From Researching Virtual Initiatives in Education
This entry is also available in French
Created in 2004 in France, presently running UNTs (Thematic digital universities) are seven in total, which represents 110 higher education or research institutions, among them 69 being universities.
Their corresponding “themes” are :
- medicine: UMVF - Université Médicale Virtuelle Francophone
- business and management: AUNEGE - Association des universités pour l’enseignement numérique en économie-gestion
- technologies: UNIT - Université numérique ingénierie et technologie
- law: UNJF - Université numérique juridique francophone
- environment & sustainability: UVED - Université virtuelle environnement et développement durable
- humanities: UOH - Université ouverte des humanités (sciences humaines et sociales, langues et cultures)
- sciences: UNISCIEL - Université des sciences fondamentales
In the framework of a national mutualization, UNTs aim at fostering enhancement, production and dissemination of digital educational materials in order to:
- encourage students' achievement by offering them comprehensive set of digital tools and contents that are supplied by HEI's staff and their partners;
- give a large national and international exposure to digital contents to contribute to French higher education's appeal in the fields broached by the UNTs.
The UNTs activities encompasses :
- editing of pedagogical resources;
- certification at both educational and technological levels;
- indexing resources, thus making them more valuable towards UNT's criteria;
- promoting resources among teaching staff;
- dissemination via an institutional webportal;
Inter UNT task forces : the UNTs should lean on processes offered by their institutions and therefore involve teachers, ICT in Education services, resource centers, technology and multimedia departments. Each HEI might be part of several UNT thus UNT should adopt a functioning that enables them to make joint decisions on technological and organizational issues.
Three inter UNT task forces have been set up to deal with common issues to all partners :
- using editorial channels, evaluating digital pedagogical tools;
- building standards for resource indexing;
- giving access to contents via OAI portal networks
- legal issues
This entry is also available in French
> History VC france (French entry)
> France