MEDLIT extended
MEDLIT extended
On Friday, October 13th, 2017 the MEDLIT project was granted an extension until Wednesday, March 14th, 2018 - but what does that mean exactly?
By extending the eligibility period the EACEA permitted that still available funds of the original grant may be spent for activities to achieve the originally proposed goals of the project. So, on one hand, it is cost-neutral but on the other hand, the activities in the extended period were defined in detail, so that it can be guaranteed that the proposed aims can be achieved in the additional time. This new work plan was set up to reflect changes in the internal structures of the projects and individual strengths of the partners.
Control but also responsibility is shifting from the European to the Asian partners so that the beneficiaries can shape the project outputs and outcomes to better fit their demands.
So what has to be achieved until March? This can be best described by looking at the remaining work packages.
E-Learning: MOOCs as a resource
Our E-Learning work package, led by UMK and OUNL, has the goal to build the capability to design, produce, run and revise MOOCs as an additional resource for Teaching but also the Third Mission of the partner country universities. To achieve this, we have to look at three parts: Platform, Skills, and Equipment.
By choosing the OpenLearning.com platform, questions of distribution but also User/Learner management are solved and platform maintenance and development is outsourced thanks to an arrangement that UMK organized within a deal that the Malaysian Government/Higher Education Ministry had with the mentioned company. Therefore, MEDLIT MOOCs will have a reliable home in terms of a short- to mid-term perspective. In the long run and especially when MEDLITnet extends its activities, further arrangements have to be made.
Training and development of the needed skills happened on one hand by the series of Train-the-Faculty workshops by UniVie (content) and on the other by the E-Learning training and the MOOC roadshow by UMK (hands-on skills). Further refinement has to happen now when running and revising the national MOOCs based on user feedback, internal and external evaluations. The outcome of these trainings will be a core group of lecturers who are able to use MOOCs as a resource for their universities but in order to achieve sustainability, internal training at the institutions, carried out by involved MEDLIT members should be the next step.
Finally with choosing and buying equipment and especially software a dedicated working environment should be available at each partner country institution so that the further development of the MEDLIT MOOC but also new MOOCs shouldn't be a challenge anymore.
Network: Promoting Media Literacy
Now let's have a look at the activities of the network work package, led by UPM, that aim at the establishment of the MEDLITnet. These organizational structures should, on one hand, allow cooperation of the involved partners beyond the project runtime. On the other hand, the network should be a contact point for the promotion of Media Literacy, that can be contacted by other institutions, stakeholders, and the general public.
At the upcoming meeting in Kuala Lumpur, this organization should be now officially established - a major step towards a sustainable outcome.
For more local impact, a stakeholder event will be organized at each partner institution to announce the national MEDLIT MOOCs, present MEDLITnet as an organization and invite stakeholder for cooperation and activities in the future.
Finally, the "1st Network Conference" at UMK in March 2018 is the grand finale. Presenting the MEDLIT outcomes and outputs to a scientific but also professional public. This event will combine a scientific conference with workshops for stakeholders and networking possibilities, ideally being the first conference of many to come.
MEDLIT goes for the finish line
The other activities that have to be carried out, focus on monitoring or other quality assurance activities or are relevant for the project completion as being about accounting or documentation needed for the final report.
To make MEDLIT a long-time success, activities that go beyond the work plan will be necessary - so that the group of friends, we became over the last two years, keep on collaborating, trying to make the world better by sharing knowledge about media.