Summary of results

1. Electronic materials have significant impact on the quality of learning and teaching, and using them is necessary for a new generation of specialists.

Electronic materials must contain various types of resources and activities to be effective in smarter learning environments.

2. Regular teacher training and support for those who want to create electronic materials and teach online are required. A single training session on how to teach online for a person who has no experience as a participant of an e-learning course is not effective.

3. Teachers and lecturers using online/e-learning materials developed by somebody else or supplementing face-to-face classes with online/e-learning materials are a great potential for the institution they work for, which will have impact on the development of e-learning and smarter learning environments.

Smarter Education - Preparing a New Generation of University and College Teachers 109 They are more aware of and more experienced in how to develop knowledge and skills in an online and e-learning environment.

4. Educational institutions should invest in increasing the number of staff involved in the creation of electronic educational materials, which may inspire other staff to become online tutors or supervisors of online collaborative projects.

5. Technical universities and higher education institutions have advantage over non-technical ones in terms of ICT competencies of their staff and IT infrastructure, therefore, they should be more involved in building innovative learning environments.

6. Educational institutions should increase their staff’s ICT and pedagogic competencies. Working in an e-learning and smart learning environment means collaborating in multidisciplinary teams.

CONCLUSION

Pedagogical and ICT competencies needed to develop and manage a smart, technology-enhanced learning environment, and supervise and support students working in it are often neglected and marginalized by decision-makers, lecturers and teachers. A lack of awareness of what can be achieved through well-designed web-based materials leads to improper implementation of new methods and techniques to be followed by creation of ineffective e-learning or blended learning courses.

A vast majority of academic and college staff in Poland and other countries have not yet had the opportunity to participate in any e-learning courses. Thus, for professionals who deliver classroom-based lectures, tutorials and workshops, it would be a valuable experience to immerse in educational programmes offered in an online environment. In this way they could gain hands-on experience and appropriate skills necessary to successfully engage in e-learning as developers and supervisors. Supported by a thorough introduction to online educational theory and practice, they would later be able to create materials tailored to their students’

needs, monitor their progress and stimulate them to learn actively.

In the 21st century technological advances are broad, rapid and dynamic, which poses a number of challenges for educators. They have to reflect on their teaching continuously and self-direct their own development in order to be able to use a new, smart, i.e., technology-rich and pedagogically innovative, environment effectively. They need to identify areas for growth and improvement and upgrade their skills through self-education or training tailored to the needs and requirements of the new generation of students in smart and smarter learning environments.

Magdalena Roszak, Iwona Mokwa-Tarnowska, Barbara Kołodziejczak 110

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