LiveUSB Mediated Education: A method to facilitate computer supported education

Abstract

In this paper the authors analyse the design and implementation of a course about learning management systems (LMS). The course was first given in Cuba and then in Guatemala and Peru, within the project USo+I: Universidad, Sociedad e Innovación, Mejora de la pertinencia de la educación en las ingenierías de Latinoamérica financed by the European Union's ALFA III program. In the course only open educational resources (OER) were used and all course material was stored on USB drives together with the needed software. All programs were executable directly from the memory to meet any problems of limited access to the Internet. Problem based learning was used, with the course divided into two weeks of on campus lectures and workshops followed by distance learning for three months, altogether corresponding to ten weeks of full time studies. The authors propose the term LiveUSB Mediated Education (LUME) for a course package, with course material and software contained on the same USB drive. The participants' opinions about the course and their perceptions about LMS and OER were investigated in order to determine the extent to which the LUME method can facilitate cost-effective computer aided education, especially in developing countries.