SLOOP Project
SLOOP - Sharing Learning Objects in an Open Perspective - is an eLearning and open content project started in 2005 thanks to a European project co-funded within the Leonardo da Vinci programme. The project has gone on after the deadline of the funded project. SLOOP is a community of practice of teachers who share Open Learning Object (or OER). The original idea is to apply the free software philosophy to the production of pedagogical materials for e-learning.
Another two European Projects have followed, at the moment, the previous one: Tenegen & Sloop2desc.
SLOOP Project (2005-2007)
A Learning Object (LO) is, by definition, a reusable chunk of learning content: the reusability is the main motivation in favour of LOs. But if an LO is covered by copyright “all rights reserved” it can be reused from the technical point of view, but legally it is only reusable by the owner himself. The SLOOP Project has introduced the idea of free/open Learning Object: LO with a licence which allows the material to be used freely, to be changed and to be distributed; obviously the source code should be accessible but is not.
The SLOOP community includes teachers from many countries who share LOs. In the SLOOP Project has been developed freeLOms, a free LO management system.
SLOOP is the acronym of Sharing Learning Objects in an Open Perspective.
SLOOP aim
The SLOOP Project aims
- to promote and facilitate the integration of face to face learning, work-based learning and e-learning in order to improve the quality and efficiency of the learning process;
- to customise learning paths by supporting them properly with multimedia learning objects;
- to facilitate the creation and the use of education tools (learning objects) which are free, re-usable and shared among teaching communities according to the free software philosophy.
The SLOOP Project aims to develop and promote a technological platform - named freeLOms - to create, save and use easy-to-access online teaching material, modifiable according to the open source philosophy. The goal is to create a collection so-called Learning Object to international standards such as SCORM for teacher training and student education. The SLOOP Project is funded with support from the European Commission under the European Commission "Leonardo da Vinci programme" – with partners in Italy, Ireland, Romania, Slovenia and Spain. It follows the seventh objective of the Copenhagen Declaration: “Focus more on the learning needs of teachers and trainers who operate in education professional development”.
SLOOP outcomes
- The main product of the SLOOP project is the freeLOms, free LO management system.
- In the freeLOms are available many free/open LO: the ones produced during the project can be viewed on the SLOOP site in LOs miscellanea.
- Another product is an on-line course Producing and sharing LOs available in self-learning in English, Italian, Spanish and Slovenian.
- The book Sharing Learning Objects in an Open Perspective (ISBN 978-88-903115-0-5) can be downloaded from here.
SLOOP partners
Italy
- ITSOS (Istituto Tecnico Statale Sperimentale ad Ordinamento Speciale) “Marie Curie” di Cernusco sul Naviglio (promoter)
- CNR - Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche - Istituto per le Tecnologie Didattiche - Sezione di Palermo
- Formaper
- METID – Politecnico di Milano
- Scienter
Ireland
Romania
Slovenia
Spain
TENEGEN Project (2008-2010)
PROMPT, an Hungarian organisation, has presented in the framework of the Lifelong Learning Programme a transfer of innovation project based on the Netis project and SLOOP project results. It has been approved and has been developed in the period October 2008 - September 2010. The project is called TENEGEN, that comes from: Connect the TEachers – to reach and teach the NET GENeration.
Tenegen aim
"According to recent surveys the use of computers in European schools is close to 100%, and almost all European schools have internet access. We also find essential improvements concerning the basic ICT competencies of VET teachers. In spite of positive tendencies, the e-learning methods have not been integrated in the schools’ pedagogical programmes at the expected level, not even in the front-runner countries. The wide e-learning developments do not seem to reach the target group: the VET teachers, and as a consequence not even the primary target group, the VET students. In a Hungarian case study we find that the majority (73%) of VET students are sceptical about their teachers’ skills to apply ICT in the class. The ways of learning and teaching are changing in the information society independently of the teacher’s (of our) intentions. Among us lives a new generation (born between 1982–1991), called the Net Generation, which learns and communicates in a new way, forms its own special path to get information about the surrounding world. They are always connected: they are the 'digital natives'. To be able to guide n-Gen on the way to become a citizen of the knowledge society, the teachers have to experience what the phenomenon of web 2.0, elearning 2.0 mean, how they can incorporate social networking, connectivism, knowledge sharing in their educational activities and they must have not only digital literacy but also fluency in information technology.
The aim of the project is to establish the TENEGEN networking environment, in which teachers will not only study but also experience the newest e-learning methods, by cooperating, communicating, providing and sharing knowledge – where they learn, why it is so important for the NET Generation to be connected." (From the Tenegen Application form)
Tenegen partners
Hungary
- Prompt-G Educational Centre for Informatics
- ISERG Nyugat-Magyarországi Egyetem, University of West Hungary (Hungary) - Information Society Education and Research Group
- Öveges József Szakképző Iskola Gimnázium és Kollégium
- National Institute of Adult and Vocational Education
- Bottyán János Műszaki Szakközépiskola
- Krúdy Gyula Gimnázium Idegenforgalmi és Vendéglátóipari Szakképző Iskola
- Széchenyi István Gimnázium és Szakközépiskola Pécs
Italy
Germany
Turkey
UK
Sloop2desc Project (2009-2011)
One of the previous SLOOP project partner, ITD-CNR, has presented within the Lifelong Learning Programme a new transfer of innovation project, started in October 2009: Sloop2desc that means Sharing Learning Objects in an Open Perspective TO develop european skills and competences.
SLOOP2desc aim
The Sloop2desc project intends to transfer and extend the results of the former SLOOP project concerning:
- a model of Free/Open Learning Object (or Open Educational Resources),
- a model of collaborative e-Learning,
At the same time Sloop2desc focuses on new educational models based on competences and learning outcomes. Specifically, the project refers to the EQF (European Qualification Framework), that has been adopted by the EU Parliament and Council in April 2008 (it establishes general criteria for comparing qualification systems developed and/or adopted in the EU countries).
Sloop2desc focuses on teachers training as far as the following two goals are concerned:
- competence-based learning,
- the use of the Internet and Web 2.0 tools to integrate face-to-face and online learning.
Teacher training activities in Italy and Slovenia will be based on the development of educational resources regarding a specific European model for certifying competencies, the EUCIP system. Certification systems in the maritime field will be adopted in Romania.
SLOOP2desc partners
Italy
- CNR - Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche - Istituto per le Tecnologie Didattiche - Sezione di Palermo (promotore del progetto)
- AICA
- ITSOS (Istituto Tecnico Statale Sperimentale ad Ordinamento Speciale) “Marie Curie” di Cernusco sul Naviglio
- METID – Politecnico di Milano
- Istituto Istruzione Secondaria “Danilo Dolci”, Partinico (PA)
- Consorzio MedEurope Export
Ireland
Romania
Slovenia
External links
- SLOOP project site - www.sloopproject.eu
- Tenegen project site - www.tenegen.eu
- Sloop2desc project site - www.sloop2desc.eu
- Sloop2desc Moodle environment for courses
- FreeLOms 2, Sloop repository
Books and articles about SLOOP and connected projects
- (EN) Sharing Learning Objects in an Open Perspective (ISBN 978-88-903115-0-5) (2007)
- (IT) Condividere Free/Open Learning Object (ISBN 88-903115-1-7)(2007)
- (RO) Proiectul SLOOP (2007)
- (EN) "SLOOP: a European Project focused on the realization of a shared repository of free Learning Objects" by Mara Masseroni e Pierfranco Ravotto, EXPO eLearning Ferrara (6–8 October 2005)
- (IT) "SLOOP: un progetto europeo per un archivio condiviso di Free Learning Object" di Mara Masseroni e Pierfranco Ravotto, EXPO eLearning Ferrara (6-8 ottobre 2005)
- (IT) "SLOOP: sviluppare un Free Learning Objects Management System" ("SLOOP: to develop a Free Learning Object Management System") by Pierfranco Ravotto, SieL Seminar in Florence (9–11 November 2005)
- (IT) "Dalle scuole in rete a una rete di scuole per la realizzazione di free Learning Object" di Pierfranco Ravotto, Didamatica, Cagliari (11 - 13 maggio 2006)
- (EN) "A collaborative 'open Learning Objects' management system" by Manuel Gentile, Davide Taibi, Mario Allegra, Giovanni Fulantelli - WSEAS - ENGINEERING EDUCATION 2006 (EE'06)- Vouliagmeni Beach, Athens, Greece, (July 11–13, 2006) - Special Session: Methods and Tools for Managing Learning Objects
- (EN) "Teachers make their expertise available online" - Evening Echo - Thursday September 28, 2006
- (EN) "Learn to teach on the Net" - Evening Echo - Thursday December 7, 2006
- (IT) Il cubo della formazione in rete (Brixen 2007) di Pierfranco Ravotto,
- (RO) Ideea SLOOP: schimbul de instrumente pedagogice libere/deschise by Pierfranco Ravotto e Giovanni Fulantelli
- (HU) A Sloop Otlet: Tananyagelemek nyilt megosztasa by Pierfranco Ravotto e Giovanni Fulantelli
- (TR) SLOOP FİKRİ : ÖZGÜR-AÇIK ÖĞRETİM by Pierfranco Ravotto e Giovanni Fulantelli
- (IT) L'uso di Moodle per il progetto SLOOP (Atti del MoodleMoot 2007) by Pierfranco Ravotto e Monica Terenghi
- (IT) Competenze informatiche degli studenti e competenze e-learning dei docenti: il progetto SLOOP2desc (Atti di Didamatica 2010) by Pierfranco Ravotto e Roberto Bellini
- (IT) Connettere gli insegnanti per farli incontrare con la Net generation (Atti del VII Congresso SIe-L) di Pierfranco Ravotto e Giovanni Fulantelli
- (IT) Informatica nella Scuola. Un progetto europeo per formare i docenti (Mondo Digitale n° 4 Dicembre 2010) di Pierfranco Ravotto e Giovanni Fulantelli
Books and articles about Sloop2desc
- (IT) Competenze informatiche degli studenti e competenze e-learning dei docenti: il progetto SLOOP2desc (Didamatica 2010, Roma) di Pierfranco Ravotto e Roberto Bellini,
References
- ISFOL-Leonardo da Vinci Italian Agency
- Italian National Research Council (CNR)
- Eduforge - freeLOms
- Universitas Galatiensis - Romania