Academic Staff Training

JORDAN OPPORTUNITY FOR VIRTUAL INNOVATIVE TEACHING AND LEARNING

A total of three academic staff training events took place as part of the JOVITAL project. The purpose of these training events was to introduce Jordanian staff to core concepts around internationally focussed online learning teaching and learning. These included the use of Virtual Learning Environments (VLEs), Virtual Collaborative Learning (VCL) and Collaborative Online International Learning (COIL). More technical training on how to use the supporting software to craft online learning environments and the use of analytics was also included.

The first of the academic staff training sessions, delivered by project team members from TUD Dresden, took place on 6th to the 8th of December 2018 at Princess Sumaya University for Technology in Amman. A total of 22 Jordanian staff took part in the training, which introduced VCL as a learner-centred problem-based teaching approach to modernize teaching and learning practices in Jordanian HEIs. Relevant teaching and learning methods and applicable modern educational technologies were discussed in alignment with local needs and priorities. The benefits, requirements, process, and possible challenges of adopting VCL in local context were explored, and it was reinforced that different approaches to implementation may be needed on a per-institution level, depending on access to technologies and student familiarity with online learning.

The second took place between the 3rd and the 5th October 2019 at Princess Sumaya University for Technology in Amman. Delivered by project team members from TUD Dresden, a total of 19 participants from across the consortium took part in the training. A further six academics from the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in Jordan and four Jordanian universities, not in the project consortium, attended the training: Al al-Bayt University, AlBalqa` Applied University, Mutah University, and Luminus Technical University College.