What is TELMS

Technological innovations in the area of teaching and learning lead to new challenges for teachers as their institutions adopt new tools, and many institutions provide staff training to implement these technologies. While a number of EU projects have addressed the development of mentoring programmes for various educational target groups, teacher training in e-learning competencies, and some have explored integration of technology in the classroom, none appear to have combined the three into a peer mentoring ILT programme.

The TELMS project has identified following gaps to be addressed:

• Lack of appropriate use of Technology Enhanced Learning (TEL) within education provision,
• Lack of peer evaluation in teaching where colleagues participate in the development of learning and teaching activities,
• The need for teachers to share good practice in the use of TEL.

A pan-European project called Technology Enhanced Learning Mentoring Support (TELMS), funded by the Erasmus+ programme, aims to address the need for Technology Enhanced Learning (TEL) as part of VET education provision. It also recognises that teaching staff need to be supported in their efforts to embed technology into classroom practice. This innovative project offers guidelines, tools and resources that provide support for staff, so they can fully realise the instructional potential of the technology to benefit learning and teaching.

The goal of the project was to provide teachers and institutions with new materials and resources that can support VET teachers’ professional development. This took place through the implementation of the teacher mentoring programme so that teachers can embrace new technologies in the way they teach, in order to improve the learners experience. In addition, teachers became mentors to their peers in the utilisation of a range of appropriate technologies and associated digital learning strategies. It is expected that the Mentoring Programme will grow into a permanent and evolving tool that can be used for the ongoing professional development of VET teachers.

The project has developed:

Teacher-Peer Mentoring Programme which not only trains the teacher but enables the teacher mentor their peers in the utilisation of a range of appropriate technologies and associated digital learning strategies.

Teacher Toolkit has been developed to support the training programme and provides valuable resources, teacher guides for each selected technology and guidance on implementation in the classroom. Teachers experience a wide range of teaching and learning strategies. The Toolkit will enable teachers to more effectively meet the needs of VET learners through the use of ILT and that staff competences in ICT methodologies will improve.

TELMS Online Platform has been designed so teachers can access up to date innovative training resources for TEL.