Changing Horizons in Geography Education - HERODOT Network ...

audio lectures – one for presenting the general ideas of the topic and second for explainingsome special cases, both were given by an expert on the subject. And the next two weredevoted for presenting project work, which were to be placed on the Internet.Internet based learning was organised by our colleagues from Turku University.Web course tools were used for communication between students, tutors and experts.All written material was presented there as well as useful links and other related informationso every participant was able to use it and to give their remarks. WebCT alsoprovided space for presenting project work. Students had to use the site several timeseach week to find out the tasks given by experts or answer questions given by otherparticipants. The problems with Internet accessibility in Baltic countries as well asrather poor computer skills were the main difficulties at the beginning of the project.There were two assignments to be made during the course. First of all localgroups prepared project work concerning some local case, placed it on WebCT andpresented it during the audio conference trying to compare different cities. Usuallyevery student had specific tasks depending on their skills. Students had to collectinformation, make analyses, to write in English, to put the presentation on Internetand to present it during the audio conference. Then groups were formed from studentsfrom the different participating universities and they had to work together on somespecific problem in the different cities. Such international collaboration was veryinteresting for students though the organisation of work was rather difficult. Thenumber of students involved from the various countries differed considerably, as wellas their skills and motivation so the results were very unpredictable and the qualityof the project work was very different. Finally, after two years the idea of workingin international groups was rejected purely because of these reasons.ConclusionWhen finalising the description of this experience it also should be mentioned thatin general such ways of learning opens a lot of new opportunities for students andteachers. Students can obtain various skills in very different fields – understandinggeographical subjects, developing communicational abilities, improving English,group work skills, and so on. Also in some cases it is an appropriate alternative toexpensive international travel. On the other hand there were some organisationalissues, for example it is rather difficult to include such subjects into the regularcurriculum, because it depends on the will of many participants, finding financesfor such activities and there is always some uncertainty concerning sustaining theactivities. However notwithstanding some negative features every participant agreedthat, in general, such methods of learning enrich the usual ways of learning veryeffectively. The experiences, which students and tutors obtained, helped everybodyto improve their geographical knowledge and learning skills.References1. HARDY D.W. AND OLCOTT D.JR. 1995. Audio conferencing and the adult learner:Strategies for effective practice. The American Journal of Distance Education 9 (1).2. MOORE M.G. 1994. Audioconferencing in distant education. The American Journal ofDistance Education 8 (1): 1−4.116