Within this activity pilot projects will be launched, for the
integration of online technologies into a certain number of
traditional courses at the PC HEIs in all areas of natural and
mathematical sciences. The role of these pilot projects is to
demonstrate the benefits of using online technologies in
teaching and learning, and to encourage a wider circle of
teachers and teaching assistants to use these technologies
themselves. In order to emphasize the large variety of
models of using modern technologies in teaching and
learning, several different scenarios for the integration of
online technologies into courses will be offered. A team
composed of experts in information technology and
pedagogy from the partner institutions will examine the
specific needs of courses and teachers, and will suggest
suitable online learning platforms that will be used as the
basis for designing new technology-enhanced courses.
These platforms will be developed by adapting some of the
existing free online learning platforms to specific needs of
courses to be designed, and will provide a wide range of
opportunities for supporting and enhancing educational
delivery and management. The use of online learning
platforms should allow students easier and faster access to
the learning material and relevant information, access at
any time, as well as better understanding and more efficient
learning. That will also contribute to the realization of the
active role of students in the learning process,
individualization of learning and better communication
between students and teachers, which will lead to the
transition from teacher-oriented to student-oriented
approach to learning. The courses will mainly be designed
using the blended learning approach – combining web-
based online learning with traditional classroom methods,
and both synchronous and asynchronous models of learning
will be used.