First group of Italian teachers ready for Up2University

One of the first two pilots of the Up2U project was successfully completed on Wednesday, 30 May with an event held at the Liceo Blaise Pascal in Rome. After 5 weeks of training and project activities, 11 teachers from 5 different high schools of the Italian region of Rome were awarded with the Up2U certificates, attesting their full completion of the pedagogical programme and the tasks assigned.

The pilot was composed of three parts, the face to face introductory phase, the online project work, and the face to face closing session. During the introduction, all teachers received a preliminary background on the Up2U project and a hands-on activity on Moodle and the other interactive tools provided in the Up2U platform. After the introduction, the teachers were organised in two groups and assigned with the creation of an instructional design for a specific learning scenario to be carried out online on the Up2U collaborative platform. At the end of the assignment, another meeting took place where the two groups presented their projects, shared views on the pros and cons of the different technologies. Before and after this pilot, teachers received a survey, aimed at measuring the initial expectations with the real results of the training. The survey results were very positive, with teachers feeling more confident with the use of the digital educational tools of the platform and satisfied both with the opportunity to acquire new competences and to expand their professional network.

Following this positive outcome, the Up2U team will now move towards the preparation of the new pilot that will start in September and will last for the entire school year. For the Italian scenario, this pilot will involve a larger number of schools and teachers, coming from all over the country.

Here you can find more information on the training event and the approach (in Italian).