COURSE MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS: DO THEY IMPROVE THE QUALITY OF TEACHING AND LEARNING? Luca Podestà Department of Electrical Engineering, Sapienza - University of Rome via Eudossiana, 18-00184 Rome, ITALY luca.podesta@uniroma1.it Abstract: In recent years, many European Universities have shown a growing interest towards quality assurance in higher education through the implementation of methodological innovations in teaching and learning. An important role is played by the Course Management Systems (CMS). At the Sapienza, University of Rome, two kinds of CMS are available: Blackboard and Moodle. Every teacher can create an account to use one of these platforms to manage his own course. I created under Moodle a web site for the Course of Electrical Measurements, so that course resources can be more easily accessed and to encourage students participation. Any user (mainly students) can visit the site; but by registering, users may access advanced functions and interact with each other. Keywords: E-learning, information and communication technology, web portal system, remote teaching, learning management system, Problem Based Learning (PBL). 1. Teachers motivation about the use of a Course Management Systems (CMS) In the Faculty of Engineering, Sapienza, University of Rome, there are several courses with theoretical and practical aspects. Some teachers create web sites to provide only static information, but more and more teachers are experimenting e- learning environments to promote the interaction and the participation of students. This transition towards more interactive sites is not easy. Educational actions are very demanding in terms of time and energy and teachers are usually busy with activities that have little to do with teaching and learning, not always finding a strong motivation. As a result, in our current institutional climate, only a certain kind of teacher gets involved in pedagogical innovation. Another factor that influences the transformation of teaching is an effective collaboration among the teachers themselves in the integration and optimisation of their courses. This requires a strong commitment to abandon the traditional isolation in favour of new working habits, commitments and initiatives. 2. Main Features of a web site for e-learning An e-learning website should have certain fundamental features:
1. The site should be really interactive. The power of the web resides in its ability to promote interaction among users through various applications. 2. The site should be user-friendly. Every action required of the user should be as simple as possible. Web pages must not be too big; pages should be clear and simple so that users are able to find essential information quickly. It is important to have more time for learning, rather than to waste time browsing. 3. Learning paths should be flexible. Each user s knowledge of specific topics is probably different. Consequently, an e-learning web site should provide different levels of study. 3. Moodle for the Course of Electrical Measurements The introduction of Moodle for the Course of Electrical Measurements has been very effective to organise a traditional course and it has a real effect on the quality of the course. The material about lessons (slides, files ) is published in the site day by day as well assignment and quizzes. The following is a short synthesis of the different methodologies used inside the course and their results: Simulation tools specific for the field (steep improvement of skills) Problem Based Learning (PBL) approach (quite effective) Cooperative work and publicity of reports (has increased motivation) Thematic forums (improve communication, though not everybody is taking advantage of them) Online testing with automatic scoring used for informal assessments during the course (the immediate feedback provides a strong stimulus to improve the score) Creation of glossaries about metrological terms (deeper knowledge about the meanings of the words used). 3. 1 Simulation tools Students can perform virtual measurements by accessing a library of experimental exercises accompanied with theoretical explanations [1], [2], [3]. For example, choosing the instrument Simulated Oscilloscope, it is possible to work with a virtual oscilloscope. In this case, there is no real instrument connected to the PC but only a virtual instrument running on the local server. For every virtual instrument present, the theoretical foundations are available, allowing different learning paths. The students are able to perform experimental exercises and repeat them freely without being limited by the opening hours of the laboratory. If students encounter difficulties, it is possible to perform virtual exercises that lead, step by step, to the
final real exercise. If necessary, it is also possible to make a careful theoretical study through available documents. Furthermore, this virtual study can be used as a preliminary approach before executing real exercises in the laboratory itself. 3. 2 Problem Based Learning (PBL) approach Within a PBL-Course in Electrical Measurements, the starting point is, for example, the question: How to measure this resistance?. This question is asked since the first lesson. In the first stage, students have only the previous knowledge about Electrotechnics. They don t know anything about measurement methods and electrical/electronic instruments. Only a simple multimeter is provided to allow the measurement of a resistance. The learning process starts and day after day students need to know more about the measurement of a resistance. At the end of the course, the students will be able to use methods and instruments to answer in the best way to the original question. In the application of PBL students are more motivated and there is more participation. Students become active participants of education and in this way they activate the process of continuous education, essential to face the rapid changes in science and technology [4]. 3. 3 Cooperative work and publicity of reports The students are subdivided in small groups, 3 or 4 components. Usually it is the first time that they are obliged to work in group. They must learn to compare different opinions and to produce a report that will be evaluated as an output of a group. Reports can be accessible, through the site, by other groups. This is another way to improve the quality of the reports. 3. 4 Thematic forums Thematic forums are very important to open a discussion about a particular topic. Communication among registered users is possible through an Instant Messaging Service too. In the FAQ section, the students may find answers to questions that they may have. Questions not answered in the FAQ can be posted in the discussion forum available for users. 3. 5 Online testing Some kinds of quizzes are designed to provide an automatic score after their completion. The immediate feedback is a stimulus to improve the score. Assignments are evaluated too, usually not in an automatic way. It is possible for teachers explain through comments the main aspects of the report to be improved. 3. 6 Creation of glossaries The students are invited to fill glossaries using metrological terms drawn by the International Vocabulary of Metrology [5] and by other metrological dictionaries. When they translate terms from English to Italian, they are obliged to fully understand the meanings of the words. In this way they learn the use of these terms in the right way after a discussion with the colleagues.
4. About the use of simulation tools within the Moodle site The development and the use of the proposed system is based on my experience in this particular field. Over the last years, I have introduced and tested several methods to help the students approach to the laboratory instruments. I verified that (see Figure 1): - the complete simulation of the instruments is useless; - the remote control of the physical instruments through appropriate interfaces allows to reproduce every function of the devices, but is limited by the absence of the practical concerns the students would encounter in the laboratory. The students recognize the utility of a specific training before the real laboratory. The student s awareness and effectiveness in the laboratory increased significantly. This resulted in a significant reduction in the use of laboratory resources (about 50% less in time compared to the past) although the virtual laboratory forces the students to spend more time on the simulated exercises. Students learning and knowledge have also improved. Furthermore, the students are able to decide how to manage their time in accordance to their needs. Figure 1: Comparison between different didactic methods 5. In conclusion As a friendly environment for the exchange of information, the web site offers numerous possibilities for interaction among students, teachers and tutors. The quality of learning is better and it is a valid integration for face-to-face situations. I propose a bottom-up approach to effectively increase the Quality in Higher Education through the implementation of methodological innovations in teaching and learning that I have tested over the years and I believe have a real effect on quality.
Through the web site, students can access different resources at the same time. They are able to perform assignments and exercises. As web-based studying is not dependant on time and place, students can choose freely the time to perform the assignments. After the introduction of this CMS, I observed a larger and better participation of students in comparison with the previous years. In conclusion I think that Moodle is a powerful instrument for the improvement of quality of teaching and learning. It is very easy to organize and manage a course, but it is very demanding in terms of time and energy. References [1] L. Podestà: Hypertext and Virtual Instrumentation for Practical Electrical Measurements Exercises. IMTC/97, IEEE Instrumentation and Measurement Technology Conference, Ottawa, Canada, May 19-21, 1997. [2] Podestà, L. (2002). A Web Browser for Remote Control of Measurements Systems, IMTC/2002, IEEE Instrumentation and Measurement Technology Conference, Anchorage, AK, USA, May 21 23. [3] H. Edwards: Building an Interactive Web Page with DataSocket. Online, Application Note 127, National Instruments 2000. [4] JCGM 200:2008, International vocabulary of metrology Basic and general concepts and associated terms (VIM). Paris : JCGM, 2007. [5] Kolmos, A., Fink, F. K. and Krogh, L. (Eds.) (2004). The Aalborg PBL Model Progress, Diversity and Challenges. Aalborg, Aalborg University Press.