Almost two years after the beginning of the pandemic, new theories, practices, and pedagogies related to digital education still remain current and more important topics than ever.
On November 3, 2021, the first event dedicated to the European Week of Online and Distance Learning 2021 (EODLW) took place.
In the opening session of EODLW 2021, held in the form of a discussion panel moderated by Lect.dr.eng. Vlad Mihaescu – EDEN NAP Steering Committee Chair & Lecturer at the Politehnica University of Timișoara, Romania, the speakers Diana Andone – Director of the eLearning Center of the Politehnica University of Timisoara, Romania, Edmundo Tovar – the Technical University of Madrid, IEEE Education Society President, Spain and Alfredo Soeiro – University of Porto, Portugal presented and discussed good practices of integrating digital education in higher education institutions, and showcased tools, applications, methodologies with the purpose to offer the best ideas to the worldwide participants present.
One of the speakers of the webinar, Dr. Diana Andone – EDEN Senior Fellow & Director of CeL, also AGADIGIA project partner from UPT – presented some of the latest trends in online education, highlighted the importance of practices in digital education, and how the Covid pandemic raised for many of us, all around the world a challenge in shaping the actual education and also future of education, and how we can fully harness the potential of new models of online and distance learning.
Based on these changes, Diana presented the projects in which UPT, through CeL is involved and with the help of which lately, it would be possible to create a digital transformation system and create online virtual mobility in the university.
Thus, the participants were able to discover information about the AGADIGIA project and its objectives, as an excellent opportunity to reflect on the lessons learned during the COVID-19 pandemic and how education should look like in the post-pandemic era.
The AGADIGIA international project’s aim is to accelerate the digital preparation of polytechnic higher education institutions towards the sustainable adoption of several online and mixed approaches. In other words, ACADIGIA encourages the introduction of a strong mentoring system that will enable staff in higher education institutions to become high-tech educators.
The event is organized in partnership with the Open Distance Learning Association in Australia (ODLAA) jointly with Flexible Learning Association of New Zealand (FLANZ) who are launching the Asia-Pacific Online Distance Education (APODE) Week and with the United States Distance Learning Association (USDLA), who will be holding its National Distance Learning Week (NDLW). A special webinar contribution by ICDE is also planned.