Virtual habitats: Beyond city limits

Virtual habitats: Beyond city limits János Ollé, PhD. habil.

College Professor and Vice-Rector for Science, Research and International Affairs

ACA Annual Conference 2016 UniverCities

Higher education institutions and their habitat Budapest, 20-22 November

Virtual Habitats •  virtual

•  3D environment (Second Life, virtual worlds, immersive worlds)

•  augmented reality

•  online environment

•  institutional & personal social media, online communication

•  networking potential & interactive openness

•  eLearning environment (environment ≠ teaching material)

•  pedagogical culture & teaching quality

•  MOOC

•  indicator of internationalisation level of education

•  social media

•  personal twitter, blog, Tumblr, Facebook, LinkedIn, YouTube channel, academia.edu

•  institutional (official) blog, Facebook, iTunesU, YouTube podcast

•  functions

•  dissemination, information (third mission)

•  part of the HEI’s marketing strategy (student recruitment, sponsoring, enhanced reputation)

•  networking (professional & institutional)



Social media - network potential and interactive openness

•  drawbacks & risks

•  rejected by the academic field (‘weightless’)

•  “waste of time” (online presence vs. quality publication)

•  free access to the HEI’s knowledge base

•  vulnerability in HEIs’ competition (exposure of IP)



Social media - network potential and interactive openness

•  advantages & positive effects:

•  active online presence → strength, confidence, stability and quality (positive feedback on achievements)

•  positive self-evaluation (institutional & professional-personal)

•  global networking through the online presence of the institution’s staff

•  IF the online presence is connected to the institution

•  global feedback and evaluation

•  ONLY from those who are also present in the online environment

•  advantages & positive effects:

•  constant & up-to-date communication with potential target audience (e.g.: prospective students)

•  alumni networking - enhanced effectiveness

•  data analysis, data mining → ‘fine tuning’ of internationalisation strategy implementation

•  global online presence of academic staff → improved language & intercultural skills



eLearning environment - pedagogical culture •  eLearning environment: attached to ALL courses (officially or by the students)

•  face-to-face vs. online education → integrated learning environment

•  indicator of development level of pedagogical culture: activation of students in online environment

•  Hungary: eLearning = course material instead of learning community/group

•  content-centered approach → less developed ‘stage’

•  activity centered learning environment ≠ no content

•  content + activity

•  communal learning



•  activity-centered eLearning environment: content & activation (e.g.: learning methodology course based on group work)

•  activity-centered eLearning environment vs. primary and secondary education → new objectives:

•  active participation & responsibility of students

•  development of self-regulation skills → continuous and sustainable learning activity

•  level of student activity in eLearning environments → contemporariness of pedagogical culture

eLearning environment - pedagogical culture



•  massive amount of online (quality) content

•  obstacles of individual learning:

•  low level of self-regulation (primary & secondary education)

•  fragmented content elements (≠ course)

•  face-to-face presence is still a must

•  more quality content + better self-regulation → why need HEIs?

•  added pedagogical values by HEIs

•  production & filtering of available quality content

•  structured full courses & certification

•  interactive, activity-centered learning environments

•  study groups, learning communities

eLearning environment - pedagogical culture



MOOC - an indicator of internationalisation level

•  MOOCs - today: over the peak of the hype cycle

•  failed to replace HEIs

•  dropout ratio around 90% (low level of self-regulation)

•  the vast majority of today’s MOOCs are basically distance learning courses (state-of-the-art technology ≠ up-to-date methodology)

•  expected future of MOOCs: stabile productivity (in 2-3 years)

•  development & implementation of MOOCs at department/faculty level

•  contemporary and interesting content, scientific values

•  instructional design - heterogeneous, massive learning communities

•  different prior knowledge & learning objectives of students

•  multicultural learning communities

•  different time zones

•  different online competences



MOOC - an indicator of internationalisation level •  development & implementation of MOOCs at department/faculty level

•  international/intercultural competences of teaching staff

•  online skills of teaching staff and course developers

•  openness to public online presence

•  fear of leaving permanent ‘digital footprints’

•  fear of the attention of competition (possible course participants)

•  willingness to start MOOCs ≈ level of internationalisation

•  reasons against MOOCs ≈ next steps of strategic development



Summary

•  Online presence – virtual reflection of HEIs

•  openness & communication

•  Online presence → global presence

•  multidimensional

•  multicultural

•  international

•  eLearning, MOOC: tool ≠ solution

•  academic development

•  internationalisation

Thank you for your attention!

Virtual habitats: Beyond city limits

Education

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