Innovation in Language Learning
How to Organize High-Quality Online Language Courses?
Miia Karttunen, South-Eastern Finland University of Applied Sciences (Finland)
Sami Norrbacka, South-Eastern Finland University of Applied Sciences (Finland)
Abstract
According to the PISA education rankings, the Finnish education system is recognized as one of the leading educational systems in the World [1]. Recently, the Finnish Ministry of Education and Culture has published a vision for higher education and research [2]. This vision suggests that the Finnish higher education system should be further developed into one of the best study environments in the world with the best learning outcomes by 2030. South-Eastern Finland University of Applied Sciences (Xamk) is a polytechnic which provides higher education in many professional fields. Because the campuses are located far from each other, scattered in the wide area of South-Eastern Finland, Xamk is highly interested in developing its online learning solutions. Xamk provides a wide array of language studies, and online courses play a key role in the implementation of language studies. The crucial question is how to organize a high-quality online language course. This topic has aroused international interest [3; 4; 5], and some of the latest quality criteria have been published by the Finnish eAMK project [6]. This paper discusses how the online implementation practise and innovations in Xamk meet the eAMK criteria for online courses.
Keywords: online learning, online teaching, quality.
References:
[1] OECD. 2018. Program for International Student Assessment. Available online:
http://www.oecd.org/pisa/ (accessed on 8 December 2018).
[2] Ministry of Education and Culture 2017) Ministry of Education and Culture. 2017. Vision for Higher Education and Research in 2030. Available online: https://minedu.fi/en/vision-2030 (accessed on 9 December 2018).
[3] Leckey and Neill 2001) Leckey, Janet, and Neville Neill. 2001. Quantifying Quality. Importance of Student Feedback. Quality in Higher Education 7: 19–32. doi:10.1080/13538320120045058.
[4] Meskill and Anthony 2015) Meskill, Carla, and Natasha Anthony. 2015. Teaching Languages Online, 2nd ed. MM Textbooks 12. Bristol: Multilingual Matters.
[5] Vai, Marjorie, and Kristen Sosulski. 2011. Essentials of Online Course Design. A Standards-Based Guide. New York: Routledge. ISBN-13 9780203838310.
[6] eAMK Project. 2017. Quality Criteria for Online Implementations. Available online:
https://www.eamk.fi/en/courses-offering/quality-criteria/ (accessed on 10 December 2018).
