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Developing ICT skills

for communication
studies students, in
a technology dense
environment.
A Romanian
experience

Context: competencebased description of


university programs
Competence-based curriculum design: European Area of
Higher Education
Development of the National Registry of Qualifications in HE
(RNCIS)
NTIC part of curriculum design across programs
Of particular importance to recent educational reforms are the learner
characteristics of developing graduate attributes/21st Century skills, such as
critical thinking, teamwork, communication, inter-cultural understanding and
creativity. A related skill is the development of critical reflection on life
and work with digital technologies often referred to as digital
literacies and the wider range of digital responses that learners can
produce in todays world, such as creating a presentation, a website or a
movie, rather than simply writing text for an essay.
(The Larnaca Declaration on Learning Design 2013)

Research question

How do different subject matters


concur to shaping the competencies
within a study program? (in
communication studies)
How are competencies made visible
in syllabuses and teaching
practices?
In a given study program, is the
learning design correlated with the

Method
Content analysis of syllabuses
attached to a study program
Evaluation of the degree to which
different disciplines in a study
programme aim or declare to
develop digital competence

Data
Table 1: Frequencies of competencies in the curriculum

Percent

Percent
of
Cases

9.8%

17.8%

C1. Identification and use of terminology, methods and knowledge in


communication sciences
C2. Use of new technologies in information and communication (NTIC)

17

20.7%

37.8%

7.3%

13.3%

C3.Identification and use of appropriate strategies, methods and


communication techniques in PR processes
C4. Creation and promotion of a PR product

15

18.3%

33.3%

14

17.1%

31.1%

C5. Specialized assistance in crisis communication and in mediating


communication conflicts
C6. Professional and institutional communication for evaluating the
efficiency of communication in foreign languages (English, French,
German)
C7. Cultural and linguistic mediation in foreign languages (English,
French, German)
Total

10

12.2%

22.2%

9.8%

17.8%

4.9%

8.9%

Type of discipline

Responses

82 100.
0%

182.2%

Data (spread along


semesters)

NTIC and
communication
studies
Students: use computers for learning (83.3%), smart
phones (45.8%) and tablets (27.7%); (often) present their
work with the help of mobile devices, giving preference to
these over traditional portofolios or printed files
Professors in the classroom environment: use of NTIC
(computers and tablets in the teaching process) less than
50% of the time
Practice analysis in PR: mastering NTIC in the top of the
necessary competencies
Use of information technology in an efficient manner managing
information, distribution channels and establishing a technological
language (Sha, 2010)

Consequences of
analysis

A lack of correlation among disciplines to


shape competencies is evident
Program design a matter of developing
competencies in the academia
Reflections on educational practice

Implications
The study - basis for discussing, modernizing and
updating the syllabuses and for an improved curriculum
design.
In educational practice example of exercise to
underpin development and change
In educational research opening the discussion
regarding balance, coherence, coordination across the
curriculum, not only in communication sciences
Further research - refining tools for analysis of the
curriculum in the given area and in Romania, but also in
Europe and all over the world
Further practice steering the process of enhancing
the digital component and competencies in
communication sciences programmes.

Resources
Kirp, David L. (2004): Shakespeare, Einstein and the Bottom Line. The Marketing of
Higher Education, Harvard University Press, London.
Waddington, Stephen (ed.) (2012): Share This. The Social Media Handbook for PR
Professionals. Chartered Institute of Public Relations (CIPR), Wiley, West Sussex.
Palea, Adina (2013): Identitatea profesionala a specialistilor in relatii publice (The
professional identity of PR professionals), Tritonic, Bucharest.
Cernicova-Buca, Mariana; Dragomir, Mugur Gabriel (2015): Students' Implication in
Establishing Their Learning Experiences: Mental Attitudes And Practical Action,
paper presented at the International Conference Beliefs and Behaviours in
Education and Culture, West University of Timisoara, 25-27June 2015.
Cernicova-Buca, Mariana; Palea, Adina (2014): Digital competences for PR
specialists, seen through the lenses of online recruitment announcements. A view
from Romania, paper presented at the International Conference SMART 2014: Social
Media in Academia, Timisoara, 18-21 September 2014.
Internet Sources:
http://www.rncis.ro/, last accessed 2015.
http://www.ehea.info/article-details.aspx?ArticleId=69, last accessed 2015.
http://www.tcd.ie/teaching-learning/academicdevelopment/assets/pdf/leuven_louvain_communique_april_2009.pdf, last accessed
2015.
file:///D:/Downloads/OMECTS_5703_2011.pdf, last accessed 2015.
http://www.tree.ro/social-media-in-romania-iulie-2015/, last accessed 2015.
http://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/HTML/?
uri=CELEX:52008DC0868&from=EN, last accessed 2015.
http://ec.europa.eu/digital-agenda/en/digital-agenda-europe-2020-strategy, last
accessed 2015.

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