Abstract:

Strengthening digital competencies of teachers is critical, since technological advancements have the ability to improve teaching and learning processes, support contemporary pedagogical models and efficiently complement traditional education delivery modes. Several initiatives aimed at professional development of teachers in digital skills, particularly in the COVID and post COVID era, have been implemented. The majority of these activities are delivered as asynchronous e-learning activities via presentations, videos, and other interactive content, or as synchronous sessions using a lecture-based approach. According to the literature, insufficient learner support lowers completion rates in e-learning. Further, interaction between peers can boost learner engagement. Based on these facts, we created an e-learning program for teachers that supports collaboration among the participants and peer learning.

This program was developed in the frame of an Erasmus+ KA2-Strategic Partnerships for school education project named RE-EDUCO (Rethinking education competencies. expertise, best practices and teaching in digital era). The RE-EDUCO project encourages the production, experimentation and sharing of new approaches and training methods in the field of digital culture through a range of educational and seminar activities both for students and teachers. It aims at fostering active digital citizenship and supporting students and teachers to embrace digital innovation in their lives, career opportunities and educational environments

The main goals of our teachers’ online course were for participants to acquire the necessary knowledge, skills, and competences to use emerging technologies; to cultivate their ability to embed appropriate pedagogies into online environments; and to develop training activities and learning material to assist them in creating positive online learning environments for their students and training them to collaborate, make decisions, and solve problems. The participating teachers were required to study specific resources, participate in synchronous online sessions, develop and share learning resources, evaluate the work of peers, and present innovative educational scenarios. Simultaneously, the e-learning program facilitated the formation of a learning community in which participants exchanged ideas, shared best practices and resources, co-created, and provided peer support.

The course was implemented over a period of two months with a 60-hour load, and teachers had to work in groups to complete the assigned tasks. It was completed by 188 Greek teachers who formed 64 groups and it was evaluated using an anonymous online questionnaire. The results show that the participants’ satisfaction and perceived acquired knowledge was high, and that the course covered current topics relevant to their actual needs. The peer support, the sharing of learning scenarios and educational resources through the delivery platform, and the collaboration between the learners are some of the highly rated aspects of the course. This paper presents our instructional approach and its evaluation findings contributing to teachers’ professional development online course design research by providing further evidence on the effectiveness of specific instructional planning strategies.

Keywords:

Digital skills, teacher training, professional development, lifelong learning, collaborative learning, peer learning.