New Ways to Study Abroad: Virtual Mobility

University education should not stop at a country’s frontiers. Mobility is a key factor in preparing students for their future careers, especially on an international level. Studying abroad opens up new perspectives and can also be an important part of personal development.

The benefits of international exchange are well known, and officials have been taking them into account for some time now. Almost twenty years ago, the European Union established their popular Erasmus programme, which is still running today. The main purpose of Eramsus is to encourage and support students to visit a university abroad during their educations. Although over 1.2 million students from all over Europe have taken part in this programme to date, most European students never have the opportunity to enroll at a foreign university.

Modern information and communication technology, though, offers new ways to acquire an international perspective on education, making physical travel no longer necessary to overcome borders. Learning and collaborating over a big distance - using telephone and video conferences, chats, blackboards, wikis or blogs – has never been so easy. The growth of opportunities to use these tools has been aided by the fact that they are increasingly accepted, not only within the community of computer experts but also by average users. In this respect, Virtual Mobility could someday acquire a status equal to that of physical mobility.

Does this mean that taking part in a course at a university hundreds of miles away without even leaving your desktop is not a problem anymore? It seems that there’s still a way to go before Virtual Mobility or “Virtual Erasmus” becomes a true alternative for students around Europe. There are a quite a few challenges yet to be met: How can we practically implement Virtual Mobility in the European education system and in the work of teaching staff and students? What are the organisational aspects we have to address? What are efficient ways to adjust content for e-learning tools and to train teachers and students to use them? What about standardisation and assessment issues?

The Virtual Mobility Forum at Online Educa Berlin will bring together experts and practitioners in the area of Virtual Mobility in an attempt to answer many of these questions. The session will comprise a mix of presentation and discussion formats, combining case studies and practical experience with discussions and brainstorming exercises in an effort to come up with clear advice and good practice that others can use in their own Virtual Mobility projects. It is aimed at those managers, teachers, and administrators who wish to set up Virtual Mobility programs themselves, and who are looking for both potential partners as well as practical information about setting up Virtual Mobility opportunities for students. The purpose of the forum is to draw up checklists, tips, and useful information to be included in the publications made by the Being Mobile Project team that is organising this event.

For further information about the Virtual Mobility Forum please visit http://www.online-educa.com/?a=1&b=4&c=4. Further reading concerning Virtual Mobility and the Being Mobile Project can be found at http://www.being-mobile.net.

 

Back