Background
In 2020 it was estimated that over 1.6 billion school-going children worldwide had been affected by the pandemic (UNESCO, 2020). As a result, all levels of education have had to exploit digital learning technologies to continue to support children, young adults and adults to learn.
Education leaders were central to supporting staff, students and parents in this transition, having to provide digital planning, pedagogical, technical and pastoral support. The regular use of digital technologies is necessary to build resilience and digital capacity/preparedness, should the sector experience similar crises in the future. This requires a clear vision and capacity building in the area of digital pedagogical leadership (Leithwood et al., 2020).
In 2021 the international Society for Technology in Education (ISTE) developed digital leadership standards for educational administrators identifying five components - visionary leadership; digital era learning culture; excellence in professional practice, systemic improvement and digital citizenship. Key to implementing these standards are opportunities for digital professional development and digital learning communities.
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Overview
The IDEAL Futures Teacher Academy aims to provide a range of professional development activities and a transformative dialogue hub to enable pre-service teachers and in-service teachers in the early years, primary, and post primary sectors to engage in dialogue with policy makers, other educational leaders and the digital tech sector, with a view to leading innovative practices in digital education.
The IDEAL Futures Teacher Academy proposal is focused on developing a range of professional development activities, content, a collaborative digital hub and micro credentials to provide opportunities and space for transformative dialogue that supports educators to develop as future digital educational leaders.
The project will address the needs identified in the research by providing an integrated approach that delves into the need to view digital learning as an ecosystem. Also, will demonstrate how such elements can be considered in holistic, inclusive manner to meet the needs of the whole school community, to foster an open approach to digital pedagogical leadership.
Methodology
How does IDEAL work?Problem Identification
The project partners will work with educators and educational leaders to identify the problems they have in leading digital learning in their individual educational contexts.
Empathise
The project partners and educators will explore how they are impacted by the various problems and the wider impact they have on their school communities (educators, leaders, students, parents, administrative staff, etc).
Problem Analysis
The project partners, educators and stakeholders identified in the previous stage will explore the contextual issues and elements associated with leading digital education in their contexts.
Design solution(s)
The project partners, educators and stakeholders will identify and develop a series of professional development activities (learning materials, resources, activities, digital hub and digital learning spaces) to address such problems.
Iterative experiment
The solutions will be piloted and experimentally tested with all of the stakeholders to illustrate the impact these have on leading digital learning in a variety of educational contexts. Refinements will be made and a variety of adaptations may be required, based on various stakeholders’ needs and actual impact.
Reflection and Development of Theory and Design Principles
The project partners will develop a set of theoretical and design principles for sustaining the IDEAL Futures model of professional development.
Application in practice
The practitioners/learners of the IDEAL Futures Teacher Academy will apply their work in practice and will conduct peer observations with international colleagues to see how the outputs have been adapted in practice.
Objectives
The IDEAL Futures Teacher Academy aims to provide a range of professional development activities and a transformative dialogue hub to enable pre-service teachers and in-service teachers in the early years, primary, and post primary sectors to engage in dialogue with policy makers, other educational leaders and the digital tech sector, with a view to leading innovative practices in digital education.
The main objectives are to:
Support high quality collaboration between ITE Universities, Teacher PD providers, Teacher employment organisations, Policy Makers and Educational Technology providers.
Identify the key challenges, problems and dilemmas facing pre-service and in-service teachers in a digital era in the context of the digital leadership ecosystem from the perspectives of policy, praxis, pedagogy and identity and identify opportunities for teachers to re-envision and lead a transformative approach to digital leadership in education.
Develop and evaluate a high quality, multi-level, pedagogical model that supports transformative dialogue and leads to a co-operative and integrated approach to addressing issues facing education in the area of digital pedagogical leadership.
Create a range of professional development (PD) content, activities and associated micro credentials to implement the pedagogical model. These will support educators across all levels of education to foster skills in digital educational leadership, including formal Open Educational Resources, Synchronous Workshops, Hackathons, Peer Observations, Transformative Learning Projects and Design Based Research Activities.
Explore and evaluate how digital technologies, pedagogies and digital models of CPD can be used to facilitate communities of inquiry, transformative dialogue, reflections and virtual exchange of knowledge in the area of digital leadership in education.
Develop a model of sustainable practice to support pre-service and practicing teachers and educational leaders to continue to integrate transformative dialogue into 4 ITE Programmes and 4 Teacher Professional Development Activities.
Promote and disseminate the IDEAL Futures teacher academy outputs throughout Europe.
Team
Our IDEAL People
Dr. Emma O'Brien
Mary Immaculate CollegeDr. Emma O Brien is the Director of Taught postgraduate Programmes in MIC. She has worked in the area of digital education since 2000 and has lead and collaborated on several national and international projects in the area.
Mariano Sanz Prieto
Fundación Siglo22Mariano Sanz Prieto is a Telecommunications Engineer and has significant experience working on educational technology. He has worked in several international and national projects in these areas since 1989 and is an expert in eLearning and several web 2.0 tools. Mariano has trained teachers around Spain in how to integrate technology in education and how technologies enhance active methodologies (cooperative, multiple intelligences, PBL, flipped classroom, etc.) and is a lecturer on two online masters programs, one with U. Carlos III on the production of eLearning, and the other with U. Pontificia de Comillas, on technologies and methodologies for teachers.
Linda Daniela
Univerity of LatviaProf. Linda Daniela is the Dean of the Faculty of Education, Psychology and Art at the University of Latvia and Chair of the PhD Defence Council in Educational Sciences. She also serves as Expert in Education at the Council of Sciences of the Republic of Latvia. Her expertise spans aspects of school education, Technology-enhanced learning (TEL), Educational technologies for learning, Educational robotics, Educational processes and solutions for reducing social exclusion from the educational processes. Her main interests are connected with different aspects of technology-enhanced learning.
Ciara Ni Dhrisceoil
Limerick and Clare Education and Traning BoardCiara Ní Dhrisceoil is a Digital Leader with LCETB and an Assistant Principal at Gaelcholáiste Luimnigh. Passionate about digital innovation in education, she advocates for technology integration, digital literacy, and professional learning for teachers. She is also a part-time lecturer on the M.Ed. in Digital Leadership at Mary Immaculate College.
Nuria de Pablo Sánchez
Fundación Siglo22Graduate in Journalism and Humanities from the Carlos III University of Madrid, Specialization in mobile and transmedia journalism, Master in Interdisciplinary Intervention in Violence against women with a diploma as an Equality Agent from the International University of Valencia. Expert in inclusive and non-sexist communication, as well as in training related to gender equality. She has been working on KA2 Erasmus+ projects since 2017, with topics related to educational innovation, e-learning, social issues, cultural heritage, employability for people with disabilities, inclusion and gender equality.
Astra Rūdolfa
Univerity of LatviaAstra Rūdolfa, Mg. edu.sc., is a project coordinator at the Faculty of Education, Psychology and Art at the University of Latvia, where she works with several educational projects. Her expertise spans inclusive education, and the development of digital learning materials. Astra's research interests focus on the intersection of AI and education, driving innovative approaches in these fields.
María Ángeles Gutiérrez García
Universidad Autónoma de MadridBachelor’s degree in psychology, specializing in Theoretical Experimental Psychology and Industrial Psychology from the Complutense University of Madrid (1989) and PhD in Education from the Autonomous University of Madrid (2008). Full Time Lecturer at Autonomous University of Madrid, teaching and researching on ICT applied to the improvement of learning and human development. Principal Investigator in 3 of 10 competitive national and European research projects and Coordinator in 3 of 15 educational innovation projects. Officially recognized a six-year period of research with 14 publications in prestigious international journals and two patents. Director of 8 doctoral theses and currently directing another 2.
Marcos Sanz Prieto
Fundación Siglo22Marcos Sanz Prieto is an Industrial Organization Engineer. Master in organizational engineering, project and business management. Have always worked in projects involving the implementation of different type of Internet platforms. In the last years focusing in learning management and e-learning platforms. Has participated in various projects of the European Community, in the last ones as coordinator. Specialist in Unix/Linux servers. Gives support for e-learning platforms based on Moodle for Universities, Schools and different Companies. Also is an specialist studying new features needed for clients and developing it. He has been also a teacher for companies and organisations in different technological issues related with technology and elearning implementation.
Zinta Zālīte-Supe
Univerity of LatviaZinta Zālīte-Supe is a PhD student at the University of Latvia, Faculty of Education, Psychology and Art. She graduated master study program “Technological innovations and design for education”. Her Master's thesis focused on how to effectively integrate augmented reality technologies for developing interior design skills in secondary schools subject “Design and Technologies”. During studies she also work's at the University of Latvia as a scientific researcher in different research projects related to educational technologies. She is a co-author of several publications and has been involved in 10 research projects on different aspects of education. Zinta is lecturing master study course “Virtual and Augmented Reality technologies for education”.
Moussa Boumadan
Universidad Autónoma de MadridMoussa Boumadan, PhD in Education and Master in ICT in Education from UAM, is a psychopedagogist and primary education teacher from the University of Granada. He lectures at UAM’s Faculty of Teacher Training and Education on digital technology in education. He directs the UAM-MBACADEMY-PITCH Chair and the Master’s in Music Industry (artistic management, marketing, and technology). He has contributed to over 10 national and international research projects on digital innovation in pedagogy, holds a recognized six-year research period, and has published more than 10 papers in international journals. He has supervised one completed doctoral thesis and currently oversees four more.
Pascal Plantard
Université Rennes 2I am full professor at the University of Rennes 2 in Brittany, Co-Director of the largest research network on the uses of technologies, the GIS M@rsouin and co-head of digital research at the CREAD laboratory. Specialist in multidisciplinary research programs combining empirical, qualitative and quantitative methodologies, crossed with cooperative methodologies of open science, I work on the practices of digital technologies in the fields of education, training, higher education and medico-social. I develop an anthropological approach to uses, inside and outside the institutional environment, which starts from the conceptualization of techno-imaginaries and representations, taking into account the historical depth and the symbolic dimension of uses, to result in an objectification of contexts of action and models of educational or social interventions.
Jessica Dinely Cabrera Cuevas
Universidad Autónoma de MadridJessica Dinely Cabrera Cuevas is a Pedagogue from the Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile. Master in Communication Sciences, Universidad de la Frontera, Chile. European Doctor in Applied Creativity, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, UAM. Lecturer in the Department of Pedagogy at the Universidad Autónoma de Madrid. She coordinates the line of creativity and complexity in the Unesco Chair for Social Justice at the UAM. She has participated in national and European competitive projects. Director of 5 doctoral theses and others in progress. She has been director of the UAM's Expert in Creativity degree.
Didier Perret
Université Rennes 2Assistant coordinator (research engineer) for the french team, Rennes 2 University. Senior teacher (Agrégation) in biology and geology in French secondary school (2004-2023), I have been teacher trainer and digital education leader for the Britany academic region between 2008 and 2020 : I have been in charge of several digital education programs like “digital junior secondary schools” (2013-2016) and creator of the “Research and education Forums”. From 2013 to 2019, I was training pre-service teachers in digital education uses. Qualified with a Master in education sciences in 2015, I am actually PhD Student at Rennes 2 University. My subject is “collective dynamics and individual pathways in digital education technologies appropriation” with a focus on human mediation during the appropriation pathways.