Online Teaching Methodologies in Higher Education Credit Mobility Courses: ErasmusX pilot project

Abstract

Based on Erasmus credit mobility programs, ErasmusX is a project envisaged to offer students the possibility to add value to international exchange periods by combining online certified studies with further professional or academic experiences abroad. However, differences between national higher education systems and teaching styles can lead to issues concerning the recognition of credits, which makes necessary to establish common basic procedures. For this purpose, five different European Higher Education Institutions which have traditionally based their academic organization in the face to face credit system, have joined to develop on-line certified courses on several pre-defined areas following common practices. Bearing in mind this purpose, this communication focuses on the proposal of key pedagogical models, approaches and strategies to consider when designing online courses for mobility students. The revision of existing practices underline that online teaching requires not only an adjustment of the role of professors and students, but also a different structure of the courses based on a flexible online instructional design. The methods and models revised in this preliminary study point to the need of incorporating a collaborative online teaching approach with processed educational technology in English mediated instruction.