Digital learning path examples
During the Learning Path project, the participating teachers and trainers developed their own personal learning paths to improve their skills, competence and knowledge in digital teaching and training.
First, they drafted an initial version. Then, they updated their personal paths when taking part in learning and training activities during the project and within their organizations.
Sandra’s learning path
Sandra Heuschmidt is working as e-learning manager. She is counseling BFI Vienna’s instructors on how to use digital tools and methods in presence and distance-learning scenarios. She is also very keen in finding new digital tools and techniques to improve digital teaching and learning at BFI.
Monika’s learning path:
Examples of a teacher’s digital learning path from TAKK: Cases from Anu & Jouni
Anu and Jouni are great examples of when teachers’ digital skills and competences develop, the threshold of trying out new digital tools and methods lowers. Building your competence also creates inspiration and motivates teachers to step out of their comfort zones and try out new tools and methods on their own.
Anu Erkinheimo’s digital learning path
Ms. Anu Erkinheimo has been part of the Learning Path project’s team TAKK, and has been developing her own digital learning path since the beginning of the project. Anu started by completing the CheckIn-tool self-reflection and has developed her own path according to the CheckIn-recommendations as well as according to her specific needs.
Anu Erkinheimo's digital learning path
Highlights from Anu’s journey:
“It has been really fun to hold (digital training) workshops with Jouni (colleague). When you work together with a colleague you always learn something new!”
“We started to organize workshops for colleagues about how to use Active Floor in August 2020.
It has been really nice to hear from participants (colleagues) that this is something what they will use in their classes, and that making games is really easy. ”
“I have also learnt how to use different applications, such as Seppo. We have made some lessons with this Seppo-game. As a teacher you can see on the map where your students are going, assign them different tasks and you can give them feedback.”
“The learning path -model encouraged me to try out different digital tools. One on them was a creative pen table, One by Wacom, which I used in tutoring students. I think that it is pretty easy to draw and write math problems with this tool!”
“Finally, me and Jouni had plans to learn more about coding with LegoWedo, but the COVID-19-situation is not giving us change to execute our plan just now. But this will be our next step later on!”
Jouni Hanhinen’s digital learning path
Jouni also started his path by doing the CheckIn-Tool self-assessment and determining his development areas.
Jouni Hanhinen's digital learning path
ISQ team’s Learning Paths
At the beginning of the project Learning Path, when the consortium started to focus on the development of the individualised Learning Path, the ISQ team started to think about their digital competences path and drafted their plan for the next months. How should be the way to follow?
Firstly, the fulfillment of the Check-in tool self-assessment to be aware of the starting point and then a reflection on the strategies to take for the development of the most needed areas of DigCompEdu.
Each ISQ participant of the Learning Path project sketched their idea of a learning path to follow in Padlet, you can check it here: https://padlet.com/Loramos_ISQ/fdu4yj5qeyua .
With the involvement in the project and in the short training staff activities new ideas started to arise, each participant designed its path not only according to their needs but also according to their interests, skills and of course the demand of its professional life.
Lara Ramos’ Digital Learning Path
I work as a trainer for about seven years at ISQ Academy. I’m used to being involved with younger publics, delivering Portuguese Literature, History and Media Literacy subjects in apprenticeship courses. Nowadays, I’m also involved in the training of trainer subjects, new training methodologies and approaches. Since 2016, I joined the Training & Qualifications Team of ISQ R&Di Unit as a European Project manager, where I could get more close to R&Di projects whose main goal is to increase at EU level the modernization and quality in VET with a special focus on Trainers and VET staff professional development. So, to have the possibility to take part in the Learning Path project was for me a great opportunity, not only to assess my digital competences but also to design and develop my learning path, to find my goals and to be committed to reaching them. And last, but not least, to also help others to do the same, through ISQ Organisational Path.
At the beginning of my Learning Path, I was able to evaluate my digital competences with the Check-In Tool. I always considered myself as digitally engaged since, at the beginning of my trainer career, dealing with younger publics I always needed to make the effort to get updated and find the best solutions to engage my students. Youngers can be a tough public, so digital strategies were essential to motivate them to learn, to get involved, to be empowered. By using trivia quizzes apps, I could bring their mobile phones to class in a meaningful way, or WebQuests for training online research competences and their critical thinking. Later, managing European projects and delivering training of trainers’ workshops I could learn more about some of the latest training tools and methods… but I knew in deep that I could do more. We tend to stay in our comfort zone, to do things in the same old way, especially because it takes time and effort to learn and implement something new, or simply because none of my peers are using it. And I thought, I must be ok… but when I took the Check-In Tool … the results showed me that I could do so much more for my digital competences.
Learning Path project learnings were critical in this phase for me: I could take the lessons learned and get into deep, exploring, experimenting and mastering the best tools to use in digital work approaches, not only in my daily routine as a project manager but also as a trainer by using Teams, Articulate or Mural, just to mention some.
Finally, more than time and willingness, I had the urgency and means to do it, since I belonged to one of the teams that facilitated the digital remote working transition inside my company.
ISQ implemented Microsoft Teams as the tool to be used by all workers for communication and online meetings and also webinars on how to work with it. I and my team had the mission to deliver those webinars. Internal webinars can be also very important to test and deal with failure. It’s the right floor to do it.
I also took part in a team to evaluate online tools. This evaluation was made by an analysis of its characteristics and usefulness. More than 50 online tools were analysed so far and for the ones that we selected as more suitable; the next step is to train the trainers on how to use them in specific focused workshops. Some of those tools are already being used to enrich our training events, like MURAL.
In conclusion, I want to share some thoughts with all of you:
- The true turning point, for me and everyone, is to change our mindsets. And we can see this happening right at this moment. Not only inside ISQ but in all organisations around the world, no matter the size or sector. For incremental changes to happen, we need first to change the way that people think. In my particular case, and ISQ, we can say that a lot of efforts were made by all people involved in this digital transition. I am no special example. From the top management to trainers we need a true commitment from all.
- To change the ways of work, people must be open to doing it, to feel the need and then, to be engaged in the process. To increase the collaborative culture and define common goals.
- And – this is very important – be guided in the right way and have the right tools to do it.
- And here, the organisations have the lead role: the organizational culture must support all Human Resources learning Paths. Especially, the digital ones.
After these two years of experience with the Learning Path project, I had the curiosity to take again the Check-In tool…
… and these are my results now. I know that I still have a long way to run, for example, by improving my Assessment strategies. But I’m very happy with my evolution so far. Now, I am more aware than ever and have the tools to measure my progress.
Sílvia Soares’ Digital Learning Path
At the beginning of the Learning Path project, I did the self-assessment questionnaire Check-In tool and the results made me more aware of the necessity to improve my digital skills and competences, mainly on digital resources, assessment and empowering learners. So I identified some tools that I wanted to improve my knowledge, such as One Note, which I started using right at that moment and now is essential on my daily work, Moodle, Teams and other management and collaboration tools used in my company.
For me, the turning point and accelerator of my learning path happen with Covid 19. I had to adapt fast to changes as a student (at the time I was attending a post-graduation course and presential classes turned to online), and that gave me the perspective from the student point of view. Also, as a learning facilitator in ISQ Academy since we also had to transform our training solutions.
Very quickly I was involved in several actions:
I was directly involved in the evaluation of online platforms to be used by the ISQ Academy (Zoom, Teams, Webex), and I worked on the development of Zoom guidelines for trainers and trainees. I deliver sessions to trainers about technical issues of platforms, as well as good practices for online communication; overall supporting trainers on the transition to online courses and introducing new methods and tools… It was quite challenging!
I must stress this process implies a huge effort in research and self-learning, by attending webinars, watching YouTube tutorials, as well as sharing experiences and points of view with peers inside and outside the organization.
So, where am I now? I repeated the self-assessment and my results largely improve. I must say that I’m very happy with my learning path, all that I learned and developed is now naturally part of my days.
It is true that most of the tools I had already access, the big difference is that now I really use them, and my goal is to continue to discover all the potentialities, to be more efficient, more collaborative, especially now that we need to shorten the physical distance.
Milenas learning path
Milena Scheidler works as trainer for English and social studies at OSZ IMT. She is also a teacher’s trainer for future English teachers in the governmental teacher’s training programme of Berlin.
