Approaches

Innovation and added value

• Innovative Impulse: Through the use of ICT innovative impulses will be created in education for architects.
• „Digital literacy“ will be promoted through integrating ICT into education and training as a tool and as an object.
• Additional or new possibilities for communication in order to strengthen the basic didactical and pedagogical methods and objectives.
• Improvement in the use of European mobility programmes (e.g. Erasmus).
• The coordination of curricula across Europe facilitates the internationalisation of the studies.
• Potentials at the educational and media market will be exploited.
• The contact with the public will be facilitated and improved.

Didactical and pedagogical approaches

One part of the project is the evaluation of already existing and used pedagogical / didactical concepts of e-learning und blended learning in the field of didactics in education for architecture.

The development of 3-D courseware for architecture belongs to basic research. In this area there no references about pedagogical implications. VIPA will analyse the adaptability of existing e-learning concepts in the area of 3-d/Virtual Reality and following this the applicability within analogue education and training institutions. Within the life of the project the integration and exploitation of industrial know-how from the area of interactive 3-D authoring is planned... VIPA will start a definition of ICT based methods for the support and strengthening of architectural design skills in the areas mentioned. The implementation of these methods has a great pedagogical value. The integration of ICT as a tool for teaching makes ICT to an object of teaching as well.

Objectives defined in the area of eLearning

The universities in the VIPA consortium have recognized that the use of ICT will provide a wide range of new possibilities, however they do not have sufficient know-how in the field (didactical models using ICT and technological skills).

The other partners have experience in this field with different focus areas (e-didactics, technical competence, etc.). With this partner structure and VIPA project objectives we see an ideal combination of competences and interests to create the preconditions for a sustainable development in the focus areas for:

• the setting of state-of-the-art conditions for higher education with e-learning and new media in the field of architecture
• the survival in the global competition on the e-learning market
• for the efficient use of ICT in education and training

With VIPA functionalities and activities for the sustainable use of ICT tools will be evaluated, developed and implemented in the following areas:

• virtual mobility
• learning support services and activities with a focus on pedagogical/ didactical concepts
• trans-European cooperation’s
• trans-national virtual environments