Keeping in Touch

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Keeping in TouchA Minimalist Approach to ODL
Claus Nielsen
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Master of Mediation and Conflict Resolution

• MMCR Elements
• Mediation
• Conflict resolution
• Negotioation
• Personal training

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MMCR Details

• A new education for adults
• Part-time study combined with full-time work
• 60 ECTS over two years
• Only admission with work experience
• Price 16.000
• Involves personal coaching and supervision
• Students meet once a month for a weekend

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A Problem Arises

• MMCR needed easy means of communication and
  continuously contact between students, teachers
  and guest lecturers.
• As the programme includes only few face-to-face
  lessons a virtual bridge between the lessons was
  needed.

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Creating a Forum

• During design of MMCR all focus group interviews
  centered on the personal meeting between the
  university and focused students with relevant
  work experience. On-line facilities were not in
  high demand.
• To exchange information, papers and supplement
  face-to-face learning the University of
  Copenhagen chose to use an on-line forum.

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Choosing a minimalist approach

• Use of ODL should
• Provide a continuously forum for discussion and
  contact
• Replace time consuming and trivial processes
  (providing basic information on e.g. changes in
  schedules and distribution of papers)
• enable students to make presentations and writing
  papers together despite geographical distances
• The use of ODL should not
• Replace traditional teaching methods
• Restrict the students from valuable personal
  networking

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Pedagogical Aspects

• The ODL-platform shall provide a foundation for
  the face-to-face lessons and give a high level of
  preparedness.
• The ODL-solution should help structure the
  learning proccesses and help evaluate on the
  training feed back each student gets through the
  programme.
• The critical dialogue with teachers,
  network-facilitating meeting of adult students
  and meeting guest lecturers will be at the core
  of the learning paradigm.
• Feed back and counselling on mediation sessions
  can be taken to greater depth through personal
  counselling via the forum.
• Blending learning methods give a learning
  profile that can be made to fit to all types of
  studies.

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Benefits of Simplicity

• User-friendly
• Initial investment low
• Instruction needed minimal
• Normal computer skills sufficient
• No system integration troubles and easy system
  support
• The platform can undertake more advanced tasks if
  the need arises

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University of Copenhagen

• Founded 1479
• 35.000 students
• 7000 employees
• 6 faculties
• More than 100 different studies
• Currently expanding in the CE and e-learning
  sectors