Students from disadvantaged and/or migrant backgrounds have fewer opportunities in accessing digital technologies (first level of digital divide) and in the ways they use these technologies (second level of digital divide). In turn, this situation leads to students’ less participation in several aspects of society such as economic, social, political, cultural, spatial and institutional (van Dijk,2012). Especially by taking into account the online-offline blend of our society it is suggested that blended learning can help students to develop their digital skills. However, students need help from digitally competent teachers in using DT. According to the European Commission’s Action Plan for digital education, EU needs more digitally competent educators. Having digitally competent educators means that teachers are required to develop their digital skills but, at the same time, to revise their pedagogy (OECD,2016b). In this era, revising their pedagogy is related to being able to use digital technologies for including all children in the learning process, particularly those coming from disadvantaged backgrounds. Thus, the aim of the project is to empower educators in using blended learning in schools, in an attempt to deal with the social and educational exclusion of students from disadvantaged backgrounds. The project has been designed for addressing specific national and European needs, regarding the project’s target groups, namely students and teachers, as follows: - To develop an innovative practical digital toolkit and a blended training course that will help teachers in using blended learning in schools based on the principles of inclusive education. - To foster the digital skills of teachers based on the European Framework for the Digital Competence of Educators - To empower students in expressing their views about their learning in a digital pedagogical context, enhancing in this way the collaboration between teachers and students in digital environments. - To contribute to the effective and permanent inclusion of all students, supporting their right for education, equality and self-realization. Regarding the target groups, at least 75 primary and secondary school teachers will participate into the project’s activities. Approximately 1300 students (including students from disadvantaged, migrant backgrounds, students with educational difficulties) will participate into the project’s activities. The BLENDI approach involves a combination of the BLENDI platform, the BLENDI toolkit, a blended training course for teachers, guidelines for creating dialectical-synergic blended lessons plans (co-creation of lesson plans between teachers and students) and the creation of such lessons plans. Teachers will be trained in using the BLENDI approach which focuses on the use of blended learning in schools based on logic of inclusion while students will be supported in decision-making regarding their learning process in digital educational contexts. The results of the project include: BLENDI methodological guidelines, BLENDI platform and toolkit, BLENDI curriculum and blended training course for teachers, the dialogical-synergic blended lesson plans, and the BLENDI set of standards. These results are bound to have an impact on the further implementation of practices towards inclusive education for all students in Europe, especially those coming from disadvantaged backgrounds.
The aim of the project was to empower educators in using blended learning in schools and in revising their pedagogy, in an attempt to deal with the social and educational exclusion of students from disadvantaged backgrounds. By implementing the BLENDI project, partners wanted to: - foster the digital skills of teachers based on the European Framework for the Digital Competence of Educators, through the development of an innovative practical digital toolkit and a blended training course for teachers to help them in using blended learning based on the principles of inclusive education -empower students in expressing their views about their learning in a digital pedagogical context, - enhance collaboration between teachers and students in digital environments, through the use of the Dialectical Synergetic Blended Lesson Plans - support students in the development of digital skills as well as other transversal skills (collaborative skills, critical thinking) which are important elements for social inclusion, -contribute to the effective and permanent inclusion of all students, supporting their right for education, equality and self-realization.
Project partners applied for this project to address the need for a more inclusive education for students from disadvantaged backgrounds. Relevant reports underline the connection between digital inclusion and educational inclusion. Students from disadvantaged backgrounds have fewer opportunities in accessing digital technologies (first level of digital divide) and in the ways they use these technologies (second level of digital divide). In turn, this situation leads to students’ less participation in education as well as in several aspects of society such as economic, social, political, cultural, and institutional (van Dijk,2012). Taking into account the online-offline blend of our society, project partners decided to address the aforementioned needs using blended learning which can help students to develop their digital skills. However, students need help from digitally competent teachers. According to the European Commission’s Action Plan, EU needs more digitally competent educators who are able to revise their pedagogy accordingly. Thus, the project addresses the need to empower educators in using blended learning, in an attempt to deal with the social and educational exclusion of students from disadvantaged backgrounds.