Ataques mediante Cloud Computing
2. Captura de claves: ejemplo con un hash SHA
Welsh language skills is an area ideally suited for the development of a higher level MOOC for use by students and in the workplace.
The Working Group has identified a number of potential partners who could deliver such a MOOC, which would not only be attractive to current HE students but far more broadly to employers and work-based learners alike. The development of such a MOOC would support the Welsh Government’s strategies on the Welsh language, economic development and skills and provide a progression route for advanced learners to develop their skills and to potentially seek certification to demonstrate these skills to potential employers. As such the MOOC would be at a higher level than the
resources currently available to support learners at an early stage of Welsh language learning, and offer a suitable progression route for those learners. The application of open learning to this area would confer several
advantages:
• courses would be more visible to potential learners and employers • learners could work flexibly, at any time and place, and according to
their own timetable
• employers would also welcome the flexibility of delivery • learners from all over the world could take advantage.
A Welsh Language Skills Certificate35 was launched by the Coleg Cymraeg
Cenedlaethol in 2012 to fulfil a demand by employers in Wales for a formal national certificate which demonstrates high attainment in Welsh language skills, suitable for professional use within the workplace. The certificate offers one of several potential bases for delivering a Welsh language skills MOOC for learners beyond the Welsh-medium university sector. Over 40 candidates successfully completed the course in May 2013. It has been formally
recognised by over 200 employers including government and public sector bodies, companies of all sizes and social enterprises.
The enthusiasm of employers for the Coleg’s certificate underscores the potential of a Welsh language skills MOOC. There are potentially large numbers of MOOC learners within the workplace, as well as independent learners who would benefit from additional upskilling of their Welsh
language skills, with the potential option of a formal certificate at the end of the course. For example, a substantial number of staff could be encouraged to follow a Welsh language skills MOOC course from within bodies and companies developing Welsh language skills strategies, as well as staff from
within the further and higher education sectors and advanced adult learners who have completed the ‘Proficiency’ stage.
Other possibilities could include building on the work of the Sabbatical scheme and/or reflecting developments in Welsh for Adults teaching following the report Raising our sights: review of Welsh for adults36,
published in July 2013, and/or the development of diagnostic tools by the WJEC. All four pathways to Welsh language skills have proven significant demand. Before undertaking any further work an identification of the most appropriate pathway for development and detailed discussions with potential partners would need to take place.
Elements of the resources already developed in any one of the four potential pathways could be re-used and a range of courses could be developed with additional content for independent learners including elements tailored for developing language skills and terminology in key employment sectors e.g. healthcare, education, media, law, tourism and the environment. A successful higher level MOOC could also provide a model for other Welsh language skills provision, at different levels, to follow.
To establish resources suitable for independent learning within a MOOC there would need to be an initial investment in developing a number of audio and video clips and online tests and self-assessments in conjunction with suitably qualified academics or tutors. The detail of such plans would need to be discussed in detail with potential partners to secure the most effective fit between the provision already provided and the development of the MOOC.
A Welsh language skills MOOC lends itself ideally to an xMOOC delivery model, with 10-15 minute asynchronous video/audio sessions, supported by downloadable documents, each followed by online self-assessment tests to ensure there is suitable learner feedback as the learner progresses through the course. There could also be online forums with indirect learner support from peers. A further development could be tutor support, but this would be more resource-intensive.
The sustainability of any Welsh language skills MOOC would depend on an income stream to support its maintenance and development. There are a number of resources relating to Welsh language skills already in existence, but beyond an initial fairly substantial investment to create a suitable MOOC the ongoing costs could be met based on an enhanced examination
fee-based model for learners outside the registered programme. This would depend on an inter-related course being the basis of the MOOC, e.g. the sabbatical scheme or the Coleg’s certificate. One could quite reasonably expect hundreds of learners annually to seek a certificate having followed a suitably developed MOOC. This would also offer a suitable progression
route for learners who have studied qualifications at other levels before engaging with the Welsh language skills MOOC.
Recommendation
Develop a Welsh language skills MOOC at higher education level so that students and work-based learners can develop their professional Welsh language skills and potentially seek certification for those skills.