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All content in this area was uploaded by Jose Jorge Gil on Oct 21, 2016
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The knowledge Networks as an Innovation to Improve the Quality of
University Teaching
José Jorge Gil
Universidad de Zaragoza, Spain
ppgil@unizar.es
Angel Fidalgo
Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, Spain
afidalgo@dmami.upm.es
María Luisa Sein-Echaluce
Universidad de Zaragoza, Spain
mlsein@unizar.es
Abstract: Two current knowledge network projects developed in the university context, and
supported by a new e-learning platform designed by “Inventa Soluciones”, a spin-off of
Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, are presented. Two main ways to use this product are
described. The first one is described through the “E-learning Exchange Centre”, which is a current
experience based on weblog or 'bitácoras' methodology, where a group of university teachers share
useful information and documents. The second one is based on the production of an initial
background of adequate resources which are used as the initial knowledge basis for a virtual
community that generates progressive contributions. The "Resource Center for Tutoring
Management" is described as an example of cooperative network used for teachers from several
Spanish universities.
Introduction
The main capital of a university falls upon the people involved in its activities: teachers, researchers and
students. The cooperation between the teachers and researchers is a critical way to improve competitiveness and
quality. Frequently, the web portals are the technological way for creation, spreading, distribution and use of
knowledge by virtual communities. Even though the portals technology is quite advanced and defined, this does not
happen with the knowledge networks. These are usually defined by the users group that accesses to the
corresponding portal. In other words, the common factor that defines the real members of the knowledge network is
the accesses, at any time, to a specific website, without distinguishing the participation type.
Given the particular characteristics of educational organizations, in this paper we deal with networks whose
objective is that their members obtain aptitudes applicable in their work context in order to improve the quality of
teaching and learning. In these kinds of networks, the quality can be measured from the interchange rates and from
the use and application of the resources provided by the network. When such a network is created, the first milestone
is the starting itself. This involve high costs as well as the risk of people who not might use the network. Two
methodologies to avoid these barriers will be presented so that a university network, with a minimum starting cost
and high impact on users, could be created.
The experiences described below have been carried out by using the “DSED” (Dynamical Systems for E-
Document) platform, developed by “Inventa Soluciones” (http://www.inventasoluciones.com) a spin-off company
created from Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, Spain.
Taking into account the two main basis of a knowledge network namely people and resources, we present
two different strategies for creating it:
•People-based strategy (weblogs or 'bitácoras'). The starting point is based on the people concerned by the
new network. Its intrinsic interest in share resources provide the first impulse in such a way that people
bring and ask for different kinds of shared resources; as a real example we will present the “E-learning
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Exchange Centre” network, created from the relationship between four research groups from different
Spanish universities (Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, Universidad de Zaragoza, Universidad de las
Palmas de Gran Canaria y Universidad Nacional de Educación a Distancia).
•Resource-based strategy. This procedure is based on organizing and structuring a set of useful resources,
prior to the network launching. Our main contribution for this traditional method is the way to create the
initial resources. As an example of this kind of network, we will describe one devoted to tutorial
management in the university, performed by Cátedra UNESCO de Gestión y Política Universitaria
(Universidad Politécnica de Madrid) and supported by Ministerio de Educación y Ciencia (Spain).
People- based strategies: "Exchange Center on e -Learning Information"
A group of people with given trust links and collaborative habits can use a network as the medium for
guiding their communications as well as eventual interchange of resources. The knowledge resulting from these
relationships can be interesting for people of the same group and the information and resources generated in these
processes deal with a growing basis of useful knowledge; promoting new ideas for people involved in similar
activities. When an amount of resources has been generated enough to be considered as a solid basis of knowledge,
is the time for the next step derived from the following question; are the available resources on the net really useful
for people with common objectives?.
Figure 1: Exchange Center on e-Learning Information
In Figure 1, the main window of Portal of the social network in e-learning is shown. The web page to enter
into this portal is through the following URL ((April 2004): http://liti.dmami.upm.es/elearning
(usuario: novatica, clave: novatica).
If the information basis has been useful for the initial members of the network, high possibilities exist that
the same will happen for people exceeding the first collaborative circle and that the active virtual community will
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become bigger. In the experience described here, we have built a knowledge network in such a manner that the
starting cost was low and the resources are really useful for the virtual community.
The innovative methodology of this portal is based on weblogs or 'bitácoras'. This means that each website
member contributes useful information for himself or his team. This portal presents the following characteristics
(see Figure 2):
•Portal made from individual contributions.
•Cooperation between groups or people without needing to standardize the organizational structure.
•Creation of a useful resources-centre for the members of the virtual community (Exchange Centre)
•Portal designed to restructure the Exchange Centre into a knowledge network or/and a virtual community
•Easy and immediate possibility to add contributions and new contents by founders and new members.
Figure 2: People-based strategy
Resource-based strategies: "Resources Center ICT for Tutorial Actions".
The main idea that underlies this strategy is to offer a considerable amount of useful resources as a starting
way to promote progressive new contributions. Then the first step is to collect and insert a sufficient information
basis prior to opening the network to all the spectrum of potential users. The key for a successful experience is that
the starting resource basis be interesting and well valued by the future virtual community. This aspect must be
considered with special attention because of the subjectivity of the value of the information elements and because of
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the difficulty to ensure a good evaluation of the starting resource prior to opening and launching the new Resource
Center.
Thus, the procedure is based on accumulating resources considered useful enough for the future users and
to organize them in a flexible structure so that each member could find the best resources for each particular action
or objective easily. When the resource basis as well as the flexible and easy searching system are performed, is the
time to offer the resources to the objective people by means of an open network: Resource Center. It should be noted
that this methodology starts focusing in the resources, prior to focusing on people.
As an example of this strategy we describe the main characteristics of a Resource Center applied to
university tutoring and open to the Spanish and Latin-American academic communities, in order to spread some
recent studies as well as some procedures and technologies involved in academic tutoring. The technological system
includes a powerful searching engine that ensures fast and easy operation, so that the information objects relative to
methodology and technology applicable for tutoring management are adequately accessible.
An additional objective is to ensure the continuity of the study and its corresponding broadening by means
of new contributions as, for example, practical cases, papers, reports, web-links, etc. An open telematic poll is also
included in order to obtain progressive information about some relevant aspects related to the tutoring management.
In summary, we try to consolidate a useful Resource Center characterized by the progressive contributions of a
broad and open virtual academic community involved in tutoring management.
Figure 3: Resources Center ICT for Tutorial Actions
In Figure 3, the main window of Portal for Tutorial Actions is shown. The web page to enter into this portal
is through the following URL (April 2004): http://liti.dmami.upm.es/tutorias (Usuario: seui; Clave: seui).
The Resource Center, when the current viability study is finished and the launch strategy is opportunely specified,
will be opened .
In this experience the starting information component with a high value for the virtual community is a
report about technologies applied to tutorial management given by Cátedra UNESCO de Gestión Universitaria
(Universidad Politécnica de Madrid).
The report was done through the following main activities:
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•Analyzing the technologies used in several university centers.
•Studying the didactical methodologies.
•Studying the functional capabilities of several telematic tools (forum, teaching-web, e-mail, video-
conferencing, teleworking…) applicable to university tutoring.
•Interviewing expert people.
•Polling teachers.
Figure 4: Resource-based strategy. Search system
The studies and reports are divided into small parts in order to make the access easier to this information.
This system shows the user all the available information on the system which is classified alphabetically and in
different sections. To get into this system the option “searches” must be selected (see Figure 4).
References
Enrique Rubio-Royo, Domingo J. Gallego, and Catalina Alonso-García. (2003). E -Learning in Distance Education and in the
New Cooperative Environments. UPGRADE. The European Journal for the Informatics Professional. Vol, IV, Nº 5, 47-52.
October
Jorge Rey Valzacchi: "Weblogs: un enorme potencial para el ámbito educativo". (April 2004)
http://www.aefol.com/version2004/articulos_detalle.asp?articulos=254
Nonaka and Takeuchi (1995). The Knowledge-Creating Company. Oxford University Press.
Acknowledgements
This research was supported by a grant from Ministerio de Educación y Ciencia, Spain (Ref: EA2003-0030).
