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|title=Design of MOOC "Innovative Teaching: Essentials of Digital Creativity and Hybrid Learning" for providing micro-credential for educators
|pdfUrl=https://ceur-ws.org/Vol-3771/paper25.pdf
|volume=Vol-3771
|authors=Kateryna P. Osadcha,Viacheslav V. Osadchyi,Iryna V. Krasheninnik,Alona V. Chorna,Olena H. Kuzminska
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==Design of MOOC "Innovative Teaching: Essentials of Digital Creativity and Hybrid Learning" for providing micro-credential for educators==
https://ceur-ws.org/Vol-3771/paper25.pdf
Design of MOOC “Innovative Teaching: Essentials of
Digital Creativity and Hybrid Learning” for providing
micro-credential for educators
Kateryna P. Osadcha1,2 , Viacheslav V. Osadchyi3,4 , Iryna V. Krasheninnik2 , Alona V. Chorna2
and Olena H. Kuzminska5
1
Norwegian University of Science and Technology, 1 Høgskoleringen, Trondheim, Torgarden, Norway
2
Bogdan Khmelnitsky Melitopol state pedagogical university, 59 Naukove mistechko Str., Zaporizhzhia, 69000, Ukraine
3
Borys Grinchenko Kyiv Metropolitan University, 18/2 Bulvarno-Kudriavska Str., Kyiv, 04053, Ukraine
4
Institute for Digitalisation of Education of the NAES of Ukraine, 9 M. Berlynskoho Str., Kyiv, 04060, Ukraine
5
National University of Life and Environmental Sciences of Ukraine, 15 Heroyiv Oborony Str., Kyiv, 03041, Ukraine
Abstract
The article presents the preliminary results of the research conducted as part of the Erasmus+ project 101082858
CRED4TEACH “MOOC-based micro-credentials for teacher professional development”. Some contradictions
of professional training of future educators are given. To overcome them it is advisable to implement micro-
credentials. The design of the MOOC “Innovative Teaching: Essentials of Digital Creativity and Hybrid Learning”
for teachers, tutors, lecturers, instructors, and students of pedagogical specialities is presented. The course is
designed for 90 academic hours so students will receive 3 ECTS. It includes self-study of theoretical material,
completion of practical tasks, and a final project. The aim, target auditory, lists of competencies and learning
outcomes, structure of MOOC are presented in the article.
Keywords
higher education, online, MOOC platform, teacher, digital transformation, digital learning environments
1. Introduction
Higher education in modern conditions faces many challenges that require urgent solutions. In our
opinion, they all fall under such important tasks as ensuring the quality of professional training and
contributing to developing the personality of future specialists. This also applies to teacher education.
It should be remembered that educators will play one of the leading roles in the post-war recovery
of Ukraine. In particular, they will work on restoring education in the de-occupied territories and
overcoming educational losses.
The professional training of future educators in higher education institutions is characterized by
several problems that are difficult to address within a single publication. In the framework of our study,
we highlight the following contradictions:
• between the need to provide students with in-depth knowledge of psychology, pedagogy, and
subject specialization and the intensive updating of scientific content;
• between the clearly defined list of competencies and learning outcomes and the need of stake-
holders (students and employers) to expand professional capabilities and skills;
DigiTransfEd 2024: 3rd Workshop on Digital Transformation of Education, co-located with the 19th International Conference on
ICT in Education, Research, and Industrial Applications (ICTERI 2024, September 23-27, 2024, Lviv, Ukraine
$ Osadcha_Kateryna@mspu.edu.ua (K. P. Osadcha); poliform55@gmail.com (V. V. Osadchyi);
Krasheninnik_Iryna@mspu.edu.ua (I. V. Krasheninnik); Chorna_Alona@mspu.edu.ua (A. V. Chorna);
o.kuzminska@nubip.edu.ua (O. H. Kuzminska)
https://www.ntnu.no/ansatte/katheryna.osadcha (K. P. Osadcha);
https://kubg.edu.ua/prouniversitet/vizytivka/rektorat/dyrektory/1175-osadchyi-viacheslav-volodymyrovych.html
(V. V. Osadchyi); https://nubip.edu.ua/node/3983 (O. H. Kuzminska)
0000-0003-0653-6423 (K. P. Osadcha); 0000-0001-5659-4774 (V. V. Osadchyi); 0000-0001-6689-3209 (I. V. Krasheninnik);
0000-0002-0062-1144 (A. V. Chorna); 0000-0002-8849-9648 (O. H. Kuzminska)
© 2024 Copyright for this paper by its authors. Use permitted under Creative Commons License Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0).
CEUR
ceur-ws.org
Workshop ISSN 1613-0073
Proceedings
118
• between the clearly defined study period for obtaining an academic degree and the need to acquire
specific additional skills for a short time.
One way to overcome these contradictions is implementing a micro-credentials system at the national
and institutional levels, which is one of the trends in the development of higher education in Europe
[1, 2, 3, 4].
For this purpose, it is advisable to use various digital education tools that allow educational content
to be delivered to many learners in a convenient form, organize interactive learning, and reach a wide
range of individuals interested in quickly acquiring additional qualifications.
The purpose of the article is to present the preliminary results of designing the MOOC “Innovative
Teaching: Essentials of Digital Creativity and Hybrid Learning” which is aimed to provide micro-
credential in innovative digital pedagogy for educators.
2. Literature review
For purposes of our research, we need to examine two main objects: micro-credentials and Massive
Open Online Courses (MOOCs).
According to Rory McGreal and Don Olcott Jr., “Micro-credentials are certified documents that provide
recognised proofs of the achievement of learning outcomes from shorter, less duration, educational or
training activities” [2]. The the essence and destiny of micro-credentials are presented on figure 1.
Figure 1: What are micro-credentials, and what are they for? (Source: [4]).
To summarize the literature review findings, we can conclude next:
1. Benefits of micro-credentials in professional development:
• micro-credentials offer rapid upskilling for the workforce and potential pathways for gaining
employment [5];
• learners seek short, practical, and up-to-date courses for their chosen career path, while
employers want clarity regarding the competencies gained through micro-credentials [5];
• they can help workers tighten the ’skills gap’ and ensure continuous professional growth
by keeping up to date with relevant and emerging practices [2].
2. Impact on traditional education systems:
• implementing micro-credentials can be disruptive in the higher education sector and present
several challenges, but these challenges are likely to be mitigated by increased collaboration
among stakeholders [5];
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• micro-credentials are still at an early stage of development, and further research is required
to evaluate their viability and effectiveness in the long term [6].
3. Challenges of implementing micro-credentials in the workplace:
• challenges include a lack of clear definitions, ambiguous course descriptions, lack of ac-
creditation and quality assurance, unclear remuneration policies, and lack of coordination
between learning hours and learning outcomes [7].
4. Role of micro-credentials in the future of work and employment:
• micro-credentials are becoming prevalent as a means of upskilling and reskilling the labor
market and for achieving academic advancement and personal development [2];
• they are increasingly considered a key mechanism through which to empower learners by
enabling flexible upskilling and reskilling [8];
• the potential of micro-credentials lies especially among educational institutions and the
networks of institutions innovating beyond traditional study offerings and programmes [8].
E-learning is an effective modern form of obtaining micro-credentials. For example, massive open
online course (MOOC) platforms give convenient opportunities to deliver learning content to many
students. So, they can be used as an environment for short-term training of teachers in a micro-credential
framework. Researchers are examining different aspects of using e-learning and its means to give
micro-credentials to all interested in additional credits or qualifications [9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16].
3. Research result
According to the tasks of the Erasmus+ project “MOOC-based micro-credentials for teacher professional
development”, we need to create the MOOC for educators. This task consists of such sub-tasks:
• to formulate micro-credentials;
• to define the target audience of the MOOC;
• to define the purpose of the MOOC;
• to define learning outcomes;
• to design the structure and content of the MOOC;
• to choose the platform for developing the MOOC;
• to create the MOOC;
• to offer passes for obtaining micro-credentials.
We analyse some micro-credential platforms, e.g. [17, 18].
The Future Learn Platform [17] offers 9 teaching micro-credentials. The most interesting for us are:
1. Online Teaching: Creating Courses for Adult Learners. This micro-credential develops the skills
to create online courses, and the ability to teach adults online. Students will receive 15 UK credits
at the Postgraduate level (figure 2).
2. Online Teaching: Evaluating and Improving Courses. This micro-credential develops the skills
to evaluate the success of online teaching and enhance students’ remote learning experience.
Students will receive 15 UK credits at the Postgraduate level.
3. Online Teaching: Embedding Social, Race, and Gender-Related Equity. This micro-credential
discovers how to embed equity in online teaching and support equitable participation for all.
Students will receive 15 UK credits at the Postgraduate level.
According to FutureLearn Platform [17], obtaining micro-credentials consists of such steps (figure 3):
• online learning with expert instructors;
• completing project-based assessments;
• earning a professional credential.
120
Figure 2: “Online Teaching: Creating Courses for Adult Learners” course page (Source: [17]).
Figure 3: How to get micro-credentials (Source: [17]).
The Microcreds Platform [18] offers different teaching micro-credentials for those who are interested
in digital educational technologies, e.g.:
1. The course “Blended Learning and Teaching” aims to develop the capabilities to incorporate
digital learning practices, tools, and strategies in academic contexts. Students will receive 10
ECTS.
2. The module “Designing and building interactive online training” aims to practice and develop
multimedia digital skills, develop strategies for effective planning, creativity and visual design
and build online interactive multimedia. Students will receive 5 ECTS.
Based on the exploring different aspects of the digital transformation of education, we decided to
design the MOOC “Innovative Teaching: Essentials of Digital Creativity and Hybrid Learning”. It is
located on the Moodle platform of BK MSPU.
The target audience of this MOOC is teachers, tutors, lecturers, and instructors, who are interested
in obtaining additional micro-credentials in educational digital technologies and its creative using, as
well as students of pedagogical specialities.
The purpose of the course is to provide a comprehensive understanding of educational digital
technologies and their application in the academic context, as well as methods of conducting professional
pedagogical activities using various types of digital technologies (interactive technologies, distance
learning, MOOCs, Metaverse, artificial intelligence).
List of competencies acquired during the study of the course:
• ability to learn and acquire modern knowledge in the field of digital technologies;
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• ability to understand and assess the level of digital literacy; foreign language skills;
• skills in using interactive learning technologies;
• ability to conduct distance learning;
• ability to use modern digital technologies and specialized software in the educational environment;
• skills in using artificial intelligence technologies in education;
• ability to manage the development of software projects for educational purposes.
Learning outcomes. Graduates should be able:
• to search for, process, analyze, and evaluate information related to professional activities;
• to apply tools to assess digital literacy;
• to understand the features of communication, interaction, and collaboration in international
cultural and professional contexts;
• to use interactive technologies in professional activities;
• to apply software for distance learning and provide educational and methodological support;
• to use specialized software and modern means of storing and processing information;
• to use artificial intelligence technologies in education;
• to manage the process of developing software projects for educational purposes.
The course is designed for 90 academic hours so students will receive 3 ECTS. It includes self-study
of theoretical material, completion of practical tasks, and a final project. Students are provided with
educational videos, primary and supplementary text materials, tasks for developing practical skills, and
more.
The MOOC content covers subjects necessary to develop skills in creative and effective using digital
technology in education. It consists of two modules, both of which have final tests. We present the
structure of the course in table 1.
To obtain micro-credential in the field of digital creativity and hybrid learning we offer two passes:
1. Self-paced learning. This approach is used for simultaneously training a large range of stu-
dents who are in different settings. Students perform all tasks fully self. They can upload their
materials to the MOOC environment for peer-reviewing by other participants, take part in
learning discussions through special tools, and have quizzes and tests. Instructors do not give
feedback to students. The main forms of assessment are self and peer assessment. To obtain the
micro-credential they should accomplish the final project.
2. Teacher-guided learning. This approach is used for training small groups of students in conditions
of formal academic institutions. Lecturers and instructors conduct online real-time classes (lec-
tures, discussions, games, collaborative work, etc.), manage students’ projects, provide feedback,
and assess students’ learning achievements.
At the moment the course is designed and in the process of creating. Here we present the introductory
page (figure 4).
As we consider, the implementation of our MOOC will allow to overcome contradictions formulated
in the Introduction, particularly will give opportunities:
• to deliver in-depth content about up-to-date educational technologies and to renew it timely;
• to combine standards demands with the needs of stakeholders through formulating extended
lists of competencies and learning outcomes;
• to define the term of obtaining micro-credentials.
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Table 1
Course structure.
Subject Theoretical study (hours) Practical tasks (hours)
Module 1
Introductory lecture 0.5
From the Calculator to the Supercomputer 2
Computer Networks and Their Applications 2
Digital literacy of the teacher and citizen 8
Software the heart of computing 2
Data: From Binary Element to Intelligence 2
Interactive tools and technologies 8
Technology Building Blocks 2
Some Areas of Application 2
Online tools during distance learning 8
About the Digitalization of Society 2
Societal Issues 2
Test 1 0.5
Module 1 Total 16.5 24.5
Module 2
Industry 4.0: Definition and
the Acceleration of Innovations 2
Future Skills 2
Digital skills in education 8
Digital technology for educational
consumption 2
Basics of creation and development
of IT products 8
Massive open online courses 2
Step into the Metaverse 2
A Virtual Learning Environment seen
as a System of Instrumented Activities 2
Artificial intelligence in education 8
Why Digital Transformations Fail 2
Test 2 0.5
Closing lecture 0.5
Module 2 Total 14.5 24.5
Final Project 10
4. Conclusion
The professional training of future educators is characterised by different contradictions. To overcome
them it is advisable to implement a micro-credentials system at the national and institutional levels.
We designed the MOOC “Innovative Teaching: Essentials of Digital Creativity and Hybrid Learn-
ing” for teachers, tutors, lecturers, and instructors, who are interested in obtaining additional micro-
credentials in educational digital technologies and its creative using, as well as students of pedagogical
specialities. The course is designed for 90 academic hours so students will receive 3 ECTS. It includes
self-study of theoretical material, completion of practical tasks, and a final project.
To achieve the research goals, it is planned to develop institutional micro-credential policy, complete
the development of the MOOC (design and upload necessary theoretical materials, create a set of tasks
for assessing participants’ learning achievements, develop tools for interactive learning, etc.), conduct a
pilot evaluation of the course within the educational process, develop recommendations for providing
micro-credentials using the developed MOOC, and adapt BK MSPU infrastructure to MOOC-based
micro-credential delivery.
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Figure 4: Introductory page of the MOOC “Innovative Teaching: Essentials of Digital Creativity and Hybrid
Learning”.
The material was prepared as part of the Erasmus+ project 101082858 CRED4TEACH “MOOC-based
micro-credentials for teacher professional development”.
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