From April 1, 2021 to March 31, 2023, the project “Beyond COVID-19: The new era of teaching. Digital learning for social inclusion” has been completed. It brought together Portugal, Italy, Romania and Cyprus to sustainably and effectively support the current Education system, providing European teachers with new knowledge for a high-quality and inclusive digital Education and also providing all interested parties with the resources and materials that lead to a good use of technology for Education and Training purposes.
In Portugal, the activities inherent to the project were promoted and implemented by AIDGLOBAL, which contributed to the creation of pedagogical content, aimed to identify the best learning strategies and the most appropriate digital and technological tools to respond to the training needs of students who are in situations of greater vulnerability.
Alongside the actions developed, the “EU bet!” Academy was promoted. The initiative involved 83 people, provided a set of 5 online and face-to-face training courses as well as Webinars.
Climate Change, Equality between Women and Men, Hate Speech, Mentoring and Autobiography were the topics addressed in the accredited training actions, carried out online, in collaboration with training centers in Madeira, Famalicão and Vila Franca de Xira. The scripts of these actions are available for consultation here.
The project realized a Study, published in December 2021. It aimed to assess the gaps in digital pedagogical skills that emerged during the 2020 lockdowns and identify common needs of teachers and schools. The research highlighted the importance of using digital technologies to increase the inclusion, personalization and active involvement of students, including those with greater vulnerabilities (see Study here).
It is always good to remember that, at the beginning of the project, AIDGLOBAL promoted the Webinar “Digital Education: part of a path to Social Inclusion?” Dec 2021) with the purpose of establishing the relevance of gradual training and a set of inclusive strategies capable of ensuring continuity of teaching, providing online classes and distance support. The event brought together 35 participants, including researchers, teachers, members of the educational community and other interested parties, and was also marked by the presentation of the first National Report of the “bet” project. Other moments of reflection followed: the training “Education in Citizenship: resources, tools and learning, for an integrated approach in the School” (Funchal, Nov. 22) and the action “New technologies applied to Formal Education: dynamics for cooperation, communication and citizenship” (Alverca, March 23), from which dialogue opportunities were discussed for teachers to develop critical thinking around Citizenship Education.
The participation of teachers and educators covered (162 in Portugal; 515 in Europe) is the result of the effort made between partner and international organizations, and is also a reflection of the desire to promote training and learning opportunities that are a way to ensure a better quality of teaching in a digital context.
“Beyond COVID-19” ended in March 2023 and was constituted as a project that provided teachers and educators with tools, practices and knowledge to facilitate their participation and involvement with young people, applying pedagogical strategies that promote change.
“Beyond COVID-19: The new era of teaching. Digital learning for social inclusion ”is a European project funded by Erasmus +, being promoted by Oxfam Italy, in partnership with AIDGLOBAL, Actionaid, Agenda 21 and Lama.
