Joint Online Course
The main objectives of the original EdTech Horizons Network, which first met in 2014, were to:
- bring together IARU educators, directors and managers from IARU institutions involved or interested in education technologies with the aim of creating a collaborative network that could lead to future IARU education technology projects for member institutions.
- share ideas, initiatives, innovations, experiments, pedagogical challenges and possibilities in education technologies amongst IARU members.
The network's fruitful exchanges in its first two years led to the creation of the first IARU Joint Online Course. Launched in Fall 2016, four IARU partners agreed to develop a joint curriculum that would showcase the academic strength of IARU: Cambridge, National University of Singapore, UC Berkeley, and The University of Tokyo.
The Joint Online Course is credit-bearing, and faculty from the above institutions work together to compose the syllabus. Student groups, comprised of peers from each of the four campuses, are expected to work together on projects during a "collaboration period" that stretches over six weeks. During this time, student groups interact extensively with course instructors and work together on group assignments. The Joint Online Course provides an opportunity for students to discuss global issues from the unique perspectives of citizens from different areas around the world.
The third cycle of the Joint Online Course will begin in Fall 2018.
Activities
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Joint Online Course
The IARU joint program focuses on State Fragility and Peacemaking through a joint effort of faculties from four institutions members of IARU: University of California Berkeley, University of Cambridge, National University of Singapore, and University of Tokyo.
Through a hybrid of joint teaching and individual teaching, the classes take place in each of the four campuses, and are included in the academic calendar as credit-giving courses, starting from September 2016. Through the use of jointly developed course materials as well as transnational assignments and classes, this course is expected to provide students the fruit of the cross-national teaching based on the IARU network.
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DOCC Workshop
Creating a Distributed Open Collaborative Course, 2-3 August 2015, Yale
A workshop for faculty and for those guiding online education where participants could learn how to create Distributed Online Collaborative Courses (DOCCs).
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Workshop EdTech Horizons
13–14 November 2014, NUS
IARU Officers discussed trends, opportunities, challenges and potential collaboration initiatives in using technology for teaching and promoting student learning.
The group agreed to explore the idea of offering joint courses among IARU institutions through Distributed Open Collaborative Courses (DOCCs).