The main objective of the project was to delimit and experience a model that would enable sharing and creation of knowledge among different members of the educational community, thereby advancing in an area of the knowledge society that has seen little activity in the educational field. The results obtained are related to the proposed objectives in accordance with the specifications below.
The objective of delimiting a management model for online educational knowledge oriented towards work, and has allowed:
- Analysis of the existing experiences of knowledge management linked to training processes and/or linked to educational centres and the creation of a data base on their characteristics and results.
- See the possibilities and limitations of existing en.medi@ . Therefore, the set up and development of four intelligent networks, centred on social science (Galatea), management (Atenea), coeducation assessors (Themis) and a fourth (Momo) to reflect on ICT and the opportunities it offers in curricular innovation, has allowed the analysis of its real use in the educational field and the particular elements adopted by its development with different educational agents and in different situations.
- Definition of the theory-practice model for online educational management. Delimitation of the model and its development have been the subject of various publication and at the same time they have motivated use by specialists in new projects
- Construction of a specific platform for online knowledge management. The platform is called Accelera. Technologically, relations between members of the e-community take place through open code LCMSs (Learning Content Management System) such as Moodle (http.//moodle.org), in which a series of modifications and adaptations have been made to facilitate responses to the demands of our GC-Red system.
The objective of Experiencing an online educational knowledge model has enabled:
- The creation of three intelligent online educational knowledge networks, mentioned above. Structuring of another intelligent network that acts as a base for online learning knowledge.
- Evaluation of the functions and derivation of innovation. The results obtained were presented and analysed in a seminar with specialists on 9 and 10 March 2006 and revised and published in the journal Educar (nº 37).
- Validation of the innovations made. The successive setup of the different networks enabled the incorporation of elements for improvement, validating this by contrasting the solutions with the practice.
- Finalise the model with technical and educational specifications. The final model and detailed consideration with regard to the function of the platform, moderators and others related to it are the subject of specific articles also published in monograph 37 of the journal Educar.
With regard to the indirect objectives proposed, the following should be highlighted:
- Promote the introduction of ICT in the initial training and lifelong learning curriculum of teachers. The participation in the project of some lecturers from the Faculty of Education at the UAB and the analysis of their results ha promoted a greater use of ICT related to the creation of knowledge. In fact, this academic year three new networks have been created, centred on Special Education, Experiencing the Reform and Doctorate Students; continuation of the Atenea network is also planned. We can also talk about the uses discovered by the centre managers and assessors.
- Provide a platform for the promotion of teaching-learning. The Themis network enabled specialists in coeducation and gender violence to work and the Galatea network enabled initial training teachers to contact the teachers in the educational centres and their students; however, the connection difficulties in the centres and the overload of teachers did not provide such positive results as for the other networks; the same thing happened with the frustrated attempt to promote a network in the area of experimental science.
- Promote collaborative work in the training, university and non university centres and in companies. Collaboration has taken place and has produced good results in the educational field. What we had foreseen with the initial promoting company did not make sufficient progress due to the fact that the company went bankrupt, although this was resolved with the collaboration that took place with company Nexe and that started with the La Salle centres.
The research involved, directly although not all with the same dedication to it, 25 teachers from five educational centres in the province of Barcelona, 40 coeducation and gender violence assessors from several other institutions in Spain, 50 managers of primary and secondary educational centres throughout Spain, 10 university lecturers and experts in lifelong training, 25 university students and over 100 secondary school students. Also included are the members of the research team and the 6 PhD students who were involved in successives phases of the project.
The results obtained are aligned with the objectives specified in the call for strategic action by the knowledge society of the national Programme for Socioeconomy, which proposed the analysis of the university educational systems and the processes of generation and distribution of knowledge in public institutions and companies, and the effects of the knowledge society.