21st September 2023, University of Technology, Warsaw, Poland
CA18231- Multi3Generation
Dr. Mirela Alhasani (Dubali) — EPOKA University
Presentation: Transforming Education in Albania: Harnessing the Power of Human Language Technology
Summary of the Presentation
This paper aims to identify and argue the need to improve the digital competence of instructors and students in Albania. This study refers to the descriptive Excel findings from two original survey questionnaires conducted by the author in her graduate course of Academic Reading and Writing given in 2020 and 2022 at EPOKA University, an international English-instructed university in Tirana, Albania. The surveys were incentivized by the COVID-19 online learning experience as an expected situation of utter transfer of knowledge for nearly 2 years. The target group of the surveys has been graduate master students and pre-university schoolteachers while conducting classes off-site. The findings revealed the lack of ample digital competence by both university learners and teachers to effectively merge and handle technology. Therefore, beyond need identification, this paper calls for the urgent necessity to train both staff and learners with the most updated human language technology programs and artificial intelligence tools for learning and assessment. To achieve this, it proposes the curricula adjustment by establishing the human language technology track and, in narrow terms, computational linguistic tools first at the computer engineering department as a core source to deliver training to other disciplinary units both academic lecturers and students. The academic partners acquainted through CA 18231 Multi3generation such as INESC-ID in Lisbon and the Human Language Technology Group at Alicante University in Spain will be the main collaborators in laying the founding pillars of human language technology programs in Albania, manifesting the most tangible output of the CA 18231 scientific network to ITC countries.
Keywords: Technology, Teachers, Academic English Students, Surveys, Albania