Alessandra Antonaci
Open universiteit, Educational Science, Department Member
- Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche (CNR), Istituto per le Tecnologie Didattiche, Department Memberadd
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espanolEsta contribucion se ocupa de la educacion empresarial; al hacerlo, se basa en la experiencia llevada a cabo en el marco del proyecto de la UE “estimular el espiritu empresarial a traves de juegos serios (ESG)”, donde se diseno un... more
espanolEsta contribucion se ocupa de la educacion empresarial; al hacerlo, se basa en la experiencia llevada a cabo en el marco del proyecto de la UE “estimular el espiritu empresarial a traves de juegos serios (ESG)”, donde se diseno un modelo teorico para EE y se adopto una innovadora metodologia de trabajo basada en juegos serios y gamification. En realidad, tiene como objetivo apoyar basados en la experiencia reflexiones sobre: 1) ?Cuales son / deberian ser los pilares de la educacion empresarial y 2) si innovadoras metodologias de ensenanza / aprendizaje, tales como juegos serios y gamification pueden contribuir eficazmente a renovar y mejorar EE. Despues de la definicion del concepto de la educacion empresarial en el contexto europeo, el documento describe brevemente el proyecto de ESG, centrandose en el experimento de campo llevado a cabo en Italia. El modelo teorico desarrollado y adoptado en el experimento se describe. Posteriormente simple vista se lanza a la innovadora metodologia de ensenanza / aprendizaje empleada, que se basa en gran medida en las tecnicas de gamification y se integro en linea con presencia en actividades de colaboracion. EnglishThis contribution deals with Entrepreneurship Education; in doing so, it draws on the experience conducted in the framework of the EU project “stimulating Entrepreneurship through Serious Games (eSG)”1 ,where a theoretical model for EE was devised and an innovative working methodology based on Serious Games and gamification was adopted. Actually, it aims at supporting experience-based reflections on: 1) what are/should be the pillars of Entrepreneurship Education and 2) whether innovative learning/teaching methodologies such as Serious Games and gamification can effectively contribute to renew and enhance EE. After framing the concept of Entrepreneurship Education in the European context, the paper briefly describes the eSG project by focusing on the field experiment conducted in Italy. The theoretical model devised and adopted in the experiment is outlined. Subsequently a glance is cast to the innovative learning/teaching methodology employed, which was largely based on gamification techniques and integrated online with in presence collaborative activities
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Stracke, C. M., & Antonaci, A. (2017, 27 June). Evidence-based Inclusive School Education for All. Presentation at the EBE-EUSMOSI Conference, Rome, Italy.
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In today’s society, both employees and job seekers have to keep their knowledge and skills up to date, without investing too much time in doing so. The traditional offer of European higher education institutions does not meet this need,... more
In today’s society, both employees and job seekers have to keep their knowledge and skills up to date, without investing too much time in doing so. The traditional offer of European higher education institutions does not meet this need, as continuing education programs are not flexibly organised, and most people cannot invest years in a bachelor’s or master’s degree. As a consequence, to meet these learners’ needs, universities are required to provide more compact qualifications. Online micro-credentials and short learning programmes are formats that respond to this need. After defining both the terms microcredentials and short learning programmes, this paper introduces a framework developed within the European MOOCs Consortium: the Common Microcredentials Framework- CMF, whose final aim is, from one side of facilitating the development of these types of programmes among traditional institutions and MOOC providers, and, from the other side, their recognition among European higher education institutions
In today’s society, both employees and job seekers have to keep their knowledge and skills up to date, without investing too much time in doing so. The traditional offer of European higher education institutions does not meet this need,... more
In today’s society, both employees and job seekers have to keep their knowledge and skills up to date, without investing too much time in doing so. The traditional offer of European higher education institutions does not meet this need, as continuing education programs are not flexibly organised, and most people cannot invest years in a bachelor’s or master’s degree. As a consequence, to meet these learners’ needs, universities are required to provide more compact qualifications. Online micro-credentials and short learning programmes are formats that respond to this need. After defining both the terms microcredentials and short learning programmes, this paper introduces a framework developed within the European MOOCs Consortium: the Common Microcredentials Framework- CMF, whose final aim is, from one side of facilitating the development of these types of programmes among traditional institutions and MOOC providers, and, from the other side, their recognition among European higher education institutions
As learners seek more flexible learning opportunities, and employers become gradually more open to accepting alternative forms of credentials, there is a need to improve the visibility and quality of the online information available about... more
As learners seek more flexible learning opportunities, and employers become gradually more open to accepting alternative forms of credentials, there is a need to improve the visibility and quality of the online information available about such opportunities. This information includes not only the descriptions of formal and non-formal learning opportunities, from full degree programmes to optional courses and MOOCs, but also the credentials learning opportunities can lead to and by whom these credentials are recognised. The new Europass initiative of the European Union is a major step forward in this respect, offering the possibility to search for both learning and employment opportunities via a platform that will support a variety of different credentials. Building on the Europass Learning Model, the Erasmus+ ECCOE project makes a significant contribution to this future platform, by defining specific quality criteria for evaluating both learning opportunities and their credentials. ...
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A wide variety of Virtual Museums (VMs) exist, which are different not only as to the contents, but also as to structure, objectives, implementation techniques, presentation methods, as well as interaction approaches. Nowadays the... more
A wide variety of Virtual Museums (VMs) exist, which are different not only as to the contents, but also as to structure, objectives, implementation techniques, presentation methods, as well as interaction approaches. Nowadays the educational potential of VMs is widely acknowledged, although their actual use for educational purposes is still very limited (at least in formal educational contexts). This is what emerges from a survey conducted by the authors among Italian teachers and students, showing that the adoption of VMs in schools is still infrequent and not fully integrated in the standard educational practice. In the paper, after defining the concept of VMs and giving the results of a survey conducted by the authors witnessing the limited use of these tools in formal educational contexts, a reflection is conducted on their educational potential: VMs, besides addressing cultural heritage education, can often contribute to enhance some of the “transversal ” 21st Century skills, ...
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This contribution deals with Entrepreneurship Education (EE), a growing area of education that reaches beyond the strict confines of economics and business studies. Indeed, the fundamental aim of EE is to develop an entrepreneurially... more
This contribution deals with Entrepreneurship Education (EE), a growing area of education that reaches beyond the strict confines of economics and business studies. Indeed, the fundamental aim of EE is to develop an entrepreneurially oriented mindset. While this does involve providing learners with specific business skills, it also means fostering general competencies such as self-confidence, creativity, communication and collaboration.After briefly outlining the EE scene in Italy, the paper reports a field experience carried out in the framework of the European project calledeSG. It also offers some reflections about the suitability and effectiveness of activities based on innovative learning tools such as serious games and on non-traditional educational strategies like gamification.
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A wide variety of Virtual Museums (VMs) exist, which are different not only as to the contents, but also as to structure, objectives, implementation techniques, presentation methods, as well as interaction approaches. Nowadays the... more
A wide variety of Virtual Museums (VMs) exist, which are different not only as to the contents, but also as to structure, objectives, implementation techniques, presentation methods, as well as interaction approaches. Nowadays the educational potential of VMs is widely acknowledged, although their actual use for educational purposes is still very limited (at least in formal educational contexts). This is what emerges from a survey conducted by the authors among Italian teachers and students, showing that the adoption of VMs in schools is still infrequent and not fully integrated in the standard educational practice. In the paper, after defining the concept of VMs and giving the results of a survey conducted by the authors witnessing the limited use of these tools in formal educational contexts, a reflection is conducted on their educational potential: VMs, besides addressing cultural heritage education, can often contribute to enhance some of the “transversal” 21st Century skills, r...
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The lecture/keynote given at the Joint Technology-Enhanced Learning Summer School 2015. The presentation introduces the concept and shows examples of seamless and contextualised learning.
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Gamification is well known as a design strategy used to generate a change in users’ behaviour, such as motivation. However, while in recent years interest in it has been growing, empirical evidence on the effects that the application of... more
Gamification is well known as a design strategy used to generate a change in users’ behaviour, such as motivation. However, while in recent years interest in it has been growing, empirical evidence on the effects that the application of game elements can generate on users’ behaviour is still lacking. We present the results of a study as a step towards designing gamification with better understanding of the possible effects that each game element could generate on end users. By involving three groups of experts: game designers, learning scientists and specialists in technology-enhanced learning (TEL), we assessed a selected number of 21 game design patterns in relation to the effects these could generate on learning performance, goal achievement and engagement of learners if implemented in a Massive Online Open Course (MOOC). Based on quantitative and qualitative data collected, 9 game elements have been selected to be further investigated.
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espanolEsta contribucion se ocupa de la educacion empresarial; al hacerlo, se basa en la experiencia llevada a cabo en el marco del proyecto de la UE “estimular el espiritu empresarial a traves de juegos serios (ESG)”, donde se diseno un... more
espanolEsta contribucion se ocupa de la educacion empresarial; al hacerlo, se basa en la experiencia llevada a cabo en el marco del proyecto de la UE “estimular el espiritu empresarial a traves de juegos serios (ESG)”, donde se diseno un modelo teorico para EE y se adopto una innovadora metodologia de trabajo basada en juegos serios y gamification. En realidad, tiene como objetivo apoyar basados en la experiencia reflexiones sobre: 1) ?Cuales son / deberian ser los pilares de la educacion empresarial y 2) si innovadoras metodologias de ensenanza / aprendizaje, tales como juegos serios y gamification pueden contribuir eficazmente a renovar y mejorar EE. Despues de la definicion del concepto de la educacion empresarial en el contexto europeo, el documento describe brevemente el proyecto de ESG, centrandose en el experimento de campo llevado a cabo en Italia. El modelo teorico desarrollado y adoptado en el experimento se describe. Posteriormente simple vista se lanza a la innovador...
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The social and individual aspects of MOOCs are two sides of the same coin. However, while the majority of MOOC designs do not valorise the potential that a massive audience could bring in, several studies highlight the solomission mode of... more
The social and individual aspects of MOOCs are two sides of the same coin. However, while the majority of MOOC designs do not valorise the potential that a massive audience could bring in, several studies highlight the solomission mode of MOOC users’ experience. Based on implementation intention, social presence, social influence and flow theory we conceptualise our gamification design of MOOCs that embraces their social and individual aspects. We present the gamification design process, our theoretical framework, the quantitative and qualitative results of our study to identify the most suitable game elements, their conceptual design, and our recommendations. Our findings enable designers of gamification and MOOCs as well, to see these two phenomena under a new light, by referring to new theories and new game elements that were not being considered before in the design of a gamified MOOC aiming at enhancing users’ goal achievement and engagement.
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47% of the world population uses the internet daily, and access is growing also in less developed countries (LDCs). As a consequence, a total of almost 1 billion households in the world have internet access, of which 48 million belong... more
47% of the world population uses the internet daily, and access is growing also in less developed countries (LDCs). As a consequence, a total of almost 1 billion households in the world have internet access, of which 48 million belong from LDCs (ITU, 2016). A large proportion of internet users are teenagers, who often are not aware of all the risks related to sharing private information through the Internet using for instance social networks. This paper summarizes how much time students pass online, in what activities they prefer to be involved, which risks they are confronted with, and what can be done to reduce them. The solution we propose isan investment on the teacher level, recognized here as a key figure to be trained to become I (information) Secure Agent via an online course. The course will follow a gamified approach for empowering information security education. Our assumption is that gamification will have positive effects on participants’ engagement and goal achievement
In the last years the protection and safeguarding of cultural heritage has become a key issue of European cultural policy and this applies not only to tangible artefacts (monuments, sites, etc.), but also to intangible cultural... more
In the last years the protection and safeguarding of cultural heritage has become a key issue of European cultural policy and this applies not only to tangible artefacts (monuments, sites, etc.), but also to intangible cultural expressions (singing, dancing, etc.). The i-Treasures project focuses on some Intangible Cultural Heritages (ICH) and investigates whether and to what extent new technology can play a role in the preservation and dissemination of these expressions. To this aim, the project will develop a system, based on cutting edge technology and sensors, that digitally captures the performances of living human treasures, analyses the digital information to semantically index the performances and their constituting elements, and builds an educational platform on top of the semantically indexed content. The main purpose of this paper is to describe how the user requirements of this system were defined. The requirements definition process was based on a participatory approach...
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Gamification has recently been presented as a successful strategy to engage users, with potential for online education. However, while the number of publications on gamification has been increasing in recent years, a classification of its... more
Gamification has recently been presented as a successful strategy to engage users, with potential for online education. However, while the number of publications on gamification has been increasing in recent years, a classification of its empirical effects is still missing. We present a systematic literature review conducted with the purpose of closing this gap by clarifying what effects gamification generates on users’ behaviour in online learning. Based on the studies analysed, the game elements most used in the literature are identified and mapped with the effects they produced on learners. Furthermore, we cluster these empirical effects of gamification into six areas: performance, motivation, engagement, attitude towards gamification, collaboration, and social awareness. The findings of our systematic literature review point out that gamification and its application in online learning and in particular in Massive Online Open Courses (MOOCs) are still a young field, lacking in em...
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Goal achievement is a measure of success; this could be particularly true in Massive Online Open Courses (MOOC), which are approached by a massive audience with an enormous variety of needs. However, in MOOC one is unlikely to find... more
Goal achievement is a measure of success; this could be particularly true in Massive Online Open Courses (MOOC), which are approached by a massive audience with an enormous variety of needs. However, in MOOC one is unlikely to find solutions which allow students to pursue their individual goals and achieve them. Inspired by implementation intention theory and strategy games we have developed the first prototype of the game element Stimulated Planning (SP) which will enable MOOC users to achieve their goals. In this study we have investigated SP usability via usability test, eye tracking and the retrospective think-aloud. As well as we have examined if our design choices matched the conceptual planning process of our users. We found that our system matches our sample’s idea of planning and that our system usability can be improved further. Our findings are the base of our future works.
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The social and individual aspects of MOOCs are two sides of the same coin. However, while the majority of MOOC designs do not valorise the potential that a massive audience could bring in, several studies highlight the solo-mission mode... more
The social and individual aspects of MOOCs are two sides of the same coin. However, while the majority of MOOC designs do not valorise the potential that a massive audience could bring in, several studies highlight the solo-mission mode of MOOC users’ experience. Based on implementation intention, social presence, social influence and flow theory we conceptualise our gamification design of MOOCs that embraces their social and individual aspects. We present the gamification design process, our theoretical framework, the quantitative and qualitative results of our study to identify the most suitable game elements, their conceptual design, and our recommendations. Our findings enable designers of gamification and MOOCs as well, to see these two phenomena under a new light, by referring to new theories and new game elements that were not being considered before in the design of a gamified MOOC aiming at enhancing users’ goal achievement and engagement.
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he paper draws on the i-Treasures project, an Integrated Project co-financed by EU under the ICT theme (Information and Communication Technologies) of the FP7 (7th Framework Program), which deals with the use of advanced ICT technologies... more
he paper draws on the i-Treasures project, an Integrated Project co-financed by EU under the ICT theme (Information and Communication Technologies) of the FP7 (7th Framework Program), which deals with the use of advanced ICT technologies in the field of Intangible Cultural Heritage (ICH) education. The project aims at going far beyond the mere ICT-enhanced dissemination; rather it is meant to support the learning and passing down of the rare know-how behind the various ICHs by means of cutting edge ICT and sensor technologies. In doing so, it focuses on four use cases: a) Rare Traditional Songs, b) Rare Dance Interactions, c) Traditional Craftsmanship and d) Contemporary Music Composition. An open and extendable platform is being developed, which provides access to rare ICH resources and offers a dedicated Learning Management System, able to sustain innovative teaching and learning practices in ICH education
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The paper puts forward the idea that Virtual Museums (VMs) can effectively support learning innovation. In the light of a comprehensive definition of learning innovation where the adoption of both innovative tools and methods is taken... more
The paper puts forward the idea that Virtual Museums (VMs) can effectively support learning innovation. In the light of a comprehensive definition of learning innovation where the adoption of both innovative tools and methods is taken into account, the paper presents the concept of Virtual Museum and discusses around their educational potential and value. Actually, VMs are innovative software applications that use vision, narration and interaction to create immersive experiences that bring visitors, students, scientists inside history, past landscapes, art, towns etc….They deal with a wide variety of contents and adopt various approaches to support information delivery, awareness raising, knowledge creation and, ultimately, learning. In order to correctly frame the adoption of VMs for educational purposes, three different Virtual Museums are briefly presented by also underlining how, despite the specificity of the contents displayed, all of them can contribute to foster the students...
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In recent times in most EU countries educational policies encourage schools to sustain and promote awareness of local cultures and heritage; as a consequence, spreading knowledge about local traditions is becoming a target also for... more
In recent times in most EU countries educational policies encourage schools to sustain and promote awareness of local cultures and heritage; as a consequence, spreading knowledge about local traditions is becoming a target also for educators, who need suitable tools and pedagogies, as well as appropriate sources of information. This paper refers to those cultural expressions that are defined by UNESCO as ICH (Intangible Cultural Heritage) and argues that ICT-based tools can contribute to their diffusion and to the “passing down” to the new generations of the rare know- how behind them. After briefly dealing with the concept of ICH and its value within local communities, the paper refers, as an example, to Cantu a Tenore, a typical singing expression from Sardinia-Italy which is listed in the “Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity”. The Cantu a Tenore is a cultural practice that is not yet well known outside Sardinia and so far its transmission has been mainly based on practicing together with peers, looking at and listening to master singers. Corrently, Net ‐Technologies can play a major role in supporting the diffusion of information regarding the Cantu a Tenore and also its “learning” and “transmission”. This feeling is also widespread among the “living human treasures” themselves, namely in those humans who are the depositary of this peculiar and relevant cultural heritage. As a matter of fact, on the one hand a huge amount of information and data (historical, geographical, technical, etc.) are accessible on the web and, on the other, web 2.0 tools can effectively contribute to spreading the rare know- how behind Cantu a Tenore beyond the local communities, to reach learners, general public and researchers. In addition, cutting edge ICT tools can well serve the scope of contributing to the transmission of specific skills to apprentices; the educational platform developed in the framework of the i-Treasures project (an Integrated Project co-financed under the 7th Framework Programme) is an outstanding example of how to exploit the potential of tools and technologies to this end.
Research Interests: Business, Engineering, Educational Technology, Cultural Heritage, Intangible cultural heritage, and 8 moreTechnology Enhanced Learning, Intangible Cultural Heritage (Culture), Digital Cultural Heritage, Web, Information and Communications Technology, Arts and Cultural Heritage Education, Innovation, and Cultural Heritage Education
ABSTRACT The paper explores how Virtual Museums (VMs) can contribute to foster cultural heritage learning by adopting innovative learning/teaching strategies. VMs are innovative software applications that use vision, narration and... more
ABSTRACT The paper explores how Virtual Museums (VMs) can contribute to foster cultural heritage learning by adopting innovative learning/teaching strategies. VMs are innovative software applications that use vision, narration and interaction to create immersive experiences that bring visitors, students, scientists inside history, past landscapes, art, towns etc… They deal with a wide variety of contents and adopt various approaches to support information delivery, awareness raising, knowledge creation and, ultimately, learning. Three different examples of Virtual Museums are briefly presented in the paper with the final aim to show that, despite the specificity of the contents displayed, each of them can contribute to sustain learning by exploiting the potential of three different learning/teaching, strategies, able to support the students’ motivation by fully engaging them in the learning process. In this line, VMs can be considered adaptive learning tools effectively supporting learning innovation.
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ABSTRACT This paper puts forward the idea that Virtual Museums (VMs), if adopted in an instructional perspective, can effectively contribute to re-shape Cultural Heritage Education and can also contribute to sustain the new, multifaceted... more
ABSTRACT This paper puts forward the idea that Virtual Museums (VMs), if adopted in an instructional perspective, can effectively contribute to re-shape Cultural Heritage Education and can also contribute to sustain the new, multifaceted vision of “education” emerging in the 21st Century. VMs are significant examples of how cutting the edge ICT technologies can be embedded into applications oriented to knowledge raising and more specifically to learning. A wide variety of VMs exist, which are different not only as to the contents but also as to structure, specific objectives addressed, underpinning implementation techniques, presentation methods and interaction approaches adopted. Nowadays the educational potential of VMs is widely acknowledged although their actual use for educational purposes is still very limited (at least in formal educational contexts). This is what emerges from a wide-range survey conducted by the authors among Italian teachers and students: it depicts a situation where the adoption of VMs as educational tools in schools is still infrequent and not fully integrated in the standard educational practice although both the teachers and the students are confident in the potential of these means to sustain innovative, in-depth and effective learning experiences.
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ABSTRACT Gamification is gaining an increasing interest, also in the field of instruction and training, thanks to its promise of engaging and motivating users. This paper presents the experience of a gamified short course on promotion of... more
ABSTRACT Gamification is gaining an increasing interest, also in the field of instruction and training, thanks to its promise of engaging and motivating users. This paper presents the experience of a gamified short course on promotion of entrepreneurship that we have designed and executed for Electronic Engineering students. The short course relied on an extensive use of serious games for business and featured a team competition rewarding students’ gaming and written/oral reporting activities, assigning a cumulative score to define the team ranking for the final day playoff matches. The course experience was positive, and able to meet the goals in terms of engagement, learning and promotion of interest towards entrepreneurship. The presence of teachers was very important, introducing and explaining topics and giving indications and discussing the experience with students. It is important to balance extrinsic motivation with development of intrinsic motivation, in view of promoting real education.