PRESENTATION

In the past decades there have been several initiatives to broaden access to the learning traditionally offered through formal education systems. The boundaries between formal and non-formal education are becoming more and more blurred and there are ever-growing open practices and a wider range of Open Educational Resources (OERs) which aim for ‘opening up’ education to anyone, anywhere. In this course we will look at the open provision of educational resources and practices for language learning, which have been enabled by information and communication technologies. 

A video presentation of this subject has been elaborated by its coordinator, Dr. Elena Martín-Monje, and can be accessed through this link:  https://canal.uned.es/mmobj/index/id/54668 

CONTEXTUALIZATION

The Web 2.0 philosophy has transformed the digital environment into a space for online creation and collaboration, changing the way in which learning is undertaken. Since the appearance of the Open Course Ware (OCW) initiative at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in 2002, there has been a significant increase in projects related to Open Educational Resources (OER), Open Educational Practices (OEP) and Open Education in general. This has given teachers a unique opportunity to share, use and reuse materials and tools, and has naturally led to alternative approaches to language instruction, which blur the distinction between formal, non-formal and informal education, and encourage new models of content delivery, tuition, assessment and accreditation.

It is in this context that Personal Learning Environments (PLEs) come into the picture. They are a natural evolution from the widely used virtual learning environments (Moodle, Blackboard, aLF at UNED) and provide a more creative, adaptive learning environment, since they allow students to customise their set of resources and learning materials.

All these initiatives recognise that that learning is ongoing and seek to provide tools to support that learning. This course provides an overview of the current situation in Foreign Language learning, in which there has never been a wider range of methodologies, practices and resources that encourage a culture of sharing and yet all these new initiatives do not seem to have fully materialized yet. 

PREVIOUS REQUIREMENTS

An adequate knowledge of the English Language is required (B2 or more) and a strong commitment to use, produce and share free learning resources and research outcomes.

Dr. Elena Martín Monje (coordinator) 
Address: Office N. 002  
                  Departamento de Filologías Extranjeras y sus Lingüísticas  
                  Facultad de Filología  
                  Paseo de la Senda del Rey, 7  
                  28040 Madrid 

Tel: (+34) 91 398 8719 
E-mail: emartin@flog.uned.es 
Office hours:  Monday, 9:30 - 13:30  

Dr. María Dolores Castrillo de Larreta-Azelain
Address: Office N. 531 
    Departamento de Filologías Extranjeras y sus Lingüísticas
    Facultad de Filología
    Paseo de la Senda del Rey, 7
    28040 Madrid
Tel: (+34) 913989236
E-mail: mcastrillo@flog.uned.es
Office hours: Wednesday, 9:30 -13:30

Competencias Básicas:

CB6 - Poseer y comprender conocimientos que aporten una base u oportunidad de ser originales en el desarrollo y/o aplicación de ideas, a menudo en un contexto de investigación

CB7 - Que los estudiantes sepan aplicar los conocimientos adquiridos y su capacidad de resolución de problemas en entornos nuevos o poco conocidos dentro de contextos más amplios (o multidisciplinares) relacionados con su área de estudio

CB8 - Que los estudiantes sean capaces de integrar conocimientos y enfrentarse a la complejidad de formular juicios a partir de una información que, siendo incompleta o limitada, incluya reflexiones sobre las responsabilidades sociales y éticas vinculadas a la aplicación de sus conocimientos y juicios

CB9 - Que los estudiantes sepan comunicar sus conclusiones y los conocimientos y razones últimas que las sustentan a públicos especializados y no especializados de un modo claro y sin ambigüedades

CB10 - Que los estudiantes posean las habilidades de aprendizaje que les permitan continuar estudiando de un modo que habrá de ser en gran medida autodirigido o autónomo.

Competencias Generales:

CG01 - Adquirir iniciativa y motivación

CG04 - Adquirir competencias cognitivas superiores en análisis y síntesis

CG13 - Desarrollar competencias en la búsqueda, procesamiento y difusión de información y conocimiento

CG14 - Desarrollar competencias en la gestión y organización de la información y la documentación

CG15 - Desarrollar competencias en la recolección y análisis de datos, el manejo de bases de datos y su presentación

Competencias Específicas:

CE04 - Analizar de forma crítica y reflexiva las opciones metodológicas que se presentan en diversos contextos de investigación lingüística, así como fundamentar las propias decisiones.

CE05 - Dominar el manejo de datos y la toma de decisiones sobre los análisis pertinentes.

CE21 - Analizar y reflexionar sobre los elementos que sustentan la ELAO: diseño, herramientas comunicativas, marcos metodológicos, evaluación, etc.

CE24 - Probar las versiones más completas y avanzadas de aprendizaje social de lenguas asistido por ordenador.

CE25 - Practicar el manejo de las herramientas más sofisticadas disponibles para el desarrollo de aspectos lingüísticos y comunicativos concretos.

CE26 - Analizar las posibilidades de los materiales audiovisuales auténticos que se pueden encontrar en medios de comunicación (televisión, radio) y en la red (Internet) para adaptarlos y explotarlos en la clase de lenguas extranjeras.

CE30 - Analizar y reflexionar sobre los marcos metodológicos para la enseñanza en línea de lenguas extranjeras.

LEARNING OUTCOMES

This subject contributes to develop the following learning outcomes:

1.  To understand the issues of Open Educational Practices applied to Language Learning. Students should adopt a producer role as active participants in the learning process.

2.  To encourage students to publish work as Open Educational Resources for Language Learning. Students can make a significant contribution to increasing the use of OER by publishing their work under an open license.

3.  To take an active role in assuring the quality of Open Educational Resources for Language Learning, so that they play an active role in assuring the quality of content by adding comments on what content they are finding useful and why.

4.  To participate in activities to support Open Educational Resources for Language Learning development. To support the use of Open Educational Resources for Language Learning for the purposes of self-directed study and, at a more advanced level, by being able to create their own curriculum/courses of study.

METHODOLOGY

This subject complies with a Distance Learning Methodology, combining autonomous and social learning in a virtual environment. Students are expected to undertake self-directed learning and also interact with the teaching team and course mates. The main methodological principles in this subject are:

- Distributed Cognition and Connectivism to emphasize the ontological nature of knowledge as “in-between” people, artifacts and different environments.

- Activity Theory to offer a “design in use” perspective on open language learning, with a focus on the learners’ goals that direct their actions.

- Social Constructivism and Communities of Practice to highlight the structures and processes that scaffold learning in formal and informal environments.

- Student-Centered Learning and Personalized Learning to give students opportunities to lead learning activities, participate more actively in discussions, design their own learning projects, explore topics that interest them, and generally contribute to the design of their own course of study.

These principles will be applied in different activities based on the creation and/or adaptation of Open Educational Resources for Language Learning.

BASIC BIBLIOGRAPHY

All the necessary learning resources will be provided in the online platform. Besides, some good reference materials are:

• Beaven,A., Comas-Quinn,A. & Sawhill, B.(Eds.). (2013). Case Studies of Openness in the Language Classroom https://research-publishing.net/book?10.14705/rpnet.2013.9781908416100
• Blyth, C. S., & Thoms, J. J. (2021). Open Education and Second Language Learning and Teaching. Multilingual Matters. https://doi.org/10.21832/blyth0992
• Comas-Quinn, A., Beaven, A. & Sawhill, B. (Eds.). (2019). New Case Studies of Openness in and Beyond the Language Classroom https://research-publishing.net/book?10.14705/rpnet.2019.37.9782490057511 
• Martín-Monje, E. & Bárcena, E. (Eds.) Language MOOCs: Providing Learning, Transcending Boundaries. Warsaw/Berlin: De Gruyter: https://www.degruyter.com/document/doi/10.2478/9783110420067/html 
• OER Handbook for Educators 1.0  http://goo.gl/o7xu3H

COMPLEMENTARY BIBLIOGRAPHY

• Bonk, C.J.; Lee, M.M.; Reeves, T.C. & Reynolds, T.H. (eds.). (2015). MOOCs and Open Education around the World. London: Routledge. 
• Daniel, J. (2012). Making sense of MOOCs: Musings in a maze of myth, paradox and possibility. Journal of Interactive Media in Education, 2012(3), Art-18. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5334/2012-18
• Downes, S. (2012, January 6). Creating the Connectivist Course. [Blog post]. Retrieved from http://halfanhour.blogspot.com.es/2012/01/creating-connectivist-course.html
• Godwin-Jones, R. (2012). Emerging Technologies: Challenging hegemonies in online learning. Language Learning & Technology, 16(2), 4-13. Retrieved from http://llt.msu.edu/issues/june2012/emerging.pdf
• Littlefield, J. (2015). The Dark Side of the MOOCs: Big Problems with Massively [sic] Open Online Courses. Retrieved from: http://distancelearn.about.com/od/isitforyou/a/The-Dark-Side-Of-The-Moocs-Big-Problems-With-Massively-Open-Online-Courses.htm
• Martinez, M. (2001). Key design considerations for personalized learning on the web. Educational Technology & Society, 4(1), 26-40. 
• Steels, L. (2003) Social language learning. In M. Tokoro & L. Steels (eds.). The Future of Learning. Amsterdam: IOS Press, 133-162.
• Vázquez-Cano, E. & Martín-Monje, E. (2014). Nuevas tendencias en la elaboración y utilización de materiales digitales para la enseñanza de lenguas. Madrid: McGraw-Hill-Interamericana.
• Vázquez-Cano, E., López-Meneses, E. & Sarasola, J.L. (2013). La expansión del conocimiento en abierto: Los MOOCs.Barcelona: Octaedro.

SUPPPORT MATERIALS

This subject has a virtual course with different tools for communication between students and teacher. The Internet is used as a source of information related to all areas covered in the course. Communication among students through the virtual course allows collaborative learning and the achievement of common goals shared among students.

Some reference websites are:

• Creative Commons licenses https://creativecommons.org/
• OER Commons, a public digital library of open educational resources https://www.oercommons.org/
• COERLL, the Center for Open Educational Resources and Language Learning https://www.coerll.utexas.edu/coerll/