VM curriculum designing

Support is necessary for both teachers and students.  While providing virtual mobility course at home university teachers will need organizational and pedagogical support. Peer support and information and guidance is compulsory for learners. And both teachers and learners will need some kind of technological support and resources:

 Firstly, there is a need to have an adequate technology infrastructure that enhance connectivity and links of various learning and pedagogical technologies together.  Secondly, there is a need to support teachers by instructing them how to use technology effectively.  Thirdly, technology in learning is needed to support the student and provide an opportunity to learn and interact with teachers and peers.

It is important for the virtual mobility course that teachers fully understand the process of such teaching, the structure of the changed learning environment, are aware of how to build relationships with multicultural groups of students, ways of supporting them in their self-regulated learning. 

As Beck (2008)[1] has implied a teacher has to find new ways to encourage students learn the material as well as develop their competencies and higher thinking skills. Students must be taught to “reproduce existing knowledge, discuss and challenge existing knowledge and to apply subject discourses to simple and complex problem solving” (p. 480). To find these new ways pedagogical support for teachers is highly important.

Not only the satisfaction of students has to be ensured, but, emphasize, an understanding of students’ needs is essential. Jacklin and Riche (2009)[2] in a qualitative study found that information, advice and guidance is one of the main support dimensions for the student.

A well designed support system for teachers and learners has the following features: facilitated information search options, technology handbooks and integration kits, TEL users and courses administration options, accessibility options of different TEL curriculum forms and devices, frequently asked questions and complaints‘ options, immediate accessibility to pedagogical and technological help, peer support, learning accessibility in different forms, investigation of learners‘ needs and expectations, building online communities of learners, and social presence in virtual learning environment.

 

Reviewing support provision methods 

Begin by thinking about support provision methods  are used for students. The questions below will help guide your reflection.

Support methods
	Yes	No
Study subject guide
Timetable/ schedule
Additional possibilities provided by distance/ online study mode are explained and presented to students
Technical requirements to participate in online studies are presented to students
Personal progress assessment tools are presented
Intermediate tasks are designed
Communication and collaboration tools are provided
Reflection tools are provided
Learning resources are provided in a printable option
Other _________________________________

The communication during virtual mobility course is intense and demanding. The teacher must feel good about communicating and interacting with students both in written and oral format because that is a base element in the process. There are several types of interaction in virtual learning environments (i.e. student-teacher, student-student, and student-content); however, the interactions that proves to play a major role in quality assurance in virtual mobility are student-teacher interactions. Virtual mobility learning courses should be developed to promote and facilitate healthy interactions between the learner and the instructor.

 

Reviewing interaction and communication  

The questions below will help guide your reflection. Use the following criteria as a basis for evaluating virtual mobility course curriculum.  Think  about all five sections.

1.Interaction among Learners	Yes	No
Discussion Boards and/or chat available
Group activities
Email
Orientation to technology is provided
2.Interaction between learners and teacher
Teacher conveys policy on answering emails (i.e. how soon students can expect response
Teacher communicates how will give feedback, including frequency of feedback on discussion forums, assignments
Feedback is evident through announcements, emails, discussion postings, or other means
3.Interaction between Learners and Instructional Materials
Students receive orientation to practice posting in Discussion forum, submitting to dropbox, taking online exam, and using any other type of technology that will be utilized during the course
Resources for completing course activities are provided
Guidelines for posting to discussion board and/or participating in Chat are provided
4.Collaboration
Students are provided the opportunity to collaborate with other students through group work or other means
Groups diversity and multiculturalism is foreseen
5.Pace and Procrastination
All due dates are published with timely reminders
Progress through the course is documented