News . Best Practices Interactive lessons using Open Educational Resources and enhanced by ICT skills
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Within the “Voievodul Mircea” High School in Targoviste, a group of three teachers, including Mrs. Nae Florentina Laura, was formed and collaborated to implement a structured scenario – Rewilding. A total of 35 pupils aged 14-16 years participated in the activities. Students improved their ICT skills, using different platforms (PREZI, ANIMOTO, MIND MAP) to document and present different case studies. The activities allowed for a modern, cross-curricular approach, transforming the classroom into a creative learning environment, where pupils learned new ways of solving problems, acquired those skills targeted by the curriculum, created and used tools in an innovative way. The students presented their products in an activity in which three experts from Valahia University in Targoviste participated.
CARE: The resources were very useful as they motivated the teacher to rethink the lesson and increase the students’ input in their learning process. The STEM lesson becomes motivating not only for me as a teacher, but also for the students by developing students’ ability to collaborate with others when tackling a problem and formulating solutions.
KNOW: The activities allowed us to take a modern, transdisciplinary approach, room classroom thus transforming it into a creative learning environment where students and learnt new ways of solving problems, acquired those skills targeted by the curriculum, created and used tools in an innovative way. Science and technology are part of our lives and using them in a way that adds value is important.
DO: The students were really engaged in the new activities proposed by the new type of lesson, and through direct observation we recorded the students’ willingness to participate in a greater number of lessons designed on the new structure, the students felt attracted by the new learning/expression possibilities. The challenges and opportunities created by the COVID-19 pandemic, led to the unprecedented use of digital technology during this period. Even though at first students wondered “Can I do this?” “Will I be able to do it well?” “How can I do it better? “, the freedom to experiment, the accessibility of the platform, the ease of use and their engagement led to positive feedback.
Open Schooling findings: Open educational resources are useful for designing a modern, interactive lesson, involving rethinking the classic lesson. The use of OERs aims/has aimed to increase student motivation, adapting the instructional-educational approach in the manner of a modern, interactive lesson.
Students’ results: Through CONNECT resources, the lesson became cross-curricular, following the STEM model. Students improved their ICT skills, using different platforms (PREZI, ANIMOTO; MIND MAP) to document and present different case studies.