Digital educational resources are widely applied in Education, and particularly, in virtual education.
But, as many other concepts in that field, there a great number of definitions or approaches to their meaning.
Do you have/use a particular definition that you prefer, for any reason, over other definitions?
I would appreciate you to share it.
Dear Dr. Guerrero-Proenza!
You raised a key point. New concepts arise all the time. It is somehow difficult to keep up with emerging issues. I am somewhat confused, to be honest.
I think IGI Global offers a convincing description (2020): "Digital learning resources include digitally formatted, educational materials like; graphics, images or photos, audio and video, simulations and animation technologies, that are used to support students to achieve their learning outcomes." Available at: https://www.igi-global.com/dictionary/digital-learning-resources/86385
Yours sincerely, Bulcsu Szekely
I prefer a practical definition. I use a laptop, a videoproiector and PowerPoint presentations, you also can scroll digital books, virtual lessons, simulations of experiments, little movies
Bogdan Bancia Definitions are aimed to have a practical use, helping to classify objects into classes.
For example, in your description you included a laptop, and PowerPoint presentations. Are those things digital resources because they are represented digitally or use digital representation?
If both, then one can think: and why a videoproiector is included?
Defining precisely is one of the scientific approaches to common understanding among researchers and a way to avoid "Byzantine discussions", like those sometime arise in Educational Sciences (but not only).
Regards,
In Romania a videoproiector is considered educational resources for classes. Digital reprezentations do not work without digital resources (laptop, videoprejector). In physics web setup a lab using digital resources and use various digital reprezentations. Than we develop the the digital content acording to our aims (virtual lecture, experimental simulation, chapter review, etc).
A definition would be: an ansamble of digital resources and digital contents that are used to support students to achieve their learning outcomes.
A videoproiector is a digital aparatus, a digital resource
The digital content may also be developed according to our teaching methods (free talk, a dialog with the students)
Bogdan Bancia
"In Romania a videoproiector is considered educational resources for classes."
I agree. I suppose everywhere (or almost) it is classified as an educational resource. But it is not clear if every one consider it a digital resource. Let's see...
"Digital representations do not work without digital resources (laptop, videoprejector)."
Agree again, or otherwise, those tools are digital ones because they are applied to digital objects, where digital object is the digital representation of any real (material, substantial, or abstract, informational) object. The digital representation is the symbol, while the content, the meaning of them are those real objects represented by them.
Here a partial conclusion could be: digital resources (nobody has said anything about activity where they are taking place) are those tools (artifacts would be better), applied in transmission and/or manipulation (transformation) of digital representation.
"In physics web setup a lab using digital resources and use various digital representations. Than we develop the the digital content according to our aims (virtual lecture, experimental simulation, chapter review, etc)."
Here it is about content. And content are those objects (again, physical or abstract) which are used in the given activities (now it has been clarified that we are talking about learning/teaching activities), represented digitally.
No we have two kind of scenarios: digital (educational) resources are those tools (artifacts) and digital (educational) resources are contents. In both case the relation with digital representation are the key distinctive property.
"A definition would be: an ansamble of digital resources and digital contents that are used to support students to achieve their learning outcomes."
I think that's OK, just I'd suggest to substitute digital resources for something else with the same intended meaning, avoiding a logical issue, because digital resource is precisely the concept to be defined.
And as it can be seen, this small piece of text substitute all previous individual, by extension defined concept.
In other words, an extension definition vs an intensive definition.
Usually the first one is impracticable. And that's why the current discussion is around digital educational resources definition.
In Romania we simply state
Resources: videopriector
Methods: computer based learning/teaching activities.
Type of lecture: virtual lecture
By definition in this type of lecture obiects become digital representation
The old writing on the blackboard nowadays becomes a digital representation
I think in education web need to address a general concept like "scientific alfabetization", amoung which web have digital resources and technologies
The new generation of young people is a generation that deepens the digital world and develops unimaginable skills. If we compare the old generation with the new generation, they are like two hostile realities.
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