Course overview

Nowadays there is a growing trend towards enabling distance learning and integrating Information and Communications Technology into teaching and training. There a number of apps, web design and e-learning tools that offer educators great opportunities but not without challenges. Platforms like Moodle, Edmodo, Weebly, ect., can be a muddy environment and approaching them without a proper guidance can be a time-consuming task.
Taking part in this training course teachers, trainers and education managers will learn how to create engaging multimedia content, web sites, blogs and e-learning platforms to support distance and blended learning. Through an hands-on approach and learning-by-doing methodology participants will create their first e-learning course and website during the one week training course for teachers and education staff.

Main objectives

This structured course allows participants to improve their ICT and digital skills in a practical and concrete way together with other participants and trainers throughout all Europe thus gaining as well a broader understanding of education in Europe and exchanging best practices and experiences. The general aim of this course is to foster excellence in education by empowering teachers, trainers, headmasters and other education staff to integrate web platforms into teaching and education.
This course will guide participants through the basic steps of using web platforms and apps to allow distance learning, developing a web site and integrating e-learning and distance learning in their educational pathways. During the week the participants will explore tools and platform to support blended learning that is combining short-term face-to-face education with virtual learning. By the end of the training each participants will create his/her own website and an e-learning space.
The course has a flexible approach in order to adapt the learning outcomes to the particular needs and digital competencies of the participants.
Thanks to this course the participants will:

• Get an overview of the most important new technologies and web platforms to enable e-learning and distance learning;
  
• Learn how teachers and students can easily create and edit multimedia content;
  
• Learn how to create an engaging website or blog;
  
• Learn how to set up and manage an e-learning platform and involve students (and parents) in the learning process;
  
• Learn how to give to education an extra dimension and how to boost learners motivation through using new technologies;
  
• Learn how to deliver blended courses and combine face-to-face education with virtual learning;
  
• Improve their ICT skills and their knowledge about e-learning and blended learning;
  
• Exchange best practices and share experiences with participants and staff coming throughout Europe;
  
• Make contacts with individuals and organizations working in the education field in Europe through everyday cooperation and networking activities.
  

Courses planned

​Bologna
16/02/2020 - 22/02/2020
01/11/2020 - 07/11/2020
18/04/2021 - 24/04/2021
14/11/2021 - 20/11/2021
                                        
Palermo
26/07/2020 - 01/08/2020
01/08/2021 - 07/08/2021

If none of these dates suits you please mind that if there are at least 8 participants interested we may organize an additional session ad-hoc for your school.

Target audience

This course is addressed to teachers, trainers, educational counsellors, career counsellors, school psychologists, headmasters, school management and administrative staff working in primary schools, secondary schools, vocational schools, training centres, adult education schools, higher education and NGOs.
This course is recommended for people with basic computer skills. If you consider yourself an intermediate ICT user we recommend you to enroll in our course “Integrating ICT and new technologies into teaching and education”.

Language

The course is held in English. For groups with at least 8 participants, we can organize an ad-hoc session in a different language. 
Please write an email to staff@ifom.info to get more information about it.

Standard daily programme

Please find below the standard indicative daily programme that will be personalized on participants needs and professional profiles.
Our standard program comprises 7 days of course, of which the first one is dedicated to networking, preparation and cultural immersion and the last one to follow up, specific needs and cultural activities. Please note that we always do our best to accommodate the specific needs of our participants in a flexible way, including but not limited to budget restrictions and travel arrangement. Participants can choose to arrive 1 day before the start of the course and/or leave one day after the end of it in order to enjoy a deeper cultural immersion. Upon specific request we can organize longer or shorter versions of this course.

Sunday	-  Participants arrival  -  Individual orientation and information about the venue and the city   -  Networking activities  -  Guided visit in Bologna (optional)  -  Welcome dinner
Monday	-  Course introduction -  Competences ex-ante evaluation -  The growing trends towards integrating new technologies and web platforms into education -  How to easily create outstanding multimedia content and video lessons -  Practical work: using web solutions and apps to edit and create multimedia content -  Practical work: creating a video-lessons to be embedded in a website or e-learning platform
Tuesday	-  The basic principles and elements in web design -  The most common online website builders to easily create a website -  Introducing Weebly, a powerful and easy to use web hosting and design service -  Practical work: creating the website and the first page -  Getting to know more the Weebly drag-and-drop website builder -  Practical work: adding a page to you website or a post to your blog -  Practical work: giving a structure to your website -  Practical work: adding a photo gallery to your website -  Practical work: embedding a video in your website -  Practical work: adding a survey or a test  -  Cultural activities in Bologna and traditional Italian aperitif
Wednesday	-  Practical work: creating a project work website -  Practical work: planning and building your website or blog -  Introduction to collaborative web tools and Google apps -  Practical work: creating a Google form and embed it in your site/blog -  Guided visit in Florence or another Italian city (optional)
Thursday	-  Introduction to e-learning, blended learning and flipped classroom -  Focus on Edmodo as a social learning community -  Practical work: creating and e-learning space -  Practical work: adding student to the e-learning classroom -  Practical work: creating and administering a quiz and an assignment -  Practical work: awarding a learning badge and entering a grade -  Practical work: creating a subgroup to tailor student learning and enable project work -  Practical work: adding tracking tools to your course
Friday	-  Changing perspectives: the point of view of students and parents on an e-learning platform -  Practical work: simulating how students and parents can use an e-learning platform by taking quizzes, submitting assignments, downloading documents … -  Review on additional useful web platforms, apps and e-learning tools to enable distance and blended learning -  Tailored practical work based on the participants learning needs and expectations -  Dinner in traditional Italian restaurant
Saturday	-  Space for discussion of future cooperation and planning follow up activities  -  Course roundup and final evaluation  -  Validation of learning outcomes and certification ceremony  -  Additional training session tailored to specific needs (optional)  -  Cultural activities or additional guided visit in another major Italian city (optional)  -  Participants departure

Pre-registration

Other relevant facts

• Methodology
• Costs and Erasmus+ Funding
  
• Certification and Validation of learning outcomes
  

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We tailor the working methods based upon participants’ needs, attitudes and professional profiles in order to ensure high productivity, effectiveness and transferability into practice.
The standard methodology is highly practical and participative with hands-on approach that comprises real-job examples, case studies examination and simulations. We embrace collaboratively working methods that foster mutual learning and cooperation among participants. Our focus is on learning in an interactive and international environment knowledge applicable to the real contexts and/or in the classroom. The pedagogical methods that we use are based upon experiential training, group and peer activities, learning-by-doing and best practices’ exchange. They include visits with local schools and institutions allowing the participants to better understand the local education system as well as exchange ideas and contacts.
Morning Wrap-up and brief daily evaluations are foreseen to ensure quality of education and to adapt the learning programme to participants' needs better tailoring the education.
We organize optional social, networking and cultural activities in order to give participants the opportunity to know Italy as well as to exchange best-practice and establish professional cooperation and links.
The training and staff team is multinational thus giving a full European dimension to the course.

​Teachers, trainers, headmasters and any other staff of education organizations are eligible to receive an Erasmus+ grant covering all the costs to attend our training courses including travel, board and lodging, cultural activities and all fees. Our training courses are tailored to be fully funded by Erasmus+ and we offer different options to ensure that the Erasmus+ grant will be sufficient. Read more about Erasmus+ funding, shall you have any problem with your grant please let us know and we will see how to accommodate your needs.
 The most common option that we offer to schools and organisations costs EUR 1220 and includes course fee, certification and support fee, accommodation in single room, all coffee breaks, 3 meals per day, walking tour in the venue’s city and local transport during the training course. Based on your preferences and budget you can request different services, a less inclusive/cheaper package or you can choose to organize the board and lodging by yourself and opt to just attend the training course. Read more about how we take care of your subsistence.

At the end of the course, each participant will be awarded a certificate of attendance including a description of training content and as well as its starting and end date, together - if requested -  with the Europass Mobility Certificate.
We support the participants in every step of certification an d validation of learning outcomes with specific focus on European instruments and Erasmus plus requirements such as staff mobility/learning agreement, quality commitment and Europass mobility certificate.
We experienced that schools and education organizations may require additional documents to certify the competences learned or the presence in the training course. Upon request we can provide additional certification and reporting documents as well as we provide photos of the training course and a sum-up video that can be used for visibility and dissemination purposes.

Videos and photos of previous training courses

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