The aim of the project DIGIFOR (Digital Forest Pedagogy) is to increase the skills and competences of future workforce in the forest sector in the programme regions of South-East Finland, Leningrad and the City of St. Petersburg in Russia.
The changes in the society demand updating education and lifelong learning, which also results in a need to update the teaching and learning methods. This is required to increase the skills and competences of the forestry students to ensure that they are able to meet the needs of future working life.
The DIGIFOR project promotes eLearning methods, international cooperation and connections between working life and higher education institutions in the programme area.
Main activities
To achieve the objectives set for the project there are several activities to implement. They include that during the project we:
- create a pedagogical methodological basis for eLearning in forest education.
- coach the teachers to be able to use eLearning tools on their courses
- work jointly and create eLearning study modules to be included in the courses.
- pilot the courses which contain eLearning modules.
- create and implement together joint massive open online courses (MOOCs).
- establish networks between higher education institutions and working life.
RESULTS and outcomes
The project’s international cooperation strengthens forest sector education in the programme area. This results in up-to-date and quality e-Learning possibilities, developed together with working life and the partner network. Students graduating from higher educational institutions have better skills and competences than before to work in the changing operating environments of the forest sector. In addition, the partner universities and companies in the programme area network actively to develop education of the field.
As an outcome of the project and in order to support DIGIFOR teachers in the development of higher education pedagogies and course design in their e-Learning module piloting, a pedagogical manual has been created by researchers of University of Eastern Finland.
The manual “Towards 21st Century Skills – Pedagogical Insights for DIGIFOR Teachers” can be downloaded here.