Module 4: Integrate the interactivity of screens, the involvement and motivation of learners in the learning process
Aim of the module
This module introduces the interactive potential of digital tools to enhance young people’s motivation to learn. The objective is to enable educators who engage with adults and children to help them integrate with the very dynamic nature of the relationship with screens and how they use them in their daily educational practices in a reasoned and rational way. Indirectly, the module helps parents of learners to understand that it is not the “screens” that are a problem, but their sometimes inappropriate use.
Learning outcomes
During this module learners will acquire knowledge of various interactive screen technologies, their features, and applications in education. They will gain the knowledge and skills to design and develop interactive learning materials, create engaging learning experiences, and troubleshoot technical issues related to interactive screens. By the end of the course, participants will be equipped to enhance student engagement, collaboration, and learning outcomes through the innovative use of interactive screen technologies:
Knowledge:
- Interactive screen technologies:
- Understanding of various interactive screen technologies, including touchscreens, interactive whiteboards, augmented reality (AR), and virtual reality (VR).
- Familiarity with the features, capabilities, and applications of different interactive screen technologies in educational settings.
- Educational potential:
- Knowledge of the pedagogical principles underlying the use of interactive screens for learning and instruction.
- Understanding of how interactive screen technologies can enhance student engagement, collaboration, and learning outcomes.
- Research and best practices:
- Awareness of research findings and best practices related to the effective integration of interactive screens in teaching and learning.
- Familiarity with case studies and examples demonstrating successful implementation of interactive screen technologies in educational contexts.
Skills:
- Integration of interactive elements:
- Ability to design and develop interactive learning materials and resources using screen-based technologies.
- Skill in selecting and incorporating interactive elements, such as multimedia content, simulations, and interactive exercises, into teaching and learning activities.
- Instructional design:
- Competence in designing interactive learning experiences that align with educational objectives, learner needs, and curriculum standards.
- Skill in creating interactive screen-based learning environments that promote active learning, exploration, and discovery.
- Technology integration:
- Proficiency in using interactive screen technologies and related software tools for educational purposes.
- Ability to troubleshoot technical issues and optimise the functionality of interactive screens for teaching and learning activities.
List of Topics
Interactive screens, such as smartboards and interactive whiteboards, have become essential tools in education. In this topic the learners will explore how the variety of features of these technologies can be utilised for motivating students to improve the quality of their learning process, and to understand the limitations of each technology, considering factors like budget, classroom size, and teaching style.
Interactive screens can significantly enhance the learning experience by creating a more engaging and motivating environment. In this topic the learners will understand how interactive screens can use multimedia content to facilitate group activities and promote student collaboration. The topic will demonstrate how incorporating interactive elements into lessons, educators can cater to different learning styles and make the material more accessible to students while fostering their critical thinking, problem-solving, and creativity.
Creating effective interactive learning experiences requires careful planning and consideration of pedagogical principles. In this topic, learners will be guided to develop learning-outcome-oriented lesson plans that align interactive technology with the specific pedagogical goals of the lesson. It’s essential to strike a balance between interactive and traditional teaching methods to ensure a well-rounded learning experience. Incorporating interactive elements, such as games, simulations, and quizzes, can make learning more enjoyable and memorable, however, applying technology often requires more sophisticated, well-designed classroom management than traditional frontal instruction.
Integrating interactive screens into the classroom will be successful only when the technology is paired with innovative teaching methods relevant to the new generation of students. In this topic, educators will learn how to effectively utilise the technology and explore innovative teaching approaches like flipped learning (FL) and project-based learning (PBL) to incorporate it into their instruction.
Objective, Key Concepts, Skills to Develop
This comprehensive module equips educators with the essential knowledge and skills to effectively integrate interactive screens into their classrooms.
By the end of this module, you will be able to:
- Understand interactive screen technologies.
- Harness their pedagogical power through innovative teaching methods.
- Design effective learning experiences with careful pedagogical planning and integrating them into the classroom successfully.
Guide for Learning
To enhance your learning, we have incorporated case studies, real-world examples, and interactive activities that allow you to practice using interactive screen features and design engaging lessons. We encourage you to actively engage with the core learning material, take notes, utilise additional resources, and practice regularly to achieve your learning goals. To evaluate your understanding and track your progress, we have included quizzes at the end of each module.
Motivating Case Study
The educational researcher Sugata Mitra started an experiment in 1999 in New Delhi to see how computers could be used in education in remote, isolated parts of the world where it was almost impossible to attract really good teachers. The experiment was to see what small children can do with computers without guidance if they get access to it through a screen?
First experience with a computer, TED talks of Sugata Mitra
He embedded a computer into a wall of a slum, with touch screen and high-speed internet connection. A few hours later an eight-year-old boy was teaching a six-year-old girl on how to surf on the internet.
Then came the big surprise: the children discovered how to record their own voice and play it back, they also experimented with their own music, enjoying the whole process.
All this happened in a small village where children, who didn’t speak English and had never seen a computer before. This experiment was repeated several times in different places around the world with similar experiences.
For more information on this topic visit his TED talks of Sugata Mitra.
https://www.ted.com/talks/sugata_mitra_the_child_driven_education/transcript?subtitle=en .
Topic 1 - Understanding interactive screen technologies and their applications
The power of interactive screen
The term of “interactivity” came into common use in the mid-20th century, particularly with the advent of computers and digital media, where it describes the dynamic and reciprocal communication between a user and a system, medium or environment.
Interactive screens, such as smartboards and interactive whiteboards, have become essential tools in education, as they have the potential for motivating students and improve the quality of their learning process.
One really cutting-edge AR and VR solution – Medicine Virtual – brought fundamental changes to learning about the anatomy. It offers unparalleled opportunities for medical students, allowing them to explore complex medical concepts in an interactive and engaging environment. Student performance improved by more than 45% after using this application, making it a valuable addition to teaching.
What might the secret be?
Have you ever wondered why a smartphone can hold a tiny child’s attention so firmly, eliciting tears when it’s taken away? Why is it that a few years later, the same child has difficulty concentrating in the classroom? What is it about the computer screen that seems to grab children’s attention in a way that teachers rarely can?
The answer to the question lies in the concept of interactivity. Innovative psychologists and educators like Seymour Papert have long recognised the power of interactivity in fostering active, creative learning. Papert emphasised the transformative impact of interactive computer experiences on learning, drawing a clear contrast with traditional, passive educational methods. He noted that interactive computers cultivate a self-directed, hands-on learning approach, empowering children to take control of the technology while reflecting on their own thought processes and learning strategies.
Medicine Virtual: Enhancing Anatomy Learning with 3D Visualisation
Source: https://www.medicinevirtual.com/
According to Papert, the interactive nature of computers helps children improve their thinking skills, self-correct their mistakes, and refine their cognitive strategies (Papert, 1981).
Papert emphasised the crucial importance of integrating computers into education, cautioning that an overreliance on traditional methods, without embracing technology, would make it increasingly challenging to engage a generation of students accustomed to interactive games.
A child who has grown up with the freedom to explore provided by such machines will not sit quietly through the standard curriculum dished out in most schools today. Already, children are made increasingly restive by the contrast between the slowness of School and the more exciting pace they experience in videogames and television. But the restiveness is only a pale precursor to what will come when they can freely enter virtual realities of animals in Africa or wars in ancient Greece. (Papert, 1993)
It has been 30 years since Papert articulated these ideas. He was one of the pioneering scientists who contributed to laying the foundations of artificial intelligence (AI), however, even he could not have anticipated how the rapid emergence of AI would dramatically amplify the urgency to transform educational systems in response to these challenges. Since then, smart devices and the internet have become essential tools in daily life, work, and learning. Lifelong learning has become a necessity, and rethinking the methods and opportunities for teaching and learning now affects all levels of education – from early childhood and higher education to adult trainings.
The pedagogical power of interactive screens
When personal computers were first introduced into classrooms, there was widespread belief that technology in education could revolutionise learning by fostering key 21st-century skills such as collaboration, communication, creativity, and critical thinking. However, extensive educational research has since demonstrated that digital technology alone does not automatically enhance learning outcomes; its effectiveness depends heavily on the pedagogical approach employed. The focus on pedagogy is critical. Technology may even inadvertently reinforce traditional, teacher-centred pedagogies rather than promote innovative, student-centered approaches. (Paniagua et.al, 2018)
A Hungarian educational researcher explains that the use of digital tools often reinforces – or even perpetuates – frontal teaching methods in the classroom, as the majority of teachers still rely on computers primarily for visual aids, such as PowerPoint presentations. An example of the ineffective use of computers in teaching is when students become absorbed in their individual screens or mobile phones, leading to isolation and a lack of meaningful interaction within the classroom. She argues that computers should be moved to individual learning spaces or used to support group work in the class. The classroom should focus on cooperative and collaborative methods, problem-based learning, and social interaction (J. Lannert, 2018).
To transform the traditional “chalk and talk” or “sit and listen” teaching methods into interactive, technology aided learning, pedagogical innovation is required. This won’t happen simply by bringing screens into the classroom while following the old, well-trodden path during lessons.
Pros and Cons
Advances in technology do indeed offer incredible new opportunities for education, but there is a danger if we looking at it as some kind of ‘magic wand’ with which the teachers draw a few circles in the air and out of the hat interactive, engaging learning is suddenly at the tip of their fingers, and their workload is also significantly reduced.
Being a teacher, one should have a clear understanding of the advantages and risks of interactive screens in students’ learning, as these tools are becoming central to modern education. On one hand, they offer immense potential to enhance engagement, personalised learning, and foster critical thinking through interactive and adaptive content. On the other hand, educators must navigate concerns such as screen time, digital distraction, and the potential for superficial engagement.
Examples
Positive examples for interactive science lesson
- A teacher uses an interactive simulation to show how earthquakes happen. Students adjust variables (pressure, tension) on the screen and instantly see the effects, leading to active discovery and clear understanding of complex processes.
- Students work in small groups using Google Docs to co-write a story. The teacher monitors progress in real time, giving quick feedback and supporting collaboration and peer learning.
Negative examples
- The teacher projects a busy website full of pop-ups and side ads. Students become distracted by unrelated content instead of focusing on the lesson objective.
- A teacher uses an interactive whiteboard only to show text-heavy slides. There’s no interaction or student engagement — the technology is used just like a static board, missing its active learning potential.
Common motives behind media manipulation include:
Resources
YouTube channel of Next Generation Science Link to the channel: https://www.youtube.com/@NGScience
Next Generation Science (NGScience.com) aimed at transforming primary science education from kindergarten to grade 6 by bridging the gap between traditional and modern learning methods.
Mentimeter
Link to the tool: https://www.mentimeter.com/
Mentimeter is used for live polls, quizzes, word clouds, and collecting student opinions in real time — helping everyone participate and making lessons interactive and fun!
What can we use Mentimeter for in our classroom?
- Kick-start discussions in class
- Get quick input from students
- Check student understanding
- Gather feedback before or after class
Activity
As a teacher of science, you are planning a lesson for 5th grade students about the water cycle. The learning goals are as follows:
- Enable students to understand and explain the stages of the water cycle (evaporation, condensation, precipitation, collection).
- Support students in linking the water cycle to environmental contexts (weather, climate).
Beyond achieving the learning outcomes, you intend to encourage collaboration and student-centred exploration and develop critical thinking by observing and explaining real-world processes.
In the classroom
You begin the lesson by posing a question: “Have you ever wondered how the rain gets to the clouds?” Briefly explains the learning goals and how the interactive digital tools will help visualise and understand this process.
Interactive session
Play a YouTube video on the water cycle, such as “The Water Cycle for Kids”.
Pause the video at each stage to ask guiding questions: “What do you notice here? What stage is this?” and link this visual experience to the textbook diagram, helping students connect dynamic and static representations.
Collaborative activity
The class should be divided into groups. Each group is assigned one stage of the cycle. They then explain their stage in front of the class, using the screen to illustrate their points.
Closing the lesson
You can use an interactive quiz on the screen with multiple-choice questions such as the “drag to correct stage” tasks. Immediate feedback on answers reinforces learning.
Topic 2 Designing interactive learning experiences
Active learning and its revival in the digital age
Education is at a crossroads, driven by the need to align teaching methods with the expectations and learning styles of a new generation of students. Traditional teaching approaches that are often reliant on passive learning, struggle to engage digital-native learners who are accustomed to dynamic interactive experiences in their everyday lives. For teachers, this presents both an opportunity and a challenge: how to harness digital tools to make learning not just relevant but transformative. The catalyst for a real pedagogical turnaround might be the concept that is not new but is gaining renewed relevance in the digital age – active learning.
Active learning, a pedagogical approach emphasising engagement, collaboration, and critical thinking, has been a part of educational discourse since the early 20th century. Pioneers like John Dewey advocated for experiential and participatory methods, recognising that students learn best when they are actively involved in the process.
The development of the active learning methods is rooted in the learning theory of constructivism, which highlights that knowledge is actively constructed by learners rather than passively received. Building on these ideas, contemporary methodologies like inquiry-based learning, flipped learning, and project-based learning focus on creating environments where students engage actively, think critically, and apply knowledge in meaningful contexts and they can use digital devices for their own research, for collaboration and communication.
The advent of the digital age has thrust active learning into the spotlight. Digital tools and technologies provide unprecedented opportunities to implement and scale active learning methodologies.
Pedagogical framework for planning active learning
Plan your interactive lesson by applying the pedagogical framework for active learning
Common motives behind media manipulation include:
Example
Planning lesson on photosynthesis
Learning outcomes
- Students will describe the process of photosynthesis in plants.
- Students will identify the role of sunlight, water, and carbon dioxide.
- Students will collaboratively visualise and present photosynthesis stages.
Choosing active learning strategies
- Problem-solving scenario: “Why do plants in dark rooms not survive?”
- Collaborative diagram building and game-based learning.
Select relevant digital tools
- Visit the YouTube channel of Next Generation Science (https://www.youtube.com/@NGScience) and select the video on photosynthesis
- Use Kahoot or Mentimeter for reflection and quiz.
Introduction (5 min):
Start with a question on Mentimeter: “What do you think plants need to make food?”
Main activity (25 min):
- Watch the short video from NGS.
- In groups, students build a digital diagram on Google Jam board.
- Each group presents their diagram using the interactive screen.
Reflection (5 min):
Use Kahoot for a quick quiz and end with “What was the most surprising fact?” on Mentimeter.
- Choose a news article from various sources.
- Evaluate it using the CARS checklist: Assess the credibility of the source, check for accuracy and look for reasonable arguments supported by evidence.
- Use the SIFT technique by stopping to verify facts before sharing, investigating the source, finding better coverage, and tracing claims back to their origins.
In groups, present your findings and discuss how these critical evaluation skills can help learners make informed decisions and better navigate the media landscape. Encourage dialogue about the importance of these skills in promoting responsible media consumption.
Resources
Digital Menu Card – DMC (https://dmc.prompt.hu/en)
The Digital Menu Card (DMC) supports a diverse range of active learning and teaching methods, aiming to streamline pedagogical planning using digital technology. The concept is illustrated through a metaphor: it’s like dining at a restaurant where you can either choose ready-made dishes or select the ingredients to create your own meal.
The “ready-made dishes” correspond to downloadable lesson plans shared by teachers, while the “ingredients” include everything needed for pedagogically driven planning:
- Innovative teaching and assessment methods and techniques.
- A collection of digital tools with examples and experiences shared by other teachers.
- A wealth of freely accessible, open educational repositories (OER).
- Digital microlearning materials shared by teachers.
Planning is supported by step-by-step guidance and dropdown lists that make the work easier — for example, there’s a list to help select transversal, profession-independent skills for development.
On the left side, under the Takeaway section, you can find the ready-made lesson and project plans. You can download and use these shared plans freely, or copy them to your own account, modify them according to your needs. These lesson plans serve as examples for teachers on how their colleagues integrate 21st-century active teaching and learning methods into their lessons, and how they use digital tools to support learning and didactic goals.
On the right side are the Ingredients. DMC offers hundreds of microlearning materials in one place, covering digital tools, 21st-century teaching-learning and assessment methods, creative techniques, and open educational resources (OER). This simplifies planning and helps ensure that lesson plans meet standard requirements and can be included in a teacher’s professional portfolio.
Browse the repository of Digital Menu Card! The descriptions of applications include a short technical guide, but below you can read the experiences and suggestion of teachers who have already tried them!
Finally, if you’d like to “cook something up”, Do it yourself! — you can, but you’ll need to register! After registering, you’ll find the lesson planner in the centre section, which guides you through the planning steps and ensures that no important element is left out of your lesson plan.
Detailed lesson planning can often feel like a burden to teachers, but on the DMC, they can select necessary basic information with just a few clicks (such as sector, subject, grade level, didactic goal, and skills to be developed). This allows you to focus on the essence of the lesson plan: what you want to teach and how you want to teach it.
You are free to decide whether to make your plan public or not. Shared lesson and project plans can be downloaded, copied, and adapted by other teachers for their own lessons.
Activity
- Choose a topic from your subject area that would benefit from an interactive, student-centred approach.
- Define 3 clear learning objectives that describe the knowledge, or skills students should acquire. Ensure they are measurable and aligned with your curriculum.
- Select two active learning strategies (e.g., group work, debate, simulation, problem-solving, inquiry-based learning, or flipped classroom).
- Pick at least two digital tools (e.g., Google Jam board, Padlet, Mentimeter, Kahoot, or LearningApps) that align with your chosen strategies.
- Plan your lesson structure following the framework!
Use the designed lesson in your classroom and reflect on the experience in a short summary or during a staff meeting presentation.
Topic 3 – Survivor’s kit for the 21st-century teacher
In today’s fast-paced digital world, teachers are faced with an overwhelming number of educational tools and technologies promising to transform teaching and learning. While the opportunities are immense, the variety of options can feel daunting and confusing. How do you know which tools are worth using? How do you ensure they align with your teaching goals and benefit your students? Being a teacher in the age of interactive screens is more demanding than ever before!
This ‘Survivor’s Kit’ is designed to equip educators with practical, time-saving tips and proven strategies for successfully integrating interactive screens into their classrooms. From selecting the right tools to avoiding common pitfalls, these insights will help you focus on teaching and learning without getting lost in endless trial-and-error. Whether you’re just starting or refining your approach, this guide will empower you to make the most of technology efficiently and confidently.
Collaboration and knowledge sharing among teaching staff has always been important, but in today’s technological world they are essential. Keeping up with the incredibly fast-changing digital world and navigating the vast sea of new digital tools, is an almost impossible task to accomplish alone. Innovation and the effective use of new digital tools become much easier when colleagues – such as IT teachers, subject teachers, and language teachers – join forces and share their experiences and ideas with each-other.
Today, it has become an almost mandatory task for teachers to create digital materials that engage learners and supplement outdated textbook content. Fortunately, the internet provides a wealth of Open Educational Resources (OERs), which are available free of charge or with minimal restrictions for teachers seeking materials relevant to their subjects or learning objectives. Global communities dedicated to publishing free educational resources encourage educators to share their own digital textbooks, courses, lesson plans, and even smaller items like quizzes.
Familiarising yourself with both national and international OER repositories and making the most of these resources is essential for saving time and delivering inspiring digital content, there is an endless supply of resources available online.
In the digital age there are opportunities to involve students in the learning process. The students classed as digital natives – can be powerful allies in navigating digital tools and creating engaging learning environments. By involving them, the teacher can save valuable time and, in turn, boost their confidence and sense of responsibility for their own learning outcomes. Empowering students in this way not only lightens the teacher’s workload but also transforms students into active participants in their educational journey.
Multilingual interface
A significant obstacle to progress arises when the user interface is limited to a single language, typically English. While the availability of multilingual platforms is steadily improving, it is advisable to check if a suitable solution exists in your preferred language before deciding.
Check the business model
Users who have developed a working familiarity with a digital application may find a disruption when during use, they are notified that access to specific features are restricted, and subscription is required. Such interruptions can stop the workflow and affect the user experience.
However, there is another, more convenient business model, which has recently been offered by some educational apps were payment is optional.
Look for an “all-in-one” app with rich selection of creative templates
A wealth of research shows how important visuality is for today’s students. Visual interactive online games, YouTube videos and infographics have become part of their everyday lives. At the same time, it is unreasonable to expect teachers to create visually appealing graphics, as graphic design is a specialised profession. The latest trend in tools for digital content creation is to integrate multiple functions into a single application. There are special applications e.g. Canva, for producing creative digital content with rich multimedia components such as images, videos, graphic elements, music, etc. that offer hundreds of templates for different types of contents for education, for marketing, or for personal purposes like writing a CV. Only a registration is needed to use most of its functionalities, most templates and media elements.
A great way to begin is by initiating a school-wide project to create a shared repository of digital materials. Invite colleagues to contribute and collaborate on building this resource together. Such an initiative does not require extensive IT infrastructure but can save significant time for all teachers while fostering cross-curricular collaboration in developing high-quality digital learning content. This collaborative effort can inspire innovation and strengthen the school’s teaching community.
The UNESCO declaration highlighted the philosophical and educational need for open resources, however the practical establishment for working with the open, “copyleft” licenses was developed by the non-profit organisation of “Creative Commons” founded in 2002. On the website of the organisation there are the legal and technical tools to make it a reality.
When creating and sharing OERs, apply one of the open Creative Commons license to make it clear how others can use your work!
Resources
Here you will find a short description and links to digital tools which meet these criteria’s
LearningApps use text, images, videos, and playful elements to create engaging and interactive tasks for students. It is an excellent example of an online digital tool that can be used effectively without language barriers!
Canva
Canva offers hundreds of resources and templates for different types of educational content, it can also be used for marketing, and for personal purposes like writing a CV. It has a multilingual, user-friendly interface, and operates on different devices, tablet, mobile and laptop, and supports working in teams.
Only a registration is needed to use most of its functionalities, and the vast majority of templates and media elements.
Learn more about Canva: https://dmc.prompt.hu/en/resources/tools/canva
Europeana
Europeana has an extensive collection of digital resources (art, books, films and music) shared by cultural institutes from all over Europe. It offers educational resources and facilitates the practice to own and share creative work with the wide community on the platform.
Learn more about Europeana: https://dmc.prompt.hu/en/resources/repositories/europeana
Further resources
Future of Schools, http://papert.org/articles/freire/freirePart2.html
Discussion between Seymour Papert and the Brazilian philosopher and educator Paolo Freire took place in Brazil during the late 1980s. It was broadcast in Brazil by TV PUC São Paulo and KTV Solucoes.(Last access: 12. November 2024.)
OER Commons, www.oercommons.org
A freely accessible online library that supports searching and sharing open educational resources (OERs). Created by the Institute for the Study of Knowledge Management in Education (ISKME) and supported by the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation and the Ford Foundation.
MIT Open Courseware, ocw.mit.edu
Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) was the first well-known educational organization to release its own didactical materials with the license of “copyleft”. On the OpenCourseWare (OCW) website of MIT all the materials and courses available are free of charge.
Wikimedia Commons, https://commons.wikimedia.org/
WikimediaCommons is a media file repository making available public domain and freely licensed educational media content (images, sound and video clips) to everyone, in their own language. It acts as a common repository for the various projects of the Wikimedia Foundation, The repository is created and maintained not by paid archivists, but by volunteers.
MERLOT, www.merlot.org
The Merlot Multimedia Educational Resource for Learning and Online Teaching is one of the major international repositories. MERLOT is a program of the California State University, in partnership with higher education institutions, professional societies, and industry.
Khan Academy, www.khanacademy.org
Provides free courses and interactive content for K-12 students and beyond, focusing on math, science, and economics.
Activity
Form small collaborative groups of 3–5 teachers in the school, ideally from different subject areas (e.g., IT, science, languages).
- Explore Open Educational Resource (OER) platforms (e.g., OER Commons, OpenLearn, or a national repository) and identify two examples of inspiring resources relevant to their subject.
- Choose one digital tool discussed in the reading (e.g., LearningApps or another "all-in-one" app with creative templates) to design an interactive task for students.
- Create an educational resource (such as a short digital quiz, interactive lesson plan, infographic, or mini video lesson) using that tool, with the support of their group members.
- Apply a Creative Commons license to their work by visiting https://creativecommons.org/choose/ and selecting appropriate licensing terms.
- Share the resource in the shared school repository or on an OER platform and present it in a short session to fellow colleagues.
Module Summary
In the lesson, teachers became familiar with the origin and history of the basic concept of “interactivity”, where they read the example lesson about the children in a remote village in India, who were able to discover the capabilities of a computer without any guidance or understanding of the language, through a simple touchscreen.
This story aimed to explore the power of interactivity: the curiosity, motivation, teamwork and creativity that helped these children to learn the functions of the device.
The second topic aimed to provide a deeper understanding of how interactive screens can transform the learning environment and experiences by fostering engagement, collaboration, and accessibility. It explored the advantages of integrating digital tools into the classroom while also addressing the risks and challenges educators must consider when renewing their teaching methods and enhancing learning processes through technology.
The third topic focused on guiding educators towards learning design, that balance interactive and traditional teaching methods to achieve specific pedagogical goals. It emphasised the importance of careful planning and included strategies for incorporating interactive elements such as games, simulations, and quizzes to make lessons more engaging and memorable.
Finally, the fourth topic offered a “survival kit” for teachers aspiring to be successful educators in the digital age. This topic focused on integrating interactive screens into classrooms by pairing technology with innovative teaching methods. It includes practical advice on leveraging Open Educational Resources (OERs) and provides examples of interactive applications whose pedagogical power has been tested and validated by a community of educators.
Overall, this module equips teachers with the knowledge and skills to effectively utilise interactive screen technologies, enabling them to create engaging, innovative, and outcome-oriented learning experiences
Module 4: Quiz
Glossary of terms
Augmented Reality is a technology that overlays digital content – such as images, sounds, videos, or 3D models – onto the real-world environment in real-time, enhancing the user’s perception and interaction with their surroundings. AR blends virtual elements with the physical world, typically viewed through devices like smartphones, tablets, AR glasses, or headsets. In science education, AR applications bring abstract concepts to life by enabling students to visualize 3D molecular structures or dissect virtual organisms.
Constructivism in education is a theory that suggests that learners do not passively acquire knowledge through direct instruction. Instead, they construct their understanding through experiences and social interaction, integrating new information with their existing knowledge. This theory originates from Swiss developmental psychologist Jean Piaget’s theory of cognitive development. (Wikipedia)
Flipped Learning is a pedagogical approach in which direct instruction moves from the group learning space to the individual learning space, and the resulting group space is transformed into a dynamic, interactive learning environment where the educator guides students as they apply concepts and engage creatively in the subject matter.” (formal definition by the Flipped Learning Network)
Interactive whiteboards consist of a computer connected to a data projector and a large, touch-sensitive electronic board which enables direct interaction using a finger or stylus, allowing teachers and students to move or transform objects on the board with ease. Interactive whiteboards played an important role in the early stages of the development of digital learning, their importance is gradually declining in the context of today’s modern, more flexible educational technology solutions.
Teaching, learning and research materials in any medium, digital or otherwise, that are in the public domain or have been released under an open license that permits no-cost access, use, adaptation and redistribution by others with no or limited restrictions. Source: DigCompEdu.
Touchscreens are versatile devices that allow users to interact directly with digital content using touch. Found in smartphones, tablets, and interactive kiosks, touchscreens are celebrated for their ease of use and intuitive interface. They have found significant applications in education by enabling:
- Interactive lessons where students can drag and drop elements.
- Multimedia content access, fostering dynamic learning experiences.
- Digital collaboration, such as real-time annotations on shared documents.
Virtual Reality (VR) immerses us in a fully digital environment, allowing to interact with a simulated world. This technology could be useful in simulations, gaming, and education for taking the students for field trips to explore historical sites, distant planets, or underwater ecosystems, or providing them immersive storytelling, where they experience historical events or literature from a first-person perspective.
Bibliography and references
Funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Education and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA). Neither the European Union nor EACEA can be held responsible for them. Project number: 2023-1-NO01-KA220-ADU-
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