Research On The Design And Application Of Web-Based Learning Activities Based On Ecological Attributes

Web-based Learning is a very important learning form under the background of ICT in Education. While the effect of web-based learning is not quite ideal in informational teaching practice. There may be many factors to cause the ineffectiveness of web-based learning. But one of the main factors is the lack of consideration of the new characteristics of web-based learning activities. Based on this situation, we discuss the features of web-based learning activity from ecological view and try to design ecological learning activity to enhance its ecological attributes,thus to improve web-based learning effects.Guided as ecological principle, this study explores ecological elements, structures and attributes of web-based learning activity deeply. Ecological elements include learning subjects, objectives, tasks and environment. Ecological structures contain interactive structure, resource structure and space-time structure. Based on analysis of ecological elements and structures, we propose that compared with the traditional learning activity, web-based learning activity has some basic ecological attributes. For example, in the process of web-based learning activity, individual learning is as important as collective learning, benefiting oneself is as important as benefiting others, knowledge internalization is as important as knowledge externalization, independent learning is as important as connective learning. All these ecological attributes interact with each other, and anyone missing or insufficient will damage the balance and stability of web-based learning activity ecosystem and decrease the effects of web-based learning. Therefore, from ecological view, high-efficient web-based learning process should have outstanding ecological attributes.After the ecological attributes of web-based learning activity are explicit, we put forward four types of ecological web-based learning activity which are subject-cooperative, sharing-reciprocal, creation-generative and distribution-connective. Following the principle of eco-designing such as subjective, objective, generative, open and diverse, a design model of ecological web-based learning activity is constructed. This model includes preparation phase, designing and implementation phase, and evaluation phase. Preparation phase includes subject analysis, goal setting and environmental presets. Designing and implementation phase mainly contains:1) focus on integration of individual and group, strengthen learners’ interactions;2) set up the sharing space, create a mutually beneficial learning environment;3) establish open problem situation, promote knowledge generated in diversified ways;4) connect multidimensional niches, construct the ecological network of learning interaction. Evaluation phase is to measure and analyze ecological attributes of web-based learning activity. Thus, we also propose the methods and indexes to measure different ecological attributes. According to this model, we design and implement learning activities on one online course supported by Moodle. Through the measurement and analysis of activity data, we discover that all the learning activities designed with the guidance of design model show certain ecological attributes. And the stronger ecological attributes, the better learning effects. Finally, we summarize and reflect the outcomes and existing problems in order to put forward the follow-up work efforts.