Competent university teachers for digital learning in OSH

Abstract

The COVID19 pandemic is an unprecedented event that has sent shockwaves into almost all areas of our lives. Education is one of the most vulnerable sectors. Overnight, crude adjustments of curricula, teaching methods and tools had to be made. Digital learning became a reality. Higher education in Occupational Health and Safety (OSH) field is highly affected because of the tight connection to the industry. Site visits, practical trainings in companies and face-to-face interviews with OSH professionals present a valuable part of the study programmes dedicated to safety. University teachers face challenges coming with digital era in OSH education and training.The OSHDIGIT project aimed to support the teachers in delivering effective digital education and training in OSH. The systematic framework of the project was derived from the European Framework for the Digital Competence of Educators (DigCompEdu). The main project objectives were to enhance digital pedagogic competencies of university teachers in OSH discipline by giving them practical guidance and training and to equip them with OSH e-resources and tools for the use in digital learning.Three main outputs have been achieved. First are e-guidelines for teachers: to navigate them in various digital tools (E-tools guide on Padlet platform), to implement blended project-based learning (Blended PBL guide) and to protect their health and well-being within the process of digital education (Wellbeing guide). The second outcome presents an e-platform for sharing existing OSH e-resources (e.g. online lectures, videos, games and quizzes) for university-level teaching and training of future OSH professionals and specialists. The last but not least output are tailor-made e-tools such as workplace simulations, site visits and commented risk assessments from real workplaces, videos from occupational hygiene measurements, interviews with OSH professionals and interactive presentations on current OSH topics. All the outputs are freely available via Erasmus+ platform.The project activities were accompanied by roundtable discussions, focus groups and training workshops. The project fostered knowledge transfer and sharing of good practices and innovative approaches in OSH digital learning among universities, insurance companies, enterprises and professional networks. OSHDIGIT approach contributed to EU initiatives addressing enhancement of the quality in higher education in the area of occupational health and safety.