The primary objective of the SOULSS project was to support Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) in shifting from "emergency remote teaching" to high-quality, structured hybrid learning. The project aimed to equip academic staff through structured training pathways focused on pedagogical competences for the effective use of digital technologies. While initially focused on academic staff, the objectives were progressively pursued also through the involvement of students and future educators, in order to maximise long-term impact and sustainability. Specifically, we pursued four concrete objectives: -Teacher Capacity Building: The project addressed the need to equip academic staff with the skills to design flexible courses. -Dedicated Training Environment: A key objective was to develop an active learning environment to support teacher training activities. -Accessible Analytics: The project’s goal was to make it easier for teachers to monitor student progress and engagement, and identify at-risk students without needing technical expertise. -Practical Design Tools: The project aimed to support teachers in structuring their content effectively for inclusive classes.
The SOULSS project addressed the need to move from emergency remote teaching to sustainable hybrid learning models. The project addressed three critical needs identified through the partners' analysis: Dropout Prevention: To support the identification of at-risk students, we focused on optimizing existing tools, specifically by making the built-in Analytics features of Moodle easier for teachers to access and use. Teacher Competences: Faculty required additional digital and pedagogical competences. We bridged this gap by creating courses that cover not only Universal Design for Learning (UDL) but also innovative digital technologies and the pedagogical strategies to effectively leverage them. Accessible Design: Teachers needed practical tools to structure their content. We addressed this by developing a specific template to help them create easy-to-follow and inclusive lessons, ensuring consistency and accessibility for all students. These needs provided the framework for the project to develop concrete pedagogical and technical solutions for higher education institutions.