what is virtual mobility, different scenarios implemented and lessons learnt, virtual mobility curriculum design tips

1. Virtual Mobility as Innovative
Teaching and Learning Approach
Estela Daukšienė,
Vytautas Magnus University (VMU)
Kaunas, Lithuania

2. • What is virtual mobility?
• Different virtual mobility cases VMU has
experience in
• Virtual mobility curriculum design
• Virtual mobility implementation issues
The focus of the presentation

3. • “the set of ICT-supported activities that realize
cross-border, collaborative experiences in a
context of teaching and/or learning”
Vriens, M., Van Petegem, W., Op de Beeck, I., & Achten, M. (2010)
• “it is the way of collaboration among people
from different backgrounds and cultures,
working and studying together where crossing
borders in not a necessity any more”
Poulova, P., Černa, M., & Svobodova, L. (2009).
Virtual mobility

4. Physical mobility vs
virtual mobility
Pavia university, Italy
VMU, Lithuania
In physical mobility or exchange

5. Physical mobility vs
virtual mobility
Aveiro universitety, Portugal
Pavia university, Italy
VMU, Lithuania
In virtual mobility

6. Virtual mobility in higher education is a way of learning,
teaching, research, communication, or collaboration,
based on the following characteristics:
• Development of intercultural competence;
• Cooperation of higher education institutions;
• Application of appropriate technological solutions for
teaching and learning, communication and
collaboration;
• Aimed at achieving academic goals and recognition of
the achieved learning outcomes
Virtual mobility

7. 1. Virtual seminar (series) or
part of the virtual course or
virtual course/module or
Virtual study programme
2. Virtual placement
3. Virtual support activities for physical mobility
(before, during or after traditional mobility)
Types of virtual mobility activities

8. • Student virtual mobility
• Teacher virtual mobility
2 perspectives or types of VM

9. Feature Virtual mobility (course) Distance learning
(course)
Main aim Learning and teaching in
multicultural environment
Learning in selected
place, in own pace, time
and preferred way
International
student groups
For cooperation and
intercultural competence
development
Not required
International
teaching groups
Must be present at TVM Not required
Multicultural
exchange
Intercultural or multicultural
depend on no. of
participating countries
Not required
Use of IT Must be present Must be present
Distance learning vs. virtual mobility

10. VM benefits for institutions
• enhances the quality of courses and curricula
• contributes to the internationalization and
modernization of HE: open, international,
recognizable; attracts foreign students
• enhance sound competition between
institutions
• enables and fosters multi-institutional
collaboration between institutions

11. Main benefits of vm for
students and teachers
• Different forms of learning and methods of delivery
• Different cultures + different perspectives = wider approach
• Experience and improvement of virtual mobility
competences
– Linguistical/language
– Cultural/intercultural
– ICT
– Educational/LO related
– Personal and social
• More career opportunities...

12. Various VM scenarious – Ubicamp
www.ubicamp.eu

13. • Based on bilateral agreements
• Recognition of ECTS credits and virtual
mobility at student home institution(via TOR
as in ph. mobility, indicating VM in diploma)
• Motivation of the participants
• Thorough preparation, coordination and
planning of the pilot
Success factors - Ubicamp

14. Various VM scenarious – VMcolab
www.vmcolab.eu

15. • There was a strong leadership and coordination that enabled
the organization and successful finalization of the pilot
(learners’ PoV)
• Motivation of the participants: there were real challenges for
student groups which had some passive students (lurkers),
however groups managed to focus on the task, were highly
motivated and dedicated (organizers’ PoV)
• Thorough preparation, coordination and planning of the pilot,
coherent information for the participants (organizer’s PoV)
• Attractive topic was selected (learners’ PoV)
• Prior experience and dedicated collaborators who
communicated, participated and supported the pilot from the
very beginning till the end (organizers’ PoV)
Success factors - VMCOLAB

16. Various VM scenarious -
TeaCamp
Teacamp.eu

17. • We became more open-minded for the other cultures…
• We improved various skills and competences
• It was a chance to use knowledge practically
• We discovered new viewpoints of cultural differences
• We learned to collaborate in a virtual environment
• We learnt to better organize our study time schedule
• We had many positive feelings and a valuable
experience
Student testimonies after VM sessions
in TeaCamp

18. Various VM scenarious - Mevel
mevel-eu.net/

19. • Created learning content was interested and
rated as good, but
• Workers didn’t like attending synchronous
meetings and doing the tasks
• Suggested tools (moodle and google
hangouts) were not typical for learners and
were rarely used
Mevel - VM in metal sector
with trainers(teachers) and
workers (learners)

20. VMU
USA
university
Joint
course
delivery
for 9 years
Various VM scenarios – VMU case

21. The selected topic – global social problems:
More different students – more perspectives –
more and different global problems analyzed
• “the chosen subject has to be interesting to
be seen from different countries
perspectives”
Main additional value

22. Various VM scenarious – OUVM
www.ubicamp.eu
openstudies.eu

23. In order VM is successful
• It has to come from a need and organized within
trusted network
• Try to do this in a blended way - necessity of
synchronous meetings
• Everything has to be pre-planned and coordinated
• Initial teacher training and support necessary
• Benevolent attitude and encouragement for
participants

24. • OUVM project results - 3 training materials:
– On curriculum design
– On open educational technologies and
– On creative commons licenses or licencing
All available at openstudies.eu/trainingmaterial/all
Virtual mobility curriculum design

25. Unit 1 • Decision making
Unit 2 • Transforming your course into vm course
Unit 3 •Tools for virtual mobility
Unit 4 •VM organization
Unit 5. •QA of curriculum design for VM
Virtual mobility curriculum designing

26. • International group collaboration activities
• Intercultural competence development
• Common (English) language
• Virtually accessible learning content (VLE)
• Use of technology for communication and
collaboration
Characteristics of a virtual mobility
course

27. • Synchronous/asynchronous or both
• Group size: min. 4 - max. 6
• Learning content – international/intercultural
• Number or tasks – 1-3: aim?
– Exchange of information
– Analysis and comparison
– Collaboration (intercultural experience)
Designing online international group
work: the do’s and don’ts

28. Additional value in virtual mobility:
• “the chosen subject has to be interesting to
be seen from different countries
perspectives”
• Please reflect - what topics could be most
efficient in the subject you teach?
Innovative way of learning

29. TVM SVM Institutional
• Teacher training • Language • Costs and benefits
• Workload • Socio-cultural exchange • Adaptation of the
academic resources• Legal framework • Knowledge of the tools
(synchronous &
asynchronous)
• Adaptation of the
administrative
resources
• Academic
recognition
• Quality • Master classes
• Cultural identity • Credit recognition • Legal framework
• Blended Mobility • Virtual mobility
recognition
Barriers and problems for teacher VM (TVM) and student virtual mobility (SVM) by
Juan Fuente and Menendez Ferreira (2011)
Virtual mobility implementation issues

30. TVM SVM Institutional
• Teacher training • Language • Costs and benefits
• Workload • Socio-cultural exchange • Adaptation of the
academic resources• Legal framework • Knowledge of the tools
(synchronous &
asynchronous)
• Adaptation of the
administrative
resources
• Academic
recognition
• Quality • Master classes
• Cultural identity • Credit recognition • Legal framework
• Blended Mobility • Virtual mobility
recognition
Issues still in 2015
Virtual mobility implementation issues

31. • Mainstream of virtual mobility
• Offer of virtual mobility courses
• Socio-cultural content
• Teacher virtual mobility
Virtual mobility implementation issues

32. • Vriens, M., Van Petegem, W., Op de Beeck, I., & Achten, M.
(2010, July 5-7). Virtual mobility as an alternative or
complement to physical mobility. Retrieved from Abstract
submitted for EDULEARN conference in Barcelona, Spain:
http://move-it.europace.org/kfm/uploads/Edulearn_Move-
IT_VM.pdf
• Poulova, P., Černa, M., & Svobodova, L. (2009). University
Network – Efficiency of Virtual Mobility. Proceedings of the
5th WSEAS/IASME International Conference on
EDUCATIONAL TECHNOLOGIES (EDUTE' 09), (pp. 87-92).
• Juan Fuente, A. A., & Menendez Ferreira, R. (2011).
TeaCamp Scenario and Barriers. WP7: TeaCamp
Exploitation, TeaCamp project: www.teacamp.eu
References

33. • Let’s open universities for student and teacher
virtual mobility
Contacts:
Estela Dauksiene
e.dauksiene@isi.vdu.lt
www.openstudies.eu