Incorporation of distance learning in the laws and regulations
Pursuant to Act no. 188/2020 Sb., teaching as a part of the study programmes may be carried out remotely, regardless of the form of study specified in the accreditation of the study programme or field of study (the “study programme”) or in the resolution of the Board for the Internal Evaluation of Study Programmes within the Framework of Institutional Accreditation. Furthermore, teaching may be carried out remotely irrespective of the lack of regulation in the Rules of Organization for Studies of a faculty.
Guidelines for the use of distance learning tools at Charles University
As a part of distance learning, the following tools have been selected and are supported by Charles University:
1) Microsoft Teams;
2) Adobe Connect;
3) Turnitin (for written work);
4) Moodle (for tests, written work).
The Turnitin system can be connected to the LMS Moodle via the Turnitin Task module; instructions can be found HERE.
Tools that are not fully supported and recommended by Charles University may also be used for distance learning (e.g. ZOOM, etc.), but all of the security principles and any GDPR measures must be complied with. A comparison of all tools (pros and cons) together with training for work in these tools is available on the pages of the Centre for Lifelong Learning. The instructions for the centrally supported tools and technical assistance can be found on the pages of the Centre for the Support of E-learning.
The selected distance learning methods in courses should require a study load comparable to in-person methods. Distance learning methods are full-fledged, even though they may differ somewhat in their nature and details.
What answers can you find here?
Distance learning highlights some common learning problems while creating others directly. Some are of a technical nature, and others concern didactics and pedagogy. Examples of typical problems are as follows:
- How do you organize time for online instruction? Are there any differences in comparison with in-person instruction?
- How do you teach effectively? Why spend the limited amount of time we have as educators on this (instructors are usually overloaded to begin with)?
- In what order should we create materials for online learning?
- How do you test remotely in the best way so that you do not harm students in the new and difficult conditions or, on the contrary, so that you do not “lower the bar”?
- What most often bothers students about online learning? How do we discourage them and impair learning? On the contrary, what do students appreciate and what motivates them to perform better?