MOOC: New Competences for the 21st Century
“Students are hungry and passionate about innovation,” says Liliya Terzieva, a lecturer at the University of Applied Sciences in Breda.
As part of the second training group of the InnovaT project, part of the Erasmus+ program, the MOOC, was launched in mid-June, with the aim of incorporating the design thinker approach into the working dynamics of teachers, “the MOOC takes place over six weeks, along with YouTube videos that are delivered after the end of each week. Current and future student-innovators are “hungry and passionate about innovation” in all its forms, i.e. psychology of learning, incorporating an entrepreneurial mindset, improving classroom motivation, training in technological competencies on how to create powerful and effective videos, innovation games and notions of collective creativity. They are also very interested in incorporating the new role of teachers in designing the tools of thought and co-creation,” says Liliya Terzieva, a lecturer at the University of Applied Sciences in Breda.
Virtual training has included the participation of teachers from Peru (853), Chile (294) and other Latin American countries, along with Europe and the United States (134).
The MOOC has helped teachers understand that innovating is not only incorporating technology into the class to replicate the classic teaching model, but rather developing new knowledge, skills, which are required in today’s world. As the professors of the University of Viña del Mar point out, “the MOOC delves into the framework of 21st Century Skills and contributes in terms of innovation in the resources I use, since we have been introduced to a great diversity of tools. I am drawn to Design Thinking, prototyping and the World Café,” says Constanza Garcés López, professor of Psychopedagogy.
Meanwhile, Danilo Reyes, professor and coordinator of Bibliographic Services, adds, “my main challenge now is to transform this educational model, through the use of technology, into an environment of greater co-creation in the classroom or in digital environments. I am currently preparing an online course and I believe that InnovaT has offered many tools to improve my project.”
In this sense, there is a lack of knowledge on the part of teachers of technological resources and methodological strategies prior to the training in MOOC, “I had heard of Design Thinking, Analytical Timeline and Serious Games, but I had not thought about applying them to my teaching practices. Now I see that they are very useful and contribute to the creation of meaningful knowledge for students. I liked the project because I have learned a lot from different people, both teachers and other students through the forums,” says Andrea Lizasoain, Professor of Education in English Language Communication at the Universidad Austral de Chile.
At the end of the training cycle, teachers who have participated in the sessions and completed 60% of the complementary activities will earn a certification that will validate their knowledge of educational innovation.
The InnovaT project will continue to carry out online and/or face-to-face activities in support of teachers, and a series of workshops will soon be launched.
