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4/8/2023 0 Comments Versatile and Innovative open educational resources for collaborative Virtual and mobile learning Arrangements in HE - The VIVA projectBackground to the project The VIVA project is aimed at addressing one of the many features characterising the digital transformation our society is currently undergoing, that is the digitalisation of the teaching and learning experiences, especially in the higher education sector. As already recognised by an OECD report released in 2020, due to the Covid-19 health emergency, HEIs had to reinvent their activities to ensure the continuity of education by offering online classes and learning experiences as a substitute for in-class time. However, the same report also highlighted that these institutions (especially universities) were often found unprepared and unable to deliver instruction through new interactive means due to a lack of competences (OECD, 2020). The recent health emergency has certainly accelerated the pace of the digital transformation in the learning and education sector, but all the elements to detect a significant turn to the digital were already there and many related processes were already unfolding. Our project acknowledges the digital transformation described above and wants to contribute to the definition of the teaching and learning of tomorrow by fostering the integration and implementation of design-based collaborative learning practices into HEIs, with a specific focus on universities. VIVA is addressing HEIs but also practice and businesses partners and the following target groups: - HEI teachers, trainers or learning facilitators (in more practical and informal settings); - Designers and developers of educational programmes; - Eventually, students and learners in all stages of HE. All partners have highlighted the urgent need to properly train HE professionals and internship mentors to adopt online collaborative learning approaches to avoid “Zoom fatigue” and low motivation among students, as well as to properly integrate web-based collaborative approaches into their regular teaching practices in combination to classroom-teaching, even after the pandemic period. In general, the needs of our target groups are: - To introduce the method and strategies of web-based collaborative learning into old and new curricula, especially in combination with other 21st century skills; - To prepare lecturers for teaching and learning with technology-based tools and instruments; - To understand the role of a facilitator in supporting learners involved in open learning, distance education, or online learning; - To support learners in the individual and collaborative construction of knowledge, skills, and attitudes, especially in informal learning; - To support learners in moving successfully through the various stages that online learners typically go through; - To support learners effectively through the use of asynchronous and synchronous communication and learning tools; - To use assessments and assignments effectively as learning tools. Objectives The VIVA project, with its clear European afflatus, would like to achieve an overall objective and a number of specific objectives. OVERALL OBJECTIVE: to increase the effectiveness of online teaching and learning, improving the skills and competences of HE professionals in planning and delivering innovative teaching and learning practices. SPECIFIC OBJECTIVES: - Drawing comparison of good practices in design-based collaborative learning and designing an implementation strategy in other geographical and sectoral contexts (transferring innovation starting from our projects); - Developing a common competence framework to assess individual and institution-wide progress as to the acquisition of new relevant digital and educational skills; - Implementing design-based collaborative learning integration strategy (action research reports from pilots, methodology to apply Design learning in HE, quality standards); - Creating a Continuous Professional Development Programme for Educators in HE (concept, material, platform, C1 course). The VIVA project wants to develop the digital readiness, resilience and capacity of educators working in the HE sector by creating a Continuous Professional Development Programme and by designing an effective and comprehensive competence framework to assess progress in the acquisition of new relevant digital and educational skills at the European level. Our aim is also that of increasing the overall effectiveness of online teaching and learning by designing innovative blended learning programmes and methods that combine asynchronous and synchronous collaborative digital tools. VIVA, in line with the National Priorities for Erasmus+ KA2 of the Lithuanian National Agency, will foster the introduction of digital tools and methods to ensure effective learning in remote settings and will help teachers and trainers to create high-quality digital contents and make a fruitful use out of innovative online resources and tools. Implementation: The project is organised along a set of 4 content related work packages, producing the main Results: 1.Comparison of best practices On innovative design-based collaborative learning offers provided by European HEIs and internship partners. Sub-outputs to be produced: Research design Desk research results Online questionnaire Expert Interviews with selected experts The VIVA best practices report. 2. Competence Framework Developing Competence framework for: a. HE trainers and programme designers b. HE learners for self-learning competences while using digital learning approaches and devices (digital learning literacy) Deriving operational Reference systems and localising them on respective EQF levels. The resulting repositories of competences will have 2 functions, they serve as an “inventory of reference systems for competences” for validation purposes, and as a “competence framework” as a planning device for the acquisition of collaborative online learning and teaching competences. Sub-outputs to be developed: A competence framework (competence catalogue) Descriptions of sub-competences Reference systems on each competence Connection to the EQF / ECVET taxonomy. 3. Design-based collaborative learning integration strategy This result will provide a comprehensive integration framework to apply the VIVA approach in a direct and modular way on 3 different levels: micro (programme level), meso (organisational level) and macro (trans-organisational and trans-sectoral level). Tools, guidelines and recommendations will be developed in order to ensure flexible implementation in specific professional and learning contexts and high transferability. Action research results will be key in the drafting of such guidelines and recommendations. Undertaking action research local projects and using results to further develop VIVA learning modules and to gather feedback to define recommendations for implementation. Developing integration framework and tools, namely recommendations and guidelines for the implementation of the VIVA approach at micro (programme), meso (organisational) and macro (trans-organisational) level. Setting up an overarching quality approach. Sub-outputs to be produced: Action research reports Video testimonials YouTube channel with pills from experts Methodological framework (recommendations and guidelines) Quality criteria. 4. CPD Concept for Educators in HE Based on the competence framework and the action research results, Competence Oriented Learning and Validation course curriculum and modules will be established based on the well proven REVEAL methodology by: Setting up contextualised action and learning fields Developing didactic frames Sequential course plans and learning units that can be delivered in blended learning methodology The interactive platform (e-Portfolio, LMS and Validation system) will be adapted and all available learning units and materials inserted. This rich open learning platform facilitates blended learning and provides a seamless connection of e-learning (moodle), validation software (LEVEL5) and e-portfolio (Mahara) functionalities. Suboutputs to be produced: CPD learning modules VIVA interactive platform VIVA then includes 2 Learning Activities: Joint transnational learning activity for HE staff (C1): a Continuous Professional Development (CPD) course for 12 educational professionals in HE that will then facilitate the VIVA approach within their institutions. Intercultural blended learning activity for HE students (C2): a course on design-based collaborative learning culminating in an intercultural co-creation week in Greece. Students will then act as Ambassadors of the approach within their institutions and beyond. The VIVA Final Conference will close the project by bringing together European stakeholders from different sectors. It will be connected to the VIVA award, a price given to innovative projects in the field of Competence Oriented Learning in connection with validation. Results: VIVA aims to make full use of the potential of rich, open educational resources in asynchronous and synchronous learning to enrich traditional teaching and learning in the HE sector. The project will develop high quality digital learning and focus on learning formats which have not yet (or just very rarely) been tackled in web-based learning: - Collaborative learning in connection to creativity and innovation. VIVA seeks to explore available online learning instruments and develop didactic learning arrangements with a special focus on design thinking; product and project development. - Competence Oriented Learning and validation to foster learning arrangements which differ from traditional frontal teaching methods and which aim to plan and deliver digitally supported learning in both informal and non-formal settings. - Virtual mobile learning. VIVA aims to develop supportive virtual mobility formats which: promote virtual mobility (distance learning) in collaborative projects of students, trainees and apprentices participating from different European countries; and will (after the end of the pandemic situation) support ERASMUS students to capitalise more on their experiences abroad and create new joint learning activities during their placements, be it in partner universities or in enterprises. To achieve this, VIVA seeks to qualify the relevant HE stakeholders to design, deliver and apply digitally enhanced teaching and learning. A holistic training programme for HE staff on Competence Oriented Learning and Validation (COL&V) will be developed with a focus on innovative blended learning arrangements. The 4 titles associated to the Project Results are: 1. Comparison of good practices in design-based collaborative learning; 2. Competence framework; 3. Design-based collaborative learning integration strategy; 4. Continuous Professional Development Programme for Educators in HE. Concretely VIVA will develop the following products and outputs: - Inventory (growing catalogue) and comparison of available good practices (approaches and instruments) with a focus, although not exclusively, on OER for synchronous and asynchronous tools and instruments, connected to an online voting and recommender system for feasibility in different study domains and for different purposes. - Competence framework for HE professionals to plan and deliver high quality digital teaching and learning based on a competence oriented learning and validation approach to cover both learning delivery, assessment and validation (Project Result 2). - Inventory of suitable didactical models, both instructional models and informal learning patterns to support digitally supported teaching and learning. - Development of an OER infrastructure with a growing pool of synchronous and asynchronous tools to be used by European HE institutes. This platform shall be maintained by project partners (especially blinc) since it is used for several Erasmus+ projects and joint activities. - European Continuous Professional Development course for HE personnel. - Action research findings on the innovative teaching and learning approaches with groups of learners from different HEI in different learning environments and contexts, including the practical application of competence validation (identification, documentation, assessment and certification) based on the online systems developed under point 4. - Guidelines, recommendation and quality criteria to integrate the VIVA approach at programme, organisational and trans-organisational/trans-domain level. For more information on the VIVA project visit https://viva-eu.org/
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