The EduOpen project has enabled the launch of the first federated MOOC platform promoted by a network that already comprised 17 partners one year after its kick-off. EduOpen was presented to the then Ministry for Education, University and Research in December 2014 by the University of Foggia (project leader), together with eight other Italian universities.
The project was managed by a Project Committee composed of the Rectors, or their delegates, of all participating universities and the Director of the EDUNOVA Centre, and chaired by the Rector of the University of Foggia. The Project Committee had the task of defining the procedures for any other Italian and/or foreign universities to join the project (Guidelines, 2015).
The platform is based on the LMS Moodle (infrastructure managed by the EDUNOVA inter-university centre, University of Modena-Reggio Emilia). It offers university-level courses taught by national and international academic experts covering numerous and diversified subject areas pertaining to the Departments of each partner university.
In line with the opportunities offered by lifelong and lifewide education, the courses delivered through the portal (learn.eduopen.org) exploit the potential of the web and social networking. By doing so, they reach out to a high number of students who independently decide to enrol in a Mooc for the most diverse reasons.
The main objective of the project, however, is to guide incoming students to the degree programmes, offering them online paths that address the main topics of the core subjects of each degree programme chosen, in a language that is specialised but at the same time accessible to all.
Through free registration on the platform, students have direct and free access to quality teaching materials, and are constantly in contact with expert tutors and course instructors, through the fora and online assessment activities. At the end of the entire course, a certificate is obtained, formalised through the Bestr platform and the CINECA consortium, the project's external partners. As Laura Menichetti (2017, p. 226) argues, ‘Moocs, as pertaining to open education, are in any case part of the most typical mission of the university system, that of offering quality education, nurturing research, and fostering the construction of new knowledge as a collective social product.’
Among other purposes, as stated in the project document submitted to the MIUR, the aims pursued by the EduOpen project were to:
- disseminate innovation by creating an Italian ecosystem of MOOCs that gives the right to ECTS, among other things, through the participation of numerous universities, already active in the distance learning landscape;
- implement an internationalisation strategy based on the offer of MOOCs in English, with the exchange of ECTS through specific agreements with other European universities offering MOOCs, and through the participation of important international MOOC consortia;
- launch a prolonged action-research strategy, the first in Italy for partnerships, useful for the ‘evidence-based’ development of an Italian plan aimed at the dissemination of open educational resources. In particular, it will investigate formats, interaction models, evaluation techniques and existing practices used by students, through Learning Analytics tools (Limone, 2016).
In terms of numbers, the project recorded:
- more than 21,000 open learners registered on the platform
- 98 courses available
- 12 pathways available online, diversified for the three levels included: Beginner, Intermediate, Advanced.
The University of Foggia, participating with all six Departments, currently has seven online courses, with another sixteen soon to be published and a First-Level Short Specialisation Programme on Teaching Innovation and CLIL methodology being promoted.
The UniTutor project proposal was approved in March 2017 (Public Notice no. 9 /2016 - Action and Cohesion Plan - approved by decision c(2016)1417 of 03/03/2016 - Actions for the enhancement of guidance services provided by Apulian universities). Following the approval of the project, the CEA planned to implement at least one blended degree programme for at least one degree programme of each Department of the University of Foggia. In addition, the UniTutor project envisages the availability of digital content and resources to support students of all the degree programmes, with regard to hurdle exams.
The blended approach is strongly user-centred (learner-centred) and adopts techniques that foster collaboration and cooperation among participants. The success of blended courses strongly depends on the quantity and quality of interactions that take place among peers and between teachers and participants (Dipace et al., 2014).
The design of blended pathways is aimed not only at students’ distance learning, but also at the skills development of the teachers engaged in producing the programmes.
Developments related to the use of computers in educational contexts now consider blended learning models to be successful. Blended learning refers to a mix of different learning environments and combines the traditional face-to-face method with computer-mediated activities, thus creating an integrated approach between teachers and learners.
In particular, the design focuses on organisational, methodological, content and technological aspects. The added value of the platform lies in the sharing of in-depth materials and the construction of online activities to support classroom teaching.
Here again comes the issue of participatory planning and support for training activities involving the co-design of teaching innovation actions through the use of new technologies, as well as outlining the new profile of the teacher and the student.
In its experience of producing blended programmes, the attention of the University of Foggia focuses on applying a creative blended approach that mixes and blends together different personal learning styles, learning experiences, the quality of online resources and the experience of teachers, in a blend of educational objectives.
In the production process, what is implemented is first and foremost the teacher's experience in their teaching practices. In-presence training is usually the core of every teacher's teaching practice. Transforming this into experience in the production of online courses appears neither easy nor obvious. What is required is an effort to rethink practices and teaching design per se; times, modes and spaces are rethought, and we are confronted with the non-presence of listening students, and with new student study and assessment activities.
To this end, the CEA envisages the launch of a specific training activity which is customised and aimed at teachers involved in the production of e-learning courses.
This training includes an in-depth study of the following topics:
- innovation in teaching practices;
- micro and macro planning and design of courses;
- use of media tools and e-tivities;
- online assessment and peer assessment methodologies.
Thanks to the support of online tutors, available to teachers and platform users, the CEA aims to be the hub for innovation in teaching and learning at the University of Foggia, measuring its activity in the quality and multimedia nature of the services provided.