In current times there is an inevitable need for a more suitable approach to virtual teaching and to intensify cooperation between teachers on transnational level is essential. Teachers need models and inspiration of how to fully utilize existing technology in their teaching, as well as guidance and reassurance that digital teaching is inclusive, interactive and embraces all learning styles.
Our virtual teacher’s lounge is one way to provide added value to teachers’ working life. The solution consists of:
- a virtual bookshelf and learning corner with resources & ideas increasing teachers’ digital competences,
- an advice circle for blended mobility to exchange professional experiences,
- a lobby area for maintaining one’s wellbeing and
- an area to schedule meetings with other teachers.
This result is designed for VET teachers who will find support from their peers on new ideas/solutions to difficulties they encounter in virtual teaching, but also partners for their learning projects.
With the result, teachers can co-create and co-experiment for enriching their professional activities targeted at learners.
Due to the fact that the result is multi-structured, also principals and pedagogical leaders who are willing to develop their pedagogical thinking, virtual teaching and learning competences and ICT skills will benefit from it and can also collaborate with peers from other countries to expand the scope of information exchanged and perspectives shared.
The result aims also at delivering peer learning and seeking partners for educational projects. The virtual teacher’s lounge offers approaches to virtual teaching and cooperation, it provides good practices of teaching methods, enables discussing and exchanging information among peers within different fields and even from different countries, but also makes it possible to add own resources or pieces of advice. While the virtual bookshelf and learning corner is a resourceful area where users can filter the material based on their needs. The lunge area for wellbeing includes information, insights, best practices, exercises, videos and useful links for promoting your wellbeing as a teacher (or an instructor) working in online environments.
Key elements of innovation in PR2 are:
- Exploring and modelling inclusive digital teaching methods for all types of learners in VET.
- Maintaining and supporting VET teachers’ wellbeing both in digital and mental approaches.
- Transferring the knowledge, skills and competences of tested methods at cross-sectional level to support digital education.
- Introducing the teacher competence for using the design method in the creation of own teaching material.
Impact of the result:
- Teachers increase their know-how on innovative forms of digital teaching, resulting from testing and adapting them to own contexts.
- The virtual teacher’s lounge increases the cooperation of teachers at all levels, creating a community of experts that understand, work with and promote inclusion in education.
- VET teachers receive and can use the virtual bookshelf in online VET courses and for the preparation of educational activities (also collecting feedback on their performance or solutions applied).
- Building capacity and confidence with digital methods, gaining professional development from the exchange of expertise, developing key competences of lifelong learning: language, cultural, digital, cooperation, problem-solving, among others, and increasing work motivation and wellbeing thanks to the availability of accessible teaching and learning resources.
The result can be used across different subjects, but also for benchmarking and collaboration between educators, pedagogists, teachers and anyone interested in exchanging information on the use of digitalization in education. All the teaching and learning models introduced have been created by an international and cross-sectional working group of teachers and tested among both teachers and learner.