​In recent years, traditional education has had to make way for virtual lessons and online classes. This shift has required significant adaptation and the development of new methods for teaching and learning remotely. The use of new technologies, digital tools, and interactive learning platforms has proven to be a winning strategy. These technologies have allowed teachers worldwide to maintain an engaging and dynamic environment in virtual classes. These same tools have also proven their utility in traditional classrooms, particularly in capturing students’ attention and enthusiasm.

The latest edition of the course “Discover the best apps and tools for E-learning, Distance learning and Web Design” focused precisely on these topics. This session of the course took place in Tenerife from 2/06/2024 to 8/06/2024. The participants came from Hungary and Poland: Botond, Zsófia, László István, Ádám from Karinthy Frigyes Gimnázium and Agnieszka and Aneta from Zespół Szkół Politechnicznych “ENERGETYK”.

​During the course, participants learned how to use a wide range of technological tools and integrate them into their teaching methods. The goal was to apply these new technologies in both real and virtual classrooms to teach more easily and effectively. First, they explored simple and effective tools for editing pictures and videos, which are very useful for teaching purposes. These tools can be used for various purposes: preparing multimedia content, introducing new subjects, summarizing old ones, and challenging students to create their own work to engage their creativity. Another topic covered was how to build a website, which can serve multiple functions in distance learning. By setting up different pages and enriching them with content, participants had the opportunity to personalize their websites, write blogs to report the development stages of a project, create portfolios, and more.

The course continued with discussions on other tools for collecting and sharing resources and content. Participants learned about platforms that allow them to collect and enrich videos, images, texts, PDFs, and other materials, and share all this content with their students with a simple click. These tools can be useful, for example, in describing different parts of a picture, especially in scientific subjects, and providing deeper context for a richer learning experience when approaching new topics, such as in foreign language studies.

​Participants also practiced using tools that function as collaborative walls, where every user is encouraged to post and contribute to building a more comprehensive collection of information. Among the many tools they discovered, participants also learned about interactive presentations where the teacher can solicit the class’s opinion through polls, create word clouds, ask for questions or feedback on the presented topic, create video lessons—particularly effective in current times—and online learning quizzes, which are very useful for testing students’ progress. Participants left this course with new knowledge of interactive learning and new technologies, and a new set of tools ready to be used in their real and online lessons. There is no doubt that this approach will increase students’ creativity, engagement, attention, and motivation, helping transform learning into a fun and dynamic activity!

Discover more about this course here.