Author: BLITT

The workshop took place on the 23rd of November at 11.15 am at the School of Computer Science at Technological University Dublin. We counted with 17 participants mostly Lecturers from the School of Computer Science and some PhD students also from the school. Between the participants, 15 were on-site and two of them were online.

“Real-world Blended Learning: Staff Experiences and Best Practices”
During this workshop, two of our staff members will share their experiences in the Blended Learning International (BLITT) project.

• Online forums for an engaging learning
  In this short seminar, Dr. Luis Miralles will talk about his experience with Blended Learning.
  He’ll share how he uses forums, discussion groups, and video tutorials to make learning
  more fun and interesting for students. The main idea is to make these tools helpful for
  learning while also keeping students engaged and enjoying the process.
  
• Introduction to creative coding with Python
  In this session, Dr. Bryan Duggan will demonstrate how to use code and Maths to generate
  graphics and sound.

“Technology will not replace great teachers, but technology in the hands of great teachers can be transformational” – George Couros

Adult educators usually rely on self-initiative when it comes to blended learning in their teaching. With the transformation accelerated/encouraged by COVID-19, blended learning has become a reality for teachers.

The project is developing two main results:

• A collection of blended learning case studies
• A train-the-trainer course for adult educators to become ”blended learning champions’’

Between 29 and 31 May, a teacher training activity was organised in Piraeus, Greece with 20 participants from all the partner countries (Slovenia, Ireland, Cyprus, Spain, and Greece). The participants were adult educators/trainers/teachers with different backgrounds and expertise such as English teachers, Computer Science, Biology, Slovenian teachers etc.

The main aim of the training was to share the case studies developed in the project and for trainers to improve their digital competences to design blended learning courses as well as gain knowledge about how to train their fellow teachers to become blended learning champions.

On the first day of the training standing yoga as energizer was organised by the partners, then an introductive session was presented to all participants by the coordinator with an overview of the training, its aims and expected results. The introduction was followed by a session on the use and importance of icebreaker and energizer activities in blended teaching. A handbook containing different icebreaker and energizer activities was also presented and one of them, a, a ‘Candy game’, was used for the participants to get to know each other, share their expertise, and training expectations.

In the third session, participants experienced a design thinking personas workshop in which they discussed the needs of students in blended learning process.

On the second day of the training, a presentation of the re-design blended teaching resources was presented with the results which were already developed during the project. A workshop followed where participants shared their case studies and experience from the blended teaching procedure.

Additionally, a board game based on the teachers’ case studies and developed for the needs of the training was tested. It is an amazing and interesting result to help teachers in their blended teaching process.

On the third day of the training, a session was given to participants to identify the main problems/challenges during their blended teaching procedure and search for alternative solutions based on their knowledge/expertise.

Lastly, a final presentation was delivered by the partner responsible for the train-the-trainer course on how the teachers (participants) can teach other teachers/adult educators/trainers the blended learning methodology. This presentation included guidelines, tips, methodology, and terminology regarding blended teaching, case studies, etc.

The pilot testing for the BLITT project organized by Emphasys Centre on the 13th of October
virtually with 10 trainers/adult educators.

The profiles of the participants are:

• Psychologists
• IT
• Sociologists
• English Teachers

All the participants totally agreed that the BLITT resources, the duration of the pilot testing, the information received before the training, and the technical equipment during the piloting were efficient.

Moreover, regarding the trainers all of the participants mentioned and agreed that the trainers have enthusiasm, and knowledge in the subject, they guided and supported the participants and the communication between the trainer and the participants was amazing.

Additionally, all the participants agreed that the pilot testing was motivational for them and the results of the pilot testing were efficient.

The pilot testing took place on October 11, 2023. It was done in the afternoon as it favored
the attendance of the participants that usually work all morning and they could not attend. It
was carried out at Espai Boule in Reus, Spain.

There were 10 participants and one main trainer, even though there were other trainers during the piloting just in case the trainer needed help with some of the sessions.

The profile of participants was quite diverse. Most of the participants were teachers of
different subjects such as: English, Italian, IT… but also there were two psychologists and a
non-formal educator that, all of them, part of their work is developing and conducting
memory workshops for the elderly.

After the piloting while the participants enjoyed the coffee break they were given the link to
the evaluation questionnaire.