Online Learning at the Florence School | Annika Zorn/ Salla Sissonen/ Chiara Canestrini (EUI)

Shaking the Brick and Mortar: Moving Higher Education Online
Workshop co-organised by Academic Service and the Florence School of Regulation (European University Institute)
Scientific organisers: Annika Zorn (EUI) and Jean-Michel Glachant (Florence School of Regulation | EUI)

THE EMERGING WORLD OF TEACHING AND LEARNING ONLINE AND KNOWLEDGE LOOPS - Session 2

Annika Zorn, Chiara Canestrini and Salla Sissonen | European University Institute

The world around us is moving online: whether leisure activities, news and information, whether communication with friends, contributions to public debates or the purchase of goods: most of our life takes place online. The question is whether this trend also concerns academic practice. What are the benefits and opportunities for Higher Education Institutions to (also) move online? At best, many academics still consider online tools a well-intentioned toy; but even if a move online is considered to be an opportunity for research and teaching, individual efforts often remain isolated or fragmented. What is the rational for Higher Education Institutions to incorporate a comprehensive digital agenda into their core strategy, and – perhaps even more importantly – how can we concretely achieve a large-scale ‘online move’ within our institutions?

To begin, this workshop will explore how different online tools (social media tools and online learning) have already entered academic practice. Secondly, we will explore the benefits these online tools and environments offer researchers and institutions to create and share knowledge, especially given their interactive, instantaneous, accessible and open characteristics. Finally, we will present several case studies, focusing on how the process of moving larger projects online can be practically achieved within traditional academic institutions.
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