The International Telematic University UNINETTUNO, established by the decree of the 15th April 2005 of the Italian Ministry of Education, University and Research, delivers academic titles having a legal value in Italy, Europe and in some Mediterranean Countries, for first-cycle (bachelor) degrees, specialisation degrees and master’s degrees. Undoubtedly, a strong point of the International Telematic University UNINETTUNO is represented by its teachers: all courses are recorded by distinguished lecturers of important Italian and foreign universities and by the best professionals of various fields in the Italian language as well as in Arabic, English and French. Additionally, our video professors are supported by highly-qualified teaching staff, engaged in teaching the various contents in the Internet-based virtual spaces where professors, tutors and students can actually meet to discuss and deepen the each macro-issues included into the courses. Consequently, our “Distance” University actually appears as a “Proximity” University in which all students are supported step by step during their learning path by those who bring knowledge and expertise gained in “traditional” Universities and in several professional environments into the computer-networked space.
More specifically: as already provided for by art. 15 of the Statute and as stated in the University General Regulations, approved by MIUR on the 16th March 2013, in Chapter III “Didactics and Teaching Body”, art. 17 “Teaching Body and Researchers”, paragraph 3 and following ones: “The teaching staff, referred to in article 15 of the Statute, who carries on didactic and research functions in accordance with the course delivery models of the Telematic Universities through computer-based and satellite networks (Internet, television and videoconferencing systems) is divided according to the following typologies”:
-
Area Professors, who coordinate the educational activities for each subject area;
-
Professors authors of the contents, who realise the videolessons and design contents and the materials to be included into the learning environments of the didactic portal;
-
Tutors, who check the students’ learning progress using the technologies.
Area Professor
-
Coordinates the research work and the educational activities for the disciplines related to the subject areas identified by MIUR (Italian Ministry of Education, University and Research).
-
Identifies and proposes to the Faculty Council the Professors authoring the video contents and the contents to be included into the web-based portal
-
Identifies and proposes the Tutors who shall follow the students along their learning paths; seen the significant role they play within the University’s teaching – learning model, the tutors chair, with the Area Professor, the exams commissions;
-
Structures the study programme of the Area in cooperation with the Tutors
-
Sees to the didactic planning of the study courses of the Area
-
Coordinates the Tutors’ work.
Professor authoring the contents
-
Realises the videolessons;
-
Prepares the didactic materials to be linked to all the topics treated in the videolessons to be included into the special didactic portal
More specifically, the Professors authoring the contents are selected by the Faculty Councils and are appointed by the Board of Directors. When we have to produce the contents of courses in different languages (Arabic, English, French, Greek etc.) we appoint special Mixed Scientific Committees including lecturers coming from Italian as well as foreign universities, in particular full professors of Italian universities for courses in Italian, from the best Egyptian, Syrian, Moroccan and South Mediterranean Countries universities for courses in Arabic, from the best American and British universities for courses in English, from the French Grandes Écoles for courses in French. Then, it is these Mixed Scientific Committees that select the professors authoring the contents of the various modules and scientific-disciplinary sectors according excellence criteria. These professors keep on working in their own Universities of origin and are hired by the International Telematic University UNINETTUNO with copyrights license agreements.
Tutor
Finally, the Tutor guides the students’ learning processes on synchronic teaching modes (videoconferencing, chats, videochats) and on diachronic modes (forums and wikis).
The Teacher/Tutor is responsible for verifying the learning progress of the students, both through the tutorials and the meetings in the Virtual Classroom, during which the teacher/tutor asks the students questions about the topics addressed in the videolessons, thus verifying understanding and mastery of the topics to be learned by each student and reporting the assessments in the qualitative assessment sheet of each student.
The model of interaction between Teacher/Tutor and students applies the Socratic pedagogical theories, which are based on the fundamental assumption that does not consist of a unidirectional teacher-pupil teaching, rather an active participation of the learner in his training process; the teacher guided the student to a personalized learning, constantly urging him to participate actively in the construction of his knowledge. A construction made of continuous and dense dialogues, exchanges of questions and answers that allow direct comparison between opposing theses. The "maieutic" art, the Socratic method based on dialectics, is a method of active and interactive learning. Socrates supports his pupil, supports him, motivates him, encourages him never to stop learning, exalting his work where he is worthy of praise and stimulating him when he meets the difficulties. Interactivity develops in a dialectical way: the teacher against the pupil, the teacher together with the pupil, with a single objective: the conquest of knowledge [5]. The telematic teacher / tutor proposes topics and presents his theses on forums, discusses them with the students in the virtual classroom, sets the objectives to be achieved; students study it, analyze it and reinterpret it, revitalize it, enrich it with new ideas, new knowledge, and create new topics of study that become the topics for discussion in subsequent virtual interactive classrooms. Students become active builders of new knowledge.