The #onlinetogether webinar series - supporting teachers in Romania with online education during the pandemic

The #onlinetogether webinar series - supporting teachers in Romania with online education during the pandemic

#onlinetogether #impreunaonline

The e-Learning Centre within the Politehnica University of Timișoara together with IEEE Romania and EDEN Association launched a series of practical and interactive webinars starting from 15 April 2020, aiming to support teachers and students with the challenges of online education during the pandemic. More than 10 partner institutions responded to the #onlinetogether initiative and joined as presenters and moderators, gathering over 4.800 participants – teachers, students and interested parties.

Context

Together online-08

In these times of lockdown due to the COVID-19 pandemic, just like in other countries, face-to-face educational functions and activities are being moved online, using apps, platforms and various tools for distance education.

Many of us are struggling with the adjustment to working and teaching online, especially those who have always taught in a traditional classroom and are now being asked to rapidly regroup and prepare for a longer period of  educational “social distancing” .

  • Where do we begin
  • How do we manage the process
  • What can we learn from our experiences

With the purpose of finding answers for these questions, encouraging collaboration and supporting teachers with online education, the e-Learning Centre within the Politehnica University of Timișoara, together with IEEE Romania and EDEN Association initiated a series of practical webinars focusing on the challenges of online education and experience during these times.

Launched on 15 April 2020, the #onlinetogether webinar series took place online weekly, gathering dozens of partner institutions represented mostly by teachers and students within the academic environment, but also some of the undergraduate environment and interested parties from the private sectors.

During #onlinetogether webinars, we were able to share unique opinions and experiences from different perspectives, encouraging collaborative work, both between teachers, students and the national academic environment, and thus we believe we have significantly helped the performance of online and open learning.

Topics addressing online education from different perspectives

The topics presented in the ten webinars focused on the daily challenges of everyone in this period, being designed in the spirit of open education and free access to knowledge.

The presenters addressed various topics and perspectives on online education, open educational resources, and shared ideas, experiences, strategies and solutions , which they tried to implement in the current context.

Some of the topics that raised the highest interest were: From in Campus Education to Online Education; Perception of teachers and students regarding online education: opportunities and challenges; Using OERs, MOOCs in Education; The impact of online technologies in the training of engineers; Practical use of Open Educational Resources. UNESCO recommendations.

From in Campus Education to Online Education - on 15 April 2020

The first webinar in the #onlinetogether series took place on Wednesday, April 15 and was presented by Dr. Diana Andone , Director of the e-Learning Center, Politehnica University of Timișoara, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Florin Drăgan , Rector of UPT and was moderated by Prof. Dr. Radu Vasiu, President of the UPT Senate. The webinar was attended by over 220 participants, both from academia and many other educational institutions in Romania.

The e-Learning Centre issued 201 Badges for Participants, 1 Presenter Badge and 1 Moderator Badge. 

More information, the recording of the session and presentations are available here

Perception of teachers and students regarding online education: opportunities and challenges - on 22 April 2020

The second webinar had as guests Assoc. Prof. Dr. Marian Ilie, Director of the Department for Teacher Training and Director of the Center for Academic Development at the West University of Timișoara and Assoc. Prof. Dr. Irina Macsinga, Dean of the Faculty of Sociology and Psychology at UVT and was moderated by Assoc. Prof. Dr. Mădălin Bunoiu, Vice Rector responsible for Academic Strategy, UVT, together with the host of the event, Dr. Diana Andone. The guests presented the results of the UVT research on “Perceptions of teachers and students on online education” and the webinar gathered over 270 participants from different academic backgrounds.

The e-Learning Centre issued 202 Badges for Participants, 2 Presenters Badges and 1 Moderator Badge.

More information, the recording of the session and presentations are available here

Using OERs, MOOCs in Education - on 29 April 2020

One of the most interesting topics was addressed during this webinar, bringing together over 500 participants, both from academic and undergraduate environments, as well as in other fields. Prof.dr.eng. Carmen Holotescu , from Ioan Slavici University of Timișoara, Assoc. Prof. Gabriela Grosseck, West University of Timișoara together with Dr. Diana Andone, Director of the e-Learning Centre at the Politehnica University of Timișoara presented practical examples of the use and integration of OER and MOOCs in education, with case studies from the experience of three Romanian universities. The session was moderated by S.l. dr. eng. Vlad Mihăescu - UPT.

The e-Learning Centre issued 487 Badges for Participants, 5 Presenters Badges and 1 Moderator Badge.

More information, the recording of the session and presentations are available here

eCAMPUS UTCN and the #StayHome challenge: insights and perspectives - on 6 May 2020

The Technical University of Cluj-Napoca presented the integrated way of digital policy that it approached within the first months of the pandemic during this webinar, having as presenters Assoc. Prof. Dr. Eng. Bogdan Orza , Director of the Department for Life Long Education, Distance and Part-Time Education, S.l. dr.eng. Aurelia Ciupe and Assoc. Prof. Dr. Eng. Serban Meza, all from UTCN. Over 300 participants joined the event, sending dozens of questions and messages.

The e-Learning Centre issued 264 Badges for Participants, 1 Presenter Badge and 2 Moderator Badges. 

More information, the recording of the session and presentations are available here

Ideas and methods for online educational evaluation - on 13 May 2020

Focusing on a discussion that centered on best practices for different types of educational assessment, the webinar’s presenters - Assoc. Prof. Mădălin Bunoiu, Assoc. Prof. Bogdan Timar and Dr.eng. Diana Andone spoke from personal experience, each presenting in a unique way the various examination methods, online courses and platforms used, emphasizing the students' conduct regarding the examination during this period, encouraging fellow teachers to use digital tools during this period, in a discussion moderated by Prof. dr. eng. Carmen Holotescu, Ioan Slavici University of Timișoara. The presentation was dynamic, with each presenter actively answering the problems and questions raised by the over 300 participants.

The e-Learning Centre issued 538 Badges for Participants, 3 Presenter Badges and 1 Moderator Badge. 

More information, the recording of the session and presentations are available here

The transfer of engineering education in the online universe in the context of COVID-19 - on 20 May 2020

Within the webinar, representatives of the Gheorghe Asachi Technical University of Iași presented their experience of ensuring the quality of education that took place in the traditional form and the process of implementing it with great speed to an online education, for many new, or not widely explored. Prof. dr. eng. Neculai Eugen Seghedin, Prof. dr. eng. Irina Lungu, Prof. dr. eng. Irina Radinschi, Eng. mat. Marius Șutu, and Assoc. Prof. dr. eng Florin Pantilimonescu have shared the experience of the Gheorghe Asachi Technical University of Iași in adapting education to the online environment, at a fast pace. Over 180 participants watched the webinar live and asked dozens of questions to the presenters.

The e-Learning Centre issued 185 Badges for Participants, 4 Presenter Badges and 1 Moderator Badge. 

More information, the recording of the session and presentations are available here

The impact of online technologies in the training of engineers - on 27 May 2020

During this webinar, colleagues from the Politehnica University of Bucharest presented the technical infrastructure and platforms used for an online activity appropriate to this period, with over 100 participants asking various questions related to this topic of great interest in the current period. Prof.dr. eng. Adina Florea, Prof.dr. eng Mariana Mocanu, Prof.dr. eng Nicolae Tăpuș and Assoc. Prof. dr.eng. Mihai Cărăbaș spoke about the challenges of today's society and focused on: digitalization, new information technologies and the transformation of society through knowledge, experiential learning, participatory learning and online learning.

The e-Learning Centre issued 112 Badges for Participants and 4 Presenter Badges.

More information, the recording of the session and presentations are available here

Babes-Bolyai University’s digital transformation strategy - on 3 June 2020

During this webinar, the experts from Babeș-Bolyai University presented their strategies for successfully delivering education, even in the digital age. The speakers - Lecturer dr. Adrian Hudrea , Director of the Department of Information and Communication Technology (DTIC), Babeș-Bolyai University and Daniel Stuparu , Head of the DTIC Information Systems Center - spoke about the challenges encountered in terms of the strategy of digital transformation in the educational environment and answered dozens of questions received from the participants. Over 110 people attended, both from the Politehnica University of Timișoara and other universities in Romania.

The e-Learning Centre issued 112 Badges for Participants and 2 Presenter Badges. 

More information, the recording of the session and presentations are available here

The perspective of Timișoara students on online education - 10 June 2020

Within this webinar Andrea Medrea , Politehnica University of Timișoara, Alexandra Ferencz , Banat's University of Agricultural Sciences and Veterinary Medicine “King Mihai I of Romania” from Timișoara, Adrian Breha , West University of Timișoara, Alexandru Iliescu , Politehnica University of Timișoara and Bogdan Giurgiu , Victor Babeş University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Timişoara - the students' representatives spoke about their experiences regarding the transition of education online in a discussion moderated by dr. Diana Andone .

The e-Learning Centre issued 116 Badges for Participants, 5 Presenters Badges and 1 Moderator Badge.

More information, the recording of the session and presentations are available here

Romanian students and online learning - on 17 June 2020

During this webinar, Petrișor Laurențiu Țucă , president of ANOSR, Ana Duplava and Tamara Ciobanu , both educational vice presidents of ANOSR, the representatives of the students within the National Alliance of Student Organizations in Romania were present and spoke about the impact of online education among students, at national level. Over 100 people from different academic backgrounds attended, expressing their interest in the information presented by the representatives of ANOSR students on the studies conducted at the national level on the impact of online education, in a discussion moderated by dr. Diana Andone.

The e-Learning Centre issued 98 Badges for Participants 3 Presenter Badges and 1 Moderator Badge.

More information, the recording of the session and presentations are available here

The list of partner institutions who joined the #onlinetogether webinar series: Politehnica University of Timisoara, West University of Timisoara, Ioan Slavici University of Timisoara, Technical University of Cluj-Napoca, University of Medicine and Pharmacy "Victor Babeș" from Timișoara, Technical University "Gheorghe Asachi" from Iaşi, Polytechnic University of Bucharest, Babeș-Bolyai University from Cluj-Napoca, University of Agricultural Sciences and Veterinary Medicine of Banat "King Mihai I of Romania" Timișoara and National Alliance of Student Organizations in Romania.

With hundreds of participants weekly all 10 webinars were designed to be interactive, each webinar being followed by a Q&A session, where participants were able to ask the most pressing questions and raise various issues they faced online.

Recognition and open resources

#onlinetogether on Instagram

Recordings of all webinars in the #onlinetogether series are available on the instagram profile in IGTV.

#onlinetogether on YouTube

These #onlinetogether webinars are also available on YouTube.

To grant recognition to the #onlinetogether webinar attendees, the e-Learning Centre issued Open Badges to the participants, presenters and moderators.

The list of Open Badges issued for each webinar is available online and can be accessed by clicking on the picture below.

By CeL | 13/08/2020 | Community . Together Online . News . Community News | Tags: , , ,

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