Geodesy Students in Slovenia and Information & Communication Technology

The implementation of information and communication technologies (ICT) in university curricula is important for the development of graduates' competences and their preparation for the labour market. ICT use encourages the development of collaboration, creativity, leadership, and other generic and subject-specific competences. In this paper, the results of a survey among Slovene geodesy students conducted in 2009 are presented. The survey focuses on the modes in which students use ICT in learning and on their views of the impact that ICT use has on their studies. The results cover (1) ICT literacy and competences for learning with ICT, (2) actual ICT use in learning and other activities, (3) preferences for ICT use in learning, and (4) assessment of the impact ICT use has on university studies. The results are significant for higher education policy planners, curriculum designers and for ICT infrastructure-related managerial and administrative decision making in higher education institutions; they are also an important source of information for teachers who want to modify their teaching methods. The results of similar surveys in the UK, Germany, the US and Australia are also presented. Findings of the survey among Slovene geodesy students show that they rank their general ICT literacy higher than their competences for learning with ICT. They believe that ICT literacy and competences for learning with ICT should be further developed. Results show that preferences for ICT use are higher than actual ICT use. The impact assessment of ICT use in the study shows that orientation to ``digital'' approaches to learning and the actual use of such approaches are ranked higher than those in which ICT is used for assisting traditional study approaches

Environment protection and university technical curriculum

This paper deals with a university degree in Environmental \ud Engineering as a part of university studies in Engineering \ud and shows engineering fields in which environmental \ud engineering studies have been established as stand-alone \ud studies globally. Furthermore, the paper gives a short \ud overview of environmental engineering education in \ud Slovenia, and then looks in detail at the integration of \ud environmental engineering studies with study programmes \ud offered at the Faculty of Civil and Geodetic Engineering, \ud University of Ljubljana. In 1998, the first ever in \ud Slovenia technical studies in environmental engineering \ud were introduced, i.e. the four-year university study Water \ud Management and Communal Engineering (VKI). In \ud 2009, it was transformed into a new two-stage Bologna \ud study programme Water Management and Environmental \ud Engineering (VOI). The paper presents the basic indicators \ud of the VKI studies (enrolment, graduates, average grades, \ud study duration, drop-out), which formally expires in the \ud academic year 2015/16, and compares them with those \ud of the pre-Bologna university study programme in geodetic \ud engineering

Statistical and demographic analysis of geodesy students apprentices in Slovenia in the period from 2008 to 2011\ud

The model developed for evaluating the optimal division\ud of Slovenia into provinces is based on regional centres\ud equipped with activities of appropriate levels, including\ud universities. Connections between universities and\ud the industry of a province are important factors in\ud ensuring equal opportunities to access university\ud education. Information on the regional concentration\ud of students and distribution of organizations providing\ud field placements in relation to all organizations\ud in Slovenia is an important criterion of quality of\ud university education. University and professional\ud studies in geodetic engineering for the entire country\ud is conducted at the University of Ljubljana. A\ud comparison was made between the old and the new\ud university and professional study programmes during\ud the transition to the Bologna study programmes,\ud when University of Ljubljana synchronously offered\ud the old and new study programs (academic years\ud 2008/09, 2009/2010, and 2010/11). The focus of\ud this paper is on the role of field placements in the\ud university with special reference to the understanding\ud and evaluation students' and graduates' competences.\ud The demographic composition of students in geodetic\ud engineering with their involvement in field placements\ud is analysed. An analysis of regional distribution\ud mapping and demographic analysis of organizations\ud with the determination of distance from place of\ud residence of students in geodetic engineering to their\ud field placement is presented

Are book publications disappearing from scholarly communication in the social sciences and humanities?

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to analyze the evolution in terms of shares of scholarly book publications in the social sciences and humanities (SSH) in five European countries, i.e. Flanders (Belgium), Finland, Norway, Poland and Slovenia. In addition to aggregate results for the whole of the social sciences and the humanities, the authors focus on two well-established fields, namely, economics & business and history. Design/methodology/approach – Comprehensive coverage databases of SSH scholarly output have been set up in Flanders (VABB-SHW), Finland (VIRTA), Norway (NSI), Poland (PBN) and Slovenia (COBISS). These systems allow to trace the shares of monographs and book chapters among the total volume of scholarly publications in each of these countries. Findings – As expected, the shares of scholarly monographs and book chapters in the humanities and in the social sciences differ considerably between fields of science and between the five countries studied. In economics & business and in history, the results show similar field-based variations as well as country variations. Most year-to-year and overall variation is rather limited. The data presented illustrate that book publishing is not disappearing from an SSH. Research limitations/implications – The results presented in this paper illustrate that the polish scholarly evaluation system has influenced scholarly publication patterns considerably, while in the other countries the variations are manifested only slightly. The authors conclude that generalizations like “performance-based research funding systems (PRFS) are bad for book publishing” are flawed. Research evaluation systems need to take book publishing fully into account because of the crucial epistemic and social roles it serves in an SSH.Originality/value – The authors present data on monographs and book chapters from five comprehensive coverage databases in Europe and analyze the data in view of the debates regarding the perceived detrimental effects of research evaluation systems on scholarly book publishing. The authors show that there is little reason to suspect a dramatic decline of scholarly book publishing in an SSH.This work is conducted within the framework of the COST action “European Network for Research Evaluation in the Social Sciences and Humanities” (ENRESSH, CA15137, enressh.eu). Tim Engels thanks the Flemish Government for its financial support to the Centre for R&D Monitoring (ECOOM)

The concretization of the term sustainable spatial development for the assessment of child and juvenile awareness

The following article is targeted at the comprehensive co-shaping of the conditions required for the active education on the effective and concrete contributions to sustainable development, with the emphasis based on the built environment or architecture. It defines the role of education on the built environment or architecture within the concept of sustainable development, determines the grounds for adjusting the methods of delivering architectural contents and defines the educational contents along with their presentations with regards to the developmental abilities of the public, which is targeted. It presents the deliberation on objectifying the term sustainable spatial development, for the assessment of child and juvenile awareness of “sustainable architecture” topics as well as determining childcare workers and teachers adequate qualifications to provide the knowledge in the field of the built environment, in relation to sustainable environment. Concretisation signifies the selection and visualisation of actual topical occurrences in physical space for a specific targeted public (the article provides representative models). It also contributes to the development of “cultural” dimension of spatial development sustainability. The efforts made to strive towards the lifelong learning of architecture and its influence on our everyday lives and our future

Konkretizacija pojma trajnostnega prostorskega razvoja za oceno osveščenosti otrok in mladostnikov

Prispevek je usmerjen k celovitemu sooblikovanju pogojev za tvorno izobraževanje o učinkovitih, konkretnih prispevkih k trajnostni razvojni usmeritvi, s poudarkom na grajenem okolju oziroma arhitekturi. Opredeljuje vlogo izobraževanja o grajenem okolju oziroma arhitekturi v konceptu trajnostnega razvoja; določa izhodišča za prilagajanje načinov posredovanja arhitekturnih vsebin ter opredeljuje izobraževalne vsebine in njihove predstavitve glede na razvojne sposobnosti ciljne publike. Predstavlja torej razmislek o opredmetenju pojma trajnostni prostorski razvoj za oceno osveščenosti otrok in mladostnikov o »trajnostnih arhitekturnih« temah ter tudi za ugotavljanje usposobljenost vzgojiteljev in učiteljev za posredovanje znanja s področja grajenega okolja v povezavi s trajnostnim razvojem. Konkretizacija pomeni izbor in vizualizacijo aktualnih konkretnih pojavov v prostoru za izbrano ciljno publiko – v prispevku so prikazani vzorčni primeri. Prispeva k razvoju »kulturne« dimenzije trajnosti prostorskega razvoja. Prizadevanja vodijo k razvoju sistema vseživljenjskega učenja o arhitekturi ter njenem vplivu na naš vsakdan in naš jutri

Multilingual Publishing in the Social Sciences and Humanities: A Seven-Country European Study

Funding information: National Science Centre in Poland, Grant/Award Number: UMO‐2017/26/E/HS2/00019; European Cooperation in Science and Technology, Grant/Award Number: CA15137; Slovenian Research Agency, Grant/Award Number: P2‐0210; Flemish GovernmentWe investigate the state of multilingualism across the social sciences and humanities (SSH) using a comprehensive data set of research outputs from seven European countries (Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, Flanders [Belgium], Norway, Poland, and Slovenia). Although English tends to be the dominant language of science, SSH researchers often produce culturally and societally relevant work in their local languages. We collected and analyzed a set of 164,218 peer‐reviewed journal articles (produced by 51,063 researchers from 2013 to 2015) and found that multilingualism is prevalent despite geographical location and field. Among the researchers who published at least three journal articles during this time period, over one‐third from the various countries had written their work in at least two languages. The highest share of researchers who published in only one language were from Flanders (80.9%), whereas the lowest shares were from Slovenia (57.2%) and Poland (59.3%). Our findings show that multilingual publishing is an ongoing practice in many SSH research fields regardless of geographical location, political situation, and/or historical heritage. Here we argue that research is international, but multilingual publishing keeps locally relevant research alive with the added potential for creating impact

Competence management system design in international multicultural environment : registration, transfer, recognition and transparency

The design and development framework of competence management system (CMS) assisting international multicultural environments at the system, organizational and individual levels, is evaluated. CMS design integrates the competence framework, e-mentoring system and vocational education and training courses defined by competences. Courses are offered in the case of low competence profile. Competencies are not a fixed set of skills, but rather represent a dynamic combination of abilities, skills and knowledge. The overall evaluation of CMS navigation presented consists of the items, including registration of an employee's personal competences, e-tutoring, matching the acquired versus required competences, design of personal profile and design of individualized study planning. The users found the personal competence profile and matching the acquired versus required competences very useful. There followed the e-mentoring and course and training descriptions.5 page(s

Izobraževalna tehnologija in izgradnja avtentičnega učnega okolja

V jedru izobraževalne tehnologije je izboljšanje uspešnosti vzgojno-izobraževalnega procesa. Izobraževalna tehnologija je obravnavana v globalnem sistemu dejavnikov vzgojno-izobraževalnega procesa, saj ima pomembno vlogo pri povezovanju poučevanja v vzgojno-izobraževalnih zavodih in učenja v naravnih okoljih. Izobraževalna tehnologija omogoča vzpostavljanje avtentičnega učnega okolja na tri pomembne načine: (1) uporaba digitalnih medijev je za današnje generacije avtentična aktivnost, avtentično okolje socialnega življenja, (2) zaradi zmožnosti sodobne tehnologije se lahko avtentična učna okolja vzpostavljajo s povezovanjem »učilnice« in različnih izvirnih okolij (naravnih in drugih) in (3) »učilnica« z vsemi funkcijami se lahko vzpostavi v različnih izvirnih okoljih. V pričujočem delu je obravnavano zgodnje učenje, ki postaja vse bolj prežeto z digitalnimi tehnologijami v primarnem okolju družine, ki posegajo v razmerje med otrokom, interakcijsko vsebino in okoljem, in spreminja interakcijo v družini. Skrb za otrokov razvoj in učenje, po poročilih raziskav, sproža polarizacijo, zagovornikov in nasprotnikov. Poudarjanje tveganj in odtegovanje tesnejšega stika s tehnologijo zanemarja priložnosti digitalnih praks za otrokovo porajajočo se pismenost in razvoj dispozicij za učenje. Temeljni izziv vključevanju predstavlja premoščanje razkoraka med digitalnimi praksami kot temeljnimi družbeno-kulturnimi praksami, ki jih otrok usvaja z igro. Ker se meje med tradicionalno in digitalno igro brišejo, je treba tudi v kurikulu za vrtce, ki temelji na igri, vključevati digitalno igro in v partnerstvu s starši vzpostavljati in ohranjati vez med domom in vrtcem. Med ključnimi dejavniki za vključevanje izobraževalne tehnologije v vrtce so stališča in kompetence pedagoških delavcev, ki jih je treba razvijati v začetnem in vseživljenjskem izobraževanju. Možnosti za vključevanje izobraževalne tehnologije so preučevane tudi v strukturi vzgojno-izobraževalnega procesa z vidika dejavnikov učenja, strukturnih in procesnih dejavnikov učenja ter subjektov učnega procesa, učitelja in učenca. Na začetku 20. stoletja je izobraževalna tehnologija zajemala vlogo pripomočkov, učil ali sredstev. Pozneje, pod vplivom komunikacijskih teorij, je bila pojmovana kot nosilec ali posredovalec informacij. V obeh obdobjih je bila v didaktiki vključena med strukturne sestavine vzgojno-izobraževalnega procesa. Z razvojem računalniške tehnologije in pod vplivom kognitivnih teorij učenja in poučevanja se je obravnavi pripomočkov pridružila obravnava načrtovanja in izvajanja procesov. Izobraževalna tehnologija prepleta dva vidika: vidik rabe tehnologije kot strukturne sestavine in vidik oblikovanja učnega procesa (procesne sestavine). V širšem okviru so obravnavane kompetence 21. stoletja, med katerimi tvorijo poseben sklop informacijske, medijske in tehnološke kompetence. V sodobnosti je na področju izobraževalne tehnologije prevladujoči diskurz razvoj digitalnih kompetenc učitelja, ki je nasledil informacijsko pismenost in malce poznejšo medijsko pismenost. Začetki so izraziteje izražali pojmovanje avtonomne pismenosti kot set spretnosti, tehnik in postopkov za uporabo v različnih kontekstih in situacijah. Medijska pismenost je bila že v svojih začetkih obravnavana v socialnih kontekstih, skladna s socialnim konceptom pismenosti. Obravnava digitalne pismenosti zajema dve podmeni: (1) konceptualizacijo digitalne pismenosti v procesu odmika od tehnološkega in informacijskega k socialnim praksam in (2) transformacijo izvirne pismenosti z medijem pisave, ki se transformira v večkodno pismenost, in večrazsežnostno pismenost – sestavljeno pismenost v socialnih praksah. V primerih dobre prakse je predstavljena metoda digitalnega pripovedovanja zgodb, ki sem jo v preteklih letih podrobno preučevala. Metoda pripovedovanja zgodb je razširjena oblika metode razlage, vključena na različnih področjih kurikula. Pripovedovanje zgodb omogoča vzpostavljanje smisla, percepcije in razlage in se izraža v pripovednem mišljenju. Otrok s pripovedovanjem osmišlja in predstavlja svoje izkušnje in poglede ter razvija pripovedno mišljenje. V svoji digitalni obliki pripovedovanje zgodb izkorišča potencial tehnologije za večkodno izražanje in omogoča umeščen razvoj pismenosti, kontekstualiziran v refleksiji in identiteti, ki je vse bolj povezana z digitalnimi praksami

Educational technology for the inclusive classroom

This paper presents and evaluates the development of an educational technology curriculum aimed at pre-service, primary education and undergraduates; the focus is on the incorporation of ICT competences for inclusive education. The framework was the introduction of SEVERI e-learning environment in Slovenian schools. Students were able to monitor the development and implementation of SEVERI tools for special needs pupils in Slovenian schools, and plan teaching and learning in SEVERI within their course project work. Within an educational technology curriculum, a competence framework was developed for fostering the use of ICT in the teaching of, and learning by, special needs pupils. This was achieved against the backcloth of the baseline learning objectives of autonomy, inquiry, creativity and innovation. In pre-service teacher education in educational technology, the focus is on inquiry based learning, and on planning and incorporating the innovative use of ICT into teaching; the emphasis is also on enhancing the student teachers' competences for his/her own professional development. In focussing more specifically on the use of ICT for special needs pupils, the aim is to carry into effect the principles of equality, diversity and inclusive education. The research was designed to evaluate the candidate students' learning and to consider the alignment of learning objectives and activities with learning outcomes in the new curriculum. The research questions considered within the paper are: (1) How the new curriculum assists mutual development of ICT didactical and technical competences? (2) How the project work based on SEVERI foster the learning objectives of autonomy, inquiry, creativity, and innovation in ICT implementation in inclusive classroom? (3) How is the project idea based on needs assessment in pedagogical practice? (4) How were the procedures of lesson planning conducted and how were lesson plans used in lesson performance?12 page(s