Numerous cases show that there is a strong relation between epidemic situations, teaching-learning (T/L) methodologies, course participants, local or governmental authorities & industry.
In fact, blended or full e-learning approaches are usually unavoidable.
However, a significant number of teachers do not have sufficient training to be able to adopt the underlying technology or even adapt their practices on such a short notice.
Teachers had to become instructional designers, which means that they had to redesign their non-technology enhanced or partially technology enhanced courses into a fully digital format.
Whereas teachers are typically experts in their scientific field (curriculum), they often lack technological, &more importantly, pedagogical knowledge, that allows them to make a smooth transition from the classroom to the digital world.
Scholars have raised this issue in numerous previous studies, supporting that content (what you teach) & pedagogy (how you teach) must always be the basis for any technology to be used in the classroom.
In other words, technology should never be the reason for change, but the content & pedagogy support tool.
For that, synergy between teachers’ technological, pedagogical, & content knowledge is paramount.
Without such knowledge or skills, it is highly unlikely that teachers’ practices will remain as efficient, motivating, & engaging.
Furthermore, it has been observed that because of the T/L process moving to blended or fully online modes, many issues became even more prevalent, in particular in relation with the difficulty in the access to technology and resources by students with different socioeconomic & cultural backgrounds.
This further challenges teachers with a limited technological & pedagogical knowledge to successfully implement engaging techniques to ensure their students’ involvement.
Following a participatory methodology, teachers will be able to develop their theoretical foundations & technological skills for the process of instructional design.
The course is structured in smaller modules that will cover different aspects, as follows:
Module 1: Digital &technological tools
• learning management systems,
• virtual assistants,
• chatbots,
• AR/VR simulations,
• mobile
learning Module 2: Blended &online Assessment
• formative assessment
• grading and summative assessment
Module 3: Motivational aspects &methodologies
• game-based learning
• gamification
• problem/project/inquiry-based learning
• design thinking
The process of instructional designing is fundamental &, since some participants may lack some pedagogical concepts, it will be embedded in each of the methodologies, making explicit connections with the pedagogical theory.
So, teachers will work on the details & functionality of different tools & how to implement different T/L methodologies.
This will also stimulate the awareness towards the adoption of ever-changing technologies.
The modules will also suggest how to innovate & support active learning processes.
The modules are supported by the community of practice (PR1), highlighting the following aspects:
●learning together towards personal development
●future proof by a constant & up-to-date exchange of experiences by peers
●sharing didactic material & results All the modules will be designed taking in consideration the most relevant tools & methodologies.
As mentioned before, the definition of the concrete scenarios to develop in each module, including the tools, T/L methodologies, & assessment will follow a participatory methodology, in which the participants will be able to influence or even define what to explore in each module.
The final assessment of the success & efficiency of the training modules will be performed through the triangulation of data collected from multiple instruments, such as observation, interviews & questionnaires to the participants.
Beneficiaries of this PR include higher education teachers, future teachers & students.