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NetCu Project
Description

In a set of combined activities and approaches guidelines and tools for successfully creating internationally networked curricula in open and distance education and blended learning will be developed. These products will facilitate the establishment of such curricula. Close collaboration is also an integral part of the project leading to mutual trust between the partners laying the structures on which further collaboration can be set.

 

Altogether this will help a) to enhance the quality of the curricula and programme structure of European higher education institutions by providing more and more diverse study opportunities, b) to strengthen the national and European position of the partner's course offers, and c) to create a European identity of study programmes in open and distance education and blended learning.

 

On the structural level the project will lead to a successful modernization of universities and contribute to the improvement of their curricula as well as to the provision of high-quality, state-of-the-art and innovative knowledge to their students. On the societal level universities will be equipped with an instrument that allows them to properly reflect on and to respond to the new skills needed in a globalised, creative knowledge society. In addition, the incorporated methods will provide students and especially lifelong learners not only with the best academic knowledge available but also with and international experience and the (soft) skills needed for competitive participation in today's labour market.
 
Objectives of NetCu

The general aim of the NetCU project is to develop models, guidelines and strategies for transnational networked curricula that supply a broader range of content and learning activities, that deliver state-of-the-art knowledge in the best quality supported by innovative ICT in an international setting - curricula that are meeting the diverse needs of today's student population and lifelong learners and that are symbolizing a European identity of higher education and lifelong learning in the 21. century.

 

This will be done via a set of operational objectives:

As a first step a comprehensive mapping, description and analysis of the currently existing networked curricula (case studies and literature) will be made.

A set of key areas will be analyzed, e.g.

  • the educational model,
  • the ways of sharing of content,
  • the role of mobility,
  • issues of assessment,
  • recognition and quality assurance,
  • language provision,
  • the role and usage of ICT in the curriculum,
  • its management and business model.
  • Which advantages has the curriculum for the partners and which obstacles were/are faced?
  • How do the students embrace it?
  • How are the national, legal and institutional frameworks defined.

 

Information on these and further questions will deliver comprehensive data for deriving systematic models of networked curricula in ODE and blended learning. With these models specific cases will be transferred into common features of networked curricula in ODE and blended learning and translated into viable guidelines for developing and implementing transnational networked curricula. To strengthen the important technological dimension of networked curricula in ODE and blended learning innovative ICT solutions will be shared, analysed and plugged into one of the case studies for testing and enhancing.

 

The project results will stimulate and facilitate the set-up of new networked curricula and improve existing ones and thus trigger the positive effects as described in the previous part of this document.
 
Workpackages

 


Workpackage Workpackage title Leader
WP 1

Management

 EADTU
WP 2

Collection & analysis of existing networked curricula in
ODE & blended learning

 EADTU
WP 3

Models and guidelines for establishing networked curricula in
ODE and blended learning

 KU-Leuven
WP 4

Innovative ICT and eductional instruments for networked
curricula in ODE and blended learning

 KTU-TLU
co-leadership
WP 5 Dissimination EADTU
WP 6 Exploitation UNED
WP 7 Quality Assurance TLU


 
Project Progress

From the kick-off meeting we start with a round of collection of existing good practices. This is guided by a first version of the NetCU questionnaire. This will be followed by a second round after analysing and sketching the outcomes of the first round. This preparatory phase under WP 2 will be supported by bimonthly Adobe connect meetings (EADTU website) between Uab, Uninettuno, HU, Cy, CZ and EADTU.

The method of analyses will be further worked out in more detail by KU-Leuven  in the beginning of 2011.

 

Planning of events for the 2nd year

In the second year the focus will be on the finalisation of the first full draft version of the Handbook and the actual implementation of the guidelines and toolbox. Foreseen activities in this year are 2 external stakeholder meetings and a series of 12 internal local seminars, aiming on testing the handbook in practice and receive feedback for further fine-tuning and improvement. Next to continued dissemination on the NetCu project from the starting date of the project, emphasis will be given to the launch of the final outcomes at the EADTU annual conference 2012 under the EU-Presidency of Cyprus.

The following actions are now foreseen in 2012:

-January:  NetCu core-group finalising the first draft of the Handbook on networked curricula

-January: core-group meeting and stakeholder meeting

-January-March: Processing of feedback on the handbook from stakeholder meeting

-4-5 April: 3nd consortium meeting Rome (IT); preparation of the internal stakeholder meetings

-April-May-June: Internal stakeholder workshops to test the manual (TR, PT, NL, NL, LT, IT, HU, ET, ES, EL, DE, CS, RU)

-July 5th: Final partner meeting and 2nd external stakeholder workshop Brussels (BE)

-August-September: Final corrections to the Handbook and toolbox based on feedback from internal and external stakeholder meetings

-27-28 September; EADTU Annual Conference in Limassol Cyprus; launch of the final version of:

  • Sets of models and guidelines for networked curricula in ODE and blended learning
  • Toolbox of innovative ICT and educational tools for networked curricula
  • Compendium of networked curricula examples and analyses

-31 October: submission final report

 
 


Copyright 2011 EADTU
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The Networked Curriculum project is carried out with the support of the European Commission, DG Education and Culture, under the lifelong learning programme. However, sole responsibility for this website lies with the EADTU and the Commission is not responsible for any use that may be made of the information contained therein.