UVAC is in partnership with a UK, Greek, Italian and Turkish consortium led by Cogito Development Projects in a research project termed IDEAL – Improving Digital Education for All Learners – formed in response to the rapid changes that occurred in the education and skills sector during Covid-19.

1. Identifying the scale of the emergency response to the pandemic in the use of digital technologyto deliver teaching, learning and assessment in FE, HE and work-based learning
2. Promotethe value of using a variety of learning technologies
3. Creating a digital competency frameworkfor teachers, tutors, and facilitators of teaching, learning and assessment
4. Fostering inclusivenessin blended and online learning
5. Developing digital pedagogy and delivery models
6. Creating guidance in the form of institutional level roadmapsto deliver online infrastructure and training

The pandemic has accelerated a trend towards online and digital methods to support higher, technical apprenticeship and work-based/integrated learning. A movement can be seen from initial ‘emergency online teaching and learning’ to better thought out and more pedagogically effective use of technology. A blended approach is appearing post-Covid, with the learning and logistical benefits from digital methods ensuring that many of the changes implemented are likely to be adopted permanently. Progress is however uneven, and there is still a need for improved practice in online methods and to improve the integration of theoretical and practical learning and address issues of learner difficulties and appropriate adjustments.

Part of the purpose of the research we have undertaken as IDEAL partners is to tell the stories of what adaptations have happened during Covid – what works well and not well. What we mean by ‘digital pedagogy’ has also been central to our exploration. For some, digital pedagogy is not about using digital technologies for teaching. More precisely it is about approaching those tools from a critical pedagogical perspective. So, in effect it is as much about using digital tools thoughtfully as it is about deciding when not to use digital tools and technology, and about paying attention to the impact of digital tools on teaching, learning and assessment.

For more information about this project and its ongoing development in 2022, contact [email protected].