The situation we experienced during the COVID-19 spread, the lockdown and the sudden close of schools, led teachers and students to have to revolutionize their habits, applying their skills in a completely new scenario and rethinking their approach to teaching and learning. The habits of many families have also changed profoundly, with an inevitable impact on the emotional experience of their members.

What emerges is a light and shade scenario, at a time of still great uncertainty about future school years and possible similar events to be faced. If, on the one hand, Distance Learning has undoubtedly been fundamental in guaranteeing continuity for pupils, contributing to a significant improvement in digital skills among students and also among teachers, on the other hand, it has also been a source of stress and fatigue for both categories, a sign of how the school should be first and foremost a place of physical teaching and learning, where digital is a tool that does not want to replace traditional teaching but to complement it for a more innovative, dynamic and transversal approach. However, this period of ‘digital’ transition has led to improvements in terms of technological and problem-solving skills. 

In Italy, for example, according to a study by Microsoft, 70% of teachers stated that distance teaching had led to a significant improvement in their relationship with technology, generating considerable benefits in the performance of their profession: the use of digital tools had in fact made teachers more motivated (17%), more focused (9%) and more satisfied in general with their work (9%). Other strengths of distance learning were a general improvement in teaching planning (10%) and an optimization of time and costs (9%). However, it emerged among a minority of teachers – 14% – that it is difficult to engage students effectively during the lesson.  

Moreover, this transition has also led to the development of digital skills in students as well as to greater autonomy in the learning phase. Indeed, remote courses have enabled students, from the oldest to the youngest, to acquire digital skills – from participating in a virtual meeting to creating and sharing online content – much more quickly, triggering a value-based process that will help them in their future.

Indeed, exposure to interactive tools stimulated the interactive and digital skills of many students who, in an increasingly digitalized world, needed a more innovative and advanced approach. 

In fact, from their earliest years, children are exposed to technology and are increasingly attracted to these tools that are now considered of daily-use for everyone. 

It is clear that distance learning has accelerated the process of learning digital skills by preparing youngsters but also teachers for the future needs of the digital age. 

In this context the European Union is addressing the growing need for digital transition by supporting teachers, schools and students through a series of instruments directly funded through the Digital Education Action Plan (DEAP) 2021-2027, which envisages high quality, inclusive and accessible digital education, supported by enhanced cooperation and exchange at EU level. 

In this regard, the Commission included investments dedicated to education, training and skills development, but also programmes to support social education, including InvestEU, Erasmus + which supported, for example, our D.R.E.A.M project providing distance learning materials to parents, schools and communities, European Social Fund Plus, Horizon Europe, Digital Europe and Connected Europe Facility.  It also created a blog containing teaching resources and a platform for Ministries of Education to exchange good practices. In addition, it introduced the SELFIE self-assessment tool for teachers and platforms for student and teacher learning such as eTwinning and School education Gateaway.

Resources: 

• https://education.ec.europa.eu/focus-topics/digital-education/action-plan 
• https://education.ec.europa.eu/selfie 
• https://www.schooleducationgateway.eu/en/pub/index.htm 
• https://news.microsoft.com/it-it/2020/07/30/con-la-didattica-a-distanza-migliorano-le-competenze-digitali-di-docenti-e-studenti-cresce-la-coesione-tra-compagni-di-classe-ma-aumentano-stress-e-stanchezza-legati-allemergenza-del-modell-2/ 

Can technology replace humans? Maybe you asked this question frequently. Technology has facilitated many of our daily tasks. New devices, tools, features, platforms are being developed everyday in different areas. And as any life area, it has definitely influenced education and the education process as well. 

The influence of technology and its importance in education was especially observed and understood during the COVID-19 pandemic when the classes in the physical environment switched to online classes, when the teachers and students become voices and faces showing from a device, and the boards switched to screen share. Some teachers faced a completely new situation they had to adopt. Other teachers, the “lucky” ones already had some e-teaching skills and managed to continue the process with ease. The students faced a similar situation they now had to adopt. Some of them were equipped with all the required technological skills, others managed to earn the skills along the way or got help by their friends, family and teachers.

But what about those teachers and students living in remote rural areas lacking technological devices, tools, equipment; having no access to the internet? What about primary school children who were too young to manage the whole process themselves? What about parents having to help more than one child and still manage to work from home? Could technology replace the teacher? Probably not. However, it helped. 

Since technology was considered as a really important factor enabling worldwide communication, and it was vastly used by everyone for work and other daily tasks and activities and was also used as the main facilitator of the education process, the partners of D.R.E.A.M (Distance & Remote Education to Achieve More) Project decided to give their contribution in the teaching and learning process. If you are a teacher, student, parent or any individual aiming to know more about education, wondering how to use technology in teaching or learning, improve your skills or enhance your knowledge on different subjects, check: https://dreamdream.eu/ and https://www.youtube.com/@dreamdreamproject .

One of the goals of the DREAM project is to help teachers face some challenges posed by the shift in the teaching and learning settings that took place during the COVID-19 pandemic with face to face classes becoming online classes. Now that the pandemic is over, there is no turning back on the use of digital tools in the classroom. Students are being raised in a technological age and teachers must speak their “language” through the use of IT technologies in order to engage them in the learning process and these tools can be a great way to motivate students and foster their autonomy. But students get tired of using the same games or platforms after a while, variety is, therefore, imperative, and this can be an immense challenge for teachers who struggle to find the right tools for their students. 

Teachers need to do online research, they need to understand how the tools work and become proficient in using them and they need to prepare content, which is very time-consuming specially because of the immense variety of resources and the speed at which they are created by developers. 

A good strategy could be to create several categories for the tools according to the type of work to be developed, for example: videos, presentations, assessments, and how to organise learning and every time teachers discover a new tool, they can add them to the list and thus keep track of what they have at their disposal.

If we think about the assessment, which is always a sensitive topic for students, parents and teachers alike, there is a number of tools that can be used for assessment purposes and that will turn the process funnier and less stressful for students. They can be used in the classroom or at home, with the teacher or parents or autonomously by the students, for formal assessment moments or just for progress check, or as assessment disguised as competitions with the participation of the whole class.

As mentioned, the massive number of digital tools for education purposes available nowadays can be a problem for teachers due to the fact that the process of identifying the resources, learning how they work and prepare content to be used is a very time consuming one and that is why our project developed a set of video tutorials dedicated to Animaker, Book Creator, Canva, Ed Puzzle, Genially, and Kahoot that intends to help teachers overcome the initial obstacles.

These are just a few examples of the many resources that are available nowadays and that can be very useful to make classes more dynamic, to have students more engaged in the activities and that can contribute to well-balanced teaching and learning settings.

However, we all tried to do our best in facing it effectively. Teachers made efforts to organize their classes and continue the teaching process online in different forms. Educational institutions and the government tried to ensure the process continue and not to be completely interrupted. Parents assisted their children at home with the learning process and their homework. 

Nowadays, in similar or emergency situations, we should all have a plan to answer the questions:

• What should education institutions do?
• What should public bodies do?
• What should teachers do?
• Which are some technological tools to be used?
• Which strategies and guidelines would be effective?
• How can we help students?
• How can we help children leaning at home?

Distance & Remote Education to Achieve More (DREAM) project helps you answer the questions. 

An off/online platform is created in which you will be able to find 120 lesson plans and video lessons created by 72 teachers from all the partner countries trained on digital competences and tools, available in: English, French, Italian, Albanian, Turkish, Macedonian, Polish and Portuguese languages. These materials can be used by teachers to organize their own online classes during similar situations such as the pandemic. The videos and lesson plans cover all the subjects and can be used by teachers in finding relevant ideas and inspiration to create their own videos and explain new concepts to primary school pupils. They can be used by parents at home as well. Video tutorials being available in the platform on different digital tools such as: ANIMAKER, BOOK CREATOR, CANVA, EDPUZZLE, GENIALLY, and KAHOOT will also be available in the platform.

DREAM project has not only taken into consideration the three key actors in education, teacher-pupil-parent triangle, but also public bodies and the local government. In the platform you will find articles with recommendations on how municipalities can assist in improving the learning process especially for students living in remote and rural areas and the creation of dedicated spaces for all pupils to benefit. 

You will also be provided with information about how to increase the knowledge and awareness of teachers, parents and local governments on the importance of the sociological and psychological aspects of distance learning and the reduction of early school leaving. You can follow our website www.dreamdream.eu publications for more information and guidelines on how to facilitate the learning process in all the above-mentioned languages. 

Among other things, it is pointed out that children no longer live under the constant supervision of their parents, but are gaining the freedom to develop, think and form opinions independently. Children have increasing access, and at a younger age, to ICT. Despite the wave of criticism, there are voices about the necessity of relationships built through ICT, at least because of the democratisation of access to technology reinforced by the widespread diffusion of different types of digital tools among children from primary school onwards. Parents’ attitudes towards new media vary from pessimistic, through indifferent to positive. A group of informed parents perceive and experience many difficulties, in particular, in situations of control and intentional parental influence. The troubles and dilemmas that arise create a critical attitude towards the new media especially in situations of parental failure. Over the coming years, the style of digital media use will become more uniform among young people and their parents. This situation is linked to generational change. Both groups, however, need to strengthen the ‘soft’ components of digital competences related to the dangers of cyberspace. The development of digital media forces parents to undertake lifelong learning activities. Support from other parents and professionals, as well as self-education, becomes particularly useful in reducing the risks of the digital world. 

The D.R.E.A.M. project provides pedagogical support for children and parents in the safe and legitimate use of ICT in education. The materials prepared include tips and concrete advice for parents of children using digital tools. Very often, a lack of appropriate parenting competences, a poor relationship between the child and parents and the occurrence of problematic situations coexist with the dangers of the digital world. Therefore, special care should be taken to strengthen digital safety for children and young people from families characterised by inefficient upbringing.

In fact, we speak of the new generations as “digital natives” and the name itself expresses a kind of naturality in the bond of children belonging to the new generations with technology. The child gets used to the use of technological tools very quickly: from the very first interactive games to displays, up to acquiring familiarity with mobile phones, smartphones and tablets well before starting school,oftne starting from the age of 4. This attitude is not a negative deviation to be attributed to the digitization of society but rather a normal reaction of the child, which naturally imitates the context and actions of his/her parents.

The natural and fast approach to technological devices takes place in reality for a straightforward reason.  Screens, displays and especially the touch screen, aretools capable of breaking down the language barrier and articulation difficulties with written words and letters.

The experiences capable of igniting the intelligence of children today are very different from those of the past, and are based on a very fast learning method. The intuitive way in which children approach and interact with technological tools is the main reason for the increasingly widespread use of digital platforms in teaching and learning. Digital tools are able to communicate in a simple and direct way with “digital natives”, and for this reason, they are increasingly used in schools and all learning environments.

What is the role of parents in this digital learning and teaching?

As a parent, you should not be afraid to choose digital teaching tools for your children, but rather focus on using these tools correctly: children and young people instinctively know how to approach new educational means when well guided by adults, in the most constructive ways. These technologies can make learning at school and at home much more productive, thanks to their ability to transform the moment of study and homework into an opportunity for agile and fun growth. The daily use of digital tools by the little ones can be a little scary and cause some concern for parents. This is perfectly normal. However, remember that there is a huge difference between the daily and often poorly regulated use of technological tools with the sole purpose of passing the time and avoiding boredom, and the daily and measured use of the same tools and platforms for educational purposes. Children and technology can coexist peacefully, under the guidance of parents who know how to show them that this resource must be used judiciously and exploited for the many constructive possibilities it offers.

In fact, offering your children digital teaching tools to help them in self-study will allow them to:

• Organize their school commitment freely and autonomously;
• Work in continuity with the school curriculum, which takes place in the classroom;
• Learn to know and recognize their strengths and weaknesses, and to be able to work and to improve;
• Develop systems and study methods suitable for their needs and personal characteristics.

Getting your children used to the benefits of the many educational possibilities available today on digital platforms in a healthy wayw will allow them to understand the difference between harmful behaviour and abuse of technology. Awareness and a sense of responsibility are the key that will allow your children to grow: humanly, intellectually and academically.

Computer 2.0 tools are very useful for any teacher. In this technological age, it is important that teachers use all available resources to reach and engage their students.

The use of technologies in the classroom can have many advantages as a teacher when it comes to helping you achieve your educational goals and improve the cognitive abilities of your students. Since the Covid pandemic, computer 2.0 tools have become increasingly popular in the classroom and at home. However, preparing digital lessons for students is still for many teachers who do not yet feel confident enough in their abilities.

However, there is good news. These tools are usually designed to be so intuitive that even a beginner can master them!

That is why with the DREAM project, we are working towards the specific objective of helping teachers answer certain questions during the past two years of the pandemic.

What more can we do in distance education that has arisen during this pandemic?

How can we provide a better useful system for our students?

How can we make this system that has appeared in our lives easier to understand?

How can we facilitate access to technological tools?

How can we develop digital skills, improve distance education and compare how it is implemented elsewhere?

Why is digitizing education important?

Our students enjoy learning, doing their homework and playing online games via technological tools that they use in almost all areas, thus creating a peaceful and serene environment conducive to learning.

In this sense, the DREAM project offers our students a more playful and contemporary learning context thanks to the 2.0 digital tools that we have seen as part of this project during the remote implementation. We also contribute to the dissemination of this system with the training we give to teachers from different schools.

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