Extended IO1 report available here

 

The IO1 consists of 2 main parts. (1) a small private online course (SPOC) for pilot participants; and a (2) self-guided open online course.

​

In the methodological conception, great importance was attached to linking theory and practice. The development of "knowledge and skills" and the ability to reflect, analyse and evaluate are high-quality "learning outcomes" of this educational offer. Diversity and gender competence are focused on in all sessions so that graduates in their role as multipliers can contribute to a social, ecological and economic balance both in their professional sphere of influence and in their personal living space.

​

1st phase: SPOC

Partners created a course to promote environmental awareness using plants and ambient technologies in schools. In the first instance, a small private online course (SPOC) intended to support the study participants in their tasks during the later pilots.The SPOC was designed in a blended learning format, combining 5 online synchronous sessions with asynchronous learning in between them. The online sessions took place in the period from September 2021 to January 2022. Based on the predefined learning objectives, each session consisted of short presentations by different experts and reflection and discussion phases to enable an exchange of experiences between the international participants.

​

The presentation documents and accompanying material were made available on a Moodle learning platform. For completing the SPOC and getting a certificate the participants had to complete various tasks such as developing learning/teaching settings, observation diaries etc. between the online sessions. Each topic was concluded by a self-learning test to consolidate the learning success. Gamification elements, such as badges, were integrated throughout the SPOC to increase learning motivation. The SPOC was rounded up at the live face-to-face meeting in Vienna in June 2022 (C1 LTT Workshop).

​

Topics of the Sessions: 

1. Influence of plants

2. Plants/plant requirements/planters

3. Plants - Humans – Society

4. Pedagogic action research

5. Planters, Sensors and visualisation technology

6. A total of 26 participants took part in the SPOC. 

2nd Phase: unguided self-study open online course.

In this project phase, the content of the earlier SPOC is shared openly through an open licence and access to the course is opened up to everyone. This open online course not only serves the continued exploitation of the developed materials and methods, it also enables self-study and deep learning of the topic area. Teachers may use the material in their own settings.

The open online course consists of 5 modules, whereby all modules (influence of plants, planters, plants - humans – society, pedagogic actions research, plants, sensors & visualisation technology) have the same structure, and, thus, easy access to content has been created. At the beginning, the learning objectives are presented, followed by the compulsory materials such as documents, presentations and videos. In the next chapter, the tasks of the modules are explained. In some modules, optional deepening materials are offered.

​

Anonymous access is possible without registration. All content can be used, but no certificate of completion is possible. In order to receive a certificate of completion, registration is required. The online course is also equipped with gamification elements. Therefore,  a set of badges based upon the updated module titles was developed. In order to check the tasks for those participants willing to make the whole certificate, the activity completion criteria based on each module tasks were fixed. Then, the badges were combined with the tasks for each module. Participants get a badge automatically when they complete the relevant module tasks. After completing all module tasks, the participants get a certificate of completion which is issued automatically.

​

The Open Online Course is available here:

​