Interdisciplinary E-learning: an engineering perspective

Abstract

International audience

As economic constraints leave fewer resources available for professional development, researchers and practitioners have become increasingly interested in the interplay between learning, community and technology. In particular, they are examining the potentials of community based E-learning. Novel technologies are developed to improve the teaching and learning experiences of an entire (research) community. Into this perspective, E-learning research is not focusing on understanding the world as it exists, ‘it instead seeks to change the world as it exists’ [1]. In order to ‘change the world as it exists’, our European FP7 training network, iCARE aims at investigating Interdisciplinary E-learning (IEL) in a community of people involved in improving the auditory rehabilitation of children with hearing impairment.Interdisciplinary in this context refers to combining and exploring the interconnections between new and different approaches in different research fields and specializations [1]. And, IEL means that we are supporting learning activities and professional development opportunities with the benefits of E-learning technology, like connectivity, flexibility and interactivity [2] between members with different perspectives and levels of expertise in a wide variety of contexts. iCARE does not focus on one single and authoritative perspective or knowledge form but instead on a combination of not always consistent points of view that represent a range of disciplinary and methodological possibilities. Indeed, it is generally required nowadays that the researcher is conversant with more than one disciplinary body of knowledge and research method [1].In iCARE we aim to design, develop and implement an “Interdisciplinary E-learning Educational model” to create a new generation of researchers capable of exploiting the synergies between different disciplines. We expect as a result that this new generation of researchers will be able to share and combine research outcomes across disciplines to develop novel methods, skills and procedures for improving auditory rehabilitation. Several junior and senior researchers, with different fields of expertise, i.e. engineering, psychology, neuroscience, acoustics, cognition, audiology, speech language… will follow a three years’ IEL training in auditory rehabilitation from fifteen proficient academic and industrial partners across Europe. In this respect our research contributes to develop more diversity in engineering and engineering education.References[1] Friesen, N. (2009). Rethinking E-Learning research: Foundations, Methods and Practices (Vol. 333). Peter Lang. [2] Knight, S. (2004). Effective Practice with e-Learning. Bristol: JISC.