Description
This project responds to the necessity of establishing a form of distant learning that is capable of efficiently raising the quality of corresponding education. In the German Institute at the College of Halden in Norway, well functioning and also theoretically founded practice of the distance learning methods of blended- and e-learning have been continuously developed for many years. As a result of this, the institute no longer provides full-time education. Trough this project, the lecturers of the German Studies Institute, who represent the individual specialized areas marked in the project, will study the distance learning programs and methods at Halden intensively in workshops during a study trip. With the help of the project, we would introduce to Hungary – within the bounds of the Hungarian law of higher education – the form of corresponding education built on the systematic application of blended- and e-learning as soon as possible. We expect that this will lead to more efficient teaching and more evenly leveled output results.
Summary of project results
The necessity of establishing a form of distance education that is capable of efficiently raising the quality of correspondence courses has been recognized by the Institute of German Studies of the University of Pécs in the past years. At the Høgskolen i Østfold Halden, Norway the well functioning and also theoretically founded practice of the distance learning methods of blended and e-learning have been continuously developed for many years. In the course of the realized project, funded by EEA Financial Mechanism 2009-2014 Scholarship (HU02) Professional Visits action (M2) programme, ten colleagues of the Institute of German Studies could visit the partner institution and study the (digital) distance learning programs, methods and ICT-tools at Høgskolen i Østfold Halden intensively in the form of workshops during the study trip to Norway (24-29 September 2016, detailed program:
http://germanisztika.btk.pte.hu/de/transfer_german). The workshops made it possible for the Pécs colleagues to develop a modern view on and attitude to distance teaching and learning assisted by ICT-tools. The colleagues had also the opportunity to take part in a conference organized by the Høgskolen i Østfold Halden on the European Day of Languages (26th September 2016, program:
http://www.fremmedspraksenteret.no/neted/services/file/?hash=bae0ed26e7…), which enriched their general and particular knowledge on foreign language teaching and learning issues in Norway.
Summary of bilateral results
The cooperation was based on a study trip of ten Pécs colleagues to Norway and on a visit by six Norwegian colleagues to Pécs. During the project the Hungarian colleagues visited institutions in Norway (Høgskolen i Østfold Halden and Nettskolen Vestfold) that are pioneers in using blended and e-learning in their teaching practice. In form of workshops (both in Norway and Hungary) methods, techniques, tools and platforms for blended and e-learning were introduced and discussed, which improved our knowledge and understanding of modern digital education. The presented methods are suitable for renewing and redesigning the curricula and teaching materials used in teaching practice by the Institute of German Studies. The presentation and the application of the introduced forms of information and communication technology are crucial and relevant in the case of training and further training programmes for teachers at the University of Pécs, as it is a fundamental demand for teacher trainees and teachers working in public education, as far as they would like to meet the requirements of public education. The digital distance education techniques we learnt about can be mainly applied in case of correspondence-courses in the gradual education or in case of teacher further training programmes. The methods of digital distance education support, on the one hand, the training of students living far away from the seat of the university, on the other hand, these methods are beneficial in the training of colleagues working in public education as well. The training of educators leads to innovations beyond the field of teacher training also in other disciplinary areas. The realized project, funded by EEA Financial Mechanism 2009-2014 Scholarship (HU02) Professional Visits action (M2) programme, was closed on 30th April 2017, but we would like to continue the cooperation between the institutes, which already had antecedents, also in the future.