The document discusses user-generated content (UGC) as a path for learning. It describes a study where students researched the topic of "Safety and Internet" by collecting information, designing blogs, and building an eLearning course using the collected materials. Students perceived the collaborative UGC strategy as useful for increasing their knowledge and considered it promoted easier learning. However, the document notes that thousands of academic works created as UGC are lost each year, and making this content available in open repositories could turn it into open educational resources (OER) for broader use and reuse in learning.

1. a path or a resource
for learning?
José Lagarto
Universidade Católica Portuguesa
26-29 June 2012
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CbW0b-nA/s1600/open+doors.jpg

2. Who am I ?
• Associated professor at Portuguese
Catholic University
• In charge of master degree in ICT and
Education (elearning)
• Researcher in field of elearning
and distance learning
2

3. UGC – definitions
• UGC – user generated contet
or
… User created content
Content created by users
(in HE institutions… or not)

4. OCDE – UGC definition
- It is content made publicly
available over the Internet, on a
webpage, or on a social networking site accessible to
a select group of people;
- It should reflects a certain amount
of creative effort - users must make a
certain effort to create or recreate content and add their
own value to it;
- It is created outside of
professional routines and
practices - It does not have a commercial
market context…non profits!

5. • From the OCDE definition, UGC can be:

6. UGC – a concede definition
UGC is content created and shared freely by University
students and/or teachers and has not been done
through a process of formal peer review.
Strategies used for promote
learning process
(activities, sharing, collaborativ
UGC e work)
A final product.

7. From UGC to OER’s
Thousands of academic
assignments or works are lost every
year – the UGC
Reusability
& rights
Repository UGC
Repository
OER

8. UGC – Safety and Internet –
one solution
a blog, (UGC)
a presentation (UGC)
an eleaning course (UGC)
on the subject of “Safety and Internet”.
8

9. UGC – production phases
safety and Internet – one solution
• Phase 1 – Collecting information and
designing a blog
• Phase 2 – Drawing synthesis
• Phase 3 – Building an elearning course with
the material collected in phase 1
• Phase 4 – Evaluation
• Face to face meeting
• Questionnaire

10. • Phase 1 – Collecting information and
designing a blog
manual
3 groups magazines
Collect and
A Select articles
B web sites
C
Organize and post
in Blog

11. Phase 1 – Collecting information and designing
a blog- blogging in Blackboard

12. Phase 1 – Collecting information and designing
a blog - blogging in Blackboard
• Sample of blog text
“Trying to communicate in secret in an
environment with thousands of potential
witnesses, such
as the Internet is, it’s difficult, and the
likelihood of someone overhearing a
conversation between two
parties increases as the
distance that separates them. Since
the Internet is truly global, no secret was to
be communicated through it without the help
of encryption, how to
preserve the reservation information.”

13. Phase 2 – Drawing synthesis
Tools and behaviours for
a safe Internet use
Educational behaviour
Anti virus
Personal
data, reference
s and pic.s

14. Phase 2 – content presentation

15. Phase 3 – building an elearning course with the
material collected in phase 1
Safe use of Internet
Course for
students, parents and
teachers

16. Phase 3 – building an elearning course
Safe use of Internet
Course for teachers
How the course
works

17. Phase 4 – evaluation: f2f meeting
• Meeting (last classsrom activity)

18. Evaluation – finding
evidences
• Data gathering methods
– Observation and document analysis
– Online survey
– Written assignment

19. Quiz categories
Evaluation
• research, posting and critique of selected
of personal contents to the blog in the Blackboard
and group work
Evaluating
• of content blogs of the other groups
the quality
Evaluating level of • that resulted from the presentations of
knowledge groups
Evaluation of the
• elearning course
final product
19

20. Student’s perceptions about UGC
strategy
I found much information I found content that did
that it was unaware not know very helpful
7% 7%
Disagree Disagree
21% 43%
Agree Agree
72% Completely 50% Completely
agree agree
20

21. Student’s perceptions about UGC
strategy
The set of content gathered The material gathered has
by the group covered this contributed to increase
topic my knowledge on this topic
7% 7% Strongly disagree
7%
Disagree 7% Disagree
21% Agree 50%
Neither agree
nor disagree
Completely
72% agree Agree
29%
Completely agree
21

22. Student’s perceptions about UGC
strategy
Overall, I The training
consider that the proposed proposal promotes an easier
task led me into new learning learning process
7% 7%
Disagree Disagree
57%
43%
14%
Neither agree 21% Neither agree
nor disagree nor disagree
22% Agree Agree
29%
Completely Completely
agree agree
22

23. Some conclusions from the field
Usefulness of collected information for their
personal knowledge
• …the main information got in the research was useful
and some of them were totally unknown. So the
usefulness is evident
The collaborative way of work, a new approach
to learning
• … collaborative work was the added value of this
strategy
The transferability of learning outcomes to
another contexts
• …the quality of final products done by the groups. The
final course proposal has quality enough to be
immediately used

24. Some final challenges around UGC

25. Thousands of academic
works are lost every
year. If the UGC is
placed in an available
repository it can
becomes an OER and
will be available to be
used. The door is open
for a more effective
learning by using and
reusing learning
objects.
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26. Thank you very much
jlagarto@ucp.pt