Description
The unprecedented pandemic has taken teachers and students through a digital leap in education around the world. By now, they are having more and more opportunities to learn, communicate, and collaborate in an online learning environment.
However, without proper understanding, distance learning and blended learning (e.g. flipped classroom) can generate huge stress for both teachers and students.
This course aims to help you relieve the burden by introducing you to many digital tools for flipped education and distance learning.
Finnish schools coped well with the transition to distance and blended learning. Finland has been developing national strategies for digital and ICT education during the last 35 years.
The significant investment in the digitalization of education with an emphasis on the values of equity and inclusion provides the strong foundation to facilitate student-centered learning, not only face-to-face but also in distance learning.
Through the course, you will find it worthy to learn from the Finnish experience specialized in integrating digital tools into learning and teaching.
As a participant, you will learn some of the best practices of Finnish teachers in distance learning/blended learning, and various EdTech tools that are commonly used in Finnish schools.
To gain a thorough understanding and to learn from the Finnish experience, you will also get to discover the challenges and drawbacks that Finnish schools and teachers are facing in distance learning.
Moreover, you will learn the guiding principles and practicalities of distance learning and flipped classrooms. You will be guided step-by-step to explore the various EdTech tools that help you manage distance learning and flipped classrooms.
You will also explore EdTech tools that promote collaborative and project-based learning, as well as gamification with fun activities and games. You will have the time to practice how to use the tools and to discuss different strategies to use them effectively in flipped classrooms and distance learning.
By the end of the course, you will gain much confidence in the use of a variety of EdTech tools in your online classroom. Moreover, you will master the most effective strategies for facilitating flipped classrooms and distance learning that have made Finland an excellence in world education.
Learning outcomes
Participants to the course will be able to:
- Analyze the current practices of learning with digital tools in their schools;
- Discover the achievements and challenges of Finnish teachers and schools in distance learning;
- Design effective tasks for distance learning;
- Appreciate the benefits of the flipped classroom;
- Manage a flipped classroom with Edtech tools;
- Promote distance learning with effective Edtech Tools;
- Engage students in fun activities and games;
- Summarize the key steps of Project-Based Learning (PBL);
- Conduct a PBL activity in both face-to-face and distance learning.
Tentative schedule
Day 1 – Flipped Classroom and Remote Learning in Finnish Education
- Introduction to the course, the school, and the external week activities;
- Icebreaker activities;
- Presentations of the participants’ schools;
- SWOT analysis and discussion on the current practices of learning with digital tools in the participants’ schools.
Day 2 – Finnish experience and best practices in distance learning
- Finnish education context in a nutshell;
- Finnish pre-conditions for distance learning;
- Best practices of teachers and school to deliver distance learning;
- Challenges facing the teachers and schools in distance learning;
- Distance learning trends in the future;
- Activity: Based on the Finnish best practices, create a distance learning task that is relevant for your school context.
Day 3 – Creating a meaningful online learning environment for distance learning and flipped classroom
- Effective use of learning management system;
- 5 steps to create flipped classroom;
- Popular Edtech tools in Finnish schools and other European schools for flipped classroom and distance learning and their effective use;
- Practice using the Edtech tools.
Day 4 – Gamification: creating fun activities and games for learning
- What is gamification and why?
- Popular Edtech tools in Finnish schools and other European schools that helps you to create fun activities and games to engage your students in learning;
- Practice using the Edtech tools.
Day 5 – Project-based learning with EdTech tools in distance learning
- 4 steps to create a project-based learning plan;
- Effective use of Edtech tools to facilitate collaboration in the online learning environment;
- Create a project-based learning plan.
Day 6 – Course closure & excursion
- Course evaluation: round-up of acquired competencies, feedback, and discussion;
- Awarding of the course Certificate of Attendance;
- Excursion and other external cultural activities.