GEONATURA Blended Learning Mobility (BLM) Scheme (MOOC): Open Educational Resources Platform (OER)

The Dynamic nature of GEONATURA Blended Learning Mobility (BLM) Scheme A designated staff of partner universities of GEONATURA project will be involved in the development, updates and maintenance of the Massive Open Online Courses (MOOC) that will be made available in the Open Educational Resources Platform (OER). The educational content that will be created to cover all eight modules of round 2 (in-class intensive courses) will be expanded into a more comprehensive version to be made available in the OER platform that will provide a deeper knowledge and additional skills and resources to students to support in their future career. Each partner university will be responsible for at least one module of the BLM scheme. Students will gain an overall background in all 8 modules as presented below during round 2 and more specific background in four of those modules during round 3 of BLM cycle (online courses). This will stimulate users to go further in the Applied Geomatics focusing many societal needs. Educational tools and approach used during BLM cyclesThe in-class sessions of BLM cycles (round 1 and round 2) as described in Activities will take advantage of modern equipments and tools made available by hosting universities. Teachers will provide students with educational content available in various formats such as:•Power point presentations.•Printed and online maps.•Online tutorial videos.•Software such as ArcGIS and others that are freely available.•Smartphone Apps for geomatics education.•Case studies in PDF and printed formats.•E-books that are freely available.The in-class sessions will be delivered in an interactive mode with and among students and some field trips may be organized with participants to provide a better perception of fundamentals of geomatics applied to different themes and motivate students to seek for career prospects in the field of geomatics.The customization of modules of GEONATURA in the OER platformThe modules that will be created and made available in the OER platform will be designated to students for a deeper learning process according to the academic background of students. Four modules will be recommended for each student for specific learning purposes within the OER platform. Some examples are illustrated below:Students with background in Agronomy & Food SciencesRecommended modules: 1, 5, 6, 8.Students with background in Geosciences & Earth SciencesRecommended modules: 2, 3, 5, 8.Students with background in Engineering & ArchitectureRecommended modules: 2, 4, 7, 8.Students with background in Public Health & Medical SciencesRecommended modules: 1, 3, 7, 8.Students with background in Urban Design & PlanningRecommended modules: 1, 3, 4, 7.Students with background in Ecological & Biological SciencesRecommended modules: 2, 3, 5, 8.Students with background in Human & Social SciencesRecommended modules: 4, 5, 6, 7.Students with background in Communication & Technology SciencesRecommended modules: 2, 4, 6, 7.Students with background in Economics & Political SciencesRecommended modules: 1, 3, 7, 8.Students with background in Management & Information SciencesRecommended modules: 2, 3, 6, 7.The award of ECTS Credits by GEONATURA in a typical cycle of Blended Learning Mobility (BLM)The consortium of GEONATURA expects to award the following amount of ECTS credits to participating students accross the planned rounds:•Round 1, Module 0 (in-class, selective, 30 hours in 1 week): 1 ECTS.•Round 2, Module 1 to 8 (joint in-class activity of partner universities, 32 hours in 1 week): 1 ECTS.•Round 3, 4 expanded modules (massive open online courses, MOOCs, 80 hours in 2 months): 3 ECTS.Total amount of credits awarded: 5 ECTS. A certificate will be awarded to participating students with the amount of ECTS credits designated. ExtranetA Project funded by Erasmus Strategic Partnerships for higher education