Experiences of teachers from South Muntenia (Romania) in adapting online training through the new MYSS products.

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Regarding IO3, the teachers involved in the project from South-Muntenia Region (who contributed to the completion of the MYSS questionnaire), mobilized students and parents and adapted to the real crisis conditions and came up with constructive proposals of interactive distance learning. Teachers were involved in various learning activities, webinars, exchange of best practices, studied new ways of organizing interactive distance learning, developed new methodological guides. For most, however, online schooling, right from the beginning of the pandemic, was a difficult time, which caused tension and frustration, which came unexpectedly. Many were unprepared for crisis management, had few resources and digital tools to adapt to online education. Teachers have made a double effort to study and use new online learning technologies.

The preparation of teachers for online lessons was much more demanding than in the case of classical and more tiring education. They had to prepare various relevant visual materials (video, PPT, etc.) to facilitate online learning. Also, most respondents mentioned that in distance learning they get better results if the activities are carried out in small groups (4-15 people) and much more difficult in larger groups (over 15-20 people). Teachers emphasized that in the process of organizing distance learning, they have gradually adapted to the specific conditions created by the crisis. They mentioned that they learned to communicate more effectively and to relate better with the students, cultivating the confidence in the students’ strengths, but also becoming more self-confident.

Once back in school, teachers began to contribute to the modernization of the learning process: most teachers will place more emphasis on developing students’ skills and will be less focused on assimilating content; they will broaden the spectrum of activities, mainly of an interactive nature; will use various digital tools; replacing the traditional board with the interactive one; developing and solving problems with the help of a computer and with the help of some applications, wider communication with parents and students, etc.

Thus, the teachers mentioned about their basic communication with the students that took place at the beginning by email and telephone, Messenger groups and chats, created even before the crisis. As distance learning tools were developed (such as modules and the MYSS online platform), the classic tools were overtaken by the online platforms Zoom, Google Classroom, Moodle. Thus, the children’s intelligence was better capitalized, the skills were developed.

Parents have also been a factor in supporting their children, but they have often made unfounded claims to teachers, gradually becoming convinced that their child needs more attention and additional explanation. They better understood the role of the teacher in organizing the traditional or distance learning process.