The Inter-Orthodox Center of the Church of Greece (DKEE) online courses using the moodle platform:

presentation of a primary and secondary education teachers’ training good practice

Ioanna KomninouKonstantinos AntoniouXanthie Chouliara

Maria Frentzou

DKEE- Interorthodox Center of the Greek Church

The Interorthodox Center of the Church of Greece

• was established in 1969• offers on site teacher training and development courses since 2009• started developing online courses using Moodle in 2010• trained over 1000 teachers in using web 2.0 tools, podcasting, online presentations, blogs and innovative teaching and learning techniques such as creative thinking• is working under the supervision of the Institute of Educational Policy (former Pedagogical Institute) and the Greek Ministry of Education• was awarded in 2012 with the “Excellency and Innovation” award by the Greek Ministry of Education

Target group: primary and secondary education teachers

Designing took into consideration researches, case studies and previous implementations of online training of teachers in Greece, Europe and the US

Most of the data was gathered from surveys conducted by the Greek National Support Service for eTwinners, in 2007 and more systematically in 2010.

The implementation of the first online eTwinning courses, the online training in the eTwinning action and the online courses offered by the European Schoolnet (EUN), have been a valuable experience for the overall design of the DKEE’s training, since the instructors who designed the courses for DKEE played an active role in the above mentioned surveys and implementations of the above mentioned on line training courses.

Designing the DKEE Online Courses

The ADDIE model was used

• and included the following phases: - - analysis- - design- - development- - implementation- - evaluation

DKEE aims (1)

- to materialize the vision of "The New School“ to offer Lifelong Learning opportunities for teachers

- to support the implementation of the “New Curricula”

- to promote innovative practices for the optimal and most effective classroom teaching

DKEE aims (2)

- to familiarize teachers with synchronous and asynchronus online learning in order to use them in their everyday teaching, European projects, school projects and also for their own academic development.

- to promote technologies already used in schools in Europe, the US and Australia

Instructional Models applied

A variety of educational models were used in these online courses, taking into consideration the course content, the needs and the skills of the participants

The most successful were the social models like LT (Learning Together) and STAD

•  Organizing the digital classroom (1)

• - The absence of face to face contact was taken into account

• - Before participating, all trainees were aware of the aims and objectives, the required time for completion of activities, the most important dates, the required software and hardware  and the necessary ICT skills

• - A simple and repetitive structure was selected

• Organizing the digital classroom (2)

• Each course was organized  into fixed layout modules: • 1. learning stimulus • 2. objectives• 3. presentation of the learning material • 4. assignments• 5. reflection

• The repetition of this layout was easily "recognizable" by participants who felt that there was a logical sequence .

• Technologies (1)

• - they were aiming to give access to all participants• - the course material was designed to be

accessible even over low-speed dial up services

• Instructors chose the Moodle platform of the Greek School Network (GSN) which is a free service for all Greek teachers

• Technologies (2)

• Moodle was used to:

- organize the courses on the platform, - create a digital library, - plan the activities,  - announce upcoming events - host online discussions, - enhance collaborative learning.

 

• Technologies (3)

• The moodle platform offers tools:

• - to create a register • - to record the progress of learners • - to post assignments for evaluation • - to form work groups and allow access to assessment

tests and self-assessment techniques• - to develop courses for a variety of teaching methods

such as role playing or "competitive" techniques.

• Technologies (4)

• Synchronous videoconferences with experts were hosted on and recorded with "Wiziq"

•  • Rich multimedia learning objects were developed with

"eXe", and "Articulate" (presenter and engage) and exported in a SCORM format, highly compatible with Moodle

• The role of educators (1)•

The instructors are experts in online learning and adult education and undertook several roles during DKEE seminars

• - They designed and created an interactive learning environment

• - They promoted interactive networked socialization• - They were “present” for all participants and set up the

learning pace• - They helped learners built up knowledge and skills

through workgroups

• The role of the educators (2)

• They have the double role of educator and researcher

• The trainers timed all video, audio files and electronic books or articles the participants had to review

• If participants encountered problems the instructors contacted them through e-mail or instant messages via moodle, to help them

In the DKEE courses we used a complex development and evaluation model

• Apart from the model proposed by Laurillard, Scardamalia and Bereiter (Scardamalia,. & Bereiter, 1994) identified 3 characteristics of such a dialogue of knowledge construction:1.The center of the learning process are more the problems and the deeper understanding, rather than the mechanical reproduction of knowledge.2. The learning activity is decentralized free construction of knowledge, with particular emphasis on collaborative learning, where questions and reflections aim at a deeper understanding.3. The knowledge affects the wider community and it is not limited to trainers and trainees.

Evaluation Method- Evaluation Model

In the case of the DKEE online courses, we used as many of the classical methods that could be adapted:

- we asked the trainees of the pilot implementation of the courses to test the platform and its use and to report their observations,

- we daily checked the trainees activities in the courses and we gave an online evaluation questionnaire in each course, using the Likert scale.

The Benefits of the DKEE Courses (1)

Regarding all the above, the benefits from this type of training are sufficient and this was proven by the findings of the quantitative evaluation

The Benefits of the DKEE Courses (2)

1.The courses corresponded to the needs of the trainees. 81% of the trainees thought that the programme corresponded totally to their expectations and 17% found it quite sufficient.

2. According to the evaluation the instructors, fulfilled their tasks: 74% of the trainees judged that their needs have been totally covered and 21% found it sufficient in a big extent.

The Benefits of the DKEE Courses (3)

3. As for the efficiency of the electronic platform (moodle), 57% judged that it covered totally the needs of the course whereas 23% judged that the platform has been quite sufficient for the needs.

4. The educational material has been appropriate for the needs of the course: 81% said that they were very satisfied; whereas 17% answered that they were quite pleased.

The Benefits of the DKEE Courses (4)

5. On participants’ time management:  48% managed their time very effectively, whereas 29% answered that they managed their time quite effectively.

6. Trainees have been very positive concerning the attendance of future courses: 88% said they would definite attend more DKEE courses and 11% said they would most likely do so

Sustainability

• Regarding the re-implementation of the courses  for other teachers, 87% said they would recommend it by all means to other teachers and 13% said they would agree to the re-implementation of all the courses  for all teachers.

Conclusion

• - Online learning is gaining ground in teacher professional development

• - Skilled e-learning professionals (instructional designers, content developers, facilitators etc.) are required to design and offer high quality online courses

• - The Moodle platform meets all requirements to host a rich online learning environment

• - The case study of DKEE online courses shows that online learning can provide high quality professional development

Thank you!