The prompt and overall implementation of the synchronous (live lessons on Webex) and asynchronous (educational material on websites and platforms) distance learning methods was a great challenge for head teachers, students and parents alike.  The teaching community reacted very positively to the transition from at-school in situ presence learning into distance e-learning.  The prime concern of the Ministry of Education and Religious Affairs is to ensure the sustainability of the educational community.

Challenges addressed included the fact of teachers not having online experience (and sometimes no active internet connection) and parents with none or quite limited digital competences, unable to assist the students.  The Hellenic Ministry immediately established a helpdesk to give advice, support and solve any problems.  Some more complex cases, as the lack of digital equipment, were addressed at a later stage with the donation of equipment (such as tablets and laptops) that reached schools across Greece in order to allow the distant learning process and materialise the effort for equal opportunities to learning during the lockdown.

To promote education, telecommunication services provided free of charge access to national platforms and software used for teaching and accessibility to all students and teachers.  Furthermore, the Ministry set up a website https://mathainoumestospiti.gov.gr/ to provide the teaching and learning community with useful and innovative distance learning tools and ideas.

Despite digital gap challenges, the synchronous tele-learning was widely used, as it resembles more to the natural classroom reality, while asynchronous distance learning remained the most common distant learning method.

Also, in concrete terms, among other official measures put in place to support the primary and secondary school teachers’ as result of the COVID-19 impact, was the interdiction of breaching the employment contracts of teachers working in private education sector: All teachers provide distant work and all are normally compensated.  Regarding professional support measures, daily training on online sessions were held to introduce synchronous teaching methods.  In addition, aiming to train teachers in the use of concurrent and non-concurrent models of online teaching, the Hellenic Support Service for the eTwinning action continued its online pedagogical support to teachers and to the educational community during the lockdown in the following ways:

• In the framework of Action: Staying at home with eTwinning the Hellenic National, the  Support Service (EYY) of eTwinning created three online seminars and webinars:
  • Distant learning – Communication tools – Cooperation tools – Advice https://seminars.etwinning.gr/course/view.php?id=4221 
  • Educational Communities & Blogs in the Panhellenic School Network (blogs.sch.gr) https://seminars.etwinning.gr/course/view.php?id=4222 
  • Electronic school class PSN (eclass.sch.gr) https://seminars.etwinning.gr/course/view.php?id=4223 
  • Has put in place a webinar on “Practical tools for developing well-being and cohesion in classroom groups during Covid-19 time”, which addresses teachers of primary and secondary education
  • It has approved twelve new works on Covid-19 for the implementation of which of 372 teachers of primary and secondary education collaborate from all around Europe
  • It has approved the registration of 382 new teachers and 214 new school units on the platform of eTwinning from March 11 2020
  • It supports and encourages daily teachers who continue to implement eTwinning projects in the framework of distance learning
  • Has put in place ten semi-yearly webinars (of 120 hours each, aim to be completed by May 2020) https://seminars.etwinning.gr 
• On an international level the Hellenic eTwinning Support Service (EYY) participates and organizes the following actions:
  • In- school eTwinning collaborative projects through TwinSpace platform and other digital tools shared by the pupils and teachers participating in the project 
  • New Groups “eTwinning at Home, eTwinning in times of school closure” Ομάδες eTwinning
  • Monthly learning events and webinars, such as :
    • Learning Event 2020: How to launch an eTwinning VET project from zero?
    • Jouer en mixité - l'égalité filles - garçons c'est aussi la mixité;
    • How to implement projects into lessons, and lessons into projects
  • The School Education Gateway School Education Gateway

Lastly, the Ministry of Education is planning to develop a crash-course training programme (15 hours) for all the teachers of the public sector in digital skills and distance learning.

More information: https://seminars.etwinning.gr 

Source: Eurydice Unit Greece