The “Advanced course for the utilization and application of ICT in the teaching practice” (B2-Level ICT teacher training) is the continuation of the “Introductory training for the utilization of ICT in school” (B1-Level ICT teacher training) and guides teachers through deepening their knowledge and skills at the level of integrated teacher training for the pedagogical use of ICT in the teaching practice (B-Level ICT in-service training).
It is addressed to primary and secondary school teachers of all disciplines and specialties who, as a prerequisite, have previously successfully completed B1-level ICT teacher training and received the corresponding certification.
It is in the scope of the training for participating teachers to:
- Extend and deepen their knowledge, skills and competencies in their area of expertise, regarding the educational use of web 2.0 environments and the Internet in general by combining the use of a variety of digital resources and media, with emphasis on the resources made available by the Ministry of Education,
- Acquire knowledge in their specialty, regarding the design and use of educational software and environments of various types, the conditions, the possibilities and the limitations imposed by their didactic use, always in combination with the necessary reorganization of the school class in order to achieve the best educational result as well as added pedagogical value,
- familiarize themselves with the general characteristics of digital systems that are relevant to their specific area of expertise, and their interactions so as to be able to integrate their teaching practices into a wider context and to be able to cope critically and productively with new learning tools and the rapid technological developments in the field of information and communication technologies as they are being integrated into the education system or into the day-to-day practice.
The aims of the B2-Level ICT teacher training are for teacher trainees to:
- further understand the educational opportunities provided by new digital online environments (web 2.0 digital environments and resources for educational purposes) in teaching their subject area and take advantage of them by integating them into their daily educational practice, in a meaningful way and in combination with the resources developed by the Ministry of Education (e.g. Photodentro, enriched digital material) already available
- understand the principles of designing an educational scenario or activity in their field of expertise, to be able to design activities themselves in their specialty and include them in the teaching process
- familiarise themselves with and make productive use of the software and the online environments available for their specialty and disciplines (e.g. software and applications for communication, presentation, simulation, management and collaboration, resource sharing tools, social digital resources, online communities, interactive maps, animations, open source software, text collections, etc.). By recognizing the possibilities and limitations of their use, to be able to reorganize the classroom accordingly so that their teaching is in line with modern teaching requirements of their specific area of expertise and that the new digital technologies fit in the educational process in the most productive way
- acquire a full and functional understanding of the broader context in which new digital technologies are integrated so as to have a more holistic view of the digital resources and technologies used in the teaching process of their specialty and to be able to include the modern technological tools in this broader context.
The B2-Level ICT teacher training programs are implemented in groups of 10-15 teachers of the same or similar-related disciplines and specialties (clusters of teacher disciplines) and are carried out by B-Level ICT teacher trainers all over Greece, during non-school hours, with the responsibility and hosting of the Teacher Training Support Centres (TTSCs). Thirteen (13) "clusters" are envisaged for the B2-Level ICT teacher training to include all teachers’ disciplines and specialties, as follows:
| CLUSTERS B2 – Level ICT | Cluster Title | Specialties – disciplines of teacher trainers |
|---|---|---|
| CLUSTER Β2.1 | Philology | Philology-language teachers, theology teachers |
| CLUSTER Β2.2 | Physical Sciences | Physical sciences (Physicists, Chemists, Biologists, Geologists, Physiologists) |
| CLUSTER Β2.3 | Mathematics | Mathematicians |
| CLUSTER Β2.4 | Informatics | Teachers of Informatics and other ICT related specialties of technical education |
| CLUSTER Β2.5 | Primary School Education - Teachers | Primary School Teachers |
| CLUSTER Β2.6 | Primary School Education - Kindergarten | Kindergarten Teachers |
| CLUSTER Β2.7 | Foreign Languages | French, English, German, Italian, Spanish Language Teachers |
| CLUSTER Β2.8 | Arts and Music | Teachers of Music, Arts and other relevant disciplines of technical education (Graphical Arts, Photography, Decoration, Maintenance of Artwork etc.) |
| CLUSTER Β2.9 | Physical Education and Health | Physical Education and Health related specialties / disciplines of technical education |
| CLUSTER Β2.10 | Educational Engineering | Engineers and in general, Technological specialties / disciplines of technical education |
| CLUSTER Β2.11 | Economy, Management and Social Sciences | Economists, Business Administration Teachers, Accounting, Law – Political Science Teachers, Sociologists, Political Economy Teachers, Teachers of Home Economics etc. |
| CLUSTER Β2.12 | Professionals working with Land | Agronomists, Vegetable and Animal Production teachers, Forestry and other related specialties / disciplines of technical |
| CLUSTER Β2.13 | Special Education | Teachers of Special Education in primary and secondary education |
The program consists of 60 teaching hours, including 18 hours of additional support meetings for “in-class application of ICT”. It has got a duration of 20 weeks (i.e. a two or three hour session taking place once a week, escorted by asynchronous distance-learning activities as a complementary and integral part of the educational process).
Supporting meetings are part of the program and take place for the preparation of the teachers for the “in-class application of ICT”, which takes place on a weekly basis inside the school classroom.
This process aims in the optimum assimilation of the knowledge, skills and competences acquired by the teacher trainees, since drawing experience from practical application in class makes training more efficient by offering feedback. On the other hand, the process aims in the direct and massive transfer of the results from the training process to the end recipients (beneficials), the pupils. During the “in-class application of ICT” phase, teacher trainers assume an active, supportive and guiding role to the teachers they train, thus contributing their experience in selecting or developing the appropriate educational activities with ICT, in the more effective implementation of these activities within the classroom and in the timely resolution of any problems that may arise.
In order to be able to meet the “in-class application of ICT” obligation, teacher trainees participating in the B2-Level ICT teacher training will have to be active, in-class school teachers at the time of their training.
