Re-Evaluating Digital Technology to Enhance Learning Erasmus Project

Project Title

Re-Evaluating Digital Technology to Enhance Learning

Project Key Action

This project related with these key action: Cooperation for innovation and the exchange of good practices

Project Action Type

This project related with this action type : Strategic Partnerships for vocational education and training

Project Call Year

This project’s Call Year is 2018

Project Topics

This project is related with these Project Topics: ICT – new technologies – digital competences; Early School Leaving / combating failure in education; New innovative curricula/educational methods/development of training courses

Project Summary

The use of digital technology in education has been actively promoted for a number of years throughout the EU and generally teachers and educational management have responded positively to the introduction and use of digital technology in the classroom. Many vocational schools strive towards digital maturity as outlined in the eSchools programme and the partners in this project are all actively using digital technology in their vocational education and are all well advanced towards digital maturity. Over the course of the project we examined the effectiveness of this use. Not only a self evaluation of our digital maturity but also of our response to the learning needs of students. We observed that in many cases digital technology is being used to substitute for existing teaching tools. Students often use tablets or laptop computers as a substitute for books. Teachers use digital projectors and digital presentations as a substitute for the traditional blackboard. The Internet is being used to replace the students trip to the library. While there is nothing wrong with this as such it demotes digital technology’s role in education to one of substitution for existing technology. During the project we continually asked if we can we get more from digital technology. How can digital technology be employed in a more productive way to enhance vocational learning? In fact how can we harness the full potential of digital technology so that our students gain the maximum vocational educational benefit from it’s use. We set out to incorporate the things we know about how students learn, their attention span, different types of learning and other educational theories into decisions about how, when and why we should use digital technology. The main focus of the project was to address this question at a practical level in the following way: By conducting a critical examination of how digital technology is currently being used in vocational education. By identifying digital resources currently available that may be used to enhance student learning. This included the identification and evaluation of online educational resources as well as a more general evaluation of the Internet as a learning resource. Areas such as independent e-Learning, digital technology in classroom gamification and the use of Alternate reality software were also considered. We Re-examined how students learn with the goal of developing a better strategy for the use of digital technology in the vocational classroom. This included an examination of the different types of learning : Visual, Aural, Verbal, Physical, Logical, Solitary and how digital technology can be used to deliver each of these. We also examined how we can better use digital technology to assist students with learning difficulties, disadvantaged students and minority groups. This included examining digital technology as a learning supports, as an accessible resource and study support, types of digital assistive technology, focusing on the stronger learning styles of the individual student. From this we developed sample vocational lessons using digital technology to enhance student learning and demonstrate how a more professional application of digital technology can add significantly to the students learning. These lessons covered a wide range of vocational subjects. We then tested and evaluated these sample lessons in a real vocational classroom situation so as to fine tune our examples of a better way to use digital technology in vocational education. Primarily the project provided participating teachers with the opportunity to examine in detail how they currently use digital technology in vocational education, question whether this use is educationally sound and work to develop a better strategy for digital technology use to enhance student learning. In so doing also to examine how students with difficulty can be helped by using digital technology to deliver course material targeted towards their stronger learning type. The importance of recording and sharing the project experience was also fully recognized. We produced a project website (https://redproject.corketb.ie/) and public Facebook group which record project activities and learning as each phase of the project progressed. We also produced an ebook entitled “Re-Evaluating Digital Technology to Enhance Learning” which recorded the learning from the project and contains the sample lessons as well as a rationale behind each lesson. In addition to this we established a youtube channel of presentations made during project learning events (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCrJ1y01HUM8R93Y9Y_TJVLw) and added a project section looking at the effect the Covid lockdown might have on digital technology use in the classroom. Project work was also distributed on the EPALE platform.

Project Website

https://redproject.corketb.ie/

EU Grant (Eur)

Funding of the project from EU: 169627 Eur

Project Coordinator

Cork Education and Training Board & Country: IE

Project Partners

• Hasan Fatma Onal Anadolu Lisesi
• Kommunaler Zweckverband Volkshochschule ARBERLAND
• INSPECTORATUL SCOLAR JUDETEAN BACAU
• Haapsalu Kutsehariduskeskus
• IES RIBERA DEL TAJO