{"id":2916,"date":"2015-09-28T07:22:13","date_gmt":"2015-09-28T07:22:13","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.pros.upv.es\/site\/?page_id=2916"},"modified":"2016-11-30T11:45:07","modified_gmt":"2016-11-30T11:45:07","slug":"modern","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/pros.webs.upv.es\/site\/projects\/modern\/","title":{"rendered":"MODERN – Mobile & Digital Elearning Toolkit"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Web 2.0, cloud computing and the rapid adoption of internet enabled phone and tablets have revolutionised the way we live and work.\u00a0 Yet European policy makers are concerned that technology, especially interactive and mobile learning technology, is not being capitalized on in education. In the words of JC Juncker, President of the European Commission, \u201cOur priority has to be to find new sources of growth and jobs. The transformative role of digital technologies can be used to this end. \u2026. Europe’s path to growth is paved with tablets and smartphones.\u201d<\/p>\n

It would appear that many digital and mobile resources are ideally suited for use in higher and vocational education since they:<\/p>\n

– have been proven to generate a significant increase in adult learner engagement, information retention, specialist and transversal competences.<\/p>\n

– Are well suited to \u201chard to reach \u201d learners, with time or geographic limitations<\/p>\n

– Require no large investments in hardware (most European adults now own at least one device; 73% of aged 16+ in the UK use the internet daily and 94% of 16-24 yr olds do so via their mobile\/tablet. ONS)<\/p>\n

Nevertheless, there are significant barriers to the full exploitation of mobile and digital resources in adult education. On one hand, there has been such a rapid proliferation of cloud-based educational tools, platforms and learning environments that quality is extremely varied.\u00a0 The UK’s Innovation Agency NESTA’s Decoding Learning (2012) report notes that the field\u00a0 \u201cis characterised by weak or undeveloped pedagogy\u201d and by tools which \u201cput technology above teaching and excitement above evidence.\u201d<\/p>\n

Secondly, the attitudes and abilities of VET and HEI teacher and lecturers are often an obstacle. They are often mature practitioners and a large proportion lack the ICT skills required to access digital interactive resources and\/or to envisage how to include such technology into their traditional teaching strategies.\u00a0\u00a0 According to Lieve Van den Brande, DG for Education and Culture, there is a psychological aspect: teachers do not embrace technology because they \u201clack confidence and feel that they are underperforming. They feel their students are more able than they are.\u201d<\/p>\n

Still, we believe the digital learning sector has matured and that many excellent options ARE available both for computer and phone\/tablet usage.\u00a0 Therefore, if we are serious about integrating technology into education, we need VET and HEI teachers to filter out the gimmicks and implement only the best pedagogical tools.<\/p>\n

For these reasons, the objective of MODERN Toolkit is: to increase the ability and motivation of teachers and trainers to use digital learning resources as a means to more effective, relevant teaching, thereby causing a positive impact in their students (learning outcomes and engagement) and in the sector as a whole (ability to provide relevant training, keep pace with the technological changes taking place around them.) It will focus primarily on VET teachers and trainers, but HEI teaching staff are also considered a key target group given the high relevance of the materials developed.<\/p>\n

In order to achieve this objective, we will:<\/p>\n