The current pandemic crisis has changed the way in which we think and participate in our social relations, demanding for creative solutions and for rapid improvement of technologies. This new condition has had an effect on many different fields and contexts; however, it is undeniable that the spread of the COVID-19 represented a major challenge in the way in which teaching and learning are conceived and performed. The Higher Education sector has been hit heavily for the quick pace of the adoption of solution for blended and distance learning and the unpreparedness of the majority of lecturers and educators. FuturAbilty - Digital and Transversal Skills for online Teachers” gathers a Strategic Partnership of organisations - Universities, Research Centres and Cultural Enterprises - working with Visual Methods and Digital Learning tools willing to investigate, produce and share Open Educational Resources(OER) to make online teaching more attractive and accessible, in reference to the European Frameworks DigCompEdu and LifeComp. The main challenge is the development of pedagogies and digital tools that could enable teachers and trainers to transport the content of their lessons in participatory and engaging on-line forms. The broad scope of these materials is to provide university lecturers with key digital and transversal competences and to improve online teaching methods and tools through effective use of innovative solutions with a special attention to visual methods . The project focuses on the development of digital and transferable competences so that lecturers and educators become more resilient, increase their creativity and efficiency and acquire career adaptive competences. It will enable Higher Education Institutions to offer enhanced experiences, by up-skilling and re-skilling their lecturers/educators, thus raising the quality of life of the general public At last FutureAbilty wants to prepare lecturers, educators but also students to become true factors of change. The OERs will be piloted in six Countries, Particular attention will be given to the promotion of gender equality. The project will consolidate the results through the establishment of a Community of Practice.
The broad scope of the material produced was to provide university lecturers with key digital and transversal competences and to improve online teaching methods/tools through effective use of innovative solutions with a special attention to visual methods. The project focused on the development of digital and transferable competences so that lecturers and educators become more resilient, increase their creativity and efficiency and acquire career adaptive competences. It enables HEI to offer enhanced experiences, by up-skilling and re-skilling their lecturers/educators, thus raising the quality of life of the general public. At last FutureAbility wanted to prepare lecturers, educators but also students to become true factors of change. The OERs were piloted in 6 Countries. Particular attention was given to the promotion of gender equality. Project results are consolidated by the establishment of a Community of Practice that is under development in parallel with current conversations happening with the international members of the organising conference committees for the Visual Methods Conference and the Digital Storytelling Conference, which include a large number of academics and practitioners active in relevant fields.
The current pandemic crisis has changed the way in which we think and participate in our social relations, demanding for creative solutions and for rapid improvement of technologies. The spread of COVID-19 represented a major challenge in the way in which teaching and learning are conceived and performed. The Higher Education sector has been hit heavily for the quick pace of the adoption of solutions for blended/distance learning and the unpreparedness of the majority of lecturers and educators. FuturAbilty gathered a Strategic Partnership of organisations - Universities, Research Centres and Cultural Enterprises - working with Visual Methods and Digital Learning tools willing to investigate, produce and share Open Educational Resources (OER) to make online teaching more attractive and accessible, in reference to the European Frameworks DigCompEdu and LifeComp. The main challenge was the development of pedagogies and digital tools that could enable teachers and trainers to transport the content of their lessons in participatory and engaging on-line forms.