ONLINE UNIVERSITY ORIENTATION MODELS FOR STUDENT TRANSITION BETWEEN SECONDARY AND TERTIARY EDUCATION

Abstract

The transformation of higher education practices needs to be accompanied by the deployment of university guidance. This is especially important when activities have to be carried online and remotely. Online students expect to receive precise information to be successful learners, just as they would if they were in a face-to-face setting, but even more, due to the large capabilities of digital services. Worldwide universities provide free and open access to educational content online, but this is effective for guidance only if it is the main objective of courses and resources. One way to address student transition has been experimented by the University of Turin with the action Orient@mente that helps students in their transition from secondary school to university. In Orient@mente, students can find useful information, guidance activities, automatically graded tests to prepare for university admittance, online courses for revising basic knowledge, resources for foreign students, and information about the Erasmus program. This action has already proven its usefulness and it is expanding as a transversal and international model. Soon a new action will be fully developed, Eirenteering, a name mixing Eire (the Irish name for Ireland) and Orienteering. This paper discusses the methodologies adopted in Orient@mente and the forthcoming Eirenteering, together with results obtained with Orient@mente concerning the usage and the usefulness of the service.