Kate Molloy – Course Lead

“In the second national rollout of the Getting Started with Personal and Professional Digital Capacity course, we opted for a more flexible structure and worked closely with our previous participants to plan the next version of the course. By launching the course in May, we have been able to cover the core units of the course synchronously, and allow our participants time over the summer to catch up on course materials, collaborate with peers, and ultimately complete their teaching enhancement in time for next term! We will reconvene in August as a group to complete the final unit, sign off on work, and share information about pursuing the facilitator badge. 

As course leader, I’m very lucky to be supported by some of the original course developers from our EDTL team, but new facilitators who completed the course last year. Three of our new facilitators were in the same peer group last time, and it’s become obvious that the course helped to create space for peer learning, and develop meaningful, supportive professional networks. Indeed, we can see those networks developing and thriving  within the course once again through the lively discussion boards, webinars, drop-in sessions, and more. 

This course aims to meet participants where they are, to self-assess their digital competencies, identify an area for growth based on their context, and to ultimately implement a teaching enhancement based on that process. Our hope is that our participants will be empowered by that process going forward and become even more daring in teaching enhancements! 

Developing and delivering an open course a national level has been hugely rewarding. The project has been committed since its early days to open, sustainable practice. It’s heartening to see our course grow beyond the project team and we’re excited to see how future facilitators will use our materials going forward.“

Ann Whyte – DCU Business School

“I chose to participate in the GSPPDC course for a variety of reasons. I wanted to self asses and self reflect on my current digital capacity and to what degree it was meeting student needs, while expanding my digital knowledge and ability. I have invested time in learning and engaging with a variety of technologies but throughout the pandemic I started to question the effectiveness of my approach in adopting these. I want students to be at the core of my teaching with modules and materials designed in an accessible and engaging manner that is student led. I had noted a drop in engagement during the pandemic, perhaps everything moving online and external stresses were a factor in this, I felt it was a good point to evaluate progress to date and try to enhance student offerings. 

The course was accessible, manageable, engaging, student led and informative. For me the greatest benefit was being part of an engaging online community of learning. The peer learning opportunities and shared learning platform were invaluable. The opportunity to work with peers in other educational institutions created a more rounded experience offering insight into alternatives opinions and approaches. It was a unique experience in which everyone went beyond the scope of enhancing their own skills and supported others in doing so too. 

I returned to the course as a facilitator to be able to continue the shared learning process and remain an active part of this digital community of learning. Supporting peer learning and engagement with digital learning is supporting the progression of teaching and learning. I had a positive response from students on the digital enhancements introduced and am committed to building on this progression. I am happy to share my experience and learning with others in support of their progression with digital capacity. With constant innovation and progression in technology and digital offerings it is importing to remain engaged with current, relevant, creative and innovative new approaches and opportunities and GSPPDC offers the scope and opportunity to do so.”