ICT skills for Educators – Online

DESCRIPTION OF TRAINING CONTENT

Computing and IT is required by all businesses and jobs in today’s world. Information and Communication technology (ICT) has the potential ict_3 to transform teaching and learning processes. According to a recent study in OECD countries, students are more sophisticated in their use of technology than teachers; an inherent discrepancy between student knowledge and usage of ICTs with the abilities of teacher to use ICTs. This suggest that teacher inexperience and skill deficiencies may often be a fundamental factor which prevents the effectiveness of ICT use in education. The same study reveals that the most effective uses of ICT are those in which the teacher, aided by ICTs, may challenge understanding and thinking of pupils, and this can be done through whole-class discussions and/or individual/small group workshops using ICTs. Nowadays, it is widely accepted that the use of ICTs should not aim at completely transforming teacher practices in and of itself but rather enabling and supporting the move from traditional ‘teacher-centric’ teaching styles to more ‘learner-centric’ methods. In other words, making each one of the students active and fully engaged. The ‘ICT skills for Educators’ course is designed to enable participants to improve their teaching practices with the use of specific ICT tools, such as smart boards, web conferencing and webinars, among others, thus, creating a ‘learner-centric’ classroom. This is an ideal course for all teachers, educators & trainers interested in continuing professional development (CPD).

Main Aims

To guide participants in their achievement of the course learning outcomes
To provide opportunities for participants to reflect on their own practice
Prepare participants for implementing course content in their own classrooms
Enhance participants’ skills to develop their learners’ digital skills and literacy
To provide a technological toolkit for educators and improve the level of key competences and ICT skills
To access a variety of on-line resources to promote good practice in education
Share best practices, ideas and materials between colleagues within the EU

Why ICTE?

The course will allow educators to interact with others to improve their level of IT skills at their own pace enabling their updated knowledge to be used for school improvement. ICTE will improve the educator’s ability to use innovative and student-centred learning approaches and develop appropriate assessment to move their learners forward in their use of ICT. ICTE will enhance the participant’s ability to reduce low achievement of their pupils and students in ICT at the same time developing their pupils’ critical thinking when using ICT. The participants will be able to develop lessons for diverse learners – learners with special needs to high achievers by improving their own confidence to offer IT support. Participants will become a confident user of ICT across a range of medias and applications.

Who to attend ICTE?

The ICTE course is ideal for:

School principals & directors (primary & secondary)
Teachers (primary & secondary)
Academic staff (tertiary)
Directors & personnel in International coordination offices (tertiary)
Directors/managers (companies/NGOs)
IT professionals
Trainers (formal & non formal education)

Course Content

Module I:

Introduction and course overview

Ice breaking – team builder game
Individual expectations – What do you know and what do you want to achieve?
Discussion on what is ICT and listing a range of medias and applications
Main strategies supporting ICT implementation in education.
Support from education institution administration and the community
Role of the educator and its confidence and motivation
Introduction/Use of ICTs in my organisation
Warm-up – Alliteration Introductions.

Module II:

Educators’ subject knowledge influences how ICTs are used: technical abilities.

Practical exercises in identifying benefits and challenges in using ICT
ICT tools in education: Input source, output source and others
Practical exercises in creating animated slideshows
Web Conferencing/Meeting/Webinars

Module III:

Social Media
Practical exercises in designing and creating a blog
Online information resources: encyclopedia, libraries, journals, magazines
Reflections of the day, discussion

Module IV:

Illusion puzzles
Combination of video, photo and social media
How can I use ICT tools in practice?
Reflections of the day, discussion

Module V

Quick quiz
Revisit the Flip chart from Monday. Have we achieved what we aimed for?
Confidence building and time for questions.
Show the animated slideshows given as homework on Tuesday.
Ethical dilemmas
Reflection on using resources and give out resources
Summary and course evaluation
Quote of the day and reflection

METHODOLOGY OF THE COURSE – ADDED VALUE

The methodology of the training is based on a combination of three important elements:

Provision of knowledge required (theory)
Use of training tools, such as case studies, videos, games, animations & exercises (practice – hands on experience)
Feedback/reflection (review)

BENEFITS TO PARTICIPANTS – SKILLS & COMPETENCES

By the end of the course, delegates will have acquired capabilities to:

To be able to provide technical support to learners in a confident manner
Have experience of using ICT to support learning and teaching, creating and implementing their own e-learning solutions
Be a confident user of ICT across a range of media and applications
Have a positive attitude towards sharing of practice within their own workplace. Be able to promote the use of ICT as a driver to increase quality and relevance of education at all levels.
Understand and acknowledge the risks relating to the tools we use in ICT.

CERTIFICATIONS AWARDED

Certificate of attendance & certificate of competence