eCraft2Learn

As part of the eCraft2Learn project, the consortium hosted two capacity building workshops with teachers in Greece and Finland. The workshops were carried out in two rounds and aimed to introduce teachers to the eCraft2Learn ecosystem, possible uses of the different tools implemented in the Unified User Interface, and challenges that might come up.

To familiarise teachers with the eCraft2Learn ecosystem towards computer-supported artefact creation and to raise awareness about activities that can be carried out using the implemented tools, eCraft2Learn hosted two capacity building workshops. During these workshops, teachers were approached as learners first and teachers second, ensuring a better understanding of students’ learning processes and expected intrinsic motivation, creativity and curiosity.

The workshops were carried out in two rounds with participants from Greece and Finland. The first round took place in September 2017 and followed the main aim of familiarising teachers with the eCraft2Learn methodology as well as the implemented technologies, tools and resources. It further aimed to prepare them for the implementation of the system in their classes. The second workshop round was carried out after the first pilot with students and primarily aimed to address possible challenges that emerged and update teachers about new developments in the eCraft2Learn ecosystem.

Following the capacity building workshops, evaluation measures were carried out. These included a questionnaire with open questions, semi-structured interviews and field notes from group discussions. Thereby, participants were able to give feedback on their experiences, the content of the workshops, and their methodology as well as their arrangements. Participants were encouraged to engage in open discussions at the end of each session to gather additional feedback on individual issues in specific sessions.

Capacity building workshops in Greece

The capacity building workshops in Greece took place in Athens in two rounds. The workshops included an introduction to the eCraft2Learn ecosystem as well as the five stages of the craft- and project-based methodology, an exploration of the tools that can be used for computer-supported artefact construction, and an exploration of expected outcomes. Important considerations in the implementation of the workshops were a realistic timeframe with respect to the restricted time of teachers, as well as the fact the teachers had no previous contact with the eCraft2Learn tools and therefore needed optimal support.

The first workshop round was carried out in September/October 2017 with twenty teachers and lasted twenty hours, divided into five sessions. In these sessions, teachers were introduced to the eCraft2Learn methodology as well as the different tools and electronic elements. Furthermore, the workshops included pedagogical considerations and reflections.

The second round of the capacity building workshops took place in April/May 2018 with ten participants and lasted about 16 hours, divided into five sessions. In this round, a special focus was put on teachers’ requests and recent developments in the project. Furthermore, the sessions included pedagogical considerations, familiarisation with the updated version of the Unified User Interface, practice sessions for the tools,  familiarisation with the concept of learning analytics in education, and more.

Capacity building workshops in Finland

The two rounds of capacity building workshops in Finland took place in Joensuu. The first round lasted a total of twelve hours and included nine participants, the second round had a duration of 18 hours and six participants.

The first round took place in September/October 2017 and consisted of six sessions. These sessions included an introduction to the eCraft2Learn ecosystem, pedagogical ideas and the five stages of craft- and project-based methodology, as well as the technology usage within pedagogical activities. The workshop sessions were shaped similarly to the ones in Greece.

Round two of the workshops took place in March 2018 and consisted of six sessions, focussing on the familiarisation with the updated version of the eCraft2Learn Unified User Interface, the AI programming blocks and the new learning analytics teacher interface. Furthermore, teachers’ feedback was accommodated, especially the fact that more practice with the programming environment was needed.

Feedback

After each workshop round, feedback was gathered through an online questionnaire. In these surveys, participants were asked to state strong points of the workshops, weak points, recommendations, challenges, and suggestions for the implementation of the eCraft2Learn ecosystem. The evaluation of the feedback concluded in the main finding that the training sessions were a useful experience for teachers in multiple ways. The participating teachers valued the opportunity to experience physical participation in an authentic maker space that offers a broader concept of STEAM methods and tools. Furthermore, the conducted self-reflections on their experiences supported the assimilation and adoption of good practices.

During the workshops, several challenges were encountered, the main one being time – the familiarisation with the eCraft2Learn system can be rather time-consuming, which is why more time for practical skill training would have been needed.

Links

Project website:

https://project.ecraft2learn.eu/

Unified User Interface:

https://ecraft2learn.github.io/uui/

Keywords

Workshops, capacity building, training, teachers, programming, AI, feedback, ecosystem, projects, STEAM