OIR is an international project whose originator and leader is the Faculty of Pedagogy and Psychology at the Maria Curie-Skłodowska University in Lublin (Poland). The consortium also includes the University of Italy (Università degli Studi di Messina) and the University of Oviedo (Universidad de Oviedo, Facultad de Formación del Profesorado y Educación, Spain). The project is a response to the problems of some academic lecturers in the field of remote education which were diagnosed during the period of increased intensity of remote activities caused by the COVID-19. The problems result largely from the lack of appropriate competences in: • handling digital technologies, • the ability to work with digital services and resources • indivudual and teamwork in a remote model • creating materials and course scenarios in a different methodology. The project aims to develop innovative digital educational resources and provides an opportunity to meet educational challenges by enabling the inclusion of higher education for people with different and special needs. The assumption of the activities is to counteract the educational exclusion of all those groups of learners who, due to the transition to distance learning and the problems that often result from it (related to the inadequacy of forms and methods of work to their special needs) have limited access to education at the highest quality level. The aim of the OIR project is to strengthen the ability of universities to provide high-quality digital education favourable to social inclusion, and in particular to improve the forms and methods of educating future teachers (including those with special educational needs or belonging to other educationally disadvantaged groups). It can be done by creating an open online space of specialized digital educational resources such as: online lectures, podcasts, educational materials, didactic videos, lesson plans, worksheets, exercises, tasks) adapted to the needs of learners with various special educational needs (SEN) in accordance with the principles of universal design for education (UDL). Project participants will be 138 lecturers-academic teachers, 1 200 students and 60 school teachers. The project assumes conducting trainings on: I. the use of digital resources in distance learning, II. developing remote learning skills with the use of innovative educational resources and activating methods, III. universal design in distance learning. During the project implementation, the following project results will be developed: 1. Open digital educational resources adapted to the needs of learners with various special educational needs in accordance with the principles of universal design for education; 2. Training programs and training materials for lecturers, school teachers and future teachers concerning: • raising competences related to the use of communication and information technologies in remote education, • universal design, • educational resources used in activating working methods; 3. Didactic films tailored to the needs of various groups of students; 4. Cultural guides. The project will have an impact mainly for the local, but also for regional, national and European community. The materials worked out in the project such as: innovative digital educational resources (online lectures, podcasts, educational materials, didactic videos, lesson plans, worksheets, exercises, tasks) will be widely available, so they can be used by domestic and foreign entities. In the long-term perspective the project will become a strong impulse for the continuous improvement of the quality of distance and hybrid education and for the development of pedagogical digital competences of academic teachers, school teachers and students of teaching faculties.
The aim of the project was to strengthen the capacity of universities to provide high-quality and inclusive digital education, and in particular to improve the forms and methods of educating future teachers (including those with special educational needs or belonging to other educationally disadvantaged groups). Project aimed at creating an open internet space of specialized, innovative digital educational resources such as: online lectures, podcasts, educational materials, didactic videos, lesson plans, worksheets, exercises, tasks) adapted to the needs of learners with various special educational needs (SEN) in accordance with the principles of universal design for education (UDL).
OIR is an international project with the Faculty of Pedagogy and Psychology of the Maria Curie-Skłodowska University in Lublin as a Leader. The consortium also includes the University of Italy (Università degli Studi di Messina) and the University of Oviedo (Universidad de Oviedo, Facultad de Formación del Professorado y Educación, Spain). The project leader applied for the implementation of the project due to the fact that it is a response to the diagnosed problems of some academic lecturers in the field of remote learning, diagnosed in the period of increased intensity of remote activities caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. The problems result largely from the lack of appropriate competences in handling digital technologies, skills to work with digital services and resources, team and independent work in a remote model, creating materials and course scenarios in a different methodology. The project assumed the development of innovative digital educational resources and created an opportunity to meet educational challenges by enabling inclusive higher education for people with different and special needs. The assumption of the activities was also to counteract the educational exclusion of all those groups of learners who, due to the transition to remote learning and the resulting problems related to the non-adjustment of forms and methods of work to their special needs, have limited access to education at the highest quality level. The project is also a response to the need to implement social justice expressed in the belief that every student, regardless of the level of ability, knowledge of the language, social and cultural experience, should have equal access to programs, materials and academic activities. Educational resources created in the project were designed to be used by the largest possible group of learners. The project assumed the development of innovative digital educational resources tailored to the needs and capabilities of people with SEN (publications, worksheets, multimedia presentations, e-learning courses, tests, didactic videos, training scenarios) in accordance with the principles of universal design (guarantee of high-quality inclusive education through online resources, including hybrid education and hybrid learning). The resources developed have a huge potential that should be used not only in the era of the pandemic but also in the following years, as a valuable enrichment of the higher education offer in the changing technological reality of the 21st century. The aim of education organized in this way was to make the university more flexible, reduce the barrier to learning and respond to the needs of disadvantaged learning groups.