Catálogo de publicaciones - libros

This paper describes research carried out at a telecommunications company, focusing on the changes caused by the implementation of Distance Education Systems (DES) for employee training. The objective was to analyze these changes from six points of view: structural, technological, cultural, political, strategic, and human, based on Motta’s analytical chart (1997). The research also tried to detect how to identify resistances generated with the implementation of the DES. Results show that there is a global consciousness that the DES represents an interesting learning alternative, and because of this, employees proved to be in favor of its use.

Virtual teams have recently provided an alternative way of organising work in organizations. The efficient management of virtual teams is a key component of overall organizational management. The objective of the present work is to analyze the performance of two virtual teams. Data collection was based on interviews, surveys, minutes of meetings and observation. This study verified that the support offered to virtual teams was not effective if the particular characteristics of the virtual teams, as well as their complexity, were not taken into account. We highlight the importance of considering success factors in virtual teams: adequate technology, Human Resources policy that offers support to the virtual worker, training of leaders and members, standardized work procedures, and leadership skills.

The Open Source Courseware project (OSCu) is aimed at cooperative course development and implementation in university software-engineering education. Open materials and a distributed course implementation model offer effective means for knowledge sharing between universities. However, in practice there are many difficulties in managing distributed courses and the actual cooperation scheme. This article presents the major problems faced in the first four distributed courses, and the approaches that were developed and which are now used to deal with them.

This paper describes a research project that aimed to determine and evaluate the learning environment customisations required to support self-motivated, able, and experienced learners studying towards a Masters degree in Petroleum Engineering within small to medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). The requirements analysis of the specific needs of workplace learners, the system customisation and evaluation are described. The evaluation showed that organisational factors are a key factor in achievement, that students tended to study sequentially even in a hyperlinked environment, and that they valued a combination of online and printed materials.

This paper describes a system of Program Quality Assurance that has acted to improve the quality of e-training programs in an Australian university. It is based on the use of quality cycles, and was devised to enhance the quality of all of the university’s programs. This paper is based on research involving interviews with stakeholders in this system and, amongst other things, uncovered some mistakes that had been made in the initial systems implementation that resulted in a number of academic staff distrusting the system. The paper suggests that better training could have reduced these problems. It argues that the use of this system, despite these implementation problems, has been seen by most stakeholders as an important contributor to improving the quality of e-training systems, rather than just measuring them.

Within both educational institutions and the workplace, there are strong imperatives for learning to take place within an identifiably’ social’ context, characterised by interactivity between learners and teachers, and between learners and their peers. Not only is this accepted as good pedagogical practice, but it is also important in situating learning within the type of cooperative, collaborative problem-solving environment characteristic of most contemporary workplaces. At the same time, online learning is becoming an increasingly important educational option for students at all stages of life. This paper explores some of the issues relating to how appropriate social modes of learning can be achieved within electronic environments, including consideration of the current and future roles of socially interactive software agents.

The objective of this study was to explore new and mobile collaboration technologies and to try to find more effective ways for museum visits with mobile technologies. The study was implemented in December 2002 with 20 Finnish high school students. The students were participating in alternative art course. All of the students seemed to learn quite easily the technologies and methods used in this study but still there was a lack of time in every lesson. This leads us to few important conclusions: When the new technology is used with new students and in new environments, it is necessary the reserve enough time for students to get familiar with new technology and new teaching arrangements.

The Network Competence (NetCom) project consists of a master’s degree programme as well as education and development services for its corporate partners. The goals of the project are to develop regional ICT industries in cooperation with University of Lapland and other public organizations. ICT education and research should be based on the long-term needs of the industry. The project is currently surveying the needs of its corporate partners, and the implications of the findings for training and development are being considered in the project’s feedback and evaluation processes.

Digital media environment has been changed significantly during the last few years. The huge progress in communication technology and the launch of digital television have open up new opportunities for distance learning. Interactive digital television is providing a new and flexible learning environment. The Industrial IT Laboratory of Helsinki University of Technology has made research in utilising digital TV as a learning environment for University courses and the students have had a chance to study using digital TV since September 2002.

This paper compares the influence of printed media, hypertext and chatterbots in the learning process of undergraduate business students. It has been found that chatterbots provide better results in terms of learning, especially in regard to the students’ ability to answer discursive questions. The conclusion is that a chatterbot is more effective than hypertext and printed media for educational purposes.