A TRAINING PATH FOR INNOVATION AND MODERNIZATION OF HIGHER EDUCATION CURRICULUM IN CENTRAL ASIA

Transcription

1 A TRAINING PATH FOR INNOVATION AND MODERNIZATION OF HIGHER EDUCATION CURRICULUM IN CENTRAL ASIA Martini, M. Università degli Studi Guglielmo Marconi, Italy Tramonti, M. Università degli Studi Guglielmo Marconi, Italy Abstract In the framework of ERASMUS Plus Programme, the European Commission has funded the three years project ACADEMICA Accessibility and Harmonization of Higher Education in Central Asia through curriculum modernization and development involving 15 partners coming from Europe (Bulgaria, Italy, Austria and Spain) and Central Asia countries (Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan). The project intends to support HE lecturers in Central Asia in the improvement and the modernization of scientific curriculum through the introduction of technology, digital support and distance learning. This paper will describe and explain the main idea and concepts behind the project phases that has conducted to the design of the ACADEMICA e-course for lecturers. 1. Introduction Current education systems are changing following the rapid development of innovative digital technologies applied to learning environments and the labor market requiring more advanced digital skills from learners [1]. This assumption is fully justified by the Grand Coalition for Digital Jobs according to which more than professionals will be required in ICT sector supporting the economic growth [2]. To satisfy this request, modern approaches will be used in delivering knowledge, ensuring quality standard, especially, in Higher Education System. In this context, ACADEMICA project [3] aims to support the improvement and modernization of Higher Education curriculum in central Asia countries. This is a three-year project co-funded by the European Commission under ERASMUS Plus Programme and involving 15 organisations academic institutions, ministries of education, associations from seven European and Central Asian (Region 7) countries Bulgaria, Austria, Italy, Spain, Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan. The main objective of ACADEMICA is to bring together European HEIs which possess and supply cutting-edge developments, innovative learning practices and extensive international experience and HEIs from partner countries in Central Asia/CA/ which need and demand the same developments, practices and experience, in particular, in Engineering Studies. 2. Development of the project The final aim of ACADEMICA has been started with the construction of a common body of knowledge for harmonization and for strengthening the accessibility of higher education (especially Engineering domain) in the three countries from Central Asia (CA) in line with the objectives defined by the Bologna Process [4] and Lisbon Strategy[5]. To implement this, each partner has developed institutional reports concerning the Engineering Sciences education at

2 their Universities - educational degrees and qualifications; quality assurance procedures internal and external; current state of the ICT-based services addressed to the students; employability and realization of the graduates in the labor market; opportunities for students and teaching staff mobility, and the lifelong learning, LLL, policy of the institution. On the base of the results achieved during the need analysis phase and summarized in the national reports, the educational experts team, involved in the project, has designed and developed the ACADEMICA e-course aiming to support lecturers in the introduction of innovative teaching methods and contemporary ICT-based pedagogical tools which are in compliance with the European educational standards and best practices in Higher Education. This will allow key factors for modernization of the Higher Education /HE/, such as the deployment of digital educational technologies and the development and availability of open educational resources. 3. The ACEDEMICA e-course The objective of the lectures course is to provide to the faculties involved with the necessary know-how to modernize traditional face-to-face lessons transforming them into pure distance or blended courses. This is a mandatory step of the project since the partner sample is not only composed by universities offering pure distance or blended courses. Moreover, lectures will be equipped with transversal and key competences and skills necessary for their active inclusion in the global digital teaching and learning space. At the end of the course, the lecturers will be able to develop or find autonomously technological learning materials and open educational resources, to define an appropriate standard for lessons and contents and to exploit tools offered by WEB 2.0. Thanks to this preliminary course, lectures will not only know the present situation and technology behind distance learning but they will be able to define their better strategy for the modernization of the courses depending, just to give some examples: on type of courses, type of students, country, technological tools available, etc. Going in detail, at the end of the course lectures will be able to: Understand Distance Learning evolution; Define custom lessons layouts; Exploit social network to increase learning process and optimize students interactions; Find license-free learning materials; Develop learning materials in responsive technology; Use the most recent pedagogical techniques both for traditional and distance learning. 4. E-Course platform The ACADEMICA e-course will be delivered through a virtual learning environment based on the Moodle E-Learning Platform[6] as described in the figure no.1.

3 Fig.1 ACADEMICA Virtual Environment The learning content will be developed in form of the multimedia learning objects including: Multimedia Lessons - delivered through the e-learning platform built up by an audio explanation synchronized with a slide presentation and provided with a hypertextual index allowing the user freely to navigate the lesson; Slides realised by the subject domain experts converted; Lecture Notes textual documents presenting in detail the lesson s topics and /or different perspective of the contents already explained. The lecturers can access platform and attend multimedia lessons everytime and everywhere exploiting modern e-learning solutions. During course, with the precise aim to discuss arguments, create a community and reinforce collaboration between partners, some virtual classes will be organized. The strictly didactical part consist of 36 e-hours of theoretical knowledge and lectures during which European partners offers their support like tutors to follow progress and to answer to any doubt. In Fig.2 the cover page of a lesson is reported together with the index permitting navigation among single arguments. Fig.2 Example of a multimedia lesson 5. Conclusion ACADEMICA is a threee years project including 15 partners coming from Europe and Central Asia countries. The final aim of the project is to modernize scientific curriculum in these last countries through the inclusion of technology, digital support and distance learning. As

4 discussed in this paper one of the first step of this project is to deliver an online course to explain current trends and solutions used for distance and blended learning. The innovation in the training path can be summarized as follows: 1. Innovative methodology: ACADEMICA training path integrates methodology and content that would equip lecturers with transversal and key competences and skills necessary for their active inclusion in the global digital teaching and learning space. 2. ICT-based educational opportunities: Provision of a more flexible accessibility to training opportunities thanks to ICT-based approaches; 3. Modernized University curricula in Engineering Sciences where the contemporary technology-based approaches and contents are integrated. 4. Establishment of a transnational co-operation system among Universities and business organizations in order to improve the capacity of HEIs in Region 7 thus achieving excellence by linking education, innovation and business. The expected impact is to create short- and long-term benefits for Higher Education, business and society generating European Added Value through: - the acknowledgment of European educational standards beyond the European borders; - fostering the link: education-business-society; - enhancement of the inter-cultural dialog among the participating countries; - inspiring the supply of open accessible and free of cost educational resources. - provision of a common framework stimulating the exchange and synthesis of experiences and best practices gained through collaboration of experts from different sectors of European and Central Asia. References [1] Ernst & Young, University of the future, 2012 available at uture_2012.pdf [2] European Union, Digital Single Market, link consulted on September [3] ACADEMICA project official website, [4] B.Reinalda and E.Kulesza, "The Bologna process, harmonizing Europe's higher education", Barbara Budrich Publisher, [5] H.C.Jones, "Lifelong Learning in the European Union: whither the Lisbon Strategy?", European Journal of Education vol.40 issue 3, , [6] M. De Raadt, "MOODLE: using learning communities to create an open source course management system", conference paper presented at EDMEDIA Organizing committee: Sh.Ualikhanov Kokshetau state University. Address: , Republic of Kazakhstan, Akmola region, Kokshetau Application form: Name (in full) Place of employment Position

5 Degrees Held Post address Contact phone address Direction (section, subsection) Technology needs The need for accommodation (class and allowable cost)