Keynote: Empowering 21st-Century Skills through Virtual Collaborative Learning

On November 12th, 2024, Prof. Dr. Eric Schoop and Mattis Altmann from the chair of information management  from TUD, Dresden University of Technology delivered a keynote on Virtual Collaborative Learning (VCL) at the 10th annual conference Global challеnges of the economy hosted by the University of East Sarajevo, Faculty of Economics Brcko. The conference track, which gathers academic and industry leaders, focuses on fostering skills essential for 21st-century professional environments and digital teaching and learning.

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The keynote emphasized the VCL approach, a robust method of Collaborative Online International Learning (COIL) that has been in development for over two decades. VCL organizes complex COIL projects into a structured process, guiding students through knowledge acquisition, collaborative application, and synthesis through case-based assignments. The VCL framework not only promotes self-organization, teamwork, and intercultural awareness but also integrates learning analytics and conversational agents to support feedback and assessment. During the presentation, Prof. Eric Schoop and Mattis Altmann highlighted two significant Erasmus+ projects: COWEB and OER-CODEX.

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The COWEB project, titled "Promoting and Facilitating Collaborative Virtual International Learning in the Western Balkans’ Higher Education Institutions," aims to build capacities in Western Balkans Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) for international virtual collaborative learning. By co-creating virtual and blended learning spaces, COWEB seeks to enhance 21st-century skills among students and address the low cross-border collaboration in the region. The project involves a consortium of ten partner universities from seven countries, including the Technical University of Dresden, and is coordinated by EPOKA University in Albania. 

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The OER-CODEX project, "Open Educational Resources for Collaborative Online & Distance Education and eXchange," focuses on developing OER course modules that convey digital teaching and learning methods, including online collaborative learning in a blended context for educators in higher education. By building on connectivism, OER-CODEX emphasizes social interaction as a key element of the learning process. The project aims to increase the capacity and readiness of HE institutions to manage an effective shift toward digital education. 

The piloting of Virtual Collaborative Learning in capacity building projects such as COWEB and the standardization of Virtual Collaborative Learning material in OER format is based on the knowledge gained from over 20 years of use. In the future, the materials are to be transferred into a Diploma of advanced studies for multiplication in which up to 30 ECTS can be acquired.

Stay tuned.