Hosted by , contributed by Kyriaki_Vakkou on 13 December 2022
The biggest challenge that technology helped with was finding tools to work remotely. It did not matter whether you were present or remote. However, teachers of a school in Finland were at very different level regarding digital devices usage. At the same time, the school administration was dissatisfied regarding staff meeting practices and information.
The school decided to share information, agendas, ready‐made layouts etc., to a school's common Drive, as a way of communicate the necessary information to all parties and doing the work together in a shared and time‐saving manner. Hence, it was possible to introduce and teach different applications for beneficial use, for example to share lessons between teachers, create and use the same assessment tools, share educational material, create templates, questionnaires and tests for pupils, etc. By utilizing money from a past project that the school participated, they purchased external training (for Google applications) to reinforce what had been learned. Moreover, they pay digital tutors to teach staff in their own work communities in various groups. Digital tutors held digital training by the needs of the staff. The groups have varied according to several topics of interest and special needs of the school staff members. For example, teachers teaching the same subjects formed groups and received a dedicated training based on their common needs. While for some other applications all teachers received the same training, but they were divided into smaller groups. In any case, all teachers were surveyed about their training needs before the arrangement of the training groups. Another method of support that was implemented in the school was the provision of technical support in the class when students were using a new technology by a well-trained co-teacher. Moreover, older students provided help to younger students regarding the use of certain digital tools.
The change in school administration is reflected in the fact that they have a lot of material on the shared Drive, which used to be always at the hands of the headmaster. Agendas, planning for the coming academic year, various themes and events are also shared and work is done more often in smaller groups after a common start in study meetings. Not everyone has to sit and stare at the same screen, but instead many things can be done, first in smaller groups and then work the pieces of a puzzle together. This has also made the work of the headmaster easier.
Teaching practices have certainly enriched in terms of using everyday life technological solutions. E‐exams are now well suited to some subjects and are held even after distance learning. The electronically distribution of differentiated material is very successful (ready‐made teaching materials, Ville lessons, Classroom) and now on the learning objectives about digital competence, which are included in the municipal curriculum for digital learning, can be achieved. Collaboration with other schools and teachers is now easier through video meetings and shared files. There are still some teachers who are hesitant to produce material in the shared files, however, a good step forward was made.
Many students in the school do not have a wide range of digital devices at home, so the school has an important role to play in teaching digital skills that are needed for the digital world. Students are motivated to use digital devices at school and this enable them to accommodate their different learning needs (i.e., difficulties in handwriting, quiet and shy, reading difficulties, math challenges). The use of these devices prepare them for their future career and everyday life. They are tools and applications that they need to know how to use in the new digital era. In addition, students have a personal achievement folder on Drive, where they collect their learning products from their primary and, why not, secondary school years.
https://peda.net/uurainen/hirvanen
Ville Lessons: https://www.oppimisanalytiikka.fi/ville/
Google Classroom: https://edu.google.com/workspace-for-education/classroom/
Google forms: https://www.google.com/forms/about/
Google Docs: https://www.google.com/docs/about/
Google Sheet: https://www.google.com/sheets/about/
Google Slides: https://www.google.com/slides/about/
Google Drive: https://www.google.com/drive/