Course
| Course type | Exams |
| Department/Institute | Educational Sciences and Psychology |
| Degree program | Childhood Studies and Children’s Rights M. A. |
Lecturers | Prof. Dr. Manfred Liebel (guest professor at Freie Universität) as well as a large number of guest lecturers and teaching assistants from both Germany and abroad |
No. of participants | approx. 20 master's finals students in the WS 13/14 |
Duration | 30 minutes time allotted for presenting the master's thesis and 30 minutes time for questions and discussions |
Tools
- Adobe Connect
Realization
All of the individuals that are a part of the master's defense (1st and 2nd examiner as well as the examinee) receive all of the required information for participating in an online session beforehand. In addition, a few days earlier a test session is offered so that both the examiners and examinee can familiarize themselves with the online room. The scenario allows all of the participants to remain within their familiar setting. The examinee controls his/her own presentation independently during the defense. Afterwards there is a question session by the examiners and a discussion.
Experiences made by the lecturer
Over ten master defense sessions were undertaken using Adobe Connect with mainly very good results and experiences made. All of the involved individuals see the possibility of having a location-independent exam as positive. In the run-up to the exam it is important that everyone is introduced to and trained when it comes the technical prerequisites and the tool itself. For this, the CeDiS advisor sent out a timely e-mail with additional pointers contained within pdf documents or video tutorials. In addition, at least two testing sessions were offered. Both the lecturers as well as the learners profited from these pre-tests. Difficulties cropped up with those people that were in countries or regions that had a very bad internet infrastructure or when there was only an unstable wifi connection available. It can definitely be recommended to use a LAN cable.
Further information
- Website of the degree program
- with a description of implementation scenarios, the usage of pods as well as didactic pointers
- for setting up the audio assistant in Adobe Connect
Support offered by CeDiS
- Consulting services for the implementation of digital solutions in teaching: The Center for Digital Systems (CeDiS) has extensive experience of many years when it comes to the implementation of digital media and systems within the fields of teaching, learning and research. We offer a wide variety of consulting services on the implementation of these tools and systems within the entire academic scope and especially at Freie Universität Berlin.
- Training courses and workshops: For lecturers at Freie Universität Berlin (professors, employees, tutors) as well as lecturers of other universities CeDiS offers training courses and workshops on the topic of teaching and learning with digital media. These course enable participants to implement online elements within their own sphere of teaching.
- The Executive Board of the Freie Universität supports e-learning initiatives: With the e-learning funding program financial resources are provided to lecturers that enrich and improve their courses quality-wise by implementing technological and media-related support. All of the academic staff teaching, the lecturers or even the institutions of the Freie Universität - without the Charité-Universitätsmedizin - can be supported within this program.
