Scalable Science Education via Online Cooperative Questioning

How can the scalable powers of peer learning and online technologies be most effectively used to support conceptual understanding in science education? This paper reviews cognitive science research on how people learn via question answering and authoring and evaluates a promising novel learning design that applies these principles.

“Going down the Tower of Babel” through telecollaboration in the context of Internationalization at Home

Belli et al. (2018) explain that the myth of the Tower of Babel, described in the Holy Bible, alludes to the intercultural relations in today’s world, because the Tower was located in a major economic and cultural center of the ancient world. Telecollaboration, defined as the use of online technologies in the area of language teaching and learning between students who are geographically distant (O’DOWD, 2013a), plays an important role in promoting intercultural interactions in the Internationalization at Home (O’DOWD, 2019) context. The latter stands for a more inclusive internationalization, achieved by domestic activities, and not only by international academic mobility (CROWTHER et al., 2000). For Luna (2018b), the process of Internationalization of the Curriculum occurs in the light of the intercultural approach (KRAMSCH, 2014), whereas Gil (2016) argues that such approach should be conceptualized based on the interaction between language and culture. This study aims at discussing how the interaction between language and culture related to the intercultural approach can lead students “to go down the Tower of Babel” through telecollaborative activities in the context of Internationalization at Home. With respect to the results, two telecollaborative domestic actions, under the author’s coordination, appear to indicate that there have been opportunities towards the process of “going down the tower”, since many concerns related to the current world, e.g. cultural differences, stereotypes and the environment, where students can to take both an insider and an outsider’s perspective (KRAMSCH, 2011), are at the heart of the discussions.

Analysis of real estate services digitalisation: current situation and development prospects

The article analyses the digitalisation of real estate services in Russia. Empirical works of leading analytical agencies and experts’ academic papers in the field of economic sciences has been summarised and sysrematised. The development key indicators of Russian digital economy, digitalisation level of certain service sectors, digital production features and digital consumption which characterise the digital economy development, have been considered. It has been noted that at present the digital services of in real estate services are at an early stage of development due to the small number of market participants who have fully implemented digital services and online technologies in their activities. It has been revealed that most of the stages of real estate services for the sale or purchase of residential property can be partly or fully realised using digital services and online technologies. Generalised characteristics of real estate services digitalisation at present and prospects for its development have been formulated.

Interactive Multimedia Experiences in Higher Education

This chapter presents experiences in using gaming and interactive media in higher education environments since 2017 culminating in the 2020/21 years when the COVID-19 pandemic forced teachers and students to adopt different work methodologies. Participatory design strategies merged with a tradition of critical and interdisciplinary studies in humanities mediated by online technologies helped shape these strategies enhanced by the cooperation from three different faculties from Lisbon University in Portugal (Universidade de Lisboa, UL), namely FBAUL, IST, and IGOT. The aim of these experiments was to augment the potential for innovation and research taking advantage of gaming research methodologies to involve teachers and students in a common context. This chapter also shows research done in interactive media, augmented and virtual reality, game art, and gender equity. The year 2020 showed how institutional collaboration can open learning spaces to a more focused approach on the interests of young people and to promote a more sustainable and dynamic future.

Nuevas metodologías docentes en tiempos de COVID 19 = New teaching methodologies in times of COVID 19

La insólita situación derivada de la crisis COVID-19, ha obligado a docentes y alumnos a reinventarse, utilizando nuevos métodos de enseñanza y aplicando tecnologías en línea que permitan un aprendizaje a distancia eficiente. Como consecuencia, en la asignatura práctica Experimentación en Ingeniería Química II, del Grado en Ingeniería Química, las explicaciones teóricas necesarias para llevar a cabo la experimentación, se han realizado de forma online y sincrónica mediante la plataforma Microsoft Teams, como paso previo a la asistencia al laboratorio. Las sesiones se grabaron y se pusieron a disposición de los alumnos para su consulta. Así, se minimizó el contacto físico entre alumno y profesor y entre alumnos.Por otro lado, en la asignatura Regulación de Procesos Químicos, se ha modificado la evaluación de las prácticas de simulación y, en lugar de pedir a los alumnos informes extensos, se les solicitó completar un cuestionario en Moodle.AbstractThe unusual situation derived from the COVID-19 crisis has forced teachers and students to reinvent themselves, using new teaching methods and applying online technologies that allow an efficient distance learning. As a consequence, in the practical subject Experimentation in Chemical Engineering II, of the Degree in Chemical Engineering, the theoretical explanations necessary to carry out the experimentation have been carried out online and synchronously through the Microsoft Teams platform, as a prior step to attendance to the laboratory. The sessions were recorded and made available to the students for their consultation. Thus, physical contact between student and teacher and between students was minimized.On the other hand, in the subject Regulation of Chemical Processes, the evaluation of simulation practices has been modified and, instead of asking students for extensive reports, they were asked to complete a questionnaire in Moodle.

Library transformation

Purpose: The main objective of this study is to examine the importance of digital libraries during the COVID-19 pandemic in dissemination of information services, to know the users’ perspectives towards its success and also examines the challenges faced by the libraries during this pandemic and also about how the librarians cope up with the challenges and function in the new normal situation.Methodology: An online Pan-India survey was conducted among library professionals and user communities. By using survey instrument, Google Form, a total of 12 questions were asked from general to specific towards use of digital libraries during pandemic period. Total 250 responses were received. The responses received were categorized, analyzed and presented in this paper. The research data were primarily collected from blogs, social media and online survey which were carried out among various library professionals to know their perspective towards digital libraries, new skill requirement and current challenges faced by the libraries in the new normal imposed on us due to COVID-19 pandemic.Findings: This study reveals that the library professionals are eager to learn online technologies for developing and delivering information services. It also identifies that to remain connected and to spread knowledge, large numbers of online webinars are conducted in library fields. The major challenges the librarians faced during COVID-19 are physical distancing from workplace, fear of disease contraction, Lack of high speed internet connection, low response of users in social media platforms etc.Originality/ value: This is an original study conducted in India which gives an overview on the transformation of libraries by using digital library services to meet the need of the users during COVID-19.

Potential Effect of Informal Learning of English Through Watching a Medical Television Series on the Development of Maritime Medical English Competence

As a result of the widespread use of online technologies and vast opportunities for the use of English in everyday online life, the field of online informal learning of languages, in particular English, has attracted a new wave of research attention. Nevertheless, the number of corpus studies in this field remains low. More specifically, to date no research study has focused on the suitability of the language input to which online users are exposed while performing online activities with regard to the development of language skills in English as a language for specific purposes. In order to bridge this research gap, the objective of this paper is to apply the corpus approach to examine whether watching a medical television series may have an effect on the development of medical Maritime English for future deck officers. The results indicate that in terms of lexical density, lexical diversity, terminology, and word clusters, watching a medical television series may have a limited effect on the development of medical Maritime English for future deck officers. However, future research should examine whether watching television series may have an effect on the acquisition of typical speech patterns in spoken maritime communication, which are closely related to everyday spoken communication. Importantly, the results also seem to indicate that online informal learning of English cannot replace all segments of the formal learning of English for Specific Purposes, but can significantly contribute to the development of general English competence, which is a precondition for the further development of discipline-specific language competence.

The Specifics of Promoting Additional Educational Services in the Era of Digitalization

The research is aimed at identifying approaches to the promotion of educational resources of additional education. The article analyzes the specifics of approaches to the positioning of courses of additional vocational education of various centers of vocational education and advanced training in Moscow. The aim of the study is to identify modern technologies for promoting services in the conditions of increasing demand for online technologies due to the limitations caused by coronavirus infection.

Innovative Methods of Teaching the Course "Standardization in Information, Library and Archival Studies" in the Context of Blended Learning

The article is devoted to the disclosure of approaches to the application of innovative methods that are implemented using cloud services during the teaching of the discipline “Information, Library and Archival Studies” for students majoring in 029 “Information, Library and Archival Studies” at the first (bachelor’s) level at Zaporizhzhia National University in the conditions of mixed education. It was found that a mixed form of education requires from students higher education stable motivation, the ability to self-organization while mastering new knowledge and skills. At the same time, the use of online technologies, in particular cloud services, opens wide opportunities for the implementation of both educational and upbringing tasks during classes and independent work of students. It is proved that in modern conditions of rapid technical and technological modernization, development of new media, creation of a single information space studying the traditional discipline of library and information specialists “Standardization in information, library and archival affairs” is complicated, which requires transformation of teaching methods to create conditions for high-quality mastering of basic knowledge in professional activity. The advantages of using innovative methods of teaching the discipline “Standardization in Information, Library and Archival Studies” for students majoring in 029 “Information, Library and Archival Studies” based on the experience of Zaporizhzhia National University are substantiated. Taking into account the content of the discipline, its goals and objectives, approaches to the use of such innovative methods as the method of hexagonal learning, basket-method, decision tree, etc. in the context of blended learning are revealed.

Etuaptmumk - two-eyed seeing: Bringing together land-based learning and online technology to teach Indigenous youth about food

In 2019 we began an intergenerational Land-based learning program with the goal of engaging a group of Mi’kmaw youth from a rural community in Nova Scotia with their Traditional Foodways. When COVID-19 and the physical distancing restrictions hit Nova Scotia, however, this changed how we implemented the project. We decided to bring youth together virtually and encourage self-directed Land-based learning. This paper describes the dilemmas we faced as we considered what initially seemed like a paradoxical relationship- using online technology to promote Land-based learning. Our aim is to not only draw attention to what we believe to be the centrality of the Land in understanding Indigenous foodways, but also the potential for online technology to enhance youth engagement on and with the Land. We begin by exploring Land-based learning and how it supports teaching about Traditional foodways and Indigenous culture, as well as the challenges and opportunities related to implementing Land-based pedagogy in a virtual environment. Using Etuaptmumk-Two Eyed Seeing as our lens, we argue that online technologies can support Land-based learning, providing principles of local culture are respected and the technology is compatible with community values.