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Table of Contents
During the peak of COVID-19 pandemic, it is estimated that more than 1.5 billion children were locked out of their schools and non-formal educational activities. As the pandemic unfolded across countries around the world, educational institutions were forced to shift rapidly from face to face education to “emergency remote learning” within a tight timeframe that obstructed the design of proper educational resources and educational programs. These challenges affected both the field of formal and non-formal education. The challenges this situation imposes on teachers and educators includes the necessity of quick development of high quality educational content, teaching methodology adjustment, restricted access to equipment and resources, and need for meaningful use of a variety of digital tools and methods (Costa et al, 2021).
The pandemic created the global need to organize entirely school and non-formal education online, which have never functioned in this setting before (with the exception of higher education). In response to the aforementioned needs, digital technology was seen as the solution to teaching and creating opportunities for learning in those troubled times. However, even before the pandemic started challenging our lives, online solutions were brought forward to tackle issues such as geographical barriers, socio-economical obstacles that make commuting challenging, need for more flexible time frameworks and more.
Under these circumstances cultural events and activities had also to find their way in the online/digital setting. The same applied to peer-learning practices (usually found in the backbone of cultural events and activities) which had to be adjusted to the new reality.
Moving to online teaching does not mean just to put the content that has been created for in-person education online. Research studies on teacher professional development show the crucial role of teacher training in properly using the digital tools in combination with the appropriate pedagogical approaches and plan (Unesco web article, 2021). In this new setting, teachers need to learn and practice new roles e.g. to act as facilitators, moderators, designers of educational content, and observers in their online classes. (This topic is further discussed and presented in module 2).
Face to face interaction during cultural peer-learning practices cannot be substituted. In this sense, thinking upon the leading question of this chapter (How can the face to face approach of peer-learning and its cultural events be replaced by online learning and activities) we would avoid the use of the word “replacement”. We would rather describe it as a shift that should be done carefully and with a pedagogical plan. Several practices can be used to make this online/digital shift meaningful for the participants.
Below you can find some tips that can ease the transition, limiting the challenges and the surprises. These have been described in literature (Aargon, 2003; Esani n.d, p.2) and relevant web-articles (see for example https://community.brightspace.com/s/article/The-Transition-from-Face-to-Face-to-Online-Learning-Maintaining-an-Engaging-Experience ):
Initial planning of the course/activity to be taught online.
Make sure you have gone through every little detail of the course/activity before its online release to avoid surprises and to maximize learner experience.
“It is important in the beginning to reflect upon who, what and how you are going to teach. It might take some time, but it is worth investing time in planning every single step that can lead to a consistent and coherent online educational experience. I usually send out an online questionnaire prior to the start of the course to get information about the participants and then I adapt my content accordingly. This can make the online experience more relevant to individual needs.” (non- formal STEAM educator in a makerspace in Athens, Greece)
Creating an environment of social presence when going online.
Relevant studies (Aargon, 2003; Esani n.d) show that there is a strong link between the sense of being with one-another and the overall satisfaction of the participants in an online experience. It is worth dedicating time early in the beginning (ideally during the planning stage) on how the sense of social presence will be enhanced or boosted.
“When the online session started, we were given the floor to present ourselves and talk about our expectations related to the online activity. I felt that something good was happening. Definitely this was essential to get to know each other and help us synchronize our efforts later on” (online participant in the BEREADY Erasmus+ course for teachers about virtual galleries, May 2022).
Participants have an interactive role
There is high risk online, participants end up having passive roles and ultimately lose their interest. An environment of social presence can positively impact the maintenance of learners’ engagement in the online course and/or the online activity. The same applied to the use of practices that infuse interactivity (i.e. discussions, brainstorming tasks, working together online, role-playing tasks, reflective tasks, online navigation to sites of interest, engagement in experience sharing and more) in the online sessions and give participants an active role.
“In an attempt to familiarize participants with the concept of virtual galleries, I invited them to visit online selected galleries and then to form groups and discuss their experiences in break out rooms. This worked well as all the groups went deeper in the content of the course and share thoughts and reflections in the plenary later on” (Trainer in the online BEREADY Erasmus+ course on virtual gallery creation, May 2022).
Reflect upon the teaching experiences and constantly improve your practices
It is important for the trainers to reflect upon their teaching experiences and recognize whether there is room for improvement. It is recommended to reflect upon what went well and what did not and improve teaching practices or educational resources. Mechanisms for seeking feedback by the participants/trainees may help the trainer identify weak and strong points of the learning experience.
‘In the end of each session I invited the trainees to fill in an online form. The form had only 3 questions: 1. What went well 2. What did not go well and 3. What new they learnt’. Their feedback was enlightening and helped me improve the next sessions” (teacher trainer active in the eCraft2Learn H2020 project activities, Athens, GR, 2017).
Enter into a sharing practice: inspire others and get inspirations from other teachers/educators
Last, it is important for the trainers to promote the work that is taking place online. The results of the online cultural peer-learning activities can be shared with others (i.e through social media announcements, electronic press releases, participation in online events, posts in websites or digital walls of fame, online presentations, open discussions etc). Through a sharing practice, trainees can inspire other fellows and get inspiration from one another but also to deeper reflect upon their learning experience.
“When the sessions ended, I decided to put trainees’ work on FB. This raised their enthusiasm. What is more we received nice comments that boosted participants’ confidence and sense of achievement” (Teacher trainer in the Roboscientists EU project, Athens, GR, 2019)