics education offered in European schools. The overall aim of the program is to support the development of students statistical reasoning in elementary and middle school mathematics classrooms around Europe, through facilitating intercultural professional development of teachers using contemporary technological and educational tools and exemplary web-based materials and resources. Central to the design of the program is the belief that learning as part of a community of practice can provide a useful model for teacher professional development (Barab & Duffy, 2000; Wenger, 1998). The project will harness the power of the Internet to provide European teachers with access to a wide array of colleagues, discussions, and resources eluding them in their workplace (Zern, 2002). It will support the development of a virtual community of practice that will help teachers to improve their teaching practices in statistics by exchanging ideas and sharing best pedagogical strategies (Gray, 2004). More specifically, EarlyStatistics has the following objectives: 1. Develop and pilot test a professional development course in statistics education for elementary and middle school mathematics teachers. The design of the course will be based on current pedagogical methodologies utilizing collaboration, statistical investigation, and exploration with online interactive problem-solving activities. 2. Conduct a teaching intervention into the statistics classrooms of the teachers attending the pilot professional development course. The materials and resources developed will be evaluated and revised through this real-classroom implementation. 3. Design and develop a multilingual information base for statistics education, to support and promote the program s activities and objectives by offering open access to the professional development course content and pedagogical approach, and to various other links and resources. The site will target long-term sustainability through collaboration tools and services that support the online accumulation of end-user collective knowledge on best pedagogical practices, technological developments, implementation in specific settings, etc. 4. Initialize networking among teachers across Europe by building an online community for the exchange of ideas, content, tools, and instructional practices relating to statistics education. The long-term objective will be to sustain and, if possible, to expand this community into a pan-european virtual network of communication for pre- and in-service teachers of statistics. 5. Develop a pedagogical framework that will provide recommendations on how to take advantage of available web-based technologies for the effective delivery of high-quality online teacher professional development in statistics education through the establishment of a virtual community of practice. A central conviction underlying the design of EarlyStatistics is that learning is a social act September 2006 URV01 Page 7

8 best supported through collaborative activities (Vygotsky, 1978). While the project will employ innovative technological tools and resources to support educationally useful human-computer interactions, its focus will be on exploiting technology to support humanhuman interactions (Barab et al., 2001). The program will take advantage of contemporary internet technologies to promote intercultural awareness and exchange of experiences and ideas among European teachers. It is envisaged that the users of the project information base will form a self-sustaining online community of practice within which teachers will improve their content and pedagogical knowledge of statistics by sharing personal experiences, ideas, and resources with other members and relating them to their teaching practices. This network will be the main source for the publication of additional information on experiences and good practices in statistics instruction. 3. TARGET GROUPS The project targets elementary and middle school mathematics classrooms in the EU, their teachers and students. It aims to enrich European children s learning of statistics by utilizing distance education to offer their teachers a high-quality professional development program in statistics education. Acknowledging the fact that teachers are at the heart of any educational reform, the project will facilitate intercultural collaboration of European teachers using contemporary technological and educational tools and exemplary web-based materials and resources. Long-term sustainability will be assured through support of multilingual interfaces and online services for the accumulation of collective knowledge from teachers and teacher educators. An online information base will offer access to usable and validated pedagogical models, didactic approaches, and innovative instructional materials, resulting in a complete and flexible teacher professional development program. The project outputs and services will also be useful to academic experts in statistics education, to national and European Education boards, to teacher training institutions, and to designers of online professional development programs. Academic experts and material developers will get more sensitized to the needs of statistics teachers in different countries, supporting the development of new methodologies and materials. National and transnational Education authorities responsible for setting mathematics curricula will get useful information regarding new developments in statistics education. Teacher training institutions will gain a clearer understanding of the issues facing statistics teaching and learning and will be able to utilize the project outputs for further improvement of their teacher preparation programs. Online professional development designers will benefit from access to the pedagogical framework for the effective delivery of online professional development to mathematics teachers, which could also act as a model for professional development in other content areas. Finally, the industry and community in general will ultimately benefit from a statistically literate society. 4. STAKEHOLDER MAPPING The following image displays the stakeholders that are active in school math education and stand to benefit from the proposed knowledge transfer objectives of EarlyStatistics. September 2006 URV01 Page 8

9 (Courtesy AvdMerge project) The following stakeholder groups can be identified, that can all contribute to the collection of relevant informational and educational material which can benefit students, teachers, teacher trainers, and the educational system in general: Mathematics teachers around Europe, who can improve their teaching practices in statistics through cross-cultural exchange of experiences and ideas, and exposure to innovative learning methodologies and resources Students, who can ultimately benefit from improved curricula and teaching practices Academic experts and material developers, who can get more sensitized to the needs of statistics teachers in different European countries, supporting the development of new methodologies and materials National and transnational education authorities responsible for setting and revising curricula, that can get useful information regarding new developments in statistics education Teacher training institutions, that can utilize the project outputs in their preservice and in-service teacher training programs Online professional development designers, who can benefit from access to a pedagogical framework for effective professional development in statistics education via the emergence of an online space designed to support teachers in sharing and evolving their teaching practices. This framework could also serve as a model for professional development programs in other content areas of math and science. September 2006 URV01 Page 9

10 5. OVERVIEW OF EXPECTED OUTPUTS The following outputs are expected as a result of the proposed EarlyStatistics work plan: Curricular and instructional materials for statistics teaching and learning The project team has/will spend the first two years of the project in designing and developing, using contemporary web-based tools and resources, a line of research-based curricular and instructional materials on statistics for elementary and middle school teachers and students to be used during the professional development course. Central to the development of the material is the functional integration of technology with existing core curricular ideas, and specifically, the integration of new types of tools (e.g. the dynamic statistics software Fathom and Tinkerplots ), which provide students with the opportunity to model and investigate real world problems of statistics. The course material is being produced in the partners national languages (EL, NO, ES), as well as in English. These materials, which will be evaluated and revised through real-classroom implementation, will be added to the project information base (see 5.4 below). A professional development course in statistics education for elementary and middle school teachers The course developed through the project, will provide professional development experiences for elementary and middle school teachers that would enable them to: Learn and understand better the concepts and methods of introductory statistics Understand statistics as a comprehensive approach to data analysis Develop pedagogical knowledge of statistics (e.g. understand the development of statistical reasoning in children, identify common student misconceptions, etc.) Become familiar with a variety of methodologies and resources for teaching introductory statistics Use real data, active learning and technology to teach statistics Develop a long-lasting transnational community of teaching practitioners, who advise and support each other about classroom practices, pedagogy, and statistical concepts The professional development course will be pilot tested, during the final year of the project, with a group of teachers from the four partner countries. The course will be delivered, for the most, online through text, illustrations, animations, audio/video, technology-rich interactive problem-solving activities, and multilingual interfaces. The instructional content and services on the dedicated information base will be utilized for teaching, support and coordination purposes. The course material will also be available in CD/DVD format to overcome potential bandwidth limitations. To offer teachers flexibility and to accommodate different time zones, the largest portion of the course will be delivered asynchronously. Asynchronous means of communication will include discussion groups and mail groups. There will also be some synchronous communication through use of technologies such as digital blackboards, audio/video streaming, and videoconferencing. September 2006 URV01 Page 10

11 One-way informational postings such as articles and videos will also serve as objects for supporting interaction (Barab et al., 2001). Additionally, there will be a small number of face-to face meetings with local teachers. While there will not be specific 'classroom hours,' teachers will work in teams according to a loose schedule. Each week will typically involve a range of activities, readings and contributions to discussion, as well as completion of group assignments. Some weeks will also require teachers to create something, e.g. a PowerPoint presentation, which will be posted on the information base. Online moderated discussions will allow teachers to share content, ideas, and instructional strategies. The course will be facilitated by members of the research team with expertise in statistics education. Their role will be to guide discussions, to encourage full, thoughtful involvement of all participants, and to provide feedback. Facilitators will help to deepen the learning experience for course participants by encouraging productive interaction and critical reflection on workplace practices (Gray, 2004). They will employ moderating strategies for building social connections that will extend beyond the level of social interaction and sharing of information (Gray, 2004). This will assist in developing and sustaining the online community of participating teachers over a period that will extend beyond the project lifetime. The course, which will have duration of around thirteen weeks, will be made-up of three parts. During the first part (weeks 1-4), the emphasis will be on enriching the participants content knowledge of statistics. Through hands-on and computer-based practice and experimentation, intensive use of simulations and visualizations, feedback from each other and reflection, teachers will come to gain better understanding of some of the bedrock concepts in probability and statistics that should be integrated into the elementary and middle school mathematics curriculum. Teachers will then spend the next four weeks focusing on children s learning and what is required to involve them in learning about statistics. They will explore a broad range of topics of interest to the statistics teacher, including computer-supported teaching (use of educational software, Internet resources etc.), curriculum issues (e.g. role of statistics in the national and European mathematics curricula), and statistics education research (development of statistical reasoning in children, common student misconceptions, etc.). At a final stage (weeks 9-11), teachers will undertake a teaching experiment. They will customize and expand upon materials provided to them, and apply them in their own classrooms with the support of the design team. Teachers will write up their experiences, including a critical analysis of their work and that resulting from their pupils. This will help them to reflect on their practice and apply self-criticism constructively. Once the teaching experiment is completed, they will report on their experiences to the other teachers in their group, and will also provide samples of their students work for group reflection and evaluation (weeks 12-13). Teachers will exchange ideas and insights as to how to further improve their teaching practice and to increase their students achievement. September 2006 URV01 Page 11

12 A pedagogical framework for the effective delivery of high-quality online professional development in statistics education The pedagogical and technical experts in the consortium worked jointly to develop a draft pedagogical framework to guide the design and delivery of the professional development course and, consequently, of the infrastructure and services for the dedicated information base that will support the project activities and outputs (see section 5.4). This framework (see Pedagogical Framework Report also attached to interim report), which will be revised based on knowledge gained through the pilot delivery of the professional development course, provides expert and practitioner recommendations for the effective delivery of online professional development to teachers of statistics through the establishment of a virtual community of practice. It incorporates both pedagogical and technical considerations regarding delivery of online professional development: Contemporary visions of web-based instruction and computer-mediated communication which support more participatory and collaborative models of education (Barab & Duffy, 2000; Barab et al. 2001) should guide the professional development course design An effective learning environment should focus on four components essential for the development of effective learning environments: community-centered, learnercentered, knowledge-centered, assessment-centered Course should be organized around the big ideas of statistics: (i) formulate questions; (ii) collect data; (iii) analyze data; (iv) interpret results; (v) use understand and apply basic concepts of probability, with an emphasis on the way that probability and statistics are related Rather than using text-based, static content, that tends to be the norm in distance education of mathematics/science courses, teachers should be provided with ample opportunities for interactive and collaborative learning through use of contemporary multimedia and internet technologies Strategies employed should include open-ended investigations, use of real-data, simulations, visualizations, collaboration and reflection on one s own and on others ideas and experiences Various challenges of online professional development should be taken into account in building the course: teachers level of competence with technology and familiarity with distance education, technology dependency, communication means, time constraints, self-discipline, different time zones, cultural barriers, etc. Special requirements for statistics education should be taken into consideration. Need for a user-friendly interface for the organization, submission, publication and retrieval of documents containing scientific and mathematical formulas, for interactive and dynamic presentations Course should be carried out based on a blended- learning method: Face-to face meetings with local teachers, elearning (LMS), a number of video conference sessions (if possible), video streaming (one-way audio and video communication) Very important to take into account sociability issues that are important in establishing a functional online community of teaching practitioners; should develop usable technological structures that support the community s shared purpose and encourage September 2006 URV01 Page 12

13 online dialogue and collaboration among community members Independent project information base The information base will offer access to usable and validated pedagogical models, didactic approaches, and innovative instructional materials for the teaching and learning of statistics. The following components are foreseen: A hypertext book with the material, resources, and activities of the professional development course to be used as a self-paced course, in a facilitated online mode, or as part or all of the material used in a face-to-face course or workshop; Technologically enhanced curricular and instructional materials for the teaching and learning of statistics in elementary and middle school; A Video Case Library containing segments of real teaching episodes, obtained in the classrooms of the teachers participating in the project, representing the landscape of practice in statistics instruction in Europe, for use by pre-service and in-service teachers and by teacher educators; A database containing Student Work Samples developed through contributions of participating teachers, providing examples of good practice in European schools that could also be used in teacher preparation and professional development programs; Reports and articles developed through the project; Links to statistics education resources available on the Internet; Collaboration tools for professional dialogue and support including , conferencing, chat rooms, and discussion forums; Supporting publication and information dissemination services for the management of expert know-how and collective knowledge from end users through web-based online forums Multilingual interfaces (EN, EL, ES) to overcome linguistic barriers The information base will target long-term sustainability and maximum dissemination of innovative statistics curricula and teaching practices in different cultural contexts through supporting multilingual interfaces, transnational collaboration of teachers, and accumulation of collective knowledge from end-users. The system will provide a virtual space where European teachers of statistics with a broad range of experiences and expertise come together to reflect upon pedagogical theory and practice, to exchange ideas and resources, and to build collaborations. It is expected that a network of education practitioners will be formed which will attract knowledge from teachers, but also from trainers and experts in the area of statistics education. The objective is that after the end of the project the information base will continue to be enriched by users that find added value in visiting the website for information and in publishing their experiences for other users to take advantage of new developments. September 2006 URV01 Page 13

14 6. ISSUES TO BE CONSIDERED FOR DEFINING USER REQUIREMENTS The following questions can help to identify user needs: How do users differ? The following distinctions can be made among end-users: a) By their function, for example teachers, teacher educators, online professional development designers, technical support staff, administrators, etc. b) By their expertise in using Internet-based services. c) By their expertise with the use of AV/Data communication equipment. d) By their expertise with the use of statistics education software, applets, etc. e) By the type of computer technology, and educational software they have available for the support of the teaching and learning process. f) By the supporting equipment they have available for teaching and learning purposes: VCR s, DVD s, audio devices, digital blackboards, AV/Data communication equipment etc. g) By the bandwidth they have available for deploying AV/Data communication. h) For teaching staff, by their background pedagogical and content knowledge of statistics. i) For teaching staff, by the educational level (elementary or secondary school), and grade they teach. What facilities do users require? The following are issues that need to be addressed by the system design: a) The need for possibly adapted software and equipment for access to material, such as user-friendly interface, a web-browser, etc. b) The need for possibly adapted delivery channels for retrieval of material, such as specialized software for access to specific formats (e.g. video, audio, etc), special equipment (e.g. cameras for video conferencing). c) Possibly limited skills on computer usage on behalf of the information consumers. d) Learners (i.e. the teachers participating in professional development program in the context of EarlyStatistics) can benefit from access to a personal guide, instructor and/or tutor. e) Issues related to limited bandwidth must be addressed when designing material and when delivering it. f) Regularity of course material updates. September 2006 URV01 Page 14

15 What support do users need? The following general functionality is desirable: a) Guidelines for material generation and publication for content providers. b) Efficient publication and editing mechanisms for content providers. c) Support for material hosting for content providers. d) Adaptation of material for publication on the web. e) Optional content hosting for providers. f) Support for different content storage formats through appropriate retrieval mechanisms for teachers and other end users. g) Description of minimum knowledge requirements on behalf of end users wishing to access certain material. h) Information discovery and navigation mechanisms for end users. i) Teacher-teacher and teacher-teacher trainer effective communication, ideally face to face, possibly through video conferencing technology. j) On-demand vivid description of statistics teaching and learning processes, possibly through videos (video on demand). k) Effective distance collaboration, possibly through SmartBoard or other technology. 7. USER REQUIREMENTS User requirements as defined in this section is based on and extends work executed in the context of the ecms project (ecms Consortium, 2003), the NS-eCMS project (NS-eCMS Consortium, 2005), the AvdMerge project (AvdMerge Consortium, 2006), and the MECCA project (see project website The projects are funded by the Minerva-Socrates and Leonardo da Vinci programs and focus on the development of on-line services for facilitating distance education. The following groups of system users are identified for the information management and elearning services: (i) Information Consumers Information consumers are end-users of information. This user group can be further refined to identify the following user groups: 1. Teachers (teachers and teacher educators) who wish to utilize the project outputs and services for further improvement of their pedagogical practices. 2. Technical Staff who support instructors with technical expertise, mostly IT related, required during the teaching process. September 2006 URV01 Page 15

16 (ii) (iii) (iv) Information Producers Information producers generate structured and informal content for publication through the system repositories and services. The group can be further divided into: 1. Structured Content Developers, including expert educational content developers. This group produces advanced multimedia and structured content, potentially based on research conducted on the needs of specific end user groups. 2. Informal Content Publishers, including end-users who exchange information on experiences, best practices, and recommendations through informal means including forums and on-line publication resources. While this user group is informal, its potential should not be underestimated given the amount of information exchanged in similar manner over the Internet. Trainer Trainers Trainer trainers are instructors who deliver online structured courses targeting information consumers. Repository Administrators Administrators are individuals responsible for the smooth operation of the system and the underlying repositories. Individual users differ in a number of ways in terms of their motivation, experience, and prior knowledge. Different classes of users have different aims and objectives, and will require different facilities and support. User requirements for information consumers The following features are desirable for information consumers regardless of their level of experience with technology and Internet services: 1. User-friendly navigation services through the Educational Information Base. 2. On-demand video presentations. 3. User friendly content addressing specific educational needs. 4. Multimedia content presentation to ensure effective knowledge transfer. Formats may include audio, video, text, images, etc. 5. Effective structuring of educational material following learning design based activities. 6. Search mechanisms for the discovery of information. This can include either or both of simple text-based searches to context-based targeted searches. The latter will produce more accurate results, closer to the user interests. 7. Ease of use of the interfaces. 8. Access to distance collaboration tools that allow interaction with peers and with teacher educators (e.g. SmartBoard). September 2006 URV01 Page 16

17 9. Content designed to support and have effect on the present educational and learning environments, i.e. it should not act to replace previously offered activities 10. Addressing of a variety of teaching and learning styles 11. Extension of existing e-learning activities focusing on text based information presentation 12. Design and use of activities and resources (simulations, animations, video clips, etc.) that stimulate and engage teachers participating in professional development 13. Follow-up procedures offered by teacher educators or administrators on teacher professional development activities 14. Offer to remote users easier access to knowledge and training, as well as exchange of their personal experiences from a distance. 15. Video could (partly) add some entertainment values to distance education and distance training 16. Videoconferencing activities conducted during the professional development course, as well as real teaching episodes in the participating teachers classrooms, might be recorded and edited for later educational purposes, whereby other teachers might also learn from them Specialized requirements for novice information consumers 1. Filtering of content for appropriateness. A number of parameters must be taken into account when deciding the amount, detail, and type of information to present to information consumers. Examples of such parameters include, but are not limited to: Experience level (average for this particular user group): less experienced users should be presented with less technical content. Function: teachers, as well as teacher educators, are for the most part interested on pedagogical aspects of the integration of technologies into their teaching practices. They are less interested in highly specialized technical content, which is more appropriate for technical support staff. Special requirements for advanced information consumers 1. Filtering of content for appropriateness. A number of parameters must be taken into account when deciding the amount, detail, and type of information to present to information consumers. Examples of such parameters include, but are not limited to: Experience level (high for this particular user group): highly experienced technical personnel (e.g. online professional development designers) may, depending on the circumstances, be interested in highly technical or specialized content, which is not of interest to wider user groups. For example, technical staff may be interested in information related to protocols, bandwidth, equipment set-up, expected upgrades, interoperability with supporting equipment, etc. September 2006 URV01 Page 17

18 Function: technical staff may be further categorized based on function, for example network administration, equipment support staff, software administration, etc. 2. Linking of related information: identification of links / relations between content can facilitate information discovery. This function targets highly technical staff that may be searching for additional, related, reference, or specialized content. User requirements for information producers The following functionality is desirable for information producers: 1. The development of a user profile storing preferences so that the system can remember information on publishers and not request it repeatedly. 2. The publication on-line of structured and unstructured information. 3. The support of different storage formats of content, including video, audio, images, text, etc. 4. The support for content hosting on the system repositories if this is desired by information providers. 5. The support for linking of related material for the benefit of information consumers. 6. The support of content distribution, which allows information providers to publish through the EarlyStatistics repositories information that is managed locally at their servers. 7. The on-line authoring and management of existing content and metadata descriptions. This includes the controlled publication of all or parts of an educational module for the benefit of end users. 8. User-friendly navigation through the information base. 9. Search mechanisms for the discovery of information. This can include either or both of simple text-based searches to context-based targeted searches. The latter will produce more accurate results, closer to the user interests. 10. Facilitation of the design, inclusion and use of dynamical and interactive presentations into lessons possibly by using SmartBoard. 11. Support for traditional text based mediation of knowledge and competence 12. Facilitation of mixing and use of several types of media within the teaching process for the teacher educator, i.e. resulting in a blended learning environment 13. Addressing of a variety of instructional styles 14. Facilitation of a combination of different resources available through the Internet (simulations, animations, video clips, etc.) 15. Provision to the teacher educator of improved feedback about the tempo and the learning outcome of the teachers participating in the professional development course September 2006 URV01 Page 18

19 Specialized requirements for experienced information producers Experienced information producers are expected to generate content designed for use in a structured teaching process, whether this is in a regular classroom setting or from a distance. For this reason, they require tools for the development and the on-line publication of structured educational and informational modules, authoring (editing) tools of existing content, guided publication of entire modules or parts, deletion of modules, and sharing of information for reuse purposes of educational modules. This could be summarized as follows: 1. On-line structured content authoring and management, including publication, metadata generation, editing, deletion, and sharing for reuse. 2. Classification of information in categories and linking of related and reference content. Specialized requirements for end-users sharing informal information Another important source of content is the sharing of experiences by end users in an informal manner. This type of content typically has little structure, for example it is in plain text, and may include information on experiences with specific educational software, instructional activities, best practices, recommendations, solutions to problems, etc. The publication of such content by end users may in a lot of cases benefit other users of the project information base. Thus it is important to provide easy to use and friendly services that encourage the sharing and publication of information as well as the answering of questions by peers. The service should index the published information for information discovery services. This need may be addressed through off the shelf forum tools. User requirements for teacher educators Teacher educators will use the EarlyStatistics services for the development and/or delivery of online educational professional development courses on statistics, or as part or all of the material used in a face-to-face course or workshop. The needs of this user group can be summarized as follows: 1. Functionality for experienced information producers, as this is described above in section 0 2. User requirements for information producers. This includes the on-line generation of structured content and the publication (on entire educational entities or parts of a wider modules). 3. The ability to effectively interact with teachers ideally face to face, possibly through video conferencing technology. 4. The ability to suggest reference material. 5. The ability to provide information on the institution and teacher educator background. September 2006 URV01 Page 19

20 8. EARLYSTATISTICS ACTIVITY-BASED COURSE STRUCTURING EarlyStatistics professional development course design focuses on activity-based learning. The emphasis will be on enriching the participating teachers pedagogical and content knowledge of statistics, through hands-on and computer-based practice, experimentation, intensive use of simulations and visualizations, feedback from each other, and reflection. Course structure Teacher Content Cognition experiment 4 Reflection evaluation Knowledge of and about Statistics Knowledge about teaching /learning Practical knowledge As seen in the Figure above, the course will aim at enriching teachers (i) knowledge of and about statistics; (ii) knowledge about teaching and learning, and (iii) practical knowledge. This will be achieved through a four-stage course that will last for 13 weeks. At a first stage (weeks 1-4), the focus will be on improving the participants content knowledge of statistics by exposing them to similar kinds of learning situations, technologies, and curricula to those they should employ in their own classrooms. At a second stage (weeks 5-8), the focus will shift to children s learning and what is required to involve them in learning about statistics. Then, at the next stage (weeks 9-11), teachers will customize and expand upon provided materials, and apply them in their own classrooms with the support of the design team. Finally, once the teaching experiment is completed, teachers will report on their experiences to the other teachers in their group, and will also provide samples of their students work for group reflection and evaluation (weeks 12-13). Two methods are foreseen for presenting the course content: a. To create a normal classroom environment where the instructor goes through the content from A to Z utilizing the tools that are available through the project. It could be a short introduction to the course followed by the training itself where September 2006 URV01 Page 20

21 the instructor goes through the course material and fetches the learning objects from libraries when needed. This could be text, animations, simulations, streaming video, utilizing video conferencing with guest speakers and so forth. This means that the course is "empty" and the elements are used as the instructor requires the elements. The teachers participating in the course may be granted access to the library through the instructor or on a more general basis. This will require that we can store the objects and add metadata to them in order to identify them for later use. It will consequently require that we can search for these objects in a structured manner. The selection criteria and the metadata have also to be defined and structured. b. The course could be designed in sequences so that the whole course is prepared and the instructor starts/stops sequences when needed. This means that the sequences are predefined through a Learning Design System (LD) that can be used. Each instructor could, if required, be allowed to design his/her own course as long as the content requirements are met. The basic objects can be stored in the library and selected through the LD system. The next question will be: How should we present the knowledge? Since the course will contain both theoretical content as well as practical content, and it will be used for the education of adult people, we assume that the best would be to present it in a way that is relevant for the teachers. Teachers will participate in a number of collaborative and participatory activities that will help them improve their content and pedagogical knowledge of statistics, and, being actual practitioners, will then apply what they learn in the course to a real classroom setting. Educational content can be structured around a scenario. Each scenario includes: Activities to do with the teachers during the professional development course Documents to use during the activity. And a proposal of learning activities to develop with the students, which has: - a didactical proposal. - the activity. - an activity developed. Some case studies to reflect about what happens with the statistical content. Questions to reflect before, during and after their classroom intervention. Questions to reflect in chatrooms, discussion fora, etc. Teachers could either fetch background information from the library of learning objects or from sequences in course structure. The instructor could do the same as he/she progress through the course and presents new tasks in the scenario. Teachers could also assume different roles in such a scenario, being responsible for different actions. If this is done, submodules in the scenario could be developed in order to allow teachers to go more in-depth in different modules or topics. September 2006 URV01 Page 21

22 9. EARLYSTATISTICS SCENARIOS The professional development course will be built around a number of scenarios to work with elementary and middle school mathematics teachers. Working with the scenarios designed by the consortium, or with other similar ones that teachers themselves could design, we intend to influence teachers professional development, and thus improve instruction of statistical concepts in compulsory education.each of the scenarios follows the same structure. It has the next moments of elaboration and development: 1. Initial moment: Preparation of the proposal Level 1A: Didactical analysis of the proposal Content proposed Methodological aspects Level 1B: Teacher s activities and reflections about his/her own design. Related with Knowledge Analyse the official curriculum Curriculum evolved in Didactical proposal Conceptual map Other scenarios - Related with the teaching and learning process Students ideas about content Task and activities proposed Statistical Study: analysis, study, investigation Analysis of the scenario proposed. 2. Experimentation moment Level 2A: Activities to develop with the students. Plan the development of the activity Level 2B: Teacher s activities and reflections during the experimentation. Classroom report Motivation Students action Interactions between students Questions of students Kind of interventions and answers of students Problems of classroom management and solutions. September 2006 URV01 Page 22

23 3. Reflection and assessment moment Level 3A: Teacher s activities and reflections after the activity development. A. In relation with knowledge of statistics Selection and organization of content to facilitate students implication in the learning B. In relation with learning C. In relation with classroom dynamics Reflection about the process of classroom management Consequently, the three moments organize different levels of activities: Initial moment: Activities to do with teachers, related to (i) knowledge of statistics, (ii) the teaching and learning processes. Experimentation moment: Activities and reflections during classroom intervention. Building of a teacher portfolio with information regarding (i)students motivation, (ii) students actions,(iii) interactions among students, (iv) questions posed to students, (v) kinds of interventions and students responses, (vi) problems of classroom management and solutions to these problems. Reflection and assessment moment: Activities and reflections after classroom intervention in relation to (i) statistical knowledge, (ii) learning, (iii) classroom dynamics. The following figure illustrates the structure of each scenario: Initial moment: Preparation of the proposal Where aim is to analyse Statistical &probabilistic Didactical content Official curriculum Students ideas Models of intervention To do Before Classroom intervention Experimentation moment Where aim is to Plan their own scenario Write a classroom report To do During Classroom intervention Reflection and Assessment moment Where aim is to reflect and assess Statistical & probabilistic content developed Students learning Classroom dynamic To do After Classroom intervention Specific examples of scenarios designed by the consortium are attached to the interim report and can be found in the project website. September 2006 URV01 Page 23

24 10. EDUCATIONAL CONTENT MANAGEMENT Structured educational content management can be achieved through a Learning Management system. A variety of such systems exist, both commercial and open source. Furthermore, the project partners have developed a flexible system for educational content delivery through prior activities partly funded by the European Commission. Such tools are reviewed below. The NS-eCMS system The University of Thessaly has developed a flexible system for end to end management of the distance learning process including services for learners, instructors, content providers, and administrators. The infrastructure and services were developed through Minerva- Socrates projects ecms: Content Management Middleware for the Support of elearning across Europe ( ) and NS-eCMS: Content Management and Collaboration Environment for Natural Sciences ( ). These services are currently being used in other activities, including project AvdMerge: Educational Network Infrastructure for Disseminating Real-Time AV/Data in Technical Education. For detailed information on the NS-eCMS system please refer to the NS-eCMS project web site, and the NS-eCMS Implementation Report, a comprehensive description of the infrastructure and services. Following is a brief summary of the NS-eCMS system and services NS-eCMS educational content structure The NS-eCMS system aims for maximum flexibility in content structuring. The picture in the next page displays the internal organization of educational content, which follows a hierarchical tree structure. The advantage of this structure is that it allows educational institutions to present their own views of content organization. For example, content may be organized in the form of a book, with chapters, sections, and subsections. Alternatively, content may be organized in the form of a lecture series, with lectures, exercises, projects, and examinations. In the NS-eCMS system, content is owned by the content provider / instructor that develops it. Content is developed in private areas and is visible to learners only when it is published by the content provider. The system allows content to be published in sections, as opposed to publishing the entire tree at once, to allow instructors to present learners with material in a stepwise manner, e.g. on a weekly basis. Most importantly, content owners have the option of allowing their material to be reused by other providers. This is a powerful option that allows the development of value adding educational entities. Re-users of information can review it but do not have the option of editing it. September 2006 URV01 Page 24

25 includes Basic Architect ure Technical infrastruc ture Software Supporting equipment Equipment Large equipment Troubleshooting Desktop Equipment Setup Equipment Best practices Class interaction includes Presentati on skills NS-eCMS services Services will be designed and implemented based on the requirements of each targeted user group. Thus, a different set of services is foreseen for each group. An overview of the foreseen EarlyStatistics services is presented below. This description will serve as the basis for the implementation phase of the EarlyStatistics project. September 2006 URV01 Page 25

26 The following list summarizes the implemented services: Summary of services for students: Student registration - Register to system - Register to courses Workspaces - Course workspaces - Answer exercises workspaces - Answer examinations workspaces Searching library - Free-text search - Search by NS-eCMS record ID - Search with options Navigation - Browsing library - By publisher - By thematic area - By author Collaboration CAS server - CAS server communication - Differentiation Sketching - Sketching via Light-pen Student books - Grade book - Face book Management of personal record in NS-eCMS - Personal account editing - Personal profile editing Discussions - NS-eCMS project objectives discussions - ecms project objectives discussions The following image displays the NS-eCMS Learner services home page: September 2006 URV01 Page 26

27 Summary of additional services for publishers: In addition to the above services for students, the following are available for publishers: NS-eCMS Course Developer and Editor Examination development Workspaces - Student workspaces - Student exercises - Student examinations CAS server communication Sketching via light-pen Reports Library Announcement management Management of personal record in NS-eCMS - Personal account editing Discussions - NS-eCMS project objectives discussions - ecms project objectives discussions The following image displays the NS-eCMS Content Manager / Instructor home page: September 2006 URV01 Page 27

28 The following image displays the NS-eCMS content authoring services. The image also displays the presentation of the NS-eCMS structured content through the web. Following is an example of the NS-eCMS multiple choice exercise developer: September 2006 URV01 Page 28

29 Summary of additional services for administrators: User management Class management Course management Local string management CAS server communication Statistics gathering and analysis The following image displays the NS-eCMS Administrator home page: September 2006 URV01 Page 29

30 The Moodle system Moodle ( is a course management system designed to help educators who want to create quality online courses. The software is used all over the world by universities, schools, companies and independent teachers. Moodle is open source and completely free to use. It offers a comprehensive set of services for instructors and learners. For instructors, the system focuses mostly on on-line structured course creation through simple to use forms as well as authoring / editing a course. Instructors have the possibility of allowing guest access to some of their content if so desired. Hosting services are also optionally supported. For learners, it offers the possibility to access on-line courses, either by logging in through their own account or as guests. Following is an example of a Moodle login screen providing access to two courses. (Courtesy MECCA project) While Moodle is freeware, it provides a good degree of flexibility. Administrators of an installation are allowed to customize to a certain degree the look of their site, for example with respect to colors. Moreover, administrators have the capability of limit the size of the files uploaded into the system, which is useful when hosting services must be controlled. September 2006 URV01 Page 30

31 In addition, and as is displayed on the figure above, administrators have the capability of integrating to a certain degree other applications into their Moodle installation home page. The example here displays that a calendar has been integrated to facilitate the scheduling of courses. The main advantage of Moodle is its stability and relatively wide use as compared to other learning management systems. In addition, a development community constantly expands the applications that are built on Moodle, allowing for ever better support of the learning process. Constructivist, constructionist, social constructivist and cooperative views of learning guide this development (Williams, 2005) Course setup using Moodle A Moodle course is comprised of learning activities presented to participants within a specific format. The program allows the instructor to select one of the following three formats while setting up their course: Topic (for open-ended or ongoing enrollment - self paced learning) Weekly (structured, with a beginning and ending time period - e.g. school environments) Social (Forums that encourage informal modes of learning - peer interaction) The activity modules available within Moodle include the following: Assignment Module: This module allows the instructor to assign and collect assignments online. Participants can submit their assignments in the form of an electronic file (Word, PowerPoint etc.). The instructor can provide an assessment/grade or written feedback to each participant on their assignment, using Moodle s Learner Management features. Chat Module: This is a synchronous communication tool that allows participants to have a real-time discussion via the web. The instructor can create separate chat rooms for different purposes or groups, and can designate them as private or public. Chat rooms can be used for communication with the instructor (e.g. holding office hours ), group work, guess lectures, etc. Each Chat can be archived for students to review. Choice Module: Using the choice module, the instructor can ask a question and specify a choice of multiple responses. This activity can be used as a quick poll to stimulate thinking about a topic or to gather feedback from learners. Dialogue Module: This module provides a simple communication method between pairs of users. It allows opening student-student and student-instructor dialogues. Learners can use the dialogue module to support each other in a private manner. Forum Module: Forums allow asynchronous discussions among participants and teachers. The instructor can pose a topic for discussion or a series of topics. Learners can post comments to the discussion topic, react to others comments, and respond to ideas shared by anyone in the course. Postings can be viewed in a variety for formats, and can include attachments. Participation of learners in a forum may be required or be September 2006 URV01 Page 31

32 optional. Forums can be structured in different ways (e.g. group forums or class forums), and participation of learners may be optional or required. Glossary: This activity allows instructors and participants to create and maintain a list of definitions (e.g. a list of terms specific to course content). The entries can be searched or browsed in many different formats, and it is also possible to automatically create links to them from throughout the course. Journal Module: This is one-on-one, student-teacher communication tool. The instructor can use the Journal module just like a traditional journal, requiring students to make entries reflecting on issues germane to their course (e.g. post articles or questions in the journal and then ask you to respond to them). The instructor can offer feedback, as well as a grade, to each student s journal entry. Lesson Module: The lesson module delivers content in a flexible way. Navigation through the lesson can be straight forward or complex, depending largely on the structure of the material being presented. Lessons are a great way to assess practical knowledge of a subject, and with creative use of Moodle s HTML editor very effective simulations can be built. Quiz Module: Quiz module enables the teacher to design and set quiz tests, consisting of multiple choice, true-false, short answer questions etc. These questions are kept in a categorized database, and can be re-used within courses and even between courses. Quiz module includes automatic grading facilities. SCORM Module: The SCORM module allows instructors to easily upload any standard SCORM package and make it part of their course. SCORM packages can include web pages, graphics, Javascript programs, Flash presentations, quizzes and anything else that works in web browsers. Survey Module: The Survey module provides a number of verified survey instruments that have been found useful in assessing and stimulating learning in online environments. Teachers can use these to gather data from their students that will help them learn about their class and reflect on their own teaching. Wiki Module: The Moodle Wiki module enables course participants to work together on web pages to add, expand and change the content. Documents can be authored collectively in a simple markup language using a web browser. Setup properties allow instructors to create a Wiki activity for a group, teacher or student, and select whether the HTML editor is available in the Wiki when used. Workshop Module: A Workshop is a peer assessment activity that allows course participants to assess each other's projects as well as exemplar projects provided by the instructor, in a number of ways. In creating their course content, instructors frequently make use of Moodle s built in HTML editor. The HTML Editor is a toolbar that can be accessed above any standard authoring text box. Because it mirrors many familiar word-processing toolbar buttons, it is easy to use, allowing users to format text for display on the Web without having any HTML knowledge. September 2006 URV01 Page 32

33 HTML Editor is a useful tool for enriching course content. It allows instructors to do almost anything they would be able to do using commercial applications like Dreamweaver or FrontPage (Williams, 2005). Using the HTML editor, instructors can easily bring documents, visual presentations, and spreadsheets into their course. They can use the HTML editor to develop a new file within Moodle, but they can also use it to upload existing files automatically to the server, converting them to a Web ready HTML format. A file can be a text document, sound, graphic or video, spreadsheet, PowerPoint or any executable file. Images can be easily inserted and links to resources stored on another server can easily be created. Hyperlinks and anchor points can also be easily inserted into a document. Moodle has built in media filters that allow users to embed rich media into the HTML editor so they play directly within the page created. Examples of media player files supported within Moodle include Flash, Windows Media, QuickTime, and MP3. Moodle also supports TeX and Algebra notation to add mathematical expressions anywhere in a module where the HTML editor is used. Moreover, Moodle has a number of features for managing learning activity, including the Groups feature which allows the instructor to separate course participants into groups (e.g. when assigning group projects), and/or create distinct activities for members of a group. Additionally, it supports the gathering of statistical information on system use, which can be analyzed for improving the content that is published aiming at the maximum benefit of learners / end users. Finally, Moodle offers multiple language support. In addition to English, it has been translated into many other languages, including the official languages of the countries participating in EarlyStatistics (Spanish, Greek, Norwegian) Supporting applications: the Google Calendar Applications supporting the learning process are always a nice addition to standard learning management systems. One such application, which became available in early 2006, is Google Calendar, which allows the scheduling of educational activities. The following picture displays a Google Calendar screen. September 2006 URV01 Page 33

34 Google Calendar allows the creation of a group calendar, in which a specific group of people are members. Members of a calendar have the ability to review scheduled events. If the calendar administrator chooses, he / she has the option to allow members to enter new events (in addition to reviewing). In addition, each event can be associated with a list of invitees that are notified by of the new entry, thus not having to log in all the time for monitoring entries. Google Calendar is still in beta. This means that its functions still have room for improvement. For example, it is not always obvious which calendar a user is reviewing when he / she is a member of more than one calendars. Also, sometimes new entries do not immediately appear. These are a few bugs", however the application is a very useful tool that can support the learning process. September 2006 URV01 Page 34

35 11. FACILITATING TECHNOLOGY FOR COMMUNITIES OF KNOWLEDGE This report has so far discussed various technologies for the transfer of knowledge in effective ways. The solutions presented are based on digital library technology, which is an effective ways for organizing heterogeneous and possibly distributed content for delivery through the web. Digital libraries The use of digital library technology for asynchronous information delivery possibly in a self paced manner that complements in-class instruction is presented in the figure below, borrowed by the AvdMerge project (see and the MECCA project (see (Courtesy AvdMerge project) The image shows the stakeholders in information production and consumption, and namely information providers, which can include instructors, information consumers, which can include both instructors and learners, and repository administrators, who are responsible for the organization of content in a manner that allows straightforward discovery and efficient delivery, even from a distance. One thing to consider is who is actually a producer of information. In the more traditional way of thinking, information producers are experts, for example teacher educators, that develop content and feed it to consumers, e.g. teachers. A more modern approach acknowledges the fact that all users in a community exchange valuable information. This is very common on the Internet, where peers answer each other s questions. This is concept is September 2006 URV01 Page 35

36 played in the above image, which shows that the traditionally defined information consumers can also be information producers. Blended learning Digital library technology is not meant to replace in-class instruction, which offers significant advantages in terms of face to face communication as well as interaction with peers and instructors. Rather, the technology can be used as a complementary tool to in class instruction, leading to the model of Blended Learning. The Blended Learning concept has been borrowed from the AvdMerge (AvdMerge Consortium, 2005) and MECCA (MECCA Consortium, 2006) projects. The AvdMerge project focuses on the development of methodologies for enhancing technical higher (tertiary) education through a blend of in-class teaching, hands-on practice, on-line learning, and video-conferencing based education. The MECCA project focuses on methodologies for in-company accreditation and training using the advances of video conferencing and video streaming, again in a blended learning setting. In the context of the AvdMerge and MECCA projects blended learning is viewed as being a wide educational activity that consists of face-to face meetings with local teachers, hands-on teaching practice, and self-paced online learning. The combination of the above is considered a good all around method for life long learning of professionals, including teachers. Blended learning can be delivered in organized curricula by educational institutions, for example teacher training institutions. The concept of Blended Learning, as developed in AvdMerge and MECCA, is displayed in the image below: (Courtesy AvdMerge project) September 2006 URV01 Page 36

37 The input to Blended Learning does not only consist of technological facilitators. The following are all necessary to achieve a balanced curriculum: Instructional process that are based on learning design methodologies Educational content that is appropriately designed for the target group and the educational objectives Technological facilitators for effective learning delivery, for example information management, knowledge management, distribution management, heterogeneity management as well as learning delivery, for example through the Internet or mobile technology. Communities of knowledge This idea of all stakeholders in a community sharing valuable information leads to the concept of communities of knowledge. The idea behind these communities is that information flows between different user groups in a wider area of interest, such as statistics education. The communities of knowledge concept was developed first in the AvdMerge and MECCA projects. The idea is to develop repositories of information that meets the needs of the identified target groups (stakeholders), as these have been identified earlier in this report. Communities must organize the information in an easy to use manner and present it taking into account the familiarity of the user groups with Internet-based applications. The concept of communities of knowledge as this was developed in AvdMerge and MECCA and borrowed for this project is presented below. (Courtesy AvdMerge project) September 2006 URV01 Page 37

38 In the ICT area, knowledge management software aims to facilitate the easy transfer of such knowledge on-line through services for the mapping of the information space (see discussion on ontologies above), the easy publication of expert knowledge, the easy generation of forum-type discussions among peers, and the easy production of value adding information modules through the integration of existing and possibly new information. The type of shared information depends on the thematic area of interest. The following picture displays potential content of interest for stakeholders in the statistics education community. (Courtesy AvdMerge project) The following information may be of interest (the list is not all inclusive): Pedagogical frameworks and methodologies for statistics instruction at the school level, and for online teacher professional development Information on available educational technologies Technologically enhanced curricular and instructional materials for the teaching and learning of statistics Formal structured courses developed by teachers, teacher educators, and book publishers Best practices September 2006 URV01 Page 38

39 Exchange of teacher experiences and ideas (peer to peer knowledge transfer) Samples of student work, providing examples of good practice in European schools Examples of real teaching episodes, representing the landscape of practice in statistics instruction throughout Europe Recommendations on educational technology deployment based on infrastructure limitations Recommendations on pedagogical methodology deployment based on educational / professional objectives Central to the design of EarlyStatistics is the conviction that learning as part of a community of practice can provide a useful model for teacher professional development (Barab & Duffy, 2000; Wenger, 1998). The project will harness the power of the Internet to provide European teachers with access to a wide array of colleagues, discussions, and resources eluding them in their workplace (Zern, 2002). Teachers will learn about statistics by engaging in joint activities, and by sharing personal experiences and ideas. Through these interactions, they will build relationships and form a virtual community that will support best practices and innovation in statistics instruction. This online community of practice, which will support the sharing of multiple, multinational perspectives, will shape not only statistics teachers identity as practitioners, but also the identity of the practice itself. Blended learning for knowledge and skill amelioration EarlyStatistics aims to design and deliver its teacher professional development course using a blended- learning method. During the course there will be a few face-to face meetings with local teachers, and video conference sessions (if possible) with teachers from all participating countries. The biggest part of the course, however, will be delivered online, using the above discussed technologies. Specifically: Structured content will be developed and delivered through the LMS Moodle Collective knowledge will be organized into a portal that maps information on pedagogically sound methodologies, tools, and resources, related to statistics teaching and learning These objectives are displayed in the following figure: September 2006 URV01 Page 39

40 (Courtesy AvdMerge project) These two approaches complement each other with the following benefits: Decreases teacher in-service training costs by providing high-quality professional development opportunities in statistics education to geographically-dispersed teachers across Europe, in a cost-effective and non-disruptive way Enhances statistics instruction by providing an elearning environment through all European teachers, independently of constraints (time, work, family, etc.), may enhance their pedagogical and content knowledge of statistics Improves the collective knowledge of the statistics education community by supporting the sharing of multiple, multinational perspectives, and by facilitating easier flow of information among stakeholders Promotes the development of a statistically literate society by providing European children with access to improved curricula and teaching practices that can help them develop their statistical reasoning skills 12. CONCLUSIONS Distance education is a useful framework for in-service teacher training, but it can represent a large variety of pedagogical perspectives. The most common approach is to follow a highly structured format, setting objectives and sub-objectives in detail and designing tasks to fit these objectives. EarlyStatistics adopts a very different approach to teacher online professional development, which respects and utilizes teachers professional knowledge. The distance education environment will be designed as a framework for flexible learning (Collis & Moonen, 2001), regarding teachers as the main agents of their September 2006 URV01 Page 40