IT Trends in European Technology Education: Students’ Perspective S. Antera1,7, D. Baselga2,7, V. Kalfa3,7, C. Smekens4,7, K. Smirnova5,7, and T. Van den Maegdenbergh6,7
1
Royal Institute of Technology, Stockholm, Sweden
2
Polytechnic University of Valencia, Valencia, Spain
3
Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Thessaloniki, Greece 4
Catholic University of Leuven, Leuven, Belgium (celine.smekens@BEST.eu.org)
5
Saint Petersburg State Polytechnical University, Saint Petersburg, Russian Federation 6
Institut National des Sciences Appliquées Lyon, Lyon, France 7
Board of European Students of Technology (BEST)
Abstract. In order to plan changes in education following to the omnipresence of Information Technology, students have been able to give specific input on how valuable but risk-bearing those changes can be. During an Event on Education (EoE), organised by the Board of European Students of Technology (BEST), students coming from all over Europe analysed new upcoming learning styles and their effect on engineering education. More specifically, Virtual Exchange Programs, Open Access materials and Remote Labs were subjected to scrutiny. Despite their urgent need for further development, these and many other IT trends were evaluated as crucial for the improvement of today’s engineers. IT in university thus shows high potential if its implementation respects the students’ and teachers’ needs, privacy and safety. Keywords: European engineering education, BEST, Virtual Exchange Programs, Open Access materials, Remote Labs.
1
Introduction
Living in the era of digitalization, the set of valuable skills is being redefined, and digital literacy is raising its importance, as well as the application of Information and Communications Technology (ICT) in numerous educational contexts. Higher education institutions are vital actors in the production of labor force and the definition of academic credentials are changing rapidly nowadays [1], in order to face the new market and social demands marking the course towards development. Thus, the current technological progress has introduced technology and its services in higher education, including an “abundance of resources and relationships that are easily accessible via the Internet” [2].
However, judging from the importance of higher education, the emergence and exponential course of the new technological trend in learning is regarded at least as detrimental. Nevertheless, online and distant learning supporters are increasing, while the general impact of technology in tertiary studies is perceived as positive [3], even in a traditionally ‘in person’ educational area, such as Engineering. Consequently, the
awareness of the technological benefits and looming drawbacks should be acknowledged and discussed to provide further solutions for the issues emerging from the application in learning.
This paper presents the engineering students’ view on these new upcoming learning styles and their effect on engineering education as well as the impact on the university’s curriculum. This has been achieved through the organization of an Event on Education by BEST at the Slovak University of Technology in Bratislava [4]. The event gathered 21 students from all over Europe to discuss those topics during several facilitated sessions. Moreover, the paper will present how several innovative concepts in educational technology were analyzed during the aforementioned Event on Education [4] and how the students evaluated the main advantages and problems related to Virtual Exchange Programs, Open Access materials and Remote Labs.
Board of European Students of Technology (BEST) is a non-profit, non-governmental student organization consisting of more than 3500 internationally minded engineering students from 33 countries. With 95 Local BEST Groups in universities, BEST is increasing its student dynamics, providing high quality services for more than 1.3 million engineering and technology students. The organization focuses on complementary education, career support and educational involvement, through which it aims at developing students. BEST is keeping students aware of educational matters and promotes students’ opinions to other higher education partners.
2
Materials and Methods
Events on Education (EoEs) are organized by BEST in order to establish a discussion platform between higher education stakeholders. EoEs are events where students, academics and company representatives meet to discuss topics related to education. The main goals of this type of events are making the students’ voice heard through the exchange of opinions and experiences and increasing their involvement in education. EoE Bratislava took place in July 2015 at the Slovak University of Technology in Bratislava, Slovakia. The event gathered 21 technology students from all over Europe to discuss the topics “Teaching with Technology” and “Learning Styles” [4]. Together with the university and company representatives, students got an overview about existing Information Technology (IT) systems and their usage in educational processes. By acquiring this knowledge, they were able to analyse the new technological trends and their influence on students’ learning process. Participants’ opinions and ideas were collected by means of discussions, debates and other sessions facilitated by members of the Educational Involvement Department of BEST. The outcomes of the EoE were analyzed at the end of the event and all the information was translated into a report [4]. The following facilitation methods were used to gather the students’ input: Brainstorming, Learning Café [5,6], Fishbone diagram, SWOT analysis, and Debate and Reversal. In order to gather as many ideas about the topics as possible, Brainstorming was used in most sessions. In the session “Adaptation of IT systems in education processes”, a debate was used to find the arguments for or against the given topic. It made people think outside the box and consider arguments for both worldviews.
The goal of the session “IT system as a Part of the Course Enabling Better Preparations” was to raise the participants’ awareness about the influence of IT systems’ presence on the learning processes and to gather their opinions about IT systems on three different aspects: supporting collaboration, adaptation to students needs and enhancing interactive platforms for the lecturers. During the above session, Learning Cafe was used as a facilitation method. Students were divided into four groups and discussed topics “Interactive channels to lectures”, “What are IT-systems for?” , “Adaptation to student needs” and “Support for collaboration”. In “Popularization of Virtual Exchange Programs” a short simulation was made. After listening to a video lecture about how to create an action plan, participants were divided into three groups and split into three rooms. Each group was supervised by a facilitator and they were instructed to communicate via Skype to gather all information on the steps needed to create an action plan. After a given time, all the groups met in one room to present what they learned both content- and process-wise. At the end there was a further discussion about popularization of the method in the universities. During the session devoted to the connection between Remote Labs and Open Source materials, these concepts were analyzed using the SWOT method. Participants were divided into four groups and each group created a SWOT diagram on how the use of remote labs and open access materials influences the academic life. Afterwards they discussed how those methods could fit into academia and whether there are some alternatives available for these concepts. In order to adjust the Open Source Social Network (OSSN) to students’ and educational needs there was a presentation from Jakub Simko about Open Source and Social Networks. This presentation was followed by the analysis of open source applied in education and social networks applied in education. Thereto, participants were divided into two groups, each creating a diagram by means of the Fishbone method. The first group analyzed the use of Open Source materials in education and the second group investigated the use of Social Networks in education. The method Reversal was used in the session “Freedom of Schedule in the effectiveness of learning”. The session’s main aim was to analyze the concept of freedom of schedule that is already being applied in European universities [4]. The participants, divided in four different groups, were discussed about the Strengths and Weaknesses and about actions to improve the current status of freedom of schedule in Europe. The outcomes of the above-mentioned sessions, gathered through the listed corresponding facilitation methods are presented and discussed in the next section.
3
Results and Discussion
Defining the abstract idea of “teaching with IT” is more than necessary, in order to be able to understand how the concept is perceived and discussed by the participants of the EoE in Bratislava. Since any student can adopt a different perspective of the concept, a comprehensive definition can serve as a starting point. So “what does teaching with technology mean?” [4]. According to the participants, teaching with technology combines classical and modern teaching methods aiming for the active involvement of the students and effective learning. Development and improvement derives from practical education, where theory has already contributed serving as a basis. IT is seen as the facilitator, which guarantees better quality and higher performance in learning achievements. By evaluating Virtual Exchange Programs (VEP), Open Access materials and Remote Labs, students concluded that IT implementation in teaching entails both benefits and drawbacks, although bearing great potentials for students’ academic development. The flexibility that IT offers along with the capacity to
adjust to student’s needs, especially with regards to easier and faster access to information and communication issues, is considered as one of the main advantages of teaching with IT. With reference to VEP, participants underlined the potential to adapt in their needs, while they also referred to the fostering of the international orientation of engineering students through international collaboration, reforming their professional profile. Regarding Remote Laboratories and Open Access, the possibility to access experiments and knowledge from various locations is valued as highly important popularizing these tools. In addition, another highly valued element is their ability to bring students closer, enabling communication, knowledge exchange and the building of an international network where knowledge, especially practical, is available. The stretching of an international mindset is brought up once again as a positive effect, absolutely corresponding to the demands of a globalized era. Finally, sharing knowledge facilitates original innovative ideas, critical thinking and increased creativity. 3.1
Interaction between Physical Actors
Communication, collaboration and interaction between physical actors were discussed and analyzed as a controversial aspect of teaching with IT, mainly because drawbacks and benefits are counterbalanced. While IT systems are judged as highly accessible, offering the possibility to store and spread information, their negative effects on team building and thus on productivity undermine their efficiency, indicating the necessity for better use of IT systems. On the other hand, the number of difficulties seems to be increased, when physical actors include professors. The participants of EoE in Bratislava highlighted that the majority of the professors limit the use of IT in specific tools, foremost for storing information and presentations. Whereas the IT infrastructure is often valued as poor and many professors especially older ones do not bother to use IT in their teaching, students noted that literature is not corresponding to recent innovative technologies too. The general outcome is damaging for the interaction and the communication between professors and students and more should be done towards the improvement of this relationship. The participants suggested the promotion of IT use in teaching by the university, the provision of training for professors and students in new technologies, the involvement of students in the creation of a reliable and regularly updated platform for spreading information, while for evaluation purposes the development of a progress tracking tool was regarded as necessary. 3.2
Contemporary Concepts in Educational Technology
As mentioned before, innovative concepts were analyzed during EoE sessions. VEPs, Remote Labs and Open Access materials were thoroughly covered by the participants commenting on known problems and strengths, while Open Source Social Networks (OSSN) were introduced to them finding it highly interesting. Virtual Exchange Programs. During sessions, students regarded VEPs positively mentioning more benefits than problems. One of the main points of interest was the globalised character of VEPs which was considered both a good and a bad point, as students and professors around the world can collaborate effectively by sharing information, giving feedback, tracking progress or answering questions, yet time difference can become a hiccup that interferes in the efficiency of communication channels. According to students, the possibilities are many stating that universities are able to conjoin in research works, share simulations or exchange solutions to problems. In a personal level, students commented on the positive ‘feeling of involvement’ [4] and the inter-staff relations, yet they claimed that despite these gains students and professors are lacking interest.
Open Access materials. Approaching a different concept, students concentrated on Open Access materials based on the way they are used today. Whilst information is free and easy to access and papers are provided in quantity, problems are emerging from this openness, like copyrighted materials and the accuracy of the provided information. The basic problem that people encounter, though, is the lack of information provided by Open Access materials. Despite these problems, students recognise the capacity for flexibility when using them and the collaboration between participating bodies. Remote Laboratories. Taking a step away from Open Access towards Remote Laboratories and the practical side of research, students provided multiple and various comments. As they stated, during EoE sessions, when using Remote Laboratories they economize in time, meaning they are efficient and quick, and money, as they are cheaper and gain a very wide financial support, whilst maintaining a high level of safety. Furthermore, students commented on the fact that they can be assembled and accessed at any location providing flexibility to its users. Although the benefits seem to be many, students expressed the negative side of these issues like the specialisation of the needed equipment and software which elevates its price market, maintenance and fragility. Students defined that the virtual aspect of these labs minimises the existing relations between them, co-students and professors and the hard skills obtained by physically using lab materials and equipment. Finally, students commented on the possibility of getting hacked or having software and maintenance problems like preservation and account accessibility. Open Source Social Networks. As mentioned before, the use of OSSN in Education Technology peaked the participants’ interest and they proceeded to analyse the weak points of this concept divided into two groups to facilitate the discussion. Students conveyed in order to separately analyze the use of open source in education and the use of social networks in education. Based on the outcomes, students share their concern on the lack of people’s motivation when talking about the human factor, whilst regarding the IT factor, they emphasize on internet security, accessibility of the user’s interface (design, easy search, mobile friendly), equipment maintenance and the funding needed for both categories. Furthermore, students evaluated the validation of content and reliability of sources pointing out among others the quality, the existence of copyright and the appropriate supervision. In a different session, students were invited to work on the implementation of OSSN in education according to the needs and the improvement points. Following their previous statements on the weak points of OSSN, students suggested ‘shared accounts’ and ‘separated membership right’ in increasing security, while they are positive that ‘expert verification’ and a ‘rating system’ will maintain a high level of content quality. Students also concluded that global collaboration, the establishment of ‘international university platforms’ and the development of fora and communication channels will achieve a shift towards effective communication paths and information flow. Finally, the need for multiple device adaptation is shown by the recommendation for mobile application compatibility.
3.3
Effects of Using IT Systems
Whilst underway of ongoing sessions, the risk-bearing issues were considered. The main problem was clarifying the meaning of the use of IT in education. To maintain the relevance of the outcomes, explanations and resolving misunderstandings were encouraged. Thus, through discussing about specific concepts students expressed their concerns regarding IT use in general. These concerns were described previously in detail. Although innovative IT systems may cause enthusiasm to users for its agility and efficacy in information gathering, side-effects can be found on students’ cognitive development, such as laziness and superficiality in learning. While technology facilitates students’ life, participants agreed that human
interaction and books continue being the preferred way for in depth learning leaving to students the decision to keep the balance between the two sides.
4
Conclusion
During EoE Bratislava several IT trends in European technology education were discussed and the following major outcomes were generated by all of the participating educational stakeholders. Firstly, Virtual Exchange Programs were considered as a positive trend given their stimulating effect on the interaction between institutions and the creation of a feeling of involvement. However, both students and professors tend to show a lack of interest regarding this subject. Secondly, Open Access materials were associated with problems given their ‘open access’ nature. These materials might conflict with laws of copyright and could be more prone to inaccuracies. Nevertheless, these materials might enhance collaboration and flexibility. As a third trend, Remote Laboratories are considered as a good improvement regarding their flexibility of use. Despite this advantage, drawbacks like system security, dehumanization of the teaching, a lack of hard skills development, and high expenses related to the setup and maintenance of the equipment are inhibiting the widespread of this IT tool. Lastly, the Open Source Social Networks, theoretically developed by students and therefore exhibiting both social and IT factors, are considered positive for the communication flow between researchers and even institutions. A final recommendation regarding this trend involves the development of ‘international university platforms’ as promising knowledge channels.
References
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