Educational innovation: Technology can’t fix it, but the teacher can’t do without it either
We are probably the last generation to know the experience of being offline. Education faces the challenge to keep up with social and technological change in terms of professional learning content, and educational/pedagogical development. Changes in education are not new, but the pace at which they are taking place now and the acceleration that can be expected in the near future require vision and policy to properly prepare teachers for the changes in their profession. With this Erasmus+ project we want to contribute to this.
Research by Kennisnet shows that the extent to which teachers apply new technologies is correlated to the quality and effectiveness of education. In other words: more use of ICT goes hand in hand with higher learning outcomes through ICT. However, technological, and social changes follow each other in rapid succession. It is a challenge for education to keep up with this and prepare teachers for this change. The speed at which the changes are occurring will be experienced as a challenge for several teachers and motivates them to work on educational innovation using new technologies. However, for a large group of teachers, the changes are happening so fast that they are concerned.
The fear of rapid changes should not be underestimated. To prevent dropout and to be able to continue to meet the demands of the student and the professional field, it is necessary to prepare and support teaching staff in these developments.
Traditional training courses and workshops can be used for this, but this does not do right to the current possibilities that technology offers us to support teachers tailored to the learning needs. A Learning Lab can be used for this.
Learning Lab
A Learning Lab aims to introduce teachers to new technologies that support education and educational innovation. It is “The place to be” to experiment with new forms of education with ICT. Educational research is carried out in the Learning Lab on its own initiative and at the request of the professional field into the possibilities offered by new technologies. It is the place where materials and resources can be borrowed to try out in the classroom. The employees in the Learning Lab provide substantive and technical support when using new technologies. “Last but not least” the Learning Lab can be the hub where questions and expertise are united in the school organisation.
Design thinking
We use the design thinking methodology when setting up and using Learning Labs. Design thinking is mainly about understanding the people for whom you are developing a product or service. It helps you to stop your natural tendency to start from (often wrong) assumptions. It helps you to ask new questions, which can lead to different insights.
Didactic Guidelines
In the DIOS project we are investigating in an international context what forms a Learning Lab can take and what the “Do’s and Don’ts” are. These are stated in the report “Didactic Guidelines” which can be downloaded here shortly. In addition, we are developing concrete learning arrangements in which AR, VR, 360° videos, 3D printing and IoT can be used as didactic tools. Videos are made of the results. These will be added to this page later.
Project duration and partners
The project runs from November 2020 to October 2022.
The Project Partners are:
- SBG Dresden (DE) – projectmanagement
- SCP SERV LIMITED (CY)
- Graafschap College (NL)
- Solski Centrum Kranj (SI)
- SPSCH Pardubice (CZ)
