"Healthy Eating" as a 4SPPIces Model and in LdShake

Computer Supported Collaborative Blended Learning (CSCBL) scripts are a particular type of collaborative blended learning (CBL) designs for supporting collaboration in structured sequences of activities taking place at different spaces (in and beyond the classroom) and supported by a variety of technologies (cameras, computers, displays such as a smartboard…). The major difficulty when addressing these designs relies on finding out how to exploit the potentialities of these technologies aligned with the learning objectives to be achieved. To acquire a good balance between technology and education it is necessary to involve and assure the mutual understanding of two main actors: practitioners (experts in education) and technicians (aware of the technologies available and their potential).

4SPPIces is a conceptual model conceived for providing practitioners and technicians with a conversational framework to support and facilitate the creation of CSCBL scripts (Pérez-Sanagustín et al., in press). The 4SPPIces conceptual model has been integrated into LdShake. LdShake is a web tool that enables social sharing, co-editing, commenting and tagging educational designs (Hernández-Leo et al., 2011). The combination of LdShake and 4SPPIces provides a virtual space in which teachers and practitioners can have design conversations about CSCBL scripts considering all the factors defined in the model.

As a work usage example, we provide a step-by-step description of the process followed to define the third-party scenario “Healthy eating”. The result is a new representation of this learning scenario structured according with the 4SPPIces model and represented in LdShake to be shared with other practitioners or researchers (Figure 1).

In LdShake, teachers can select the template 4SPPIces-Template. In the first page, they find a brief description of the model and how they can use it for starting their design (Tab 1 in Figure 1). 4SPPIces identifies four factors to be considered in this learning design process: the Space (S), the Pedagogical method (PM), the Participants (P) and the History (H). Each of the factors and facets are explained in detail into four different tabs as part of the same design. A set of questions epitomizes the aspects included in the facets, helping practitioners and designers to recognize those relevant issues that could affect their final scenario design. Both, practitioners and technicians can co-edit the same design and leave their comments on a special tab associated to the design.

The Pedagogical method describes the description of a sequence of learning and teaching activities (Tab 2 in Figure 1). The lesson 2 has been structured as 6 different phases of the PM with different timings (see PM in Figure XXX). For each activity, it is specified whether the activities are individual (P2) or not (P1, P3, P4, P5 and P6). Although it is not shown in the figure, the incomes and outcomes used and produced represent the data flow that integrates the activities in a sequence. For example, in P4 the income data are the inquiry methods agreed by the entire group, the selected questions generated by each group, and the pictures that the teacher shows in the toolkit. The outcomes are the name of the group and the observation data.

The Participants (P) factor specifies who participate in the learning activity and where they are located (Tab 3 the Figure 1). There are three actors involved: 1 teacher, 1nutritional expert and 28 pupils. Each participant is associated to a task and to a particular location. Pupils and the teacher are located in the classroom, while the nutritional expert communicates with the students via e-mail.

The Space (S) defines the planned environment where the learning activity is going to take place (Tab 3 in Figure 1). In the example there are two physical spaces, classroom and home, and one virtual space that corresponds to the toolkit used by the students to store their evidences. Also, the technological support employed for the investigation are specified: netbook with Internet connection used in class, camera for getting evidences at home and a computer to upload the evidences and select the inquiry methods. For each technological support, it is specified whether it will be used collectively (the projector in P1) or individually (netbooks in P2).

Finally, the History (H) models what is likely to be varied during the activity enactment that requires a flexible management (Tab 4 in Figure 1). This factor models the relationships between the learning flow of the PM, the P and the S that might affect the activity enactment. The H expresses the need of a technological setting to store and share the resources generated by each participant accessing from any of the spatial locations involved in the activity. Typically, a technician should identify the technological setting that best support all the factors and their relationships.

Figure 1. 4SPPIces model integrated in LdShake for supporting the co-edition of CSCBL scripts.

References

Hernández-Leo, D., Romeo, L., Carralero, M.A., Chacón, J., Carrió, M., Moreno, P., Blat, J. LdShake: Learning design solutions sharing and co-edition, Computers & Education, 57(4), 2011, p. 2249-2260.

Pérez- Sanagustín, M., Santos, P., Hernández-Leo, D., Josep Blat, 4SPPices: A case study of factors in a scripted collaborative-learning blended course across spatial locations, International Journal of Computer Supported Collaborative Learning, pp. 1-23, 2012 (doi: 10.1007/s11412- 011-9139-3)