Output Title Methodology for creation of on-line distance courses on Bioinformatics and
Databases
Output Type Methodologies / guidelines – Pedagogical strategy
Start Date (yyyy-mm-dd) 2021-03-15
End Date (yyyy-mm-dd) 2021-09-15
Output Description (including: needs analysis, target groups, elements of innovation, expected impact and transferability potential)
The Covid 19 Pandemic is the first one that still have global economic and social consequences with such scale. Most of the social systems are not ready to shift their day-day
operations according to the requirements of the health institutions on a global, national and regional scale. One of those social systems is the Educational one. Although there are
many examples for experiments for distance learning courses, in practice the higher educational systems in the partnering countries are still missing full learning on-line distance
courses which to encompass all the necessary elements required by the government educational authorities. That is why the current Intellectual output will be a methodology for
development a full learning on-line distance courses in Bioinformatics and Databases (the themes of the courses are selected ocusby the partner universities).
Target group of the developed methodology will be the learning staff of the partnering universities and beyond, which are willing to develop on-line distance learning courses, especially
in Bioinformatics and Databases .
As such methodology, developed in response of Global pandemic is made for a first time in the history of the partnering universities it is innovative in its essence, especially in its part
concerning the learning process in conditions of Covid 19 virus. The Methodology is expected to have a significant impact on improving the learning mechanisms in the universities that
are applying it, as it will allow to the learning staff and to the students to sustain the level of the educational processes to the required quality without any harm to the acquired
knowledge due to the conditions of Covid 19 Pandemic. Its transferability is expected to be extremely high , as its main principles , findings and recommendations will be applicable not
only to the specific courses of Bioinformatics and Databases , but to all other university matters and could be used beyond the project partnership. An on-line training activity will be
performed by the CRA and Udruzenje gradjana Osvezenje to 12 professors from the 3 partner universities, in order to be able to apply the methodology and to develop the
aforementioned courses.
For the purposes of development of such methodology the following steps are required:
Identification of the main shortcomings and difficulties in the process of on-line distance trainings, that the students, training and administrative staff of the participating universities
have faced in the last year, due to the pandemic of Covid 19.
Development of analysis, findings and recommendations for development of the methodology
First step in that process will be to be carried out a Survey in the partner universities that will be distributed electronically. The Survey will encompass:
- Quantitative survey through a survey among the administrative and managerial staff of higher education institutions by the method of respondents.
- Quantitative survey through a survey among teaching staff by the method of respondents.
- Quantitative research through a survey among students studying at the three universities in the academic year 2019/2020 and 2020/2021 academic year by the method of
respondents.
The second step will be to carry out Focus groups, which main aim will be to provide of important insight into specific barriers in front adequate educational process in the conditions of
Covid19 pandemic.
The aim of the informational background is supposed to deliver the following data:
• Identification of the approximate number of students affected in the educational scope by the Pandemic
• Specification of the students who are interesting in new earning materials and course.
• Identification of the approximate number of lectures willing to apply new courses with digital component skills.
• Description of selected universities’ educational policies and strategies towards pandemic situation , if any.
• Description of environmental adequacy for students.
On the basis of the afore carried Survey and Focus groups, an Analysis of the data obtained will be performed. A summary report from the Survey and Focus groups encompassing
recommendations for development of on-line teaching courses will be developed and a full Methodology for shifting from face-to-face training to on-line distance training and for
creation of on-line distance courses on Bioinformatics and Databases will be created.
The main Responsible partners for that IO will be the Center of research and analyses (CIA) and Udruzenje gradjana Osvezenje (UGO). CIA will determine 3 researchers to work on
the Methodology, incl. Survey, analysis, etc. and UGO will devote 2 researchers. The Bulgarian, Turkish and the the Greek partner universities will devote 1 person per partner in order
to support the main responsible partners with information and to organize the survey for their own country.
The used methodologies will be: Method of respondents, Focus groups, Desk research
Tasks leading to the production of the intellectual output:
gathering data from respondents,
development of analysis of the problems raised within the learning process in the conditions of Covid 19 pandemic,
identification of findings and recommendations for distance learning courses, in the conditions of Covid 19 pandemic
creation of methodology for development of on-line distance learning courses in Bioinformatics and Databases
At completion of IO 1 development an on-line training activity will be performed by the CRA and Udruzenje gradjana Osvezenje to 12 professors from the 3 partner universities, in order
to be able to apply the methodology and to develop the aforementioned courses. As the training will be provided on-line it will not require any additional funding.