Platform Webinar Tools

Transcription

1 Platform Webinar Tools Regione del Veneto Area Infrastrutture Dipartimento Riforma Settore Trasporti - Sezione Logistica PLAT.F.O.R.M. Project

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3 INDEX INTRODUCTION GENERAL ASPECTS A WEBINAR FORMAT ON PLATFORM TOPICS SURVEY OF WEBINAR SERVICES OFFERED BY UNIVERSITIES OF THE ALPINE SPACE Pagina 3 di

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5 INTRODUCTION In the sphere of the PlatFORM project (Platform to Form Opinions Related to Mobility) 1 the topic of informing has assumed a status of central importance in many senses. The forming of opinions is the central focus of the project; the act of informing is the main process by which opinions are formed. This same observation covers the concept of information connected with the cultural education of technicians, professionals, politicians and members of the public. The target-group group for this forming of opinions is the community of decision-makers. The decision-makers in the field of mobility are the politicians, but the definition applies no less to individuals when choosing how to travel, where to go and on what means of transport. The forming of opinions requires the production of appropriate information regarding objectives and projects: information that must be prepared and supplied by persons (technicians and communicators) suitably trained ( formed ) for the purpose. 1 GENERAL ASPECTS The present report offers an overview of the proposal for the creation of tools able to deliver technical and cultural training designed to qualify the activity of technical and administrative officers appointed as providers of information to support decision-making. More specifically, our approach has been to conduct a survey of new methods and new tools for the training of professional resources with a particular focus on interdisciplinarity. Webinars (seminars and conferences on the web) represent a new method of training with a unique capacity to reach many types of users, whether engaged in conventional training courses (universities and institutes) or employed in various fields, including technical services (professional or administrative) and politics (administrative), as well as ordinary members of the public and assorted stakeholders. The survey conducted cted for the PlatFORM Venice Summerschool, described in the specific report, provided elements for identifying the areas of training in which to invest suitable resources with the aim of promoting a culture of governance that will focus an appropriate level l of attention on the question of information and opinions in town-and-country and mobility planning measures. 1 Platform to Form Opinions Related to Mobility PLAT.F.O.R.M. is a project funded by the. The Lead Partner of the project is the Comitato Transpadana, Partners: 1. Regione Veneto (I), 2. Centre of Regional Planning and Regional Development Department of Spatial Planning Vienna University of Technology (A), 3. Committee for the European link Transalpine Lyon Rhône-Alpes (F), 4. Province of Turin (I). Pagina 5 di

6 Given the markedly interdisciplinary nature of the issues affecting decisions on infrastructure, planning and environmental projects, and the notably heterogeneous profile of the user base that could be reached by a professional training service covering these topics, we were prompted to formulate a proposal for the activation of training opportunities based on the new e-learning technologies, in a university setting. To the end of verifying this possibility, we conducted a survey on the current utilization of e- learning technologies and webinars by universities across the Alpine Space regions. The survey produced a highly diversified picture, where the training services on offer using the new technologies are likewise structured adopting appreciably dissimilar methods from one university to another. In some cases, webinars are used to broadcast single conferences, whereas instances of entire training courses offered as e-learning packages (degree courses, masters, etc.) are few in number. We ran a search of web services offered by the main universities in the Alpine Space (around 30 establishments in Italy, France, Switzerland, Slovenia, Germany and Austria), entering a set of key words in the search strings of their official sites: WEBINAR, E- LEARNING, ONLINE, WEB BASED COURSE, LIFE-LONG LONG LEARNING, ADULT EDUCATION. The provision of courses on-line by universities is for the most part still at the experimental stage, although the more advanced experiences in this area indicate that there are infinite possibilities for the organization of training, helping users and widening the potential catchment area. In Italy, a notable example is the Milan Polytechnic, which offers the content of an entire degree course (computer engineering) on-line. According to the site, this is the only on-line degree course accorded CampusOne status by the Conference of Italian University Rectors (CRUI). Around 300 students. History of some 10 years activity. Uses live webinar sessions on a platform with video and chat between users. Presentation demo accessible on the site ( The course is delivered with various tools: manuals, live 1.5 hour sessions, progressive assessment and self-assessment tests. A face-to-face assessment completes the course. The search showed that in countries of the Alpine Space, particular attention is given to the use of new technologies in various French and German language universities, most of which use the services of the American provider Coursera ( for the organization of Massive Open Online Courses (MOOC). Coursera, Edx and Canvas are the main platforms used by universities around the world to offer training courses on the widest imaginable range of subjects. Many courses are offered free of charge. Pagina 6 di

7 The most common MOOC format envisages es courses of 4 to 10 weeks duration. The classic 2-hour lesson delivered on-line is accompanied by a series of videos, each lasting 10- minutes. An assessment test is taken every week. It is expected that students will commit ½ day each week to the course. Another component of the MOOC is a forum that brings a social and participatory dimension to the experience. Questions posted on the forum are voted by the participants, and teachers must reply specifically to those most widely endorsed. Students who pass the tests receive an official certificate of participation. Our search revealed that the most structured web-based based training courses were provided by a number of Anglo-Saxon universities. In particular, it would seem that the most appropriate model for the webinar associated with the PlatFORM project is the approach whereby training courses using webinars are detached from standard academic programmes (official degree courses), but included in a new offering of courses designed for adult education (post-graduate and professional training courses). In effect, this specific form of offering on the web is especially able to meet the demand for training from users based in disparate geographical locations and already in an occupation (see prospectus of the Institute of Continuing Education, Cambridge University). Many Anglo-Saxon universities offer webinarbased training courses with lessons accessible in real time (live) or recorded. There is usually a charge for these distance learning courses, and the participant will be issued with an official training certificate. Results assessment procedures may or may not require a face- to-face presence. As regards the actual design and creation of on-line training courses, specific services are offered by universities and/or by specialist external provider organizations such as Corsera. Among the IT platforms most widely utilized for the management of webinars, our search found the Modular Object-Oriented Oriented Dynamic Learning Environment, an open source system used both in Italy and in other countries. The proprietary Adobe platform Connect, which has various uses, allows the configuration of webinars with video lessons in real time or recorded format, with simultaneous management of a chat/forum available to users with teachers actively present on-line (see Demo Pagina 7 di

8 1.1 A WEBINAR FORMAT ON WEBINAR FORMAT ON PLATFORM TOPICS. In preparing a preliminary proposal for the activation of training initiatives designed to address the topics covered by the PlatFORM project, relating to the quality of processes for informing decisions, the following aspects are considered: 1. The target of the how-to-inform-opinions opinions message is particularly wide-ranging, including members of the public, decision makers, technicians and civil servants, all simultaneously and in equal measure; 2. The content of the how-to-inform-opinions opinions message is characterized by the need for interdisciplinarity of approaches and management of dialogue between different interests; 3. The urgent need for cultural growth in matters of social sustainability concerns not only those who are engaged currently in higher education programmes, but also those already involved in the dynamics of decision-making; 4. Looking at the ways in which web technologies are used by the main universities to deliver training courses, it becomes clear that more and more attention is being given to the area of adult education (lifelong learning); in effect, it is the potential users of these webbased services who can derive maximum advantage from the distance learning experience. In the light of the foregoing considerations, it appears reasonable that the preparation of web-based based training courses on the topics with which PlatFORM is concerned should be targeted at the widest possible spectrum of potential users (professionals, civil servants, politicians, members of the public), adopting an organizational style not aimed exclusively at university students, but readily accessible to persons with a professional or civil interest in matters of social sustainability connected with decisions on town and country planning, infrastructure and mobility. This broad and interdisciplinary approach will favour the best possible utilization and integration of the various skills found in HE circles, but also of those reflecting experience in the wider community. As we have seen from the approach adopted by the Institute of Continuing Education at Cambridge University, the format of web-based based training courses can be adapted to meet the demand, offering courses of three months or weekly duration, as well as weekend and evening sessions. One particularly useful reference could be the example offered by Massive Open Online Courses, which are hosted on the platforms of global providers such as Coursera and Canvas, and offered by the top universities around the world. The format in this instance envisages on-line courses of varying duration (typically 4- weeks) calling for a weekly input of around 4-5 hours, with progressive assessment tests, chat and forum, and the release of official certificates issued by the universities. Pagina 8 di

9 The format for a course on issues addressed by the PlatFORM project How to inform opinions on infrastructure projects could be based on a duration of 7-9 weeks. Utilizing the typical MOOC structure, a lesson of 90 minutes duration would be presented every week, with a series of videos each lasting some minutes. An assessment test would be taken every week. Participants would spend half a day each week on studies. Tests are accompanied by a forum where participants are identified (video and voice) and their participation is verified by the teachers a condition for access to the final test, which is conducted face-to-face. Each university adopts specific systems for identifying on-line users and for the assessment of progress (written test or interview with an examiner). Students who pass the tests receive an official certificate of participation. The course is delivered under the responsibility of a tutor, but given the subject matter and its particular transdisciplinary nature, the substance of the lessons is provided by experts in the different disciplines. The basic topics could be those covered in the PlatFORM Venice Summerschool, indicated below. Each university will offer content on the basis of a specific project in which representatives of the different disciplines are involved, so as to maximize the input of specific skills and ensure pertinence to the specific geographical, political and social conditions under scrutiny: 1. Experts contribution for a Practical definition of social sustainability (1 st week) a. environmental approach (2 nd week); b. economic approach (3 rd week); c. social assessment tools (4 th week); 2. Historical evolution of rules for governance in western countries: From NEPA USA 1969 to recent European Directives (5 th week); 3. Evolution of Italian rules on governance (6 th week); 4. Experiences (critical analysis of case-histories) (7 th week); 5. Examples of organized decision-making procedures, e.g. débat public (F), Mandat d Etudes Paralleles (CH), SUMP (EU) (8 th week); 6. Feedback (9 th week). Pagina 9 di

10 The costs of establishing and running a training service web are quite variable depending on the type of project, the type of technology available, the type and qualification of the speakers, the number of sessions, the chance of recurrence over time (same course delivered several times). For example, the University of Cambridge offers online 7 weeks courses at a price of approximately 300, that corresponds to a gain of to cycle for a presence of 20 people. It can be used a platform already available to universities as Moodle or it can be purchased or hired a trading platform like Adobe Connect whose costs depend on the level of utilization. The form of rental pay-per-use has a cost in the order of $ 0.35 per minute per user (a seminar of 90 minutes with 25 users costs about 600 ). Servizi per la progettazione ed implementazione di corsi online sono offerti dalle diverse piattaforme citate. Socità specializzate sono rintracciabili anche in Italia ( Pagina 10 di

11 2 SURVEY OF WEBINAR SERVICES OFFERED BY UNIVERSITIES OF THE ALPINE SPACE. We conducted a survey of e-learning and Webinar services offered by the following main universities of the Alpine Space. The results of the survey are indicated on the pages of the main Report. 1 UNIVERSITA' DEGLI STUDI DI PADOVA 2 UNIVERSITÀ DEGLI STUDI DI VERONA 3 UNIVERSITA' CA' FOSCARI DI VENEZIA 4 IUAV ARCHITETTURA DI VENEZIA 5 POLITECNICO DI MILANO 6 UNIVERSITA' COMMERCIALE BOCCONI MILANO 7 POLITECNICO DI TORINO 8 LIBERA UNIVERSITÀ DI BOLZANO 9 UNIVERSITA' DI TRENTO 10 UNIVERSITA' DI UDINE 11 LYON (ECOLE NORMALE SUPERIEURE) ENTPE (Ecole National des Travaux Publics) Lyon Vaulx-en-Velin 13 UNIVERSITE' GRENOBLE ALPS 14 UNIVERSITÉ SAINT-ETIENNE 15 UNIVERSITE D'AVIGNON 16 ETH- ZURICH 17 UNIVERSITE DE GENEVE 18 UNIVERSITY of ZURICH 19 ECOLE POLYTECHNIQUE FEDERALE DE LAUSANNE 20 UNIVERSITAT BASEL 21 UNIVERSITA' DI LUBIANA 22 UNIVERSITAT AUGSBURG- 23 UNIVERSITAT FREIBURG 24 UNIVERSITAT KONSTANZ 25 TUM - TECHNISCHE UNIVERSITÄT MÜNCHEN 26 LMU - BUNDESWEHR UNIVERSITY MUNICH 27 UNIVERSITAT WIEN 28 TUWIEN -TECHNISCHE UNIVERSITAT WIEN 29 UNIVERSITAT INNSBRUCK 30 UNIVERSITAT GRAZ 31 UNIVERSITAT LINZ 32 INSTITUTE OF CONTINUING EDUCATION, UNIVERSTITY OF CAMBRIDGE Pagina 11 di

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