Epoka University staff participated in an online academic workshop with trainers from the VALEU-X Erasmus+ project partners at Technical University of Dresden and Dr. Arben Asllani, a Fulbright Scholar at Epoka University in the spring of 2019-2020 and Professor of Data Analytics at the University of Tennessee Chattanooga.
The first training session, hosted by VALEU-X, or Virtual Albanian European Universities eXchange, featured three speakers. Alexsander Clauss presented design dimensions of quality assurance in virtual mobility and virtual exchange. Four key elements he shared were the need for professionalized pedagogical support, realistic cases and working tasks, the technical platform, and learning analytics and information visualization.
Esmir Demaj shared the findings of a survey of student feedback on online instruction for the spring semester of the 2019-2020 academic year at Epoka University. Findings showed that Covid-19 created a number of challenges for students, including psychological challenges. Students preferred in-class teaching to online teaching.
Mattis Altmann of the Technical University of Dresden examined the didactic, technical, and social dimensions of online learning and shared a toolbox of applications that can help with online instruction and engagement. Apps shared included Tricider, Slido, Kahoot, Kialo, and MS Forms, and the use of each was demonstrated in the interactive workshop.
The second session of the online academic workshop featured insights from Dr. Arben Asllani on making the transition to online teaching, including a focus on student engagement, virtual labs, and Hyflex. Dr. Asllani shared the Hyflex approach of varying levels and options of online and in-class instruction and particpation. He also used Mentimeter and question features on Google Slides to demonstrate tools for soliciting feedback from participants and walked participants through the use of Canvas as an online learning platform. His instruction also provided participants with checklists for preparing and delivering online classes.
This online academic workshop was designed to help Epoka staff further improve their online teaching after the initial transition of classes online during the Covid-19 pandemic in the spring semester. This workshop was organized by the Permanent Commission on Quality Assurance (PCQA) in cooperation with the Research and Projects Office (RPO), the Internal Quality Assurance Office (IQAO), the Information and Communications Technology Office (ICTCO) and the Continuous Education Center. The training is part of the annual cycle of professional development trainings offered for Epoka University staff.