This poster describes the approach to developing and realisation of bachelor distance study focused on Application in Informatics for students who can not take part in full time study. These students are from all the Czech Republic and they are deaf-and-dumb people. The poster is focused on specific requirements of this form of study
The idea of introduction distance studies of Application in Informatics proceeded as a reaction to demands of the Institute for deaf-and-dumb people. They tried to find for graduates of specialised secondary schools any opportunity to continue their study at university level. These students did not have any possibility to take part in full time studies but they desired to continue their studies and more over they had intellectual possibilities to continue their study. Application in Informatics was the most suitable for them: it corresponded with students' interests and imagines and at the same time there were the most suitable input possibilities in Application in Informatics for conversion to the distant form of studies.
A deaf-and-dumb student feels lonely and as a matter of facts he lives in isolation. Some people have already dealt with this problem. They consider the distant form of studies without personal contact with a tutor as an ideal one. Those students, who suffer from isolation, more often take part in tutorials and 'self-studies' groups in a specialised PC laboratory at the university. Insufficient vocabulary complicates deaf-and-dumb students their study. Learning materials should consider this fact. It is very important for students to have an opportunity to express their opinion of the comprehensibility of the text, to consult this problem with their educator or a leader of the group. It is obvious that the verbal communication is very difficult (or impossible as the case may be). Interpreter form the sign language cannot always be present during the communication with a student and more over the interpreter could not translate the specific problems of the given curriculum. From the above-mentioned reasons I consider another form than the distant form of the university study impossible for these students.
Graduates of secondary schools for deaf-and-dumb students can find employment only with difficulties. Currently it is very difficult to find a job for graduates of all secondary schools and the problem is even much worse for deaf-and-dumb students.
Application in Informatics is a subject studied in a three - year Bachelor's Degree Programme. Its curriculum is focused on obtaining practical knowledge and skills to use information technology in various areas. The study should lead to the possibility of direct utilisation in practice.
The course is aimed to the following:
In the area of technical basis:
In the field of operation systems to:
In the application field:
To obtain the Bachelor's degree students have to:
The distant form does not have a long tradition in the Czech Republic. It is a unique form focused mainly on the postgraduate studies, training courses and lifelong education. A gradual university study in a distant form is exclusive. More over it is necessary to create specific conditions for deaf-and dumb students, taking their communication demands into the consideration
The University of Ostrava decided to prepare and realise a distant form of studies for deaf-and-dumb students inspire of the fact that there is only a small group of students (12) and so personal and mainly financial demands are high. Currently students are finishing the first term of their study and it is the time to evaluate not only students' achievements but also especially educators and study administrators, evaluation of learning materials, the way of communication, conducting tutorials etc.
Distant form of studies realised in the above-mentioned conditions is not easy for educators. They have to do a lot of work, which is usually done by several people. Other heavy demands result from the way of communication with deaf-and-dumb students (especially during tutorials that appeared very useful). The distant form of studies itself causes certain isolation from the school setting and deafness this isolation makes still worse. Therefore tutorials are very important from the social view.
From the above mentioned reasons (a small group of students, specific deaf-and-dumb students' demands, pilot stage of introducing the distant form of a course), the educator role differs from the role in a classical model of distant studies. There are two roles in the described model: the role of an educator and a leading educator.
The leading educator is only one person, while there are several educators who are responsible for the particular educational subject.
An educator is the author of an educational package
Generally, individual educators used materials that have been already created for the present course Application in Informatics. It has been already taught at University of Ostrava for the last 5 years. Materials were adapted into the form convenient for distant studies. Learning materials were divided into relatively separate units and each area was enlarged upon several tasks including examples, tasks to revise and tests. Opponency of individual learning materials is proceeding concurrently, it was impossible to do it in advance before the beginning of this course.
An educator is a tutor
The tutor checks students' tasks and tests that students concurrently elaborate. He leads tutorials, he helps students to overwhelm difficulties in the study, and he evaluates tutorials.
An educator is an examinator
All types of examinations (written, oral, combined...) are realised in a present form. Because of a lack of interpreters from sign language, exams take place usually without presence of the interpreter. The examination is usually realised in a written form. However, it is possible to communicate with students in a verbal form, because most of them have rests of hearing. In the latter case it is necessary to be very precocious to distinguish when students' answers are wrong because they did not cope the problem from the situation when their answers are wrong due to misunderstanding or insufficient vocabulary etc.
A leading educator is educators' partner
First of all he helps to evaluate studies, to communicate with students. The leading educator, together with the study department (common for all types of studies) takes care for organisation of the course, he is responsible for keeping the schedule, and he registers students including the way of communication with them. The leading educator also proposes changes and he suggests improvement aimed to technical support of the distant form.
The leading educator is a student's partnera
There are a lot of problems and difficulties that each student of distant studies has to undergo. And deaf-and-dumb students have to undergo still more difficulties. A leading educator is a student's advisor in all situations, with all problems, misunderstanding, and difficulties. More over leading educator should be able to strengthen student, to encourage him. Deaf-and-dumb students are very possessively motivated towards studies. Most of them find their sense of life in studies. It makes the life for the leading educators easier in this aspect. But deaf-and-dumb students have many problems with their self - confidence.
In a common distance course model there are several people involved:
There is a function of the author, opponent, educator, tutor, manager, examinator, administrator, and logisticians. Some of these functions can be cumulated, but it is not recommended to cumulate many of them. (Over commutation is not recommended). We were not able to complete these conditions. There are many reasons for that. We have already listed them: a small group (12 students), specific deaf-and-dumb students' demands, concurrent creation of particular courses and their opponency, etc.
of the distant course is at the University of Ostrava based on an application of Lotus LearningSpace. Learning Space is a database application, running on database server Lotus Notes/Domino and a higher one. Lotus Company developed application of LearningSpace for the task of distance learning and it has a leading role in a competition of programs of similar type. (eg WB Top Class, Virtual U, etc).
Important features of LearningSpace are: Flexibility, interaction among users, accessibility from everywhere and at any time, comfortable and powerful tool from the instructor view, accessible from WEB, easy course creation, wide multimedia possibilities, team work, tools for control and safety.
SW demands
Server
Stations
HW demands:
Because LearnigSpace is a database of Lotus Domino server, it is necessary to have a powerful database server with enough disc capacity and with possibility to do whole regular record. It is convenient to use scanner or digital camera to create the courses. Fast and high-class printer is necessary for printing needful material. Client stations connected to PC network are another necessary demand.
Server
Work stations
Network elements
Students, who are studying in the distant form, have to connect their computer to the Internet. At the beginning of each term they obtain a CD-ROM with necessary software as a part of educational software. Beside of that they can use specialised PC laboratory at the University of Ostrava, which is equipped with multimedia PCs with all necessary software.
To launch a successful course of the distant form of studies, realised within university, it is necessary to fulfil the following conditions:
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Ing. Eva Burianová |
Department of Computer Science |