Scientists from the al-Farabi KazNU have developed an online course for a mobile application

AVRUPA TIMES- For the first time in Kazakhstan, scientists from the Journalism Faculty have developed and implemented an online course in five languages ​​based on the experience of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan called “Region - Central Asia: Journalism Education on Migration Issues” for a mobile application on the EdApp platform. The project is supported by the  International Programme for the Development of Communication. The course, created using the capabilities of multimedia technologies, contributes to the development of the Platform for Journalism Education in Central Asia.The practical course, based on the UNESCO Journalism Education series “Reporting on Migrants and Refugees”, covers all modules and elements of media coverage of migration issues. The course provides training in migration literacy and is therefore intended for both students and journalists working in this field. Students can access the course from any mobile device, take it with virtual animated characters and improve their skills. The online course is complemented by a rich learning resource full of games, interesting story-based tasks, migration examples, tips, photos, videos, graphs and useful links to sources.

One year ago, 42 Central Asian universities, representatives of international organizations UN, UNESCO and 25 representatives of the media industry took part in the launch meeting. The project working group (Nazgul Shyngyssova, Elena Dudinova, Alexandr Rozhkov, Marlan Negizbaeva & Anastasiya Skripnikova) spent a year studying international and Central Asian cases and resources, as well as media articles about migrants written according to international standards. Moreover, the principles and recommendations of open educational resources were taken into account. The courses were successfully tested by experts. At the finishing meeting representatives of higher education institutions of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, journalists and students who took the course and passed the test, shared their impressions of the innovative, inclusive teaching methods.

Currently, the open.kaznu.kz platform has eight professional training courses in journalism, four of which were developed by the working group of the project, these courses are also based on the UNESCO resources, they also have a built-in multilingual educational tools translated into eight languages. Today, not only students, but also journalists, bloggers, and press service specialists study and receive free certificates. These online courses make a significant contribution to the development of the national open education platform in Kazakhstan.

Nazgul Shyngyssova, 
Head of the Project "Region – Central Asia: Journalistic Education on Migration Issues"

Anastasiya Skripnikova, 

Project Participant Аl-Farabi Kazakh National University