Increasing digital competences in virtual education within the framework of the DAAD project "Ukraine digital: ensuring academic success in times of crisis"

    From August 22 to September 15, 2022, students from six Ukrainian agricultural universities studied at the virtual international summer school “Improving digital competencies in virtual education: challenges in times of crisis" within the framework of the DAAD project "Ukraine digital: ensuring academic success in times of crisis".

The summer school combined the theoretical overview of digitization tools for conducting classes and useful tips for their practical application. Every day the teachers presented new tools for making the educational process more interactive and we always had the possibility to test these tools straight away during the hands-on part of the class.
 

Among the participants of the summer schools were 11 NUBiP teachers, namely Associate Professor of the Department of Administrative Management and Foreign Economic Activity Olexandra Ralko, Associate Professor of the Department of Administrative Management and Foreign Economic Activity Alyona Tyurina, graduate student of the Department of Administrative Management and Foreighn Economic Activity Denys Khlystun, Associate Professor of Professor Yosyp Zavadskyy Department of Management Alina Troyan, Associate Professor of Professor Yosyp Zavadskyy Department of Management Nataliya Dragneva, Associate Professor of the Department of Fodder Production, Melioration and Meteorology Anna Yarosh, Associate Professor of Professor Mykhailo Zelenskyy Department of Genetics, Breeding and Seed Production Yuliya Dmytrenko, Head of the Biotechnology Laboratory, Associate Professor of the Department of Forest Reproduction and Forest Reclamation Oksana Chornobrov, Associate Professor of the Department of Statistics and Economic Analysis Lesya Volyak, Associate Professor of the Department of Finances Dr. Yuliya Negoda and Associate Professor of the Department of Economics Vitaliy Nagornyy.

At the beginning of the summer school, project coordinator Prof. Dr. Ralf Schlauderer addressed the participants with a welcome speech. The presentation of the DAAD project "Ukraine digital: ensuring academic success in times of crisis (2022)" was conducted by the moderator of the summer school, Associate Professor of the Department of Botany, Dendrology and Forest Breeding Svitlana Bilous (National University of Life and Environmental Sciences of Ukraine).

During six days, Ukrainian experts shared their experience in using various digital tools in the educational process. In particular, Head of the Department of Information Systems and Technologies, Associate Professor Yuriy Volosyuk and Associate Professor of the Department of Marketing and Management, Dr. Anastasiya Poltorak (Mykolayiv National Agrarian University) presented some aspects of creating an online course using H5P and Moodle tools, as well as specific features of Zoom settings.
 

Associate Professor of the Department of Public Management and Administration Svitlana Lukash and Associate Professor of the Department of Public Management and Administration Alina Brychko (Sumy National Agrarian University) introduced the participants to such tools as Camtasia, Mentimeter, Kahoot, Socrative, Triventy, Padlet, Quizizz, etc. In addition, specialists of the Department of Information Systems and Technologies of the National University of Life and Environmental Sciences of Ukraine, Associate Professor Tetyana Voloshyna and Associate Professor Valentina Korolchuk presented visualization tools for creating interactive digital content of various types (Microsoft 365, Microsoft Teams, PowerPoint, Sway, PowToon, Prezi, Canva, Nearpod , Venngage and others).

Presentation of various digital tools for teaching ended on August 30. During the next two weeks, the participants independently prepared their own classes, filled with interactive elements. Presented materials and the use of digitization tools were assessed by the audience using a questionnaire.
 

On September 14, Associate Professor of the Department of Administrative Management and Foreign Economic Activity, Alyona Tyurina, held a curatorial hour with the 3-rd year bachelor students majoring in Management of foreign economic activity on the topic "Group dynamics and teamwork". The students positively assessed the possibility to self-mark the presentation slides, actively participated in the discussion, noted the mentor's role at each stage of group formation, and liked the use of Menti tool for class feedback.

Associate Professor of the Department of Administrative Management and Foreign Economic Activity Oleksandra Ralko held her class on the topic "How to involve a maximum number of students in classes, or team tasks in practice". She considered the advantages and disadvantages of dividing students into teams to perform tasks, the peculiarities of work organisation and assessment.

The class was attended by Dean of the Faculty of Agricultural Management Anatoliy Ostapchuk, associate professors of the Department of Administrative Management and Foreign Economic Activity Nataliya Kovalenko, Olena Kovtun, Olga Kostyuk, Oleksandr Faychuk, Ivan Mishchenko, Alyona Tyurina, Associate Professor of the Department of Production and Investment Management Tetyana Lobunets, graduate student Denys Khlystun. At the end, all participants summarised the experience of assigning students to teams using Jamboard.

The next among the representatives of the Department of Administrative Management and Foreign Economic Activity was graduate student Denys Khlystun with the presentation on "Planning and productivity tools". He introduced the participants to the key success factors for improving their own productivity and digital tools that allow to facilitate the work and time planning. The lecturer demonstrated knowledge of modern distance learning tools by using various online services, in particular, Mentimeter, Jamboard.

The award ceremony and presentation of official certificates was conducted by the project's coordinator, Prof. Dr. Larysa Kalachevska.

We express our sincere gratitude to the organisers of the virtual international summer school for the provided knowledge and opportunities for professional development.

Oleksandra Ralko and Alyona Tyurina,
associate professors of the Department of Administrative Management
and Foreign Economic Activity