WikiMoreVMCSK:Community Portal
From WikiMoreVMCSK
Recommendations for future users on how to use the Cultural Survival Kit
As a STUDENT:
If you are a student of a virtual course, you can use the survival kit as your virtual guide. It can inform you about different countries and cultures in the EU. It provides you with basic characteristics of each country with special focus on intercultural communication. It can also improve your language knowledge: there are English phrases for on-line communication and audio recordings for communication in Czech, Dutch, Finish and Slovene. Virtual sightseeing tours and photographs can enrich your virtual mobility experience.
If you are a student planning to go for ERASMUS physical exchange or any studying abroad, you can use the survival kit as a source of useful information which can prepare you for your stay. It provides you both with knowledge and also practical information on EU countries. It can improve you language skills and bring you recommendations for interesting places to visit.
The cultural survival kit is a place where you can share your opinion and country experience in the section Alternative country profile.
As a TEACHER:
The survival kit can be used in teaching of different disciplines - history, political science, sociology, economics, intercultural communication, English and others...
You can find there information on EU countries and suggested sources for deepening the knowledge. It can be used by your students as a study tool or by you as a source of information and different images of EU countries.
If you want to add information, use section Alternative country profile. You can also use section Discussion for exchange of opinions with your students. You may contact for further assistance Eva Abramuszkinová: abramuszkinova@newtoncollege.cz or morevm@doba.si.
FEEDBACK ON THE SURVIVAL KIT:
In general my students thoroughly enjoyed browsing through the survival kit searching for various information about the EU countries. »Leafing« through all those pages made them aware of the complexity of such a task, but also of the usefulness. From the teacher's point of view the survival kit is extremely practical and easy to use in classroom, be it for a quick reminder, for teaching the European Dimension subject or for showing that mobility nowadays is a must. I personally find these pages resourceful, containing all the basic facts which are easy to find, but also going into more depth when needed.
Tanja Ostrman Renault, a lecturer at the College of Business Doba Maribor, Slovenia, teaching English
I use 'Survival kit' when lecturing Business communication and intercultural dialogue at Doba Business College. The most important information for me is on business etiquette and managerial styles. The information is interesting and useful in particular for students who come from other areas of operation and are now entering the business world. In my opinion, knowledge of cultural and business diversity help us and our students become more broad-minded, tolerant and in future good and efficient negotiators. This can have a positive impact on the economy of every state. Students can use 'Survival kit' also when they prepare their material for presentations.
Vesna Jevremovič, a lecturer at the College of Business Doba Maribor, Slovenia, teaching English
I used survival kit in subject Business Communication and Intercultural Dialogue, it vas very beneficial since students were reading stereotypes of different nations and compared them to their own personal experience with other nations. They also concentrated on the profile of Slovenia and commented on the content of the profile. They particularly liked the chapters Culture and Communication. I will use the kit also in other subjects at Doba's Business and Vocational College. I am otherwise employed in a elementary school and I will use the survival kit also for elementary school students with advanced English knowledge.
Kristina Pikelj, a lecturer at the College of Business Doba Maribor, Slovenia, teaching English and German.
I have found the survival kit good for Erasmus students in the first contacts going to the host country. The structure of information is a good idea, might be extended by different study aspects like which study are excellent in my interest, how can you find the educational institute, etc. I will draw the attention of the outgoing students for that. I suggest to explore the websites. You can develop a starter case for beginner, or to give some home work for them to explore the...
Rédei Mária, Head of Geography Center, Eötvös University, Budapest, Hungary.
As a COORDINATOR or in another capacity:
You can use the cultural survival kit as a source of information about EU countries including knowledge and practical tips. There are many other recommendations for interesting web pages, photographs and virtual sightseeing tours. English phrases for on-line communication and audio files in Czech, Dutch, Finnish and Slovene offer a possibility to improve language knowledge. Section Alternative country profile is a place where country experience can be shared and added by anyone - also you !
FEEDBACK ON THE SURVIVAL KIT:
…We'll consider having it as a reference for our outgoing and incoming students before they embark to go abroad or come to Finland as exchange or degree students. I very much appreciate the fact that the survival kit's wikis are pretty comprehensive and well organized…we have a EU project at the Oulu Campus (http://www.vicadis.net), and we're running a course which intends to prepare our outgoing students and trainees for their mobility period abroad. The students are asked, besides other activities, to create a wiki of the country where they're going to pursue studies or practical training. The wikis are a good collaborative tool, so students can even work together in getting familiar with a specific target country. The wished learning outcome for the students is to get prepared for their studies or practical training, and as they may update the wikis during their mobility period, we as international coordinators may also get up-to-date information of the target country and also the place of study or work. Bastian Fähnrich, Coordinator of International Relations, International Office, Oulu University of Applied Sciences, School of Engineering, Oulu Campus, Finland.
The most interesting part for me is Communication. The theoretical part of the Czech Core Values could be summarised as for example secularism, patriotism, adaptability... The rest of this section is extremely interesting. We will recommend this Cultural Survival Kit to our internation students which are interested in the Czech culture before they actually come on Erasmus physical exchange. Anna De Blasio, International Department,Jan Amos Komenský University, Prague, Czech Republic
How to use Alternative Country Profile?
Simply register as a user and you will be able to add your information in the section Alternative Country Profile. For help, you may consult section HELP or contact: abramuszkinova@newtoncollege.cz
