Anikó KÁLMÁN

The methodology of educational informatics in higher education[1]

Based on the subtitle of the publication, the handbook was prepared as part of the "Educational Informatics in Higher Education" research.

The backbone of the book is a study by the EU Joint Research Center (Redecker, C., 2017). European framework for the digital competence of educators: DigCompEdu (JRC107466).

Based on the title of the book, we could think of an educational informatics manual – there are many domestic and international publications of this genre, which mostly approach the field along theoretical-technical-organizational guidelines, most of the time as a fair masterpiece. Distance learning, open training, online, e-learning – even the diversity of terminology indicates the lack of a consolidated professional-academic-scientific agreement – there is only a partial result of decades of efforts to establish a scientific discipline in its own right. This is reflected in a good sense by the creative diversity of the book and the interviews, the use of terms, and the explanation of the connections.

The publication defines the volume as a "research paper". In fact, this may satisfy the criteria for defining the approach – whilst the result of the work is certainly more valuable and useful than a research report – whose stricter criteria the publication basically meets. In any case, we can speak of a very significant Hungarian publication that fills the gap, which professionally and realistically brings the reader close to a much-discussed, explained still-searching scientific and professional field. It helps to understand the discipline's messages, possibilities, connections, realities, keywords, and follows the scholarly and practical structure and elements of the learning innovation profession. It uses the pedagogic-educational science approach and terminology in a sober way, organically connected with the presentation and examples of the actual practice. It does not have an encyclopedic approach, but it is coherent and mostly easy to read.

The "Methodology of Educational Informatics in Higher Education" is an important step in the process of integrating digital-online learning and educational innovation in Hungary. The multitude of development programs and projects implemented – mostly from EU sources – have been providing countless lessons, professional-scientific and practical help to the teachers’ community, the summary and accessible presentation of which is a great value and step forward based on the Károli University publication. It provides an interesting and authentic introduction to the basics of digital education innovation, presents the main concepts and connections, the arenas of digital education, and at the same time provides academically authentic derivations and structured contextualization.

The volume does not refer to the historical approach that is often considered mandatory, its line of thought follows the pragmatic, professional and, moreover, certainly demanding approach of "academic and professional" digital education. With its systematic and scholarly high value resources quoted, it also serves as an information and knowledge base and builds on progressive, innovative items and concepts, reaching its useful and valuable conclusions.

The questions raised along the volume, that serve as the backbone of the publication are coherent, notwithstanding in some cases use an administrative-formal wording – especially when compared to similar parts of the material that are more dynamic and substantive.

An important value of the book – which can be in particular experienced in the online version – is that in several themes, advice, and comments of the highly competent and erudite experts have been elaborated and presented as professionally edited and contentful videos. The knowledgeable speakers who appear, the short essay-like lectures, contribute greatly to the understanding, acceptance, and reflection of the various situations, the visualization and understanding of the variety of possibilities, and inspiration for their application. The video materials provide plenty of advice, and practical/everyday information that would be difficult to deliver in writing, or obtain in other contexts. The reader receives advice on the operation of the specific digital environments, which are otherwise difficult to understand and master.

The questions asked to the experts are mostly very good – in a small part slightly didactic – and they help to develop and define a relevant, organic functional-operative-analytical framework. They summarize well the presentation of the extended possibilities and connections of the digital device and network system, and the rapidly changing challenges of harmonizing the different user levels.

The experts give meaningful answers to the questions, breaking away from linear reflections, opening up the diversity of solutions and advancement possibilities and authentically presenting the possible role of the digital support.

Although many efforts, attempts, often fragmented developments and innovations are known and receive publicity at educational science conferences, presentations, and publications, the possibilities come to life concentrated here in the KRE publication. Going beyond the otherwise excellently presented topics, knowledge and practical implementation of digital learning and competences, it effectively indicates the processes of learning, teaching, knowledge acquisition and feedback, beyond institutional and school structures.

The book's approach reflects the flexibility with regard to digital devices and networks, which the slowly consolidating practice and pragmatic activities help and encourage to identify and integrate new things.

It is worth of emphasizing the book's practical approach. The education innovation and digital endeavors and attempts that have been realized for a long time, contingently, mostly island-like, on project basis, are given a new interpretation and approach. Often in critical context – recognizing that doubt is an important element of the application of digital culture – experiences, passions, deep knowledge, authentic situations and results come to life. We better understand what happens in these different, diverse developments, how ideas are created and implemented.

The contributors to the volume share their daily acquired skills, thus the publication creates knowledge in practice.

The possibilities of creating and using online digital tools, content, advice, instructions, and the ways of conveying the much created knowledge are emphasized with unusual relevance – focusing on: what will the students actually need? Keeping the users' perspectives and the training goal in focus results in comprehensible and encouraging material.

An important factor helping the processing and acceptance of the book is that professionalism and authenticity are present throughout. The knowledge material presented in this way is more effective, authentic and interesting than the usual linear interpretation of case studies and best practices. It provides important and reinterpreted advice on teaching and learning methodology, not only in the digital environment but also adds to our knowledge in the changing socio-economic and labor market context.

Meta aspects such as motivation, student freedom, the importance of feedback, and the clarification of abstract concepts are presented. Essential messages in digital learning are emphasized, such as "personality, the most important attraction of contemporary social media", spontaneity, immediacy.

Among the bottlenecks, it should be mentioned that the book barely touches on the unfortunately permanently present language problem for many teachers, which is a permanent limitation in relation to the literature and good practices that can be applied.

[1] Authors: Ida Dringó, Horváth & Judit Dombi & László Hülber & Zsófia Menyhei & Tibor M. Pintér & Adrienn Papp-Danka; Károli Gáspár Reformed University ICT Research and Continuing Education Center