Abstract:

The purpose of this study was to gain a better understanding of teachers' digital pedagogy in order to define key factors and obstacles to applying digital technology in a meaningful way. The current paper describes teachers' reflections on their journey of improving their own digital pedagogy during a three-year Erasmus+ project, were Estonian, Finland, Iceland, and German teachers (see http://digitalpedagogy.school). The project aimed to guide and support teachers' digital pedagogy. Moreover, to make them role models for other teachers in their own country and internationally. All 18 participant teachers were teaching in the age group 10-12.

Digital Pedagogy is defined as the meaningful use of technology (based on teachers' own needs and readiness to apply technology) for developing students' subject-related knowledge and skills and digital literacy. The challenge education face today is decreasing the gap between teachers (and their teaching practices) and students in using digital technology. It should not be technology but instead pedagogy that is a trigger for this shift. It is a teachers' decision about what pedagogies he or she follows. The teachers create their own digital pedagogy through their professionalism, teaching skills, and readiness to adapt gradually to the digital world in their classroom.

The basis of the digital pedagogy and the structure was established on shared experiences within participating countries and was complemented by the pedagogical theories about metacognition, reflection, and lesson structuring.

Within the project, we designed a structured Google form for the teachers to prepare their lessons. The form covered the following phases:
(a) Lesson Metadata in which the teacher sets and described key learning objectives and digital competencies that will be covered by the planned lesson. Learning objectives were derived from the curriculum and were topic-based. Embedding digital competencies into their lessons we asked teachers to follow: Information and data literacy, communication and collaboration, Digital content creation, Safety, Problem-solving;
(b) Lesson details: During this phase, the teacher described activities that will be implemented during the lesson. Traditionally lesson is divided into four parts -- preparation (preparing learning material, checking digital tools and connections), introduction (an overview of activities planned for the first part of the lesson), implementation (description of the learning activities and tasks), conclusion (description of concluding activities, e.g., gathering student feedback).
(c) Reflection in which the teacher analyzed the lesson together with reflects on the whole teaching process.

There are three key findings of the present research based on teachers' reflections. First while applying digital pedagogy helps to design lessons that increase students' study motivation. Second, digital pedagogy provides creativity for both students and teachers. Third, it has a positive impact on supporting digital competencies. The present research, therefore, contributes to a growing body of evidence suggesting that if a teacher creates his or her own digital pedagogy, it is more likely that the teacher will be a more confident and equal partner to students in dealing with the digital world.

Keywords:

Digital Pedagogy, digital competence, digital literacy, teaching at digital era, teachers reflection.