This proposal has emerged from the consortium’s participation in an existing EU project, The SELFIE – Digital Schools Awards Pilot project (A-SELFIE), which is exploring how schools in 5 countries – Slovenia, Serbia, Lithuania, Scotland and Ireland can use the outcomes from their SELFIE self-reflection to enhance sustainable digital education practices. While teacher professional development is an element of this current project, there is an emerging realisation that schools engaged in SELFIE require additional professional learning activities. This is not a current focus of the A-SELFIE Project, but this need is informing this proposal. Teachers have a "great need" for better knowledge about integrating ICT into educational practices (Talis, 2018). Teachers want access to professional learning experiences that will enable them to better integrate ICT into their teaching practice. The JRC study found there are new emerging models of teacher Continuous Professional Learning where teachers capture and share their practice using a mix of face-to-face and online modes of learning. In this project we will build a model of teacher professional learning that captures and shares digital education practices, as informed by the SELFIE tool under 6 headings: Leadership; Infrastructure & Equipment; Continuing Professional Development; Teaching and Learning; Assessment; Student Digital Competences. The model will prioritise STEAM Education and Remote Learning & Teaching practices as cross-cutting themes across the 6 headings. Fullan (2001) warned against ignoring the local [school] context as a vital element in innovation. This project addresses the local context by developing schools as pedagogical and educational innovation hubs, where educators will capture and share professional digital education practices using SELFIE. This will be achieved by the creation of The SELFIE Digital Schools Academy (SELFIE DSA). Objectives - the SELFIE DSA will design, build and validate a mentoring scheme to facilitate sustainable change in schools. Following the well-established example of the Digital Schools Awards Mentor Scheme, the project will work with schools willing to embark on an innovation journey, where they will be “connected” with other innovative schools that will act as “digital mentors” in order to explore approaches before implementing or adapting them in their own setting. The project will establish a school mentoring ecosystem where schools will capture their digital practices and share these with other schools in country and beyond. The project will explore how schools can best share their digital education practices using the SELFIE Framework. In this way the project will provide support for social inclusion and equality through connecting schools with mentor schools to enhance their digital practices. The project will be underpinned by principle that teaching is a learning profession and that teachers should continually engage in professional learning. The project will involve 30 NEW schools from 4 countries – Slovenia, Serbia, Lithuania, and Ireland. All these schools will be educationally disadvantaged and we will connect them with the existing 75 schools in the A-SELFIE Project. Teachers and principals from the 30 schools will participate in the pilot project and all schools will be new SELFIE users. They will be supported by a team of mentor schools from our existing A-SELFIE Project. The project will develop a process where participating schools can connect with each other and a range of other professional learning supports. Each of the 30 schools will have a critical friend, a digital education mentor from the A-SELFIE Project, who will work with them to capture and share their digital education practices. The schools, with support, will share digital practices via the platform and engage in professional conversations with other educators in country and across the project. The participating schools will receive peer recognition for their contributions and an Award for their contribution to the project. Methodology The project will place a premium on peer-learning and there is an expectation that all participants will learn from each other and in particular from reviewing and reflecting on the digital education practices of the participating schools. Results and impact envisaged and potential longer term benefits There is a growing realisation in Europe of the need to create and implement innovative and flexible professional learning approaches to develop teacher digital competences. This project will explore how the SELFIE Framework can be used to facilitate a peer-learning community where teachers and principals share their digital practices with other schools. In this way it will assist schools across Europe to learn from fellow practitioners how they developed the digital competences of their staff and their students to implement effective digital education practices.
The Academy model works at two levels. At a micro level, the resources promote innovative digitally rich classrooms, enhancing teachers' competences to provide relevant, transferable skills and experiences for children and young people to participate effectively, fully, and safely in the digital world. This focus targets schools in socially disadvantaged areas, extending the reach of digital education. At a macro level, the award criteria attract support from agencies such as local education authorities, governments, and industry partners. The alignment with SELFIE and European digital education policies expands the Academy's scope beyond the pilot phase, establishing it as a SELFIE-oriented and resource-rich hub for schools. Key themes include self-reflection, building local, national, and European communities of practice, and creating a self-sustaining ecosystem of digital growth.
The Digital Schools Academy builds upon the Awards4SELFIE initiative (www.awards4selfie.eu), which supported schools in Slovenia, Serbia, Lithuania, Scotland, Ireland in taking action based on their SELFIE reports. Awards4SELFIE facilitated implementation by having accomplished schools serve as mentors and receive rewards for sharing experiences and resources with other schools. The Academy promotes deep collaboration addressing the following needs: 1. Curated best-practice resources in SELFIE, STEAM, Remote Learning & Teaching. 2. Integration of European, national, and local policies to foster digital development in schools. 3. Encouragement for digitally mature schools to share practices/experiences with less mature schools 4. Support for social inclusion by promoting SELFIE adoption in socially disadvantaged areas 5. Membership in the Academy as a significant incentive for innovation. 5. Establishment of a measurable uptake index to identify schools, teachers, and geographical areas of implementation, enabling targeted focus on areas in need. Furthermore, the Academy model recognizes the evolving nature of digital L&T, incorporating inherent flexibility to adapt to future changes and additions to SELFIE.