Multimodality: the best of face-to- face and online studies

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  • The UVic-UCC is expanding its range of blended, in-person and virtual programmes simultaneously in both Vic and Manresa
  • The goal is to personalise the learning conditions and needs that the student may have

The bachelor's degrees and master's degrees offered by UVic-UCC in the 2020-2021 academic year consolidate the institution's commitment to active methodologies as the basis for the training developed in recent years and included in the University's training model. Learning based on real cases, project work, simulation and learning and service are some of the methodological alternatives underpinning the various programmes and courses.

Another cornerstone of the new methodologies, aimed at providing more flexible studies and adapted to various needs and situations, is the gradual incorporation into the range of qualifications of programmes based on multimodality, i.e. those involving face-to-face and remote learning at the same time. These programmes, which have been applied in some bachelor's degree studies, enable each student to choose the level of face-to-face teaching they need and facilitate access to the University for people who for various reasons - commitments in their family life, at work, distance or convenience, are unable to attend class every day. The aim is to personalise students' learning needs and conditions.

In this regard, in this 2020-2021 academic year the Vic campus has expanded its range of bachelor's degree programmes available in multimodal format, with three bachelor's degrees in the fields of business and communication as a complementary option to the face-to-face format, which remain at the core of these studies. These are the bachelor's degrees in Marketing and Business Communication, Journalism and Audiovisual Communication, which joined the list of the other bachelor's degrees that have made the transition to multimodality in recent years, including Human Nutrition and Dietetics, Occupational Therapy, and Translation, Interpretation and Applied Languages - the latter is now taught 100% online with the Open University of Catalonia.

According to the dean of the Faculty of Business and Communication Studies, Josep Burgaya, “multimodality means that new student profiles can have access to the University, such as those living a long way away or outside Catalonia, and professionals wishing to balance their career with an academic degree.” And he adds: “active learning methodologies, technological learning platforms and the teaching staff's pedagogical ability to plan multimodal teaching and learning means that students can remain at the centre of the educational model” and they are “a natural step for higher education centres, which must adapt to the new generations' technological and multiscreen ways of learning,” without overlooking one of the key characteristics of UVic-UCC: “personalised tutoring for students.”

Multimodality combines the advantages of online training, saves time and travel, and enables each student to work at the times that suit them best

A new course plan for the hybrid model on the Manresa campus

The Health Sciences and Social Sciences faculties on the Manresa campus have recently approved a plan containing academic measures to move towards a new approach to face-to-face teaching, aimed at giving it more value and incorporating the advantages of remote training, as stipulated in the pedagogical model approved in 2019, the implementation of which has been brought forward due to Covid-19.

The plan calls for a hybrid model adapted to the specific characteristics of each qualification. Although it will be very useful for continuing teaching in pandemic situations, it was developed on the basis that this situation is an opportunity to reflect on the pedagogical model and to increase the pace of its implementation. It will be assessed at the end of the academic year in order to incorporate good practices and move towards multimodal studies, which is one of the objectives of the pedagogical model. In fact, this process is already taking place on the inter-university bachelor's degree course in Speech therapy (UOC - UManresa) and is in a very advanced stage of design in the bachelor's degree courses in Podiatry and Pre-School Teaching. The aim is for these two degree courses to be available in blended learning format from the 2021-2022 academic year onwards.

The activities that will be carried out on a face-to-face basis at the University will be theoretical-practical workshops, short tasks subject to assessment, practical exercises, simulation activities, debates and case studies. Activities involving the use of specific software, educational activities that have to be carried out in person, critical reflection activities and the follow-up of group work will also take place on a face-to-face basis. Professional internships in workplaces (schools, companies, health centres, etc.) will be face-to-face.

Remote activities include reading, lectures, watching videos, individual and group work, portfolios and dossiers, group tutorials, online participatory seminars, forums, visits to schools and museums and talks. Degree final project tutorials, follow-up of external internships, individual tutorials and group classes will also take place synchronously online.

One of the key factors in the UVic-UCC training model is personalised tutoring for students, which also applies to the multimodal degree courses

Personalised attention

For UVic-UCC as a whole, multimodality is “a firm commitment that combines the advantages of online training, saves time and travel, and enables each student to work at the times that suit them best,” explains the vice-chancellor for Academic Affairs, Cristina Vaqué. At the same time, the students are never alone as they have seminars and face-to-face meetings at the University with teaching staff “in order to obtain personalised tutoring that enable them to consider their specific characteristics, needs and requirements in more depth, and to carry out the more experimental learning sessions.” In short, “the shortcomings that some people find with training that is solely online are overcome with personal meetings with the class group and teachers, and students get the best from distance learning as a result of timetable convenience and reduced travel,” which means some specific courses can be provided for people who are physically very far away.

In multimodality, the learning process “is structured based on a fit between things that can be done autonomously and at a distance, and what requires direct and practical interaction in laboratories, and specialised and simulated professional practice spaces.” This combination between remote and face-to-face teaching is alternated in such a way as to “increase motivation and personalised attention and ensure better learning and higher rates of graduation.”

The University is also considering the possibility that the models could be able to converge, and someone who has started a degree in one format being able to switch to the other without any major problems.

Bachelor's degree programmes in Psychology and Teaching - multimodal projects for the future

As part of this expansion of the range of studies available in multimodal format, the UVic is considering adapting the bachelor's degree courses in Psychology and Teaching in the future. “It's possible,” says Vaqué, “because of our teaching staff's pedagogical capacity, as they have enough experience, commitment and the ability to adapt to new teaching-learning situations. As a university, this means being able to adapt to the styles, dynamics and needs of students and current and future working environments, and growing in terms of the students' international mobility.” UVic is adapting its technological, administrative and teaching environment for this reason. “We are a university with deep roots in the region, but we are permanently open to the world and to the changing circumstances.”

EHEA Degree in Audiovisual Communication (blended learning)

Digital communication technology enables multimedia and interactive communication through audiovisual language.

At UVic, students on the bachelor's degree programme in Audiovisual Communication acquire a multidisciplinary command ranging from traditional media - film, radio and television - to new interactive forms of online communication. Graduates gain an overview of the world and the processes involved in audiovisual and multimedia communication.

With the blended learning course, UVic provides an opportunity to undertake training in a flexible and convenient way. The studies are personalised to the student's pace, interests and conditions, and the competences are achieved as a result of support and accompaniment adapted to each course type.

EHEA Degree in Speech Therapy (blended learning and inter-university)

Speech therapists use educational and rehabilitative techniques to provide personalised solutions to language, speech, and voice problems. They work in coordination with other professionals in the health, social and educational fields.

Speech therapy allows students who enjoy communication and helping others to combine the two activities with a professional profile straddling the health and education sciences. They can work in early stimulation services, hospitals, schools, special education centres and social and health centres (day centres, residential homes and long-stay units).

UManresa and the Open University of Catalonia (UOC) are jointly offering Speech Therapy studies in an inter-university degree format. The teaching combines training through the UOC's virtual platform and seminars at UManresa.