A Sofia University IT team won the prestigious award in the category "Public Sector" of the 11th IT Project of the Year Competition with a project for improving the academic performance of the teaching staff at the departments with educational orientation at Sofia University “St. Kliment Ochridski”.
The competition was organized by The Computerworld newspaper in collaboration with DSK Bank. The prize was established toward projects aimed at training and developing highly skilled specialists who possess IT knowledge essential to the practical implementation of up-to-date information solutions in the field of administration.
The award was handed over to Professor Anastas Gergikov, vice rector for education and academic affairs, director of postgraduate studies, lifelong and distance education, and to Professor Dr Rumiana Peytcheva-Forsyth, head of the project and director of the Integral University Center for E-learning , both representing Sofia University, by Mr. Valery Borisov, deputy minister of transport, information technology and communications.
“It is an honor for me to present this award to the colleagues from Sofia University because it was with their efforts and the successful implementation of the project that they have proved that, apart from the students whom they teach, the teaching staff also actively use IT on a daily basis. In this way, the content they impart to the future generation of this country is taught in an up-to-date, comprehensible manner,” Mr. Borisov observed. “Nowadays, there is no university student without a smartphone, tablet or modern computer, and it is only natural that the teaching staff will do their best to keep pace with their students. I am sure that the colleagues at Sofia University will find new ways and means to further build on what they have already achieved and, ultimately, the students at this University, and those at other academic institutions, will get better quality education.”
The training of the teaching staff from the educationally oriented specialties was realized with the financial support of the Development of Human Resources Operational Program, Project No. BG051PO001 – 4. 3. 04/ 0011: Increasisng the capacity of the academic staff at the educational specialties of Sofia University in the design, maintenance, and facilitation of high quality e-distance learning.
Lecturers from several Sofia University faculties as well as staff from “Dualsoft Co.”, “Technogrid” and “Proznanie” took part in the project.
156 e-courses, established in compliance with European and world standards of e-distance learning, were created as part of the project. Three of the courses were successfully certified after a 6-month monitoring process by experts from the Learning Agency Network LANETO. The courses have an Epprobate certificate of quality (Epprobate is the yardstick for the international quality label for e-learning courseware).
With a 686 000 lev strong budget, 96% of which used within two years, 97 lecturers from the Faculty of Education, the Faculty of General Primary and Early Primary Education and education specialists from the Faculties of Chemistry, Physics, Biology, Slavonic studies, and Classical and modern languages received valuable training experience enabling them to transform their traditional educational courses into electronic ones. More than half of the above mentioned trainees will be receiving an E-learning Instructional Design and Online Lecturing Certificate, as a follow-up of extensive 240-hour training sessions focusing on basic types of software, designing and developing interactive e-learning courses and an e-learning classroom practicum.
Another distinguishing feature of the project is the creation of accessible e-learning platforms for students with special educational needs. A team of researchers specializing in academic content development, interactive technology and sign language are the authors of 96 multimedia presentations delivered with a simultaneous sign language translation addressed to students with hearing impairments.