The Open University for Seniors (UOM) at the UIB is a programme aimed at the over-50s interested in learning. It is a process that falls under the banner of lifelong learning and over 2,400 students participate in different programmes across the four islands.
The COVID-19 (Coronavirus) outbreak has hit students and lecturers at the UOM right in the middle of teaching or at the start of spring programmes (such as the UOM around Majorca, Minorca and Ibiza). The lockdown and prevention measures have meant all face-to-face activities have been cancelled and, for UOM-specific qualifications taught at the Palma campus, teaching has moved online.
Changes to teaching methodologies are never easy, and even more so given the fact that physical attendance on university programmes for seniors go beyond student-lecturer interactions and the learning process: the UOM is a meeting point for an important collective where new friendships and bonds are made, meaning it takes on a social as well as learning aspect.
In this new stage of no face-to-face activity, digital skills take on greater importance not just to follow different subjects, but also in terms of social contact. Students can follow the content of different subjects on the Aula digital platform at the UIB.
Over these last few weeks, a large number of UOM students have gradually migrated to the Moodle tool available via Aula digital. This is not difficult although it does require a little perseverance and lots of patience. Nearly 60% of students (62 out of 112 registered students) currently on the Senior Diploma programme are following their course over this platform, whilst different subjects on the specialisation diplomas in Heritage in Majorca II and Science, Technology and Society in the 21st Century are being following by 33% of those registered for the course (69 out of 207 students)
Online teaching activity has been boosted by using videoconferencing tools so that lecturers can give classes in real time on subject content, whilst students get the chance to come together, albeit digitally. This tool is also used for periodic meetings between the UOM team and students on different qualifications so as to explain the different strategies being followed, as well as providing solutions to any queries that may arise.
After the different stages easing the lockdown measure have passed, those programmes that were suspended will be able to restart. After summer, students from Formentera, Ibiza, Minorca and Majorca will be able to get together again. Nonetheless, certain things will need to be adapted for the new normal: online teaching and acquiring skills in handling new technologies (computers, tablets, mobiles...), as well as ICT (information and communication technologies) will take on greater importance.
The UOM has been working on this new reality for some time already. It was a pioneer in offering specialised courses about different ICT tools at the Ibiza and Formentera university headquarters, which were also put into commission in Minorca this spring. Around the islands, students from Majorca, Minorca and Ibiza have registered for the UOM Online course that offers teaching already designed for digital format. The course and programme have already offering teaching in the Nutrition and Health subject to nine students from Majorca, three from Minorca and one from Ibiza. At present, the Millenary Stones: Prehistory and Archaeology in the Balearic Islands subject is being taught online to sixteen students from Majorca, four from Minorca and two from Ibiza.
As a way to move forward in this area, the UOM has been offering for the last few weeks the UOM Virtual Capsules online activity, where every Monday and Thursday we offer virtual tours to museums, exhibitions, conferences or concerts to follow the learning process in a fun way whilst practising the use of digital environments. Between twenty and thirty students have taken part in the eleven Virtual Capsules released so far.
The UOM office is working on this new scenario which will undoubtedly be just as enticing as the different activities scheduled to date. The University of the Balearic Islands is an active member of the Vives Network working group for senior programmes and of the Spanish Association of Senior Programmes (AEPUM). It is working alongside these institutions to find the best methodologies to be able to help transition to this new era. We will be announcing the different proposals on our website (uom.uib.cat) and across social media such as Twitter (@uobertamajors), Facebook (@uobertamajors) and the UOM blog(https://uobertamajors.wordpress.com/).
Publication date: Wed May 06 12:35:00 CEST 2020
