Transferring contact, technology- and field-based education to digital: methods and tools for geosciences training Erasmus Project

Project Title

Transferring contact, technology- and field-based education to digital: methods and tools for geosciences training

Project Key Action

This project related with these key action: Cooperation for innovation and the exchange of good practices

Project Action Type

This project related with this action type : Partnerships for Digital Education Readiness

Project Call Year

This project’s Call Year is 2020

Project Topics

This project is related with these Project Topics: Open and distance learning; New innovative curricula/educational methods/development of training courses; ICT – new technologies – digital competences

Project Summary

After the sudden approach of COVID-19 pandemic to our lives during spring 2020, we have had to adjust daily routines following nation-wide anti-epidemic measures. Schools, including universities, were almost immediately closed. Impossibility of having ordinary lectures and practices led to substitution of contact-based education by various forms of online/virtual/digital teaching.
This project aims to innovate the way of online/digital/virtual Geosciences training. Specifically, DigiGeo project focuses on transferring contact, technology- and field-based education that usually inevitably requires physical attendance of teachers and learners. Therefore, it is crucial to explore and innovate practices in such learning tasks with the use of digital technologies, which will help to maintain the quality of the learning process in Geosciences. The main objectives of the proposed project are to enhance preparedness in e-education in geography-related subjects (Geosciences) and to advance digital competences of educators, helping them to reinforce the quality of contact-based training. As the contact-based training represents the key learning point of practical skills and knowledge acquisition, this projects investigates digital methods and tools that ensure maintaining delivery of essential practical competencies to students they would otherwise lose.
The project is designed as a two year-cycles with short-term physical mobilities of staff and blended mobility of students and staff. During the face-to-face project team meetings, staff will discuss and experience state-of-the-art of digital education methods, tools and practices at hosting institutions, from which optimised digital lectures designs will be developed and later mutually tested by students. Blended mobility aims at and involves motivated students – in its virtual part; students will experience e-education practices at partners’ institutions to share them during a physical part. The physical part – summer school – serves as a platform for exchanging ideas among students and between students and staff leading to a design of fully digital thematic lectures (yet still practical) in the form of compact workbooks versatile enough to be used elsewhere.

All project activities will be focused on a transfer of three main areas of Geosciences requiring contact-based education into the digital environment – 1) contact training in terms of hands-on lectures & practical exercises that need supervision; 2) contact training requiring demonstrations on physical equipment & device training; 3) field- and place-based geography education (field mapping and excursions).

The key objectives of the project are:
– assess and frame the transition from Geosciences physical training to digital environments
– develop and apply the open-access methodology on digital education of Geosciences
– teach students about advances in digital education in Geosciences (blended mobility within a new ECTS course)
– bring scientists with different experiences together in order to boost research in the field of digital education in Geosciences higher education (short-term teaching and training)
– validate the proposed virtual/online/digital procedures in a real teaching environment with participating students (blended mobility)
– increase the readiness and competences of all participants for the transition to digital education
– explore individual attitudes of students towards online/digital/virtual education in the field of Geosciences
– innovate participating institutions’ curricula by the development of digital lectures design
– to disseminate and exploit unique project result to all stakeholders

These project results are expected:
– Annual DigiGeo courses
– DigiGeo methodology on the transferring contact, technology- and field-based education to digital
– DigiGeo learning and teaching materials
– Set of digital manuals on tools & devices & platforms
– Significant research outputs and popular-scientific articles
– Staff’s and students’ ready-to-use digital lecture designs
– Final conference proceeding
– Innovation of the participating institutions’ curricula
– Trained and experienced students and staff

The main expected result is a unique annual DigiGeo interdisciplinary and international programme boosting digital competences both students and staff, and significantly increasing readiness for digital education in Geosciences. In total, 40 students, 11 staff members, and 40 participants of the multiplier event will be directly supported, and many more reached through dissemination outputs.
All the results, materials and outputs will be in the open-access format. It is intended that the project outcomes could be maintained, used, and updated by anyone else after the end of the DigiGeo due to their digital nature with great potential in the field Geosciences. The project offers a unique opportunity to employ and disseminate new practices in the digital era in Geosciences higher education.

EU Grant (Eur)

Funding of the project from EU: 153551 Eur

Project Coordinator

UNIVERZITA PALACKEHO V OLOMOUCI & Country: CZ

Project Partners

• RUHR-UNIVERSITAET BOCHUM
• TECHNISCHE UNIVERSITAET WIEN
• TURUN YLIOPISTO
• NORGES TEKNISK-NATURVITENSKAPELIGE UNIVERSITET NTNU