NAME OF THE EXPERIENCE: Campus virtuel de l’université de Limoges

WHERE TO FIND IT: http://www-tic.unilim.fr/

OVERVIEW: GENERAL DESCRIPTION

The formations and the diplomas of the virtual campus proceed and prepare remotely via Internet while being based on collaborative work and the virtual communities of training and lead to the trades of the Net-economy: E-trade, E-services, E-administration, e-learning... This virtual campus opened in November 1998.

Several diplomas of university:

-  "Label Internet",

-  "3Mi - Multi-media Mediation and Management of Internet",

-  DESU "TIC and development",

-  DESU "TING"

-  DESU post-doctoral specialization "TIC & creations of values"

and diplomas at national level:

-  Deust Webmaster and manager of Intranet,

-  Professional Licence "Servicetique",

-  MST (control sciences and technology) "Head of project specialist interior designer in the TIC",

-  DESS "the virtual Communities and management of the collective intelligence via the numerical networks"

These trainings make it possible each one to build its own course according to its level, of its objectives, its availabilities.

METHODOLOGICAL STRONG POINTS

-  The organization in community allows the capitalization and the creation of knowledge, the valorization and the development of competences.

-  The virtual communities are made up of the students, the assistants, the professors and according to cases', of experts and professionals.

-  Each unit of teaching is built around objectives which are the acquisition of competences by job and/or of more general competences.

-  Active pedagogy and collective project based to imply learners; it gives a direction and a social value to this training.

-  Learner built its knowledge starting from situations from research then to carry out a task and produce.

-  Learning is plan in 3 phases : phase 1, the group adapts, reformulates, clarifies the statement, then plans the project; phase 2, each one carries out the tasks envisaged and writes reports required; phase 3, presentation of the product carried out and the evaluation of its work by the group.

-  The trainer has the possibility of following the exchanges and the history of work, it can thus measure the individual activity of the students and their participation in collaborative work.

-  The participation in the exchanges within the virtual community (collaborative work, mailing list, forums, etc.) is taken into account in the evaluation and counts for obtaining credits.

-  The Learning Units are evaluated in on line continuous assessment.

-  All the diplomas, except for DU, have an individually carried out and full-scale professional part: it is asked the students to imply itself in the life of the professions to which they prepare either as trainees or as experts. This part counts for a quarter in obtaining the diploma.

TECHNICAL STRONG POINTS

-  Each team or community of work organizes a "club" or a "group" in a groupware software.

-  This virtual place gathers all information on the members of the team, the allocation of the functions, the calendar, the messages exchanged, documents deposited etc...

-  Software: One uses a navigator to reach information on the site, the exchanges with the teachers and the other students are done by mail, mailing lists, forums, chat, white board, remote control, videoconference, web cam…

-  All these software are free or give to students. In a general way, necessary software can be selected among the free software or freeware or give at the disposal of the student.

-  It is requested from the students to test various software, in order not to be adapted to only one tool but able to adapt to various ones.

-  A “News” space provide information jobs areas covered by the different courses and links to relevant blogs. A bibliography, a webography and general articles about New Technologies…

-  The only installed cookie on this site is a session cookie containing only the number of session and thus in that no personal information.

-  To be held with the current of the opening and the closing of the pre-inscriptions, the campus makes it possible to subscribe to a RSS.

RELEVANT MANAGEMENT ISSUES

-  CVTIC as any University Campus is a place for training, research and services.

-  CVTIC has the ambition to offer to the future students and old ones, an access during their all life in the common space of the virtual campus.

-  Courses give a range of professionals to learners:

The professor responsible for a diploma organizes the programme of the course for this diploma, centralizes the management of the students concerned, organizes the various events.

Unit Responsible: The person in charge for the unit conceives and animates a unit of teaching, it has in charge, according to his competences, one or more units, entirely or partly.

Associated trainers : They are either teachers or professionals, all experts of the studied topic.

-  Assistants : Specialists in the e-learning, they help the professors to conceive and to set up a remote learning, they take part in the animation of the virtual communities.

Tutors, experts et coach: their role is to help and follow each student, to provide him assistance, councils and to reassure him by his availability. They are sometimes in charge of a group.

-  There is a very useful Flash presentation of the campus: http://www-tic.unilim.fr/docs/acces_campus.htm

-  The campus provides various methodological supports to the students, like this "practical Guide of collaborative work in virtual communities of training" : http://www-tic.unilim.fr/article.php3?id_article=101

CONCLUSIONS

Key points of success:

-  Huge experience in virtual learning (since 1998)

-  Active pedagogy

-  The organization in communities

-  Strong and reliable virtual campus software

Admin Email: ou

Pedagogic Email :

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Nadine Jouanen for EIfEL – French partner