International Teaching Projects at the FernUniversität
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On this page you will find an overview of the international and English-language teaching projects currently offered at the FernUniversität by the respective faculties.
Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences
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Target Group Continuing Education & Teaching and Learning, M.A. eEducation Participation requirements: - Scope: 5 ECTS Contact person: Prof. Dr. Eva Cendon, Magda Zarebski (Chair of Continuing Education & Teaching and Learning) Partners: Open University of the University of Jyväskylä (Finland), Anadolu Universitesi (Turkey), Universidade Aberta (Portugal) Short description: The E-SLP Digitally Competent Educators aims to develop and foster educators’ digital pedagogic competence in teaching and learning at all levels of education. The European Short Learning Programme (E-SLP) is a project about Short Learning Programmes (SLPs) on a European level for continuous professional development and lifelong learning, which consist of courses with a common subject focusing on specific needs in society. The E-SLP can be completed with a certificate and can be part of larger degrees as well. This project is about developing, piloting, and evaluating an E-SLP in cooperation with the Open University of the University of Jyväskylä (Finland) (lead), Universidade Aberta (Portugal), and Anadolu Universitesi (Turkey). The central framework for this E-SLP is constituted by the Digital Competence Framework for Educators (DigCompEdu), published by the Joint Research Centre (JRC) of the European Commission. Digitally Competent Educators comprises three 5 ECTS modules at different competence levels with a duration of eight weeks each. Tools employed: Finnish Moodle as learning environment, participants’ discussion and exchange in a collaborative web conference tool and live chat, presentations and feedback in a forum. Additionally, e-Portfolio (self-regulated) and applications/tools are to be tested during the module. Key experience: “I find it very exciting to build a module from scratch, to try to imagine what could have the best results for fostering digital competence and engaging students. One the other hand, it is also challenging to consider the appropriate workload and use internationally accessible material (OER). I am very curious to hear the participants’ feedback on the pilot!” -
Funded as a FILeh project (Funding Program for Innovative Teaching) by the FernUniversität in Hagen
FURTHER INFORMATIONTarget Group: B.A. Educational Science, M.A. Education and Media: eEducation; studyFIT program of the FernUni Participation requirements: - Scope: August 2021 – March 2022 Contact person: Prof. Dr. Antke Antek Engel (Guest Professor of Gender and Queer Studies) Partners: UNAM (Mexico), Dr. Riánsares Lozano de la Pola (Institute of Aesthetic Research), Dr. Nina Hoechtl (MUAC/UNAM), University of Sussex (U.K.), Dr. Darcy Leigh (Lecturer in Law) Short description: Gender Bites – Wild Tongues is an international teaching and learning project aiming at producing a multilingual online platform inviting exchange on queer pedagogies, pedagogías cuir, and/or queer_pädagogik. Participating researchers and students work together on conceptual questions of queer pedagogy and produce so-called Gender Bites to be presented on the online platform. Gender Bites are small-scale multimedia objects (texts, videos, podcasts, collages, comics, etc.) meant to communicate gender and queer theoretical topics to particular, context-specific audiences.
Our focus is on how learning is transformed or becomes transformative through dissident practices, untamed desires, and avoiding normalcies. In the face of power inequalities, domination, and violence, we are also concerned with unlearning, un_learning, and an orientation toward what so far has been marginalized, or rejected as confusing, unintelligible, or odd. This includes unlearning what’s established as or marginalized by queer_cuir. “Wild Tongues,” as Gloria Anzaldúa, explains, can neither be tamed nor hindered, speak in different languages, and express what is happening in borderlands or beyond established perception (Anzaldúa: Borderlands/La Frontera, 2012).
The collaboration takes place in face-to-face and online seminars and workshops, with meetings of all participants and smaller groups in all three countries.
Tools employed: Moodle platforms, padlets, Zoom Key experience: multilingual communication and critical reflection on pedagogy and media pedagogy, embedded in local geopolitical and historical contexts, with a focus on complex social and global inequalities -
Funded by the DAAD International Virtual Academic Collaboration (IVAC) program
Target group: Medieval (pre-modern) History, M.A. Geschichte Europas: Epochen, Umbrüche, Verflechtungen, PhD Participation requirements: Participation is limited, upon application for the project a letter of motivation is to be attached Scope: ¼ module (1 module = 15 ECTS); seminar in two parts, connected by a working period between them; two parts, each one week (six days), first in Regensburg and half a year later in Avíla Contact person: Prof. Dr. Felicitas Schmieder (Chair of History and Presence of Pre-modern Europe) Partners: UNED (Spain), Prof. Ana Echevarria Arsuaga Short description: History students are constantly confronted with different readings of “the same” history, with different approaches to problems that at first glance seem similar in different cultures. Very often, the different viewpoint from other countries or cultural groups can legitimately be characterized as “forgotten history” because we usually work in one, mostly national, tradition only. The seminar is a hybrid research seminar. Face-to-face and online seminars with meetings in both countries constitute the blended learning design of the course, and a working period in between of six months for student groups to prepare conference panels (to be extended to more countries) is included. Tools employed: Open Moodle platforms, centers/ regional centers of the participating universities, Adobe Connect (potentially) Key experience: “Discovery of unexpected complementary facets of different national perspectives on history. It is an important experience for students to communicate in a foreign language (English) on an academic level.” -
Target group: M.A. Governance Participation requirements: - Scope: 3 ECTS (equivalent to an on-campus seminar); 13 weeks; from mid-April to mid-July Contact person: Prof. Dr. Annette E. Töller, Dr. Thomas Vogelpohl, Dr. Marie-Sophie Heinelt, Dr. Daniela Perbandt (Chair of Political Science III: Policy Analysis & Environmental Policy) Partners: Dr. Sandra Sofia Ferreira da Silva Caeiro, Dr. Paula Bacelar Nicolau; Universidade Aberta (Portugal) Short description: The potential benefits of public participation to enhance the legitimacy and effectiveness of environmental governance have been highlighted in different theoretical approaches. Because of these positive expectations, public participation has become a fundamental feature of several environmental policy-making processes. Yet, after decades of research and practice in participatory environmental governance, it remains unclear how and under what conditions public participation can actually raise the quality of environmental governance. In the course of the seminar, students become acquainted with different theoretical approaches of public participation. Based on this theoretical background, international student groups transfer their theoretical knowledge to a case study from the field of environmental policy and present their results during Adobe Connect sessions. Due to the different expectations of German and Portuguese students, we offer a synchronous and an asynchronous learning path. Tools employed: LMS = Moodle (Open Moodle platform); virtual meetings = Adobe Connect; activities in Moodle: questionnaires (pre and post); upload of self-presentation videos; quizzes and tests; mini-lectures (videos) and case choice; upload of small essay for asynchronous students Key experience: “The course structure is very complex due to the different expectations of German and Portuguese students, which requires the tutors to have very good skills in Moodle and Adobe Connect. The course is divided into various activity phases. During each phase, students have to do different activities (reading script, watching mini-lecture, etc.). This structure helps students a lot to keep track of the course and its requirements.” -
Target group: B.A. Politics, Administration, and Sociology Participation requirements: - Scope: Online seminars are compulsory, but no ECTS are awarded Contact person: Prof. Dr. Annette E. Töller (Chair of Political Science III: Policy Analysis & Environmental Policy) Partners: - Short description: B.A. degree programs such as the B.A. Politics, Administration, and Sociology have so far rarely been subject to internationalization projects. Based on the concept of internationalization from home, the project is developing five building blocks of internationalisation for the B.A. program Politics, Administration, and Sociology: - the establishment of the topic of internationalization in the study portal;
- the development of an application-oriented crash course for reading English academic texts;
- the development of a discipline-specific crash course on intercultural communication;
- and very centrally: the development and application of a prototype for an English-language cooperative online seminar on the topic of waste prevention in cooperation with foreign universities that will be offered on a regular basis;
- the diffusion of the experience gained throughout the program and, if there is interest, beyond the program.
Tools employed: Development of an application-oriented crash course about reading academic texts in English as well as a discipline-specific crash course about intercultural communication; Development and implementation of a prototype for an English-language cooperative online seminar on the topic of waste prevention in cooperation with international universities and based in Moodle. -
Target group: Medical Ethics; mostly students on master and doctorate levels Participation requirements: - Scope: Summer School Contact person: Prof. Dr. Sören Hoffmann, Dr. Marcus Knaup, Bryan-Joseph Planhof Partners: Katholische Privatuniversität Linz, Zagreb University, University of Crete, University of Medicine, Tirana (Albania),
University of Novi Sad (Serbia), University of Tuzla (Bosnia and Herzegovina),
Sofia University St. Kliment Ohridski, Aristoteles University ThessalonikiShort description: In the course of the Summer School 2012 pivotal questions of medical- and Bioethics, like autonomy, Dignity of Man, life and will, will be analyzed towards their “practical capability.” During a three-year period, annual meetings shall reflect topics from a multinational and interdisciplinary view. The variety of distinct subjects involved in the fields of bio- and medicinal ethics will be considered, as well as cultural and juridical perspectives featured in these questions. Intended is an idea of ‘Integrative Bioethics.’ Tools employed: Invited lecturers, seminar debates, group sessions on concrete topics, provision of electronic study materials (e-learning) and follow up studies provided by recordings of selected lectures and discussion (videostreaming) Key experience: “The discussion-friendly atmosphere of the event was also expressed by the fact that the discussion rounds continued even after the official end of the program, in some cases late into the night. It is hardly surprising that in such a fruitful environment, in addition to new professional insights, also cross-border friendships were formed.”
Faculty of Mathematics and Computer Science
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Funded by the DAAD International Virtual Academic Collaboration (IVAC) program
Target group: M.Sc. Computer Science Participation requirements: Scope: 2 ECTS (lab: 10) Contact person: Prof. Dr. Jörg Keller (Chair of Parallelism & VLSI) Partners: Open Universiteit (Netherlands) Short description: Information security is an important field and popular among students. In addition to theoretical knowledge, practical experience is needed. For more than 10 years, the FernUniversität has offered a laboratory course in computer science programs. Currently, a central lab system with virtual machines is used to train tasks for network security administrators. In practice, administrators often work in groups distributed over multiple locations. The international collaboration with OUNL extends the lab course to enable virtual collaboration. Both universities provide complementing competencies. The result will allow to extend the focus from network security to system security, communication of virtual machines in virtual private networks, and group tasks with international student groups, thus enabling virtual exchange. The universities’ lab support systems will be united to provide automatic feedback to students about the reasons why their attempted solutions fail, thus facilitating problem solution competencies. Tools employed: NetKit/Kathara, Discord, Zoom Key experience: “Making a virtual and international team work in network security. The challenge is NOT technology but people.” -
Target group: M.Sc. Computer Science M.Sc. Practical Computer Science Participation requirements: - Scope: 10 ECTS Contact person: Prof. Dr. Jörg Keller (Chair of Parallelism & VLSI) Partners: - Short description: Information Hiding in the context of computer science describes all techniques for the hiding digital messages in other digital information and essentially covers the areas of cryptography, steganography, watermarking and obfuscation. Methods for hiding as well as analysis methods and countermeasures are considered.
The module is divided into two courses, first, an introduction to the different areas of information hiding. The second course, network steganography covers terminology and concepts like direct/indirect, noise/noise-free network channels, hiding patterns and their relations are explained.Tools employed: Moodle, discussion board
Faculty of Psychology
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Target group: B.Sc. Psychology Participation requirements: Open Moodle Course Scope: 5 ECTS Contact person: Prof. Dr. Robert Gaschler, Dr. Fang Zhao (Chair of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Motivation, Emotion) Partners: Open University of the University of Jyväskylä (Finland) Short description: Multimedia is everywhere – whether you are looking at the schedule screens at a railway station or reading a news article with pictures. It has changed education significantly. This course on Cognitive Psychology for Multimedia Learning is an asynchronous Open Moodle course with 10 video lectures (e.g., data graphs, games, comics). Students have access to bonus materials such as interviews and keynote talks by famous international psychologists, e.g., from Germany, Sweden, and Finland. Moreover, students can have a hands-on experience with current computer-administered cognitive psychological experiments (based on JavaScript) and Shiny apps to visually explore psychological theories in interactive graphs. Tools employed: JavaScript, R Shiny
Faculty of Business Administration and Economics
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FURTHER INFORMATION
Target group: B.Sc. & M.Sc. Business Informatics, B.Sc. & M.Sc. Business Administration and Economics Participation requirements: - Scope: 10 ECTS, 1 semester Contact person: Prof. Dr. Stefan Smolnik, Silke Weißenfels, Simone Barkam (Chair of Business Information Systems) Partners: different guest lecturers each semester, including professors from San Diego State University, University of Nevada, Reno (USA) and McGill University (Canada) Short description: This course on organizational knowledge management, including all study materials and supervision, is in English. Additionally, we offer one virtual guest lecture by a renowned English-speaking knowledge management expert per semester. Tools employed: paper-based course units, Moodle, Adobe Connect Key experience: “We received great feedback from students who really appreciate the holistic experience in English, starting with the kick-off session and ending with the exam. The virtual guest lecture held by a native speaker is also well attended by students as well as other interested students who have not attended English guest lectures before.” -
FURTHER INFORMATION
Target group: M.Sc. Business Administration and Economics, M.Sc. Economics, M.Sc. Business Administration and Economics for Engineers and Natural Scientists Participation requirements: Formal requirements of the respective study programs Scope: 10 ECTS, 1 semester Contact person: Prof. Dr. Hans-Jörg Schmerer Partners: - Short description: The main goal of this course is to study the interaction between globalization and economic growth. Issues that are relevant in a developing economics context are discussed based upon the more common approaches that can be applied to both developed and developing countries. Those frameworks enable us to develop a deeper understanding of the interdependency between developing and developed countries when goods and factor markets are integrated. Tools employed: Moodle Key experience: - -
FURTHER INFORMATION
Target group: M.Sc. Business Administration and Economics, M.Sc. Economics, M.Sc. Business Administration and Economics for Engineers and Natural Scientists, M.Sc. Information Systems Participation requirements: Formal requirements of the respective study programs Scope: 10 ECTS, 1 semester Contact person: Prof. Dr. Robert Schmidt Partners: - Short description: The participants in this course will gain a basic understanding of the problem of anthropogenic climate change, its causes and effects, as well as climate change mitigation strategies. Furthermore, they will become familiar with basic neoclassical welfare analysis and market equilibria under perfect competition. While some of this material may be familiar from other courses, our goal is to offer the same set of basic tools for calculating market outcomes to all participants in this course. Based on this, the participants will then learn how to analyze markets with imperfections such as externalities (e.g., pollution), and how such markets should be regulated to achieve Pareto efficiency. In doing so, they will acquire skills that are used in modern environmental economic analysis and research. The main goal of this course is to enable the students to perform problem-solving on their own. Therefore, a large part of this course consists of exercise material (problems + solutions). Beyond the basic environmental economic tools, the participants are also introduced to the technique of dynamic optimization, which is widely used to analyze dynamic problems within environmental and resource economics, and beyond. Tools employed: Moodle, videos Key experience: -
Faculty of Law
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Target group: Law/LLM & LLB Participation requirements: - Scope: 10 ECTS, 1 semester Contact person: Neil Graffin, Olga Jurasz, Gleider Hernandez, Wendy Guns, Juan J. Garcia Blesa, Dmytro Koval, Carmen Quesada, Marjan Ajevstki, Fernando Val, Yury Safoklov, Ulrike Schellberg Partners: Open Universiteit (Netherlands), Open University (United Kingdom), UNED (Spain), University of Kiev-Mahyla Academy (Ukraine) Short description: The purpose of this module is to acquaint students with the basic concepts and practical tasks of public international lawyering. Additionally, it helps students get prepared to actively participate in module 2 (moot court summer school). Learning goals:
After taking this course, students will be able to produce plausible solutions to basic problems of Public International Law by using the language of the discipline in a technically correct manner. This involves the following:
- critical understanding of basic international legal problems;
- identification of relevant international legal rules and their position in domestic law;
- legal nature, rights, and duties of international legal persons;
- identification and application of legal procedures relevant to a specific case.
Along with these general learning goals, students will get further acquainted with specific tasks relevant to legal work such as searching for and using primary sources of PIL, searching for literature, legal argumentation practice and advocacy skills through online dialogical presentations and debates, teamwork through collaborative learning, etc.
Tools employed: - Key experience: “Sometimes it is necessary to insist on team members getting acquainted with the project plan so that everybody is on the same page. It is good to have big names in the team, but never underestimate the challenge they pose to good project management.” -
FURTHER INFORMATION
Target group: Law/LLB & LLM Participation requirements: Scope: 10 ECTS Contact person: Nils Szuka, Huub Spoormans, Pablo de Diego, Karl August von Sachsen, Martin von Hadel, Eva Domínguez, Donald Hellegers, Juan J. Garcia Blesa, Michiel van Oosterzee, Dimitris Melissas, Victoria Atance, Sebastian Piecha, Wilma Dreissen, José Nunez, Edwin van Wechem, Vanessa Jiménez Partners: Open Universiteit (Netherlands), Open University (United Kingdom), UNED (Spain) Short description: Short learning programs on private international law and comparative criminal law and procedure; the programs are based on the concepts of blended learning and student-oriented teaching. A one-week face-to-face segment is preceded by three months of online learning. The face-to-face part is structured around a moot court for the LLM SLPs and law-making simulations for the LLB SLP. The online element provides students with contents that help them prepare for the face-to-face segment through videos and texts. Tools employed: Moodle, Adobe Connect Key experience: “To develop a good international team you need time and dedication.” -
FURTHER INFORMATION
Target group: Law/LLB & LLM Participation requirements: - Scope: - Contact person: Nils Szuka, Juan J. Garcia Blesa, Prof. Dr. Eva M. Domínguez Pérez, Prof. Dr. Carmen Munoz, Prof. Dr. Carla Zoehout, Mr. Michiel van Oosterzee, Dr. Anne Wesemann, Prof. Dr. Simon Lee, Prof. Dr. Giacomo di Federico, Dr. Mauro Gatti, Prof. Dr. Michał Stambulski, Prof. Dr. Michał Paździora, Univ. Doz. habil. Dr. Judit Jacsó, Univ. Doz. Dr. Zoltán Varga Partners: Universidad Nacional de Educación a Distancia-UNED (Spain), Open Universiteit (Netherlands), Open University (UK), Università di Bologna (Italy), Universität Breslau (Poland), Universität Miskolc (Hungary) Short description: The existing network EDELNET (European Distance Education in Law Network) will be expanded with three new partners:theUniversity of Bologna, the University of Wroclaw, and the University of Miskolc. The goal of the project is to develop a joint hybrid training program for interdisciplinary legal research methods and skills for early-career researchers. Tools employed: Moodle, Adobe Connect Key experience: - -
FURTHER INFORMATION
Target group: Law/First Legal Examination Participation requirements: Legal English I and II certificate Scope: 5 Credit Points, 1 semester Contact person: Prof. Dr. Sebastian Kubis, LL.M. (Illinois), Dagmara Döll, LL.M. (Limerick) Partners: - Short description: The course provides students with basic knowledge of the U.S. legal system as well as initial knowledge of the method of comparative law by referring to German and English law. Furthermore, students learn to correctly work on a case from the U.S. legal system and to handle it in a manner similar to a law school student. In this context, students learn to read decisions of U.S. courts and to interpret laws accurately. Tools employed: Moodle Key experience: - -
FURTHER INFORMATION
Target group: Law/First Legal Examination Participation requirements: - scope="row"Scope: 10 Credit Points, 1 semester Contact person: Prof. Dr. Sebastian Kubis, LL.M. (Illinois), Dagmara Döll, LL.M. (Limerick) Partners: - Short description: The module gives an overview of the origins and foundations of Anglo-American law – e.g., of the historical development up to the present day and the essential differences to continental European law, especially in procedural law. In addition, the students learn how to make comparative legal considerations and fill them with knowledge.
Upon completion of the module the students are familiar with the organization of the state and have knowledge about the constitution of the USA, its origin and its interpretation. They know the state organs mentioned in the Constitution and how they are constituted (election, appointment) and how far their competences and powers extend. The students will also learn to correctly understand a case from the U.S. legal system and to handle it in a similar way as a law school student.Tools employed: Moodle Key experience: - -
FURTHER INFORMATION
Target group: Law/First Legal Examination Participation requirements: - Scope: 10 Credit Points, 1 semester Contact person: Prof. Dr. Sebastian Kubis, LL.M. (Illinois) Partners: - Short description: Students will gain an overview of the origins and foundations of Anglo-American law. They learn about the historical development up to the present day and work out the essential differences to continental European law, especially in procedural law. In addition, students will be able to make comparative legal considerations. The students learn about the organization of the state and have knowledge about the constitution of the USA, its origin and its interpretation. They will get to know the state organs mentioned in the Constitution, how they are constituted (election, appointment), as well as their competences and powers. In addition, the module takes a look at the contract law of the United States, with the main focus on the formation of the legal transaction. In this context, the comparative law approach is also taught by pointing out differences from the contract formation rules of the Civil Code. Furthermore, students will learn the basics of US civil right procedure. Tools employed: Moodle Key experience: -
International Office
| 26.06.2024
