Centro METIDMetodi E Tecnologie Innovative per la Didatticawww.sloop2desc.euPreparing the teachers for a competence-based education systemEditors: Giovanni Fulantelli Lucian OpreaSloop2descSharing learning objects in an open perspectiveto develop European skills and competencesThe SLOOP2DESC-Sharing Learning Objects in an Open Perspective to Develop European Skills and Competences-is a project funded by the European Commission under the Lifelong Learning programme, Leonardo da Vinci sub-programme. This publication reflects the views only of the authors and the European Commision cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of information contained therein. "Project number: LLP-LDV/TOI/09/IT/0461CUP Code: G72F09000050006 Coordinator: Italian National Research Council Institute for Educational TechnologiesPhone: +39 091 6809220 - Fax: +39 091 6809239e-mail: giovanni.fulantelli@itd.cnr.it This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-No Derivs 3.0http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/3.0/ISBN: 978-606-8216-94-2 SLOOP2DESC Project - Sharing Learning Objects in an Open Perspective to Develop European Skills and Competences THE SLOOP2DESC PROJECT LLP-LDV/TOI/09/IT/0461 SLOOP2DESC - Sharing Learning Objects in an Open Perspective to Develop European Skills and Competences, is a project funded by the European Commission under the Lifelong Learning programme, Leonardo da Vinci sub-programme. SLOOP2DESC aims at supporting high-school teachers and trainers in Vocational Education and Training (VET) to increase their knowledge and understanding of new educational systems that are based on learning outcomes and competences. Specifically, the project refers to the European Qualification Framework (EQF), the reference framework adopted by the EU Parliament and Council in April 2008 to establish general criteria for comparing qualification and competencies systems developed and/or adopted in EU countries. Teachers and trainers in Italy, Romania and Slovenia have developed specific pedagogical competencies to be applied in educational activities that take new evaluation systems into consideration. This result has been achieved through effective e-learning strategies already tested in a previous European funded project called Sloop: Sharing Learning Objects in an Open Perspective, aimed at promoting the practice of sharing and developing Open Educational Resources by community of teachers. Partners Istituto per le Tecnologie Didattiche - Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche, Palermo, Italy Associazione italiana per l'informatica ed il calcolo distribuito, Milano, Italy Istituto Tecnico Statale Sperimentale ad Ordinamento Speciale Marie Curie, Cernusco sul Naviglio, Milano, Italy Centro METID Politecnico di Milano, Italy Istituto Istruzione Secondaria Danilo Dolci, Partinico (PA), Italy Consorzio Med Europe Export, Palermo, Italy Faculty of Natural Sciences and Engineering, University of Ljubljana, Slovenia DEIS - Cork Institute of Technology, Ireland Dunarea de Jos University of Galati, Romania Slovenian Society INFORMATIKA, Ljubljana, Slovenia About this book The SLOOP2DESC project has been funded with support from the European Commission. This book represents SLOOP2DESC partners opinions on the results they got, its impact on their own organisations and their points of view on the philosophy of the project. The Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein. Editors: Giovanni Fulantelli Lucian Oprea SLOOP2DESC Project - Sharing Learning Objects in an Open Perspective to Develop European Skills and Competences Europlus Publishing Galati, ROMANIA 2 0 11 4 EUROPLUS PUBLISHING GALATI 235, Tecuci Street Phone-Fax: 0236-326.115 E-mail: office@europlusgalai.ro Web: http://www.europlusgalati.ro Descrierea CIP a Bibliotecii Naionale a Romniei FULANTELLI, GIOVANNI Preparing the teachers for a competence-based education system / Giovanni Fulantelli, Lucian Oprea. - Galai : Europlus, 2011 Bibliogr. ISBN 978-606-8216-94-2 I. Oprea, Lucian 371 Copyright 2011 All rights for this book reserved by EUROPLUS PUBLISHING. 5 TABLE OF CONTENTS The SLOOP2DESC project ............................................................................................................. 7 G. Fulantelli, M. Gentile, D. Taibi, M. Allegra, V. Dal Grande, P. Denaro Competence-based learning in Europe & the SLOOP2DESC model ........................................ 13 P. Ravotto EUCIP and e-CF certification systems .......................................................................................... 17 R. Bellini, P. Ravotto, N. Schlanberger Maritime certification system in compliance with IMO standards ............................................ 21 L. Oprea, D. Popa, D. Munteanu, A. Dumitriu, I. Ilie, S. Stan Building and managing a community of practice ........................................................................ 25 A. Buzzi The SLOOP2DESC course ............................................................................................................. 27 F. Berengo, M. Masseroni, L. Petruzziello, M. Terenghi, P. Ravotto Fostering the dialogue amongst school teachers and companies: the role of "business mentors" ........................................................................................................................................... 31 V. Dal Grande, D. Taibi, M. Gentile, D. Stabile, M. Allegra, G. Fulantelli The experience of the SLOOP2DESC courses in Italy ................................................................ 35 M. Masseroni, F. Berengo, L. Petruzziello, M. Terenghi, P. Ravotto The experience of the SLOOP2DESC courses in Romania ........................................................ 45 L. Oprea, I. Ilie, C. Rusu, S. Stan, D. Popa, D. Munteanu, A. Dumitriu, P. G. Sandu, C. Badalan The experience of the SLOOP2DESC courses in Slovenia ......................................................... 49 M. Vrtanik, D. Dolniar, N. Schlamberger, . voljak A lesson learned and recommendations for future actions in e-learning .................................. 59 M. Murray, M. Vrtacnik, D. Dolnicar, G. Fulantelli 6 SLOOP2DESC - Sharing Learning Objects in an Open Perspective to Develop European Skills and Competences 7 THE SLOOP2DESC PROJECT Giovanni Fulantelli, Manuel Gentile, Davide Taibi, Mario Allegra, Valentina Dal Grande, Paola Denaro Institute for Educational Technologies - National Research Council of Italy Palermo, Italy {giovanni.fulantelli, manuel.gentile, davide.taibi, mario.allegra, valentina.dalgrande, paola.denaro}@itd.cnr.it Abstract Sommario The SLOOP2Desc project - Sharing Learning Objects in an Open Perspective to Develop European Skills and Competences has promoted the knowledge of European qualification systems amongst teachers and academics, through effective e-learning strategies already tested in a previous European funded project called Sloop: Sharing Learning Objects in an Open Perspective. In this paper we present the rationale behind the project, its main objectives and activities. Il progetto SLOOP2Desc - Sharing Learning Objects in an Open Perspective to Develop European Skills and Competences ha promosso la conoscenza del sistema di qualifiche europeo (European qualification systems) fra insegnanti e docenti universitari, utilizzando le strategie di e-learning gi testate durante il progetto Europeo Sloop: Sharing Learning Objects in an Open Perspective. In questo articolo presentiamo le motivazioni alla base del progetto, gli obiettivi e le principali attivit. KEYWORDS: community of practice, social networking, e-learning, Teachers' training, online learning, competences, EQF, open educational resources. KEYWORDS: comunit di pratica, social networking, e-learning, formazione docenti, apprendimento online, competenze, EQF, risorse educative aperte. 1. INTRODUCTION SLOOP2DESC - Sharing Learning Objects in an Open Perspective to Develop European Skills and Competences, is a project funded by the European Commission under the Lifelong Learning programme, Leonardo da Vinci sub-programme (contract number is: LLP-LDV/TOI/09/it/0461). SLOOP2DESC aims at supporting high-school teachers and trainers in Vocational Education and Training (VET) to increase their knowledge and understanding of new educational systems that are based on learning outcomes and competences. Specifically, the project refers to the European Qualification Framework (EQF), the reference framework adopted by the EU Parliament and Council in April 2008 to establish general criteria for comparing qualification and competencies systems developed and/or adopted in EU countries. Since EQF is a competencies-based system, there is a crucial need for teachers and trainers to further their understanding of the evaluation systems that companies are using ever more frequently to select young people when they complete their high school studies. In SLOOP2DESC, teachers and trainers have developed specific pedagogical competencies to be applied in educational activities that take new evaluation systems into consideration. This result has been achieved through effective e-learning strategies already tested in a previous European funded project called Sloop: Sharing Learning Objects in an Open Perspective [1], aimed at promoting the practice of sharing and developing Open Educational Resources by community of teachers. In addition, the project has promoted the dialogue between the education field and the labour market, which is central to the debate around the introduction of the EQF-based evaluation approaches in the educational methodologies. The project ideas developed after an in-depth analysis of the state of the art in the education and VET sectors, with specific references to the skills and competences of teachers and trainers. In particular: A. In the report "Delivering lifelong learning for knowledge, creativity and innovation" the European Commission states: "No other in-school aspect influences student performance more than the quality of teacher education [...] However, current systems of teacher education and training often fail to give teachers the training they need.. Teachers need better professional preparation and continuing development. This will improve education and training outcomes" [2] Giovanni FULANTELLI, Lucian OPREA 8 Fig. 1 The SLOOP2DESC portal homepage B. The background analysis reported in the preparation paper for the meeting OECD / CERI held on 29-30 October 2008 highlights in particular a shortage of models of teacher training combined with a lack of awareness about their skills on ICT and their use in educational settings. C. In the internal report on the progress of the "Education and Training 2010" programme, the development of the European Qualifications Framework (EQF) is considered an essential tool in achieving the objectives of the Lisbon strategy. This report states that the framework is a common reference to promote the acknowledgement and the transfer of the qualifications and competences across Europe. D. The OCSE report titled Giving Knowledge for Free: The Emergence of Open Educational Resources (2007) highlights the strategic role of sharing open educational resources for the educational and training sectors. In addition, the report points out that even if the number of schools and universities sharing open educational resources has increased, a related political and institutional action in supporting these activities is not adequate. In the next section we will introduce the difficulties related to the implementation of the EQF strategies; following this, we will present the methodology adopted in the SLOOP2DESC project to reduce these problems; then, a general presentation of the project activities will be presented, followed by some conclusions on the results achieved. This chapter is not presenting the activities in details, since this will be the subject of the rest of the book. 2. IMPLEMENTATION OF EQF IN SCHOOLS The implementation of the European Qualification Framework for Lifelong Learning (EQF) is not an easy task; it is made complicated by the presence of several national systems and frameworks across Europe as well as by the development of many sectorial certification systems which are not linked to the national systems, and which have been proposed and adopted by national and international bodies (e.g. multinational companies) during the last decade. From the traditional educational systems perspective (schools, colleges and universities in Europe SLOOP2DESC - Sharing Learning Objects in an Open Perspective to Develop European Skills and Competences 9with centuries of history), EQF implementation requires a great effort; in fact, the Framework officially introduces the concept of Learning Outcome in the European Educational policy: qualifications are defined and described in terms of learning outcomes (what the learner knows, understands and is able to do). The shift to learning outcomes influences the redefinition of curricula, teaching and assessment practices, which requires an active involvement of stakeholders, education and training practitioners. The European Centre for the Development of Vocational Training (Cedefop), in its 2009 study The shift to learning outcomes. Policies and practices in Europe highlights that more and more stakeholders warn that the learning outcomes perspective can easily be reduced to mere rhetoric having little effect on education, training and learning practices [3]. Specifically to the National Qualification Frameworks (NQFs - the main instruments to relate the national qualification systems to the EQF in the member states), Cedefop points out that their development has to be planned as an active process that engages the main stakeholders in continuous negotiation and, probably, compromise at different levels in the system. An NQF that is owned by an administration, and whose use is limited largely to official publications, probably serves little purpose. [3]. Therefore the implementation of the EFQ, through the National Qualification Systems which should reference to it, should be coordinated by central institutions (ministries, governments, and so on), by encouraging dialogue and consensus-building among stakeholders, both from the education system and the labour market (including social bodies). In fact, academics, teachers, educational researchers, and professionals in the training sector should develop awareness that the access of students to the labour market will depend increasingly on their ability to demonstrate knowledge, skills and competences acquired during their studies, and on the fact that the results of their studies is comparable at European level on the basis of unique and shared criteria (via the EQF). Similarly, since EQF-based qualification systems will become a central issue for companies in Europe that want to evaluate the skills possessed by their staff but also to select the young people after completing their higher studies, it is important to involve representatives from the labour market and the social bodies in the dialogue around the qualification systems. 3. SLOOP2DESC AND OPEN EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES At the conclusion of the 2002 Forum on the Impact of Open Courseware for Higher Education in Developing Countries, organized by UNESCO, the participants expressed their wish to develop a universal educational resource available for the whole of humanity, to be referred to henceforth as Open Educational Resources (OER). The idea was to promote an open provision of educational resources, enabled by information and communication technologies, for consultation, use and adaptation by a community of users for non-commercial purposes. Since then, a movement of thought that considers it necessary to allow everyone free access to knowledge for educational purposes has developed. However, in 2007, following the publication of 3 important documents on this subject, the importance of OER has become central to the political agenda of many countries worldwide: Giving Knowledge for Free: The Emergence of Open Educational Resources [4] A Review of the Open Educational Resources (OER) Movement: Achievements, Challenges, and New Opportunities [5]. Open Educational Practices and Resources: OLCOS Roadmap 2012 [6]. The three reports agree that the success of initiatives based on the Open Educational Resource concept is threatened by many factors: The lack of open practices of teaching and learning; Technical difficulties in developing open digital resources; Lack of experience in supporting communities of practice involved in the development of OER; Scarcity of business models in OER Following these publications, the Council of Europe has specifically mentioned the strategic importance of policies that promote the adoption and development of OER in the school system, and even the United Nations have highlighted the strategic value of OER . OER that are produced directly by teachers represent an important opportunity for schools. In order to raise awareness of the potentials of OER amongst teachers, and encourage their adoption in educational practices, the SLOOP project launched the idea to have digital contents produced directly by a community of teachers. The original idea behind the project was that teachers can build Learning Objects whilst software specialists develop open software packages: each teacher can contribute to the development phase, as well as repurposing the Learning Objects to meet her/his specific needs. The same approach is central to the SLOOP2DESC project, and it has been further stressed and amplified by the intense use of Web 2.0 tools: OER are designed, developed and shared directly by the community of teachers who will use them. 4. THE ACTIVITIES OF THE PROJECT As already mentioned in the introduction of this paper, the SLOOP2DESC project adopts effective e-learning strategies already tested in the previous European funded project Sloop, which are based on: a model of training based on e-learning 2.0 solutions, learning by doing methodology and participation of teachers to a community of practice; Giovanni FULANTELLI, Lucian OPREA 10 Fig. 2 The FreeLOms repository a model of Open Educational Resources, designated as Open Learning Object or OpenLO [7]; a set of Learning Objects, called MetaLOs, developed by teachers and trainers of the project partner institutions; online courses, developed according to the training model, where teachers in Italy, Ireland and Romania have cooperatively designed e-learning paths, and produced digital content for teaching according to a logic drawn from the open / free software movements. The MetaLOs have been used as learning content for the online courses. the FreeLOms (Free Learning Object Management System) platform, an environment for the sharing and reuse of digital educational resources, which includes features that allow management of resources developed according to SCORM standards, and the editing of resource metadata according to the IEEE LOM [8]. In the Sloop2desc project, the Sloop elearning methodology and tools have been adopted in order to promote awareness of competencies-based education models amongst teachers and trainers. Specifically, online training courses for around 600 teachers of secondary schools in Italy, and 90 teachers and trainers in Romania and Slovenia have been activated during the two years of the project. The objective of the training courses is the acquisition of knowledge and skills related to: the definition of elearning courses; mentoring in a virtual environment, the development of open digital resources using Web 2.0 tools and systems for the production of Learning Objects the design and development of educational resources on EQF and on European qualification systems. Specifically for Italy and Slovenia, the EUCIP system (European Certification of Informatics Professionals promoted at European level by CEPIS) has been be adopted as an example of qualification systems. The IMO certification system in the maritime field has been adopted in Romania. Representative from companies has been involved throughout the project, and in particular during the cascade courses in Italy. Stakeholders in all the countries of the partners have been invited in national workshops, in order to inform them about the project objectives and activities. 5. THE SLOOP2DESC PARTNERS The partnership consists of a core composed of the organizations participating in the project Sloop, some of which have a history of collaboration in eLearning projects dating from 1995. This is a well-established partnership, including a mix of institutions (schools, universities, colleges, research centres), all with a long experience in the integration between online education and traditional teaching. SLOOP2DESC - Sharing Learning Objects in an Open Perspective to Develop European Skills and Competences 11 Specifically: National Research Council of Italy, Institute for Educational Technologies, the coordinator, has ICT-based learning methodologies and technologies as its core research interest. It has contributed actively to the SLOOP project, by defining the OpenLO model and developing the FREELOMS platform; ITSOS M. Curie, has a long experience in elearning and its application in high-school contexts; it has been coordinator of the SLOOP project; University of Milan, Centro Metid, is a reference point in elearning at European level; DEIS, Cork Institute of Technology, expert in design of innovative elearning processes, and responsible for the monitoring and evaluation of several national and international funded projects; Dunarea de Jos University of Galati, experienced in elearning and online training projects and research; Faculty of Natural Sciences and Engineering, University of Ljubljana, responsible for the training of trainers in the chemical and informatics fields; This core group has been joined by the following institutions: IS Dolci, a high-school in Sicily involved in the management of several national and EU-funded projects concerning innovative didactics; AICA - Associazione italiana per l'informatica ed il calcolo distribuito, an historical national institution on Informatics, in charge of the promotion of EUCIP in Italy; the coordinator of the SLOOP project is now working for AICA; Slovenian Society Informatika, a milestone in Slovenia concerning Informatics, in charge of the promotion of EUCIP in Slovenia Both AICA and Slovenian Society Informatika are members of CEPIS (Council of European Professional Informatics Societies), the institution promoting EUCIP at European level. The president of Slovenian Society Informatika is also vice-president of CEPIS. MED EUROPE EXPORT, a multi sector consortium that includes enterprises which can be distinguished for their technological and innovative capabilities. It has ensured the participation of tutors from companies as well as the dialogue with social parties. 6. CONCLUSIONS The SLOOP2DESC project is a Transfer of Innovation project of the former EU funded project SLOOP. The results achieved in SLOOP enthused the original partners enough to propose a new project that would widen the scope of the original one. This new project would take into consideration phenomena that had occurred in the education sphere following the original project: 1. The widespread diffusion of the Open Education Resources (OER) concept. OER was a central idea in the SLOOP project and has recently received increasing attention in educational policies and practices. This is partly due to the rapid appearance of Web 2.0 tools, which have significantly reduced the complexity of the production phase, thus raising the number of people directly involved in the production of online digital contents. 2. The increasing popularity of many Social Networks have encouraged more and more people to go online and connect with other people. 3. The spontaneous growth of communities of practice made up of people sharing a common interest around specific social objects. 4. As a consequence of the previous points, the development of communities of teachers and trainers aimed at collaboratively sharing and producing OER 5. The adoption, in 2008, of the European Qualification Framework (EQF) by the EU Parliament and Council in April 2008. The combination of all these elements in the SLOOP2DESC project has produced something which goes far beyond a pure transfer of results from a previous project. In fact, SLOOP2DESC has promoted professional development for almost 700 teachers and trainers in Europe; it has supported improvements in quality and innovation in vocational education and training systems, institutions and practices; it has supported the development of innovative ICT-based content, services, pedagogies and practice for lifelong learning; it has increased the cooperation between institutions providing learning opportunities, enterprises, social partners; it has developed the role of VET professionals in response to systemic changes such as the shift to learning outcomes and competence-based systems; it has strengthened the liaison between VET professionals and working life (enterprises, occupational sectors, etc.). In other words, SLOOP2DESC has met different European strategic priorities in the VET field, and the results of the project provide important insights for future actions in e-learning. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS We would like to express our sincere gratitude to all the partners who have greatly contributed to the success of the project. We are also grateful to Direzione Scolastica of Sicily and Direzione Scolastica of Lombardia, which have supported the projects since its initial proposal; the Ministry for Education for their support in disseminating the project initiatives. The coordinators gratefully acknowledge the support that ISFOL, Leonardo da Vinci National Agency, has Giovanni FULANTELLI, Lucian OPREA 12provided since the very beginning of the project; a particular thank to our tutor Stefano Pignatone. Our gratitude is due to the European Commission and the Directorate for Education and Culture, which has made the SLOOP2DESC project possible. Acknowledgments are due to all the people who have registered themselves in the project portal and to those who have enrolled the online course, which have made SLOOP2DESC a special project. Finally, a special thank to: Piera, Carlo, Giovanni, Paola, Giulio, Claudio, Nives, Maria, Marinella, Lolita, Maria, Giovanna, Franco, Piera, Antonino, Riccardo, Daniela, Angela, Rosangela, Elisabetta, Enzo. REFERENCES [1] P. Ravotto, G. Fulantelli , The SLOOP idea: Sharing free/open learning objects, in ISBN 978-88-903115-0-5, (2007) [2] European Commission. Joint progress report of the Council and the Commission on the implementation of the Education and Training 2010 work programme - Delivering lifelong learning for knowledge, creativity and innovation.http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/Lex UriServ.do?uri= CELEX: 52008XG0405%2801%29:EN:NOT], (2008) [3] Cedefop. The shift to learning outcomes Policies and practices in Europe. Available from http://www.cedefop.europa.eu/EN/ publications/12900.aspx (2009) [4] OECD - Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, Centre for Educational Research and Innovation (2007). Giving Knowledge for Free: The Emergence of Open Educational Resources, SourceOECD Education & Skills, Vol. 2007, No. 3. [5] D. Atkins, J. Brown & A. Hammond, A Review of the Open Educational Resources (OER) Movement: Achievements, Challenges, and New Opportunities. Report to The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, (2007). [6] G. Geser, Open Educational Practices and Resources: OLCOS Roadmap 2012. Salzburg Research, EduMedia Group. http://www.olcos.org/english/roadmap/, (2007) [7] G.Fulantelli, M.Gentile, D.Taibi, M.Allegra, "The Open Learning Object model for the effective reuse of digital educational resources", in Proc. of the OpenLearn 2007 Conference: Researching open content in education, Milton Keynes, UK, October 30-31, (2007) [8] M. Gentile, D. Taibi, M. Allegra and G. Fulantelli, "FreeLOms: supporting the collaborative evolution of "open learning objects"", in Proc. of the 3rd WSEAS/IASME International Conference on ENGINEERING EDUCATION, Vouliagmeni, Greece, Edited by WSEAS, a cura di N.Bardi et alt, ISSN:1790-5117, ISBN: 960:8457-47-5, July, 2006, pp. 239-244, (2006) SLOOP2DESC - Sharing Learning Objects in an Open Perspective to Develop European Skills and Competences 13 COMPETENCE-BASED LEARNING IN EUROPE & THE SLOOP2DESC MODEL Pierfranco Ravotto AICA, Milan, Italy p.ravotto@aicanet.it Abstract Sommario This paper deals with the issue of competence-based learning starting from the definitions provided in the European Qualifications and e-CF Frameworks and suggests that it is necessary to consider the three elements of knowledge, skills and attitudes separately, and to act on them as a whole by placing students in concrete situations in which to produce results. The experience of the SLOOP2DESC courses shows how this is achievable in a virtual classroom eLearning course. L'articolo affronta il tema della didattica delle competenze a partire dalle definizioni fornite nei documenti europei EQF ed e-CF e suggerisce che occorra sia prendere in considerazione separatamente i tre elementi conoscenze, abilit e attitudini, sia agire su di essi complessivamente ponendo gli studenti in situazioni concrete in cui produrre risultati. Successivamente, a partire dallesperienza dei corsi SLOOP2DESC, indica come sia possibile farlo in un contesto di corso eLearning in classe virtuale. KEYWORDS: Competences, Knowledge, Skills, Attitudes, Abilities, EQF, e-CF. KEYWORDS: Competenze, Conoscenze, Abilit, Attitudini, Capacit, EQF, e-CF. 1. INTRODUCTION "2desc", added to the name of the previous project SLOOP, indicates the scope of the transfer of innovation: the SLOOP model of online education and open educational resources has been transferred to the field of competence-based learning and, in particular, informatics competences. "2desc" stands for "to develop European skills and competences". For some time the European Commission, training experts and national and local authorities have been insisting, with regard to education, on two themes: competence-based education and the use of ICT to support education and training. These are two issues generally addressed in a distinct way. SLOOP2DESC has had the merit of joining them: is it possible to provide competence-based teaching through the use of ICT? The courses offered to teachers, are a concrete example of online competence-based learning: a model that has provided an affirmative answer to that question and that can be transferred from the informatics context to other and from teachers' training to students' training. This article presents the SLOOP2DESC model of competence-based learning, as it has emerged during the project and the training activities involving more than 600 teachers as students in three European countries. The article is divided into two parts: competence-based learning and the SLOOP2DESC experience of online competence-based activities. 2. COMPETENCE-BASED LEARNING In 2006 the European Commission for Education and Training set up a list of eight recommended key competences which should be incorporated in all new school curricula. Digital competence and learning to learn are listed among those eight key competences. Even more at the professional level, there is attention to the issue of competence and therefore the request to schools and universities to become engaged in competence-based learning. Competence-based learning incorporated into education at all levels indicates two major changes: a shift from content of teaching and training paths to the "learning outcomes" which are likely to be achieved and which can be used either in the further education path or in the world of work and in any other social context; enables transferability of competences from one subject area to another. But what do we mean by competences? The European Qualification Framework, EQF, and the European e-Competences Framework, e-CF, provide very similar definition of competence. From EQF we read: Competence means the proven ability to use knowledge, skills and personal, social and/or methodological abilities, in work or study situations and in professional and personal development [1]. Giovanni FULANTELLI, Lucian OPREA 14 e-CF defines competence as follows: Competence is a demonstrated ability to apply knowledge, skills and attitudes to achieving observable results [2] [3]. From this definition three major dimensions or building blocks of competences emerged: Knowledge, Skills, Personal, social and/or methodological abilities or Attitudes. But a competence is not a simple sum of them: it is the proven ability to use them in a context achieving results! What recommendations can be given to teachers at all levels and authorities responsible for preparing new educational programs? Essentially the following two main concepts: all three dimensions - knowledge, skills and attitudes (or "personal, social and/or methodological abilities") - must be taken into account when preparing educational programs or individual teaching lessons; it is not enough to ensure the acquisition of knowledge and skills, or the development of specific view points; it is also necessary to promote their application in controlled situations in order to glean observable results. Let us first consider the three issues separately. 2.1 Knowledge EQF defines Knowledge as the outcome of the assimilation of information through learning. Knowledge is constituted by a set of facts, principles, theories and practices related to a field of work or study. E-CF defines it as the set of know-what (e.g. programming languages, design tools...) and can be described by operational descriptions. Very often schools and individual teachers only transmit knowledge, the programs are often a list of content that the teacher should explain and that the student must study. The necessary criticism of such a model, however, has resulted, at times, in an underestimation of the importance of acquiring knowledge. As Calvani writes Today the school has significantly reduced its attention to the cognitive dimension in favour of "other". It has given space to other dimensions, in itself also important (the socio-affective, or awareness of the great problems of the world, etc.); the risk is to assume that these other dimensions are in themselves sufficient to form the competences that future citizens will need" [4]. Knowledge is one of the bases of competences and therefore must be acquired. If it is desirable that the school activity is not limited to a simple transmission of content, and if it is not at all certain that transmission is the most appropriate methodology for the acquisition of content, should however be noted that it is necessary to check carefully that students have acquired the collection of facts, terminology, principles, theories, procedures, ... that support the competences to be achieved. 2.2 Skills EQF defines Skills as the ability to apply knowledge and use know-how to complete tasks and solve problems. E-CF defines them as the ability to carry out managerial or technical tasks. The school for everyone was born to help people acquire skills: the famous mastery of literacy and numeracy. In language and mathematical teaching, as well as in design and technical subjects, the skills, know-how, has always been the centre of teaching activities. But it is not always so: often the "know how" is considered a "result, almost automatic, of knowledge or something to be put off to the work environment. Knowledge and skills are indeed intertwined, but if skills can generally originate from knowledge, it is also true that doing can stimulate the acquisition of knowledge. In addition to this, the acquisition of skills is more likely to be self-checked by the student with a positive effect on her/his involvement in the achievement of learning goals and on her/his motivation to learn. The importance of skills and knowledge should be emphasized by a careful verification of their acquisition by students. 2.3 Attitudes I use the term attitudes, proposed in e-CF because it is more concise, but I consider it, at least in a first approximation, as the equivalent capacity of personal, social and/or methodology abilities to which EQF do not add specifications. e-CF defines Attitude as a cognitive and relational capacity (e.g. analysis capacity, synthesis capacity, flexibility, pragmatism,...). It specifies: It is close to the concepts of manner and demeanour, it is the French savoir tre. e-CF also contains the following concepts: If skills and knowledge are the components, attitudes are the glue, which keeps them together. The discourse on attitudes is certainly more complex than that of knowledge and skills as this item implies abilities of very different types. Leaving for another occasion the objective to classify them, we limit ourselves here to a list including personal capabilities, methodological and social abilities (according to EQF) and/or cognitive and social capacities (according to e-CF): storage capacity, interpretation, extrapolation, link analysis, synthesis and evaluation; autonomy, responsibility, target orientation/results, ability to organize, ability to concentrate and focus; awareness, flexibility, ability to orientate themselves; ability to pose and solve problems; ability to listen and communicate; SLOOP2DESC - Sharing Learning Objects in an Open Perspective to Develop European Skills and Competences 15 ability to work in groups, to accept different points of view, to support his own point of view, to coordinate and agree to co-ordination; Surely these are the skills to which teachers are greatly concerned and which affect, in important ways, educational attainment. Often the assessment made by teachers brings together knowledge and specific skills and cognitive abilities (and often social abilities) but without offering the student a clear description of its deficiencies and of related improvement targets. Above all the risk is to consider attitudes a personal characteristic, something determined by genes and/or social conditions, something on which the primary school may take action, while university and perhaps even the secondary school cant intervene or influence considering that those attitudes are already acquired (or not acquired) at the time of the individual meeting those organisations. So the "glue", that holds together knowledge and skills and which is an essential component of competence, is often left out of the training, or, anyway, there is not a conscious, explicit and "organized" intervention. 2.4 Competences Competences can be seen to be more then a combination of knowledge, skills and attitudes: the successful application of these in practical situations. Given this definition, schools must facilitate students in the practical application of knowledge, skills and attitudes by placing them in situations that will allow them to operate and interact, producing observable results. Even if not generalised, experiences of this type already exist. They are substantially of two types: work-based experiences and project-work activities. Work-based learning, by definition offers a work context with its own dynamics and products. Work-project activities focus on the results to be achieved, individually or in-group, and generally go beyond the mere disciplinary context. What suggestions can be given to promote competence-based teaching? In my opinion the following ones may help: clearly define the competences to be achieved as a basis of the educational contract with students, precisely define the knowledge and skills on which those competences are based and provide "objective" evaluation tests, make the necessary attitudes explicit and help students self-evaluate and improve in respect to them, propose collaborative project activities suitable to make students consolidate and reinforce knowledge and skills, and in which they could measure and develop their attitudes (personal, social, methodological abilities), organize experiences to be carried out outside school/university where, again, they could measure and enhance knowledge, skills and attitudes. 3. ONLINE COMPETENCE-BASED LEARNING IN THE SLOOP2DESC EXPERIENCE The course, which will be described in a next chapter as The SLOOP2DESC course, intended to help participants acquire competences both in the use of eLearning and Web 2.0 tools, and in competence-based learning. To achieve this it worked both on the grounds of the acquisition of individual knowledge and skills, and on the development of attitudes, placing the participants in a concrete context in which to produce usable results (teaching materials to use with students). First it is worth clarifying that the online learning model we adopted is the virtual classroom in the Moodle environment: the participants are organized into classes (30-40 people with two tutors), each of them in their own "course", activities are scheduled so that the students carry out them at the same time, a strong interaction is required between the students and between students and tutors (in forums and using e-mails, chats, videoconferences), sometimes as debates and exchanges of ideas, some other times as cooperation in carrying out activities (also using tools such as wikis, googledoc, mindmap, ... ). The course expected the acquisition of a set of knowledge, for example, concerning the Creative Commons licenses, the European documents on key competences, EQF, e-CF, the EUCIP syllabus, ... To provide such knowledge either links to existing presentations and to the original documents have been included or slides with audio, or videos or SCORM objects have been developed. To consolidate this knowledge, activities like "reading, listening, " have been accompanied by a request to discuss it in forums starting from inputs provided by the tutors. For example: "What Creative Commons license do you think is more suitable for teaching materials?". There are many skills that the SLOOP2DESC course intended to capture: open a Moodle course, include resources, monitor activities of students, produce a learning resource with eXeLearning, create a slideshow with audio and make it available on SlideShare, communicate via Skype, collaborate on a wiki, use GoogleDoc, put a resource to be shared in FreeLOms, To promote the acquisition of these skills the course proposes existing, or ad hoc developed, tutorials, often in the form of videos on YouTube (or Vimeo) or SlideShare presentations, work proposals, sometimes individual, sometimes in groups. So, for example, for the use of Moodle a "trial course" has been created where participants could practice including resources and activities. Giovanni FULANTELLI, Lucian OPREA 16 All the modules include a discussion forum and, therefore, discussion among peers and between peers and tutors is one of the main features of the course. In Modules 2 and 3 collaborative activities are planned. Collaborative activity in Module 2 is essentially functional, in order to learn how to use tools like Skype, GoogleDoc and the wiki. In Module 5 collaborative work aims to produce resources to be used with students. Discussions and collaborative activities help develop a set of attitudes related to exchanges of ideas, acceptance of different points of view, assumptions of responsibility and, where appropriate, leadership. The environment in which to exercise these attitudes, namely the net, was in many respects new for teachers who were used to work in a face-to-face environment. And I think that this news has allowed each individual to self-assess her/his strengths and weaknesses and personal growth. This is an important element in the role of online tutors, either in the training of teachers (the tutors of the cascade courses have been selected among the participants of the pilot courses) or with their students. So the course SLOOP2DESC has dealt with all three elements: knowledge, skills and attitudes/capacities. It has not acted independently on these different aspects, but has set a context in which to operate: the one of producing, in a collaborative way, open educational resources to use with their students. So the trainees have been provided with a context where they had to work together to produce observable results, applying and developing the knowledge and skills they were acquiring and using their attitude to online collaboration to solidify their experiences. 4. CONCLUSIONS The term e-learning, unfortunately, does not distinguish between two very different models: one based primarily on self-learning, the other - that which we have used in the project - based on interactions and collaboration in a virtual classroom. In the first model the teaching resources transmit knowledge and in the presence of simulations, may also facilitate the acquisition of skills; and if there is a tutor, its function is to resolve any technical problems or, at most, to support motivation for learning. The second model - the virtual classroom - is instead focused on the interactions between people, as well as it happens in a face-to-face dimension. It also enables development of attitudes, in particular the relational ones, and above all, enables carrying out collaborative activities within a concrete situation. REFERENCES [1] European Commission Education & Culture, EQF, European Qualification Framework [2] CEN, E-CF, European e-Competence Framework version 2.0, [3] CEN, E-CF, European e-Competence Framework version 2.0, Users Guidelines [4] Calvani A., Teorie dellistruzione e carico cognitivo. Modelli per una scuola efficace, Erickson. SLOOP2DESC - Sharing Learning Objects in an Open Perspective to Develop European Skills and Competences 17 EUCIP AND E-CF CERTIFICATION SYSTEMS Roberto Bellini1, Pierfranco Ravotto1, Niko Schlanberger2 1AICA, Milan, Italy 2S. D. Informatika, Ljubljana, Slovenia 1 r.bellini@aicanet.it, p.ravotto@aicanet.it 2 niko.schlamberger@gmail.com Abstract Sommario The article describes the two competence-based systems used in the Italian and Slovenian courses: EUCIP and e-CF. Larticolo illustra i due sistemi di competenze utilizzati nei corsi italiano e sloveno: EUCIP ed e-CF. KEYWORDS: Competences, EUCIP, e-CF. KEYWORDS: Competenze, EUCIP, e-CF. The SLOOP2DESC courses in Italy and Slovenia had, as a specific target, teachers of computer science. A number of teachers from other disciplines were also enrolled in the Italian courses. One of the goals was to familiarise them with EUCIP and e-CF, two competence frameworks related to informatics, which are getting more and more well known. The EUCIP system has been preferred to e-CF as a reference framework for the production of educational resources for students, as, in 2008, it was the better known and the more detailed as far as the description of knowledge, skills and competences is concerned. 1. EUCIP FRAMEWORK EUCIP [1], European Certification of Informatics Professionals, is the competence framework defined by CEPIS [2] - Council of European Professional Informatics Societies and run in Italy by AICA: a system of certifications and services for individuals and businesses. The heart of the system is the syllabus which is divided into three areas: Plan, Operate and Build, and in 18 macro-categories of competences. A. Plan: Use and Management of Information Systems A.1 Organisations and their Use of IT A.2 Management of IT A.3 Measuring the Value of IT A.4 The Global Networked Economy A.5 Project Management A.6 Presentation and Communication Techniques A.7 Legal and Ethical Issues B. Build: Development and implementation of Information Systems B.1 Systems Development Process and Methods B.1 Systems Development Process and Methods B.2 Data Management and Databases B.3 Programming B.4 User Interface and Web Design C. Operate Knowledge Area: Operation and Support of Information Systems C.1 Computing Components and Architecture C.2 Operating Systems C.3 Communications and Networks C.4 Network Services C.5 Wireless and Mobile Computing C.6 Network Management C.7 Service Delivery and Support Each macro-category is then further declined in the categories for a total of 156 categories for each of which are given knowledge and skills up to a total of about 3,000 elementary units of knowledge. As shown in the image given below, EUCIP framework identifies 21 Elective profiles characterized by a common set of skills, EUCIP core, and a twenty-second figure, the IT Administrator. For each profile it is indicated at what level (deep and incisive), the 156 categories of competences should be possessed. Such a structured syllabus is a powerful tool that allows to: design training, define assessment tests for knowledge and skills, assessment and self-assessment leading to the identification of the 'profile of proximity compared with 22 figures and related training gaps, qualify employees and suppliers, define a common language between business and particularly between those of supply and demand of ICTs. Giovanni FULANTELLI, Lucian OPREA 18 It is just this last element that has led CNIPA (now DigitPA) to indicate the EUCIP profiles as a reference for ICT contracts of the Italian Public Administration. 1.1 IT Administrator Certification The IT Administrator is the administrator of computer systems in small companies or branch offices of larger organizations, where one person is required to have a broad spectrum of operational ICT infrastructure. At an initial level, there is the IT Administrator Fundamentals certification which can be acquired through an automated examination by an authorized competence centre; it is to ascertain the ownership of essential knowledge and skills for an IT Administrator. The assessment of knowledge and skills of a high-level IT Administrator is made by 5 tests consisting of a theory test (automated test, available in Italian or English) and a practical test (configuration and practical activities on systems): Hardware (theory test only). Operating systems (either Windows or Linux). Network services (in either a Windows or Linux environment). Expert use of networks (heterogeneous environment). Safety (heterogeneous environment). The complete IT Administrator certification requires the overcoming of the 5 exams, but each provides, however, a specific certification. 1.2 EUCIP core Certification Unlike the IT Administrator, the other 21 professional profiles require, as a prerequisite, the EUCIP-Core certification, obtained by means of 3 exams consisting of automated testing and done in authorized centres - currently only in English - and for the following three areas: Plan Build, Operate. The certification guarantees the possession of a core set of essential knowledge for all computer professionals. A.1.3 Elective profiles Certification The competence assessment for one of the 21 professional certifications is based on two steps: A. The presentation of a portfolio by the candidate: the school training path, EUCIP-Core certification, certifications acquired in the ICT sector, both independent and vendors (e.g. ITIL, Cisco, Microsoft, ...), professional experience. B. An interview (oral examination) in which examiners - in principle a manager AICA-EUCIP, a representative of the university and a representative of the corporate world - note the candidate's communication skills, check the contents of her/his portfolio and, if necessary, get further information as far as the candidate's competences are concerned. Admission to the oral examination of the portfolio is conditional, based on a set of criteria/scores which are aimed at verifying whether the candidate can provide evidence both of owning the knowledge and skills required (those defined by the syllabus for the professional profile of interest) and of having actually played the professional role in question for a certain number of months/years (depending on the different profile). So the certification of 'knowing how to act in situations' is guaranteed from having acted in the situation; in this way what is declared in the portfolio is assessed during the interview. 2. E-COMPETENCE FRAMEWORK The European e-Competence Framework [3], or e-CF, has been developed within CEN Workshop on ICT Skills [4] and under the encouragement of the European Commission, with the aim of providing a framework of ICT competences that can be used and understood by European companies both in ICT supply and demand areas, ICT professionals, managers and HR departments, government, key stakeholders from education and social partners. Version 1.0 was published in 2008, shortly before the beginning of the SLOOP2DESC project. Version 2.0 is 2010. The e-Competence Framework is structured in four dimensions. Dimension 1 identifies 5 areas of e-Competences, derived from the ICT business processes: Plan, Build, Run, Enable and Manage. SLOOP2DESC - Sharing Learning Objects in an Open Perspective to Develop European Skills and Competences 19 Dimension 2 identifies 36 competences, each assigned to one of the 5 areas: PLAN A.1 IS and Business Strategy Alignment A.2. Service Level Management A.3. Business Plan Development A.4. Product or Project Planning A.5. Architecture Design A.6. Application Design A.7 Technology Watching A.8. Sustainable Development BUILD B.1. Design and Development B.2. Systems Integration B.3. Testing B.4. Solution Development B.5. Documentation Production RUN C.1. User Support C.2. Change Support C.3. Service Delivery C.4. Problem Management ENABLE D.1. Information Security Strategy Development D.2. ICT Quality Strategy Development D.3. Education and Training Provision D.4. Purchasing D.5. Sales Proposal Development D.6. Channel management D.7. Sales Management D.8. Contract Management D.9 Personnel Development Information and Knowledge Management MANAGE E.1. Forecast Development E.2. Project and Portfolio Management E.3. Risk Management E.4. Relationship Management E.5 Process Improvement E.6. ICT Quality Management E.7. Business Change Management E.8. Information Security Management E.9. IT Governance Dimension 3 ranks the competences in 5 competence levels - e-1, e-2, e-5 - related to the EQF levels from 3 to 8 Dimension 4 provides examples of knowledge and skills related to the various competences. Note that while the definitions of competences are explicitly assigned to dimension 2 and 3 and examples of knowledge and skill are present in dimension 4 of the framework, attitudes are included in all three dimensions. 3. EUCIP TOWARDS e-CF EUCIP provides for the definition and measurement of ICT skills and is currently used as the basis for the provision of certification and services in seven countries across Europe (Croatia, Estonia, Ireland, Italy, Norway, Poland, Romania, Spain). The EUCIP certification programme is a professional certification and competency development scheme, aimed at informatics professionals and practitioners. EUCIP is promoted by CEPIS across Europe and nationally in participating countries, including AICA in Italy. The EUCIP certification offerings include EUCIP Core, EUCIP Professional and EUCIP IT Administrator. In addition several business services have been developed to manage competence analysis and development. The European e-Competence Framework (e-CF) is a reference framework of 36 ICT competences that can be used and understood by ICT user and supply companies, the public sector, educational and social partners across Europe. The development and promotion of the e-CF has been carried out through CEN, the European Committee for Standardization, and CENELEC, the European Committee for Electrotechnical Standardization, within their standards work in the domain of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT), and specifically through a series of CEN ICT Skills Workshop projects Giovanni FULANTELLI, Lucian OPREA 20 (supported by European Commission DG Enterprise and Industry). CEPIS, the promoter of EUCIP, as well as CEPIS members, including AICA, are participating in the CEN ICT Skills Workshop and its projects where e-CF versions 1 and 2 have been developed and version 3, which will also include professional profiles (largely corresponding to the EUCIP profiles, which cross reference the e-CF), is under construction. CEPIS supports the dissemination of the e-CF and is committed to accomplish the transition of EUCIP certification and HR Management Services towards the e-CF framework. The SLOOP2DESC project is one of the first presentations, at European level, of e-CF to hundreds of computer science teachers. The open educational resources, designed with reference to the EUCIP syllabus, can be easily adapted to the e-CF framework but, above all, the spread - sponsored by SLOOP2DESC of the culture of competence-based learning and the reference to an external competence framework, has created a conducive climate for the diffusion of e-CF in informatics schools. REFERENCES [1] www.eucip.org, http://www.cepis.org/index.jsp?p=640&n=1116 [2] http://www.cepis.org [3] http://www.cen.eu/cen/Sectors/Sectors/ISSS/CENWorkshopAgree ments /Pages/ICT-Skills.aspx;http://www.ecompetences.eu/ [4] http://www.cen.eu/CEN/sectors/sectors/isss/activity/Pages/wsict- skills.spx SLOOP2DESC - Sharing Learning Objects in an Open Perspective to Develop European Skills and Competences 21 MARITIME CERTIFICATION SYSTEM IN COMPLIANCE WITH IMO STANDARDS Lucian Oprea1, Dorel Popa2, Doina Munteanu2, Alina Dumitriu2, Iulian Ilie1, Steluta Stan1 1Dunarea de Jos University of Galati, Romania 2 Romanian Maritime Training Centre (CERONAV), Constanta, Romania lucian.oprea@ugal.ro, dorelpopa@ceronav.ro, doinamunteanu@ceronav.ro, alinaoprea@ceronav.ro, iulian.ilie@ugal.ro, steluta.stan@ugal.ro, Abstract Rezumat The paper focuses on the description of a certification system of competencies in compliance with IMO (International Maritime Organization) standards. For maritime training institutes worldwide, IMO has developed a series of model courses which provide suggested syllabi, course timetables and learning objectives to assist instructors in developing training programmes to comply with the STCW Convention standards for seafarers. In lucrare se face o caracterizare a unui sistem de certificare a competentelor in corelatie cu standardele IMO (International Maritime Organization). Pentru instituiile de formare profesionala in domeniul maritim, IMO a dezvoltat cursuri model care, prin continutul lor, asigura indeplinirea obiectivelor de invatare, reprezentand un real ajutor pentru expertii din domeniu. KEYWORDS: IMO (International Maritime Organization) standards, IMO Basic, IMO for Officers, modules, requirements CUVINTE CHEIE: Standarde IMO (Oranizatia Maritima Internationala), IMO basic, IMO pentru ofiteri, module, cerinte In Romania, the maritime certification system in compliance with IMO standards has been preferred to EUCIP (European Certification for Informatics Professionals) as a special reference framework with international recognition. In this case, the target group of the SLOOP2DESC courses consisted of experts teachers in shipping. 1. IMO FRAMEWORK Today, we live in a society supported by a global economy which simply could not function if it were not for shipping. Shipping is perhaps the most international of the worlds industries, serving more than 90 per cent of the global trade by carrying huge quantities of cargo cost effectively, cleanly and safely. The Convention establishing the International Maritime Organization (IMO) was adopted in Geneva in 1948 and IMO first met in 1959. IMOs main task has been to develop and maintain a comprehensive regulatory framework for shipping and its remit today includes safety, environmental concerns, legal matters, technical co-operation, maritime security and shipping efficiency. IMO plays a key role in ensuring that lives at sea are not put at risk and that the marine environment is not polluted by shipping - as summed up in IMOs mission statement: Safe, Secure and Efficient Shipping on Clean Oceans. The International Convention on Standards of Training, Certification and Watchkeeping for Seafarers (STCW), 1978, sets the standards of competence for seafarers internationally. One key STCW Convention provision requires parties to provide information to allow others to check the validity and authenticity of seafarers certificates of competency. This is important as unqualified seafarers holding fraudulent certificates of competency are a clear danger to themselves, others on board and the marine environment. In order to assist with uniform interpretation of the STCW Convention, IMO has agreed a number of clarifications of the Conventions provisions and has also developed further guidance to assist parties to meet their Convention obligations. For maritime training institutes worldwide, IMO has also developed a series of model courses which provide suggested syllabi, course timetables and learning objectives to assist instructors developing training programmes. 2. ABOUT CERONAV Having a 35 year experience, the Romanian Maritime Training Centre (CERONAV) is a public institution under the subordination of the Ministry of Transports and Infrastructure, designated as the national body for the training of maritime, river and port personnel (Fig. 1). Giovanni FULANTELLI, Lucian OPREA 22 CERONAV currently organizes about 2,000 training, specialization and qualification courses in 80 different specialties, for approximately 32,000 trainees per year. The fact that over 90% of the graduates are employed by international shipping companies certifies the high level of training provided at highest applicable international standards. CERONAV is ISO 9001:2008 certified and also holds Marlins and ECDL certificates. Fig. 1 - CERONAV headquarters in Constanta The high training standards are supported by CERONAVs affiliation to the following international professional organisations and associations: International Association for Safety and Survival Training International Association of Ports and Harbours International Maritime Lecturers Association BIMCO Intelligent Transport Systems Romanian Intermodal Association Nautical Institute EDINNA Education in Inland Navigation Association of IWT Education and Training Institutions 3. IMO SYSTEM FOR CERTIFICATION OF COMPETENCIES The model training courses programme developed following the adoption of the International Convention on Standards of Training, Certification and Watchkeeping for Seafarers, (STCW), 1978. Assisted by contributions from various Governments, IMO has designed the series of courses to help implement this Convention and to facilitate access to the knowledge and skills demanded by increasingly sophisticated maritime technology. The courses are flexible in application: maritime institutes and their teaching staff can use them in organizing and introducing new courses or in enhancing, updating or supplementing existing training material. Each model course includes a course framework detailing the scope, objective, entry standards, and other information about the course, a course outline (timetable), a detailed teaching syllabus (including the learning objectives that should have been achieved when the course has been completed by students), guidance notes for the instructor and a summary of how students should be evaluated. Many courses include background information for students in a compendium. At present, CERONAV runs the following courses, in compliance with IMO standards: - courses in maritime safety, mandatory for issuance of STCW Certificates of Competency for ratings and auxiliary personnel (IMO BASIC); - courses in maritime safety, mandatory for issuance of STCW Certificates of Competency for certified maritime navigating personnel (IMO FOR OFFICERS). A. IMO BASIC As shown in Fig. 2 below, IMO BASIC identifies two elective groups (Ratings/Uncertified personnel and Auxiliary personnel). Fig. 2 - IMO BASIC Courses (Level 1) Having a mandatory character, the programme offered by CERONAV addresses both aspiring marine officers and navigating personnel with a certificate in sea port activities or a competency certificate, or uncertified personnel. For the last category, the programme is to be taken every five years, for knowledge update. The programme comprises the four STCW basic safety courses (Fig. 3). Fig. 3 - IMO BASIC evaluation and certification Course duration: 10 days (80 hours) Content: 4 modules Module 1: Personal Survival Techniques Objective: acquiring knowledge of actions to be taken by each person in view of own protection in case of emergency (boat evacuation, use of escape boats and lifejackets). Module 2: Fire Prevention and Fire Fighting Objective: become familiar with prevention methods, conducting fire risk assessment, initiation and fire fighting. Module 3: Elementary First Aid Objective: becoming familiar with basic requirements concerning first aid in case of accidents or disease on board ships. SLOOP2DESC - Sharing Learning Objects in an Open Perspective to Develop European Skills and Competences 23 Module 4: Personal Safety and Social Responsabilities Objective: becoming familiar with work protection practices, and operational or accidental marine pollution, with special focus on aspects regarding social responsibilities on board ships. Table 1 below presents the range of jobs for uncertified and and auxiliary personnel. RATINGS/ UNCERTIFIED PERSONNEL AUXILIARY PERSONNEL Seaman CookMotorman HousemaidElectrician WaiterMaritime helmsman BarmanMotorboat coxswain Receptionist Artist Hotel manager A list of minimum participation requirements is given below. For uncertified personnel: Competency Certificate Studies: - bachelors degree in other different fields (EQF 6) - highschool baccalaureate diploma (EQF 4) - vocational school graduation diploma (EQF 3, 5) - gymnasium certificate (EQF 2) Certificate recognition by: - IMO Member States - National authorities - Shipowners - Shipcompanies NO ECTS For auxiliary personnel: qualification certificate; lower secondary school capacity certificate. B. IMO FOR OFFICERS The information below concerns the safety courses offered by CERONAV to certified navigating personnel, mandatory for issuance of STCW Certificates of Competency (Fig. 4). Fig. 4 - IMO FOR OFFICERS courses (Level 2) Course duration: 10 days (58 hours) Content: 10 modules Module 1: Global Maritime Distress and Safety System (GMDSS) - General Operators Certificate (18 days) Intended for beginners and designed for personnel operating in all GMDSS sea areas, its objectives are: efficient operation of GMDSS equipment, awareness of the responsibility and correct use of alerting facilities in case of distress incidents. Module 2: Radar Navigation, Radar Plotting and Use of ARPA (Automatic Radar Plotting Aid) (5 days) The Certificate issued qualifies the trainee to operate RADAR equipments as an officer of the watch (OOW) (Fig. 5) . Fig. 5 - Radar navigation Module 3: Maritime English (4 days) Objective: acquiring necessary language skills for communication with members of a multinational crew in case of ship manoeuvring or emergency. Module 4: Prevention of Polution of the Marine Environment - MARPOL 73/78 (4 days) Objectives: become familiar with IMO policy regarding the prevention of pollution of the marine environment by ships from operational or accidental causes, with polluting agents included in the list appended to the MARPOL 73/78 Convention (International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships, 1973, as modified by the Protocol of 1978), of the equipment and facilities existing on a ship and of the way the evidence of operations with polluting agents is kept. Module 5: Proficiency in Personal Survival Techniques (2 days) Objective: familiarization with actions for self protection in case of emergency and training for correct use of escape boats and lifejackets. Module 6: Proficiency in Survival Craft and Rescue Boats other than Fast Rescue Boats (4 days) Fig. 6 - Escape boat launching Giovanni FULANTELLI, Lucian OPREA 24 Objective: training for the launching and manoeuvring of escape boats, correct use of survival equipment, and specific actions for survival of self and others (Fig. 6). Module 7: Personal Safety and Social Responsabilities (4 days) Objective: familiarization with basic work protection practices and effects of marine environment operational or accidental pollution, with special focus on responsibilities on board ship. Module 8: Transport and Handling of Dangerous Hazardous and Harmful Cargoes (4 days) Objective: acquiring knowledge of how to prepare and act for safe sea transportation of hazardous goods and marine pollutants; become familiar with the legal implications and the correct application of new provisions and regulations in the domain. Module 9: Medical Care (6 days) Objective: become familiar with medical knowledge for medical care in case of illness or accident on board. Module 10: Advanced Fire Fighting (7 days) Objective: acquiring knowledge of the entire set of measures to be taken for fire risk minimization on board and fire fighting (Fig. 7). . Fig. 7 - Fire fighting drill The sea safety programme is to be taken every five years, for knowledge update (Fig. 8). Fig. 8 - IMO FOR OFFICERS evaluation and certification Table 2 below presents the range of jobs for certified personnel. DECK CREW ENGINE CREW Master Mechanic maritime officerDeck maritime officer Electrician maritime officerMaster Chief maritime engineer Chief maritime electrician A list of minimum participation requirements is given below: Studies: bachelor degree in maritime fields or others (EQF 6) Certificate recognition by: - IMO Member States - National authorities - Shipowners - Shipcompanies NO ECTS 4. CONCLUSIONS The maritime certification system in compliance with IMO standards has as a specific target: experts and/or teachers in the shipping field. CERONAV staff members are highly interested in familiarizing themselves and improving the new pedagogical technologies, including the online courses. For maritime training purposes, a series of model courses are developed with a view to provide suggested syllabi, course timetables and e-learning objectives intended to assist instructors develop training programmes and courses in compliance with the standards for seafarers. The instructors and the trainees need to improve their ability to comply with international rules and standards relating to maritime safety and the prevention and control of maritime pollution, giving priority to technical assistance programmes focussing on the development of human resources and institutional capacity building. REFERENCES [1] Sharing Learning Objects in an Open Perspective, European Commision, Project number: I/05/B/F/PP-154194, ISBN 979-88-903115-0-5, 2007; [2]. http://www.ceronav.ro [3]. http://www.imo.org SLOOP2DESC - Sharing Learning Objects in an Open Perspective to Develop European Skills and Competences 25 BUILDING AND MANAGING A COMMUNITY OF PRACTICE Augusto Buzzi1 1METID, Politecnico di Milano, Italy augusto.buzzi@polimi.it Abstract Sommario This paper describes how the SLOOP2DESC Community of Practice has been first conceived, planned and built, then managed from its launch (November 2010) to today. It also reports what actually happened with the people involved and provides some statistics about its size. Finally it anticipates the settings we can expect and the possible moves to be planned for the last stage (self-government), which is starting on September 2011. Larticolo descrive come la comunit di pratica di SLOOP2DESC stata dapprima ideata, pianificata e costruita, quindi gestita dal suo lancio (novembre 2010) a oggi. Riferisce inoltre cosa accaduto con gli utenti coinvolti e fornisce alcune statistiche sulle sue dimensioni. Infine anticipa gli scenari attesi e le possibili mosse da programmare per lultima fase (autogestione), che avr inizio a settembre 2011. KEYWORDS: community of practice, social networking, e-learning, forum, tutors, enterprises, EUCIP, web 2.0. KEYWORDS: comunit di pratica, social networking, e-learning, forum, tutor, imprese, EUCIP, web 2.0. 1. WHAT IS A CoP? Ever since the term was first coined in 1990 [1], the Communities of Practice (CoP) have been arousing more and more interest, applications and study cases. They have been and are used in different fields and for different purposes: to give two well-known examples, just think of their educational and commercial forms. However, although they are much talked about (and too much, maybe), few people seem to actually know what they are and what purpose they serve. What is a CoP, finally? Here is one of the briefest and most forceful definitions you can find on the web: Communities of practice are formed by people who engage in a process of collective learning in a shared domain of human endeavour: a tribe learning to survive, a band of artists seeking new forms of expression, a group of engineers working on similar problems, a clique of pupils defining their identity in the school, a network of surgeons exploring novel techniques, a gathering of first-time managers helping each other cope. In a nutshell: Communities of practice are groups of people who share a concern or a passion for something they do and learn how to do it better as they interact regularly [2]. So we can rightly call CoP a real or virtual environment where people who have something in common share information and experiences and solve problems, and by doing this not only learn from each other and achieve both personal and professional growth, but also build a joint knowledge. Gaining knowledge (know-what and know-how, notions and competences) related to ones own field is the veritable goal of a CoP, indeed. With regard to the method of doing this, we could define a CoP as a collaborative network where every member takes part voluntarily and interacts with and amongst equals (except for the obvious distinctions in role). 2. BULDING THE CoP: STAGE 0 There are two models of CoP: the informal one, referring to communities which come to life spontaneously and are characterised by collective self-management, so that the members themselves propose, provide and share content; and the formal model, namely communities created from nothing, established ad hoc and managed by an external committee which is in charge of providing incentives and content in order to involve the members and make them interact. So, when we started to plan a community for SLOOP2DESC we knew that it would stand in the middle of the two models: the users already knew each other because they had previously shared the experience of the pilot and/or cascade courses. Whats more, they had a common background, a personal as well as professional affinity: they were all teachers (mainly teaching computer science) interested in e-learning, with a good ICT literacy and a high level of motivation and willingness to interact; they shared the same work context, the same aims, the same educational vision. We also had different kinds of actors, i.e. the enterprise representatives, who had good reason to take part in the community as well. Thats why we didnt start from nothing: the requirements for a CoP were fully satisfied. Due to the aims of the project, the CoP addressed just the Italian tutors and trainees: this option made the people homogeneous and automatically removed the technical, and not the only, problem of building a multilingual online forum. Proceeding from this clear and well-disposed target, we then designed the guidelines and features of the future community. It should have been an online environment for discussing and sharing knowledge and ideas. So firstly, we chose two strong topics dear to the project and which the partners where skilled at: the EUCIP certification system (AICA) and web 2.0 (METID & ITSOS). Looking at self-management as a final aim, tutors would launch and animate the rising community by acting like supervisors, motivators and moderators. The members would interact using a forum, pursuing peer (thematic) discussions and a many-to-many communication flow; moreover they would share content and resources by linking or uploading them in attachments to their posts. Finally, after focusing our needs and goals, the CNR engaged in seeking, setting up and customising a web environment suitable for hosting the community, and Joomla Community Builder was the selected tool. It provided us with everything we needed: most of all, a forum all the rest isnt relevant in this place where everybody, as well as the possible outsiders, could register, sign in, complete their own profile, access the discussion and join the community. Of course we had to promote the CoP too, not only with the tutors and trainees already involved in the project but Giovanni FULANTELLI, Lucian OPREA 26 wherever it was worthwhile and here all the Italian partners concurred to spread the word in trade magazines and websites devoted to our topics. 3. MANAGING THE CoP: STAGE 1 The CoP was officially launched in November 2010. Since the very beginning, when the team was still conceiving it, self-government was considered as the final goal: we wanted it in a perspective of sustainability to last beyond the end of the project and to become independent, able to survive and evolve without the aegis of the project partners. The CoP was unlikely to grow by itself, so we had to plan an operation intended to attend to it throughout at least the first months of its life. So the partners, the enterprise representatives and also the former trainees (the tutors of the cascade courses) stimulated the discussion by posting incentives, questions and calls for sharing ideas, information and experiences: it took some time but, although the process was quite slow, the members responded favourably and never failed to reply and have their say. Later on, of course, the problem was keeping the participation alive, and the leaders did it by posting new replies, subtopics and cues. In other words we could say that a kind of community-watch committee was raised, with specialised roles and divided areas of intervention according to the topics and the skills of each tutor (or supertutor), and the process turned out to work well. After all, apart from the steady monitoring and supervising, the effort by the watchers didnt have to be such a big task, thanks to the active attitude and spontaneous response of the members. Moreover they were allowed to create new discussions, which fuelled the debate. In addition to the core guiding topics mentioned above (EUCIP certification system and web 2.0), thus, the conversation flowed free and natural, going along with the members wishes. Most of all, if we put aside the technical thread related to FreeLOms (comments and suggestions about the tool), the users talked about the use of e-learning in the high school and the links among computer competences, schools and enterprises. To go deeper into the content, two problems aroused a special interest and were agreed on: on the one hand the gap between the Italian school education and the job market, since the school wouldnt share neither the logic nor the aims the job market asks for; on the other hand, the school and university system would be strongly theory-oriented and fail in providing professional, managing and practical competences usable at work. So everyone brought their own experience, some study cases were illustrated and proposals for plugging the gap were forwarded such as certificating the competencies systematically and simulating (or even importing) the job markets needs and task at school. 4. WHAT HAPPENED: THE CoP IN NUMBERS1 Unfortunately we have few statistics related to the CoP alone, because the tool adopted to register them (Google Analytics) automatically aggregates the data about the whole website which hosts the CoP (sloop2desc.eu). Thus, for instance, we know that to date the community totals 807 registered users, but we do not know how many of them actually joined the community forums and took part in its social exchange. Nevertheless, we have exact knowledge of the numbers concerning the topics and posts published overall. 4 forums were opened in the out-and-out CoP, with a total of 73 topics and 394 posts. So it wouldnt be wrong to include two more 1 The data presented here date back to July 7th 2011. forums in our computation, the cascade tutors private forum (which the trainees couldnt access) and the one intended to allow the communication between the enterprise representatives and the cascade courses tutors: if we do so the topics go up to 170, and the posts go to 1326 (fig. 1)! Fig.1. SLOOP2DESC CoP Forum (July 7th 2011) 5. TOWARD SELF-GOVERNMENT: STAGE 2 As specified above, the final aim is self-government: so, in what we anticipated as stage 2, the CoP should become self-sufficient, able to keep on growing and evolving without the support of the project partners who have been facilitating and encouraging it until now. It may be that these partners need to make themselves available as advisors/counsellors in order to help the CoP become autonomous. We have at least two settings, two options, between which the members (especially the tutors of the cascade courses) have to choose. Those are: Which do you prefer, trying to make it on your own or planning/managing the changeover along with us? So in the first case we would be pure observers, while in the second one we would actively guide the CoP to find its way, that is (in brief): finding out and negotiating the community aims, according to the interests and needs of the members (survey/consultation); assisting the members in composing a new (internal) managing committee and agreement about the respective roles and commitments during the transitional phase. After being trained in the pilot courses, the tutors of the cascade courses demonstrated that they highly capable of posing problems and negotiating solutions through consultation with each other. With this in mind, they may well handle the changeover of the CoP independently and to a high degree of efficiency. This would be the umpteen