Skip to main content

EmpowerED Educators: Becoming Pedagogical Mentors for EdTech Co-Design


EmpowerED

Welcome to the MOOC EmpowerED Educators: Becoming Pedagogical Mentors for EdTech Co-Design

On this page

This MOOC, designed for educators ready to co-design in educational technology (EdTech), will offer a transformative journey across four modules. You will dive into the EdTech landscape and discover why teachers have a potential of becoming instrumental part of it. You will explore diverse tasks and opportunities within EdTech while mastering skills and competencies to become pedagogical mentor for EdTech co-design.

Through engaging content and interactive learning experiences, you will integrate pedagogical theories into practical EdTech innovations. You will experience hands-on application of design thinking and data analysis to co-design impactful EdTech solutions that meet modern educational needs while adhering to ethical guidelines and data privacy standards. Moreover, you will delve into the creation of educational materials for EdTech and the development of Communities of Practice for further engagement, collaboration and sharing. In addition, you will collaborate with peers to refine your pedagogical mentor Reflective Portfolio and harness the power of peer assessment to elevate your strategies. Join us and empower yourself to lead the next generation of learning with confidence and expertise in EdTech.

You can follow the course at your own pace. We will open one module at the beginning of each week, and there are only a few deadlines you need to pay attention to (those for the quizzes and/or the peer-review activity).

Join us in the Facebook group or share your thoughts on X (formerly Twitter) using the hashtag #PedagogicalMentorsMOOC.

Learning objectives

  • Participants will assess tasks and opportunities within EdTech, identifying strengths and interests through self-assessment and peer discussions.
  • Through examples and case studies, learners will learn how to apply constructivist, behaviourist, and cognitive theories to develop practical EdTech solutions.
  • Learners will utilise design thinking to develop user-centred EdTech solutions, using data analysis to ensure alignment with educational needs and ethical standards.
  • Participants will recognise skills and strategies to expand their impact and advance their pedagogical practices, through the creation of educational materials, and the development of Communities of Practice.
  • By the end of the course, participants will have the skills and competencies to formulate a pedagogical mentor Reflective Portfolio. They will also engage in peer assessment activities to provide constructive feedback on their peers' action plans, fostering continuous improvement in professional development.

Prerequisites

The course is primarily designed for experienced teachers who have in-classroom experience and are interested in becoming pedagogical mentors for EdTech companies. These educators are eager to collaborate with EdTech companies in co-designing technology-based products and services that enhance teaching and learning, as well as providing guidance, facilitating professional development, evaluating and reflecting on EdTech tools, and fostering effective collaboration. Additionally, other educational professionals and stakeholders, such as heads of schools, school support staff, and teacher educators and trainers with an interest in this topic, are also welcome to join.

Modules

  • Module 1: Kick off - Exploring opportunities for teachers in EdTech opens on 10/02/2025
  • Module 2: Dive - Transforming pedagogical theories into EdTech innovations opens on 17/02/2025
  • Module 3: Apply - Design thinking and data analysis for effective EdTech co-design opens on 24/02/2025
  • Module 4: Go beyond - Engage and expand impact opens on 03/03/2025

Certification

In order to receive the certificate, the participation in the course activities will count for 5%, and the Pedagogical mentor Reflective Portfolio together with the peer reviews will count for 95%. The overall passing grade is 95%.

The final deadline to complete all activities is 19 March, 23:59 CET.

Note to teachers from Portugal: You can get your successful participation in a European Schoolnet Academy course formally recognised as a valid continuous professional development, and thereby acquire the relevant number of training hours, by sending your certificate to the Conselho Científico e Pedagógico de Formação Contínua (CCPFC) at Rua do Forno, nº 30, 1º andar - apartado 2168, 4700 - 429 Braga, Portugal. For more information, please contact the CCPFC.

Note to teachers from Emilia-Romagna: Per i docenti della regione Emilia-Romagna iscritti alla piattaforma regionale https://iscrizioni.istruzioneer.it/ è possibile ottenere, oltre all’attestato rilasciato da European Schoolnet Academy, anche l’attestato rilasciato dall’Ufficio Scolastico Regionale per l'Emilia-Romagna (Servizio Marconi) che attua un'azione di facilitazione ed accompagnamento a questa attività. Maggiori informazioni al link: https://bit.ly/EuroSmooc21.

Note to teachers from Ireland: It may be possible to count the completion of this course as part fulfilment of any discretionary CPD hours, subject to your school management's approval. Therefore, please enquire with your school management if your participation in this course can be formally recognised. 

Course Staff

Jelena Milenkovic - Course Coordinator

Jelena works as an Operational Manager in the FCL/ESEP Department of European Schoolnet (EUN). She serves as the Operational Manager for the European Schoolnet Academy and FCL CPD courses for teachers. Since joining European Schoolnet in 2018, Jelena has been coordinating the Academy's activities and developing MOOCs for various projects, including Google, Scientix, TIWI, NBS, and STE(A)M IT. Additionally, she consistently facilitates teacher training courses at the Future Classroom Lab.

Elisavet Vlachou - Course Coordinator

Elisavet is a Project and Pedagogical Coordinator in the Science Education Department of European Schoolnet (EUN). Elisavet contributes to the activities of several projects and initiatives, including publications, coordination of educators’ activities within projects, content design and moderation of Massive Open Online Courses and organisation of online and face-to-face workshops. She holds a bachelor’s degree in Primary Education and a master’s degree in educational sciences from the University of Patras, Greece. She has worked as a primary school teacher in Greece, and she has experience in teachers’ training and the design, implementation and evaluation of teaching tools and techniques. Additionally, she has participated in diverse studies as a researcher and co-authored scientific papers.

Isabel Blanco - Course Moderator

Isabel Blanco is a Teacher Training Adviser at the Teacher Training and Resource Centre (Centro de Formación e Recursos) in Ourense, Spain. With 20 years of experience in the public education system, she holds a Master’s degree in Education and ICT and has led several work groups focused on ICT research and the development of educational materials. Isabel has also worked as a teacher trainer in courses organized by the Galician Department of Education and as an online instructor for both the Ministry of Education and the Galician Department. Previously, Isabel was a teacher of English as a Second Language in a Plurilingual Primary School, where she played a key role in integrating Robotics and Coding into the curriculum and led the Bilingual Project. Her passion for ICT led her to create numerous digital resources for the classroom, fostering creativity, critical thinking, and student-centred learning. Currently, Isabel is a Scientix Ambassador and a Code Week Leading Teacher, actively promoting STEM education, computational thinking, and digital literacy. Her work focuses on supporting educators in integrating innovative teaching practices and coding across various subjects, while fostering collaboration and professional growth within the teaching community. Isabel is dedicated to inspiring both students and teachers through the effective use of technology in education.

Behind the course

EmpowerED, running from 2023 to 2025, aims to establish a pan-European network and platform for exchanges between European EdTech initiatives, support organisations, practitioners, and policymakers. The project will map the EdTech landscape in Europe to reflect the current state of play in the sector. This will provide insight into trends linked to new schooling models and innovative education solutions. EmpowerED will provide policymakers with a clearer understanding of how they can better support, and work with, start-ups and SMEs in the fast-expanding EdTech ecosystem. The project will help consolidate and amplify the work of current EdTech organisations and will directly provide support to start-ups and SMEs, for example by offering training and capacity-building opportunities. EmpowerED will create a thriving EdTech ecosystem for better learning across the EU.

Scientix®, the community for science education in Europe, promotes and supports a Europe-wide collaboration among STEM teachers, education researchers, policymakers and other STEM education professionals. Scientix® is an initiative of European Schoolnet (EUN).

Scientix_logo

Disclaimer

Funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Commission. Neither the European Union nor the European Commission can be held responsible for them.  

Creative Commons License

All content on this course unless specified otherwise is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License

  1. Course Code

    PedagogicalMentors
  2. Classes Start

  3. Classes End

  4. Estimated Effort

    5h per week (20h total)
Enroll