A group of Thai teachers has just completed the Media Skills in Digital Learning Environments course, on which they improved their skills related to being a teacher in this digital era. Bringing out the best of Finnish teacher training, the lessons learnt during the course can be easily put to practice in the teachers’ own classrooms. The course was offered online in collaboration between the University of Eastern Finland and the Ministry of Education in Thailand.
The group of teachers taking the course was very heterogeneous and had varied skills, needs and starting points, as well as different ways of working and varying levels of performance.
“This has shown us the value of our efforts to tailor the course to an array of needs and backgrounds, from design to action,” say Professor Ritva Kantelinen and Project Researcher Zinab Elgundi from the University of Eastern Finland, who were in charge of the course.
“Although we did not meet with the participants physically, we got, throughout the course, familiar with them as individuals, and it was a delight to see their collaboration among one another and their plans to continue after the completion of the course,” Kantelinen and Elgundi say.
The course was also extremely well received by the participants, inspiring them to further develop their skills as teachers.
“Media Skills in Digital Learning Environments is the best online course ever. The course is flexible, well planned and laid out, easy for me to follow. I really enjoyed learning new things here. They were a lot of fun and easy to understand. I will utilize all that I’ve learnt to improve and develop my students and the next generations to come,” says Phenphak Niyomart.
“This course has also helped me to refine my skills and ignited my passion in a way that has always been both intellectually stimulating and extremely enjoyable, exploring various ideas in using technology in education. I feel confident and have greatly grown as a professional teacher which is a result of the experience I have gained and the improvements I have made through this course,“ says Supaphorn Kokklang, who also participated in the course.
The planning and implementation of the course at the School of Applied Educational Science and Teacher Education in the Philosophical Faculty were supported by the University of Eastern Finland through funding allocated to the development of global education.
“We couldn't have promoted the course and made it visible to a wide client base globally without the support of our international department and team of global education services,” Kantelinen and Elgundi say.
“The course has attracted plenty of interest all over the world. We wish to continue our fruitful cooperation with Thai teachers in the upcoming years,” Coordinator of Transnational Education Mari Argillander from the University of Eastern Finland says.
