Abstract:

Closure of university physical campuses during the COVID-19 pandemic resulted to abrupt transition to remote teaching and learning. For teachers, this meant increasing the use of digital tools to create digital learning content as well as adopt online pedagogy. In many cases, teachers had to use unfamiliar tools, hence requiring support for quality online teaching (UNESCO, 2020). This work presents strategies the University of Agder (UiA) has used to increase teachers’ digital competence for pedagogical purposes in response to the pandemic. Learning Management System (LMS) administrators trained teachers on online educational technology, focusing on how to effectively use virtual learning environments, as well as online lecturing and student support. Discussion forums were created for teachers to share lived experiences and support each other through collegial learning (Ketil, 2021) (Makopoulou, 2014) hence creating online communities of practice. In these forums, teachers shared about various digital tools they were utilizing in remote teaching and learning, the challenges they faced and how they solved them. In addition to sharing skills on forums, online meetings promoted solidarity and social inclusion among faculty members. Compared to training courses and teachers’ continuous professional development activities that were arranged previously, these forums proved more popular especially at the start of the pandemic. Every faculty at UiA has an assigned LMS administrator, making it easy for teachers to reach out for one-on-one support during the pandemic. Microsoft Teams and Zoom are the tools that were mainly used to arrange meetings as well as training sessions. It is noted that many teachers continue to use these channels even though they are physically back on Campus. Additionally, short videos and How-to PDFs were produced to provide instruction on the use of various tools for both the teachers and students. To ensure service quality across faculties, a competence group was established, enhancing collaboration between LMS administrators, the Media Team and the Centre for Teaching and Learning (PULS). This competence group enabled sharing of experiences, efficient problem-solving and knowledge co-creation.

References:
[1] UNESCO. (2020). Supporting teachers and education personnel during times of crisis. UNESDOC Digital Library.
[2] Thorgersen, K. A., & Mars, A. (2021). A pandemic as the mother of invention? Collegial online collaboration to cope with the COVID-19 pandemic. Music Education Research, 23(2), 225-240.
[3] Makopoulou, K., & Armour, K. (2014). Possibilities and challenges in teachers’ collegial learning. Educational Review, 66(1), 75-95.

Keywords:

LMS, Collegial learning, Teacher development, Covid-19, Co-creation.