European Virtual Seminar on Sustainable Development

More than 300 European universities have signed the COPERNICUS-Charter, thereby declaring that they will give sustainable development a place in their activities.

The aim of the EVS (European Virtual Seminar on Sustainable Development) is to promote an international and multidisciplinary dialogue on sustainable development issues between students from all over Europe by using modern ICT. In this seminar students are directly confronted with different views and opinions on sustainable development issues. Views and opinions that are highly related to different social, cultural, political, economic and environmental backgrounds students are living in.

What’s the EVS about?  collaborative learning  place and time independent learning  using modern information and communication technology  promoting an international and multidisciplinary dialogue on sustainable development issues in Europe  co-operation between institutions for higher education

Short history  2000 small project funding by the EU: coordinated by the Open Universiteit Nederland & COPERNICUS-CAMPUS  2001 pilot: 9 institutions from 4 countries  st run: 11 institutions from 5 countries  nd run: 15 institutions from 10 countries  rd run: 18 institutions from 11 countries

EVS partners

Pedagogy  collaborative learning via internet  international and multidisciplinary compound groups  two phases in EVS course: – Individual work: electronic learning environment and team building – Group work: research proposal, research, report, policy summary  assessment and marking: – group products (report and policy summary) by the expert – group process (cooperation group members) by the tutor

Content  Overall theme: Sustainable Development in Europe  Case studies (2004) –The future of sustainable agriculture in Poland –European spatial planning and policy: The regions with the Mediterranean forest Dehesa –European Water Framework Directive: Danube basin –Nature and biodiversity conservation: Romanian forests –Sustainable enterprises in European countries

Community  student groups: international & multidisciplinary (4-6 members)  tutors: coaching & assessing group process  experts: assisting groups & assessing group products  institutional coordinators: project management & formal issues

Electronic learning environment  Web based course materials (Blackboard Learning System)  Web based course materials (case studies, guidelines etc.)  Tools for communication & interaction: ‒ group areas (open and secured) ‒ electronic discussion boards ‒ chat facilities ‒ facilities ‒File exchange

Organisation ­Sharing expertise and investing staff time and resources by all partners. ­There is no joint budget for exploitation or further development / improvement of EVS. ­Institutions can become a partner on 3 different levels: ­Students and an institutional coordinator participate. ­A tutor also participates. ­A case study is made as well and the expert participates.

Formal issues and quality guarantee ­Studyload EVS course 120 hours (October-January) ­Students receive credit points from their institution ­EVS as optional or obliged course in curriculum ­Guidelines for coordinators. tutors, authors, students

Students participation To participate in the EVS students should: ­be interested in sustainable development issues ­be interested in group work ­be able to read and write English ­have access to a computer and internet connection ­have an open mind to E-learning

­Learning objectives EVS ­d escribe and operationalise the concept of sustainable development ­a nalyse sustainable development issues from a European perspective ­link local, national and European policy-related issues to societal processes of change towards sustainable development ­co-operate with students from different cultural and disciplinary backgrounds. ­use the computer conferencing system effectively for collaborative learning

Virtual collaborative learning: lessons learned ­International cooperation takes a lot of time, because of differences in culture, different educational paradigm, etc. ­Staff members and most students are enthousiastic about EVS concept of international and multidisciplinary collaborative learning (necessary skill for learning on SD) ­At the start of EVS most students lack specific computer skills for virtual collaborative learning, and often they don’t have experience in group work

­Team building in EVS needs a lot of attention, because students don’t know each other at the start and all social processes are depending on virtual communication and interaction (students suggest to organise a summer school after EVS) ­The role of the tutor is crucial for coaching and monitoring of the student groups, especially when problems arise in a group (students ask for more steering and feedback from the tutor) ­Total number of dropouts (about 50%) can be explained by the complexity of the EVS (international, multidisciplinary, virtual, groupwork, etc.), but also the course management should be stricter (selection of students, credit points for students, formal position of EVS in curriculum, etc.)

EVS screen dumps: webportal

main menu

content area (case study Danube)

communication area: a group discussion board

group products - report

The future of the EVS

Embedded into the „Virtual COPERNICUS-CAMPUS“ under the eLearning-Programme of the EU

Thank you for your attention! Hans-Peter Winkelmann