First Learning, Teaching Training Activities (LTTA) Event in Bologna (Italy)

The first LTTA event took place in Bologna, Italy, from 19^th to the 22^nd June 2023, in the new Science Park Navile of the Alma Mater Studiorum – University of Bologna, in presence. In this occasion Distinct partners met in person and worked together to illustrate and share advanced solutions applied in remote learning in their own Institution. Participants came from Jagiellonian University (JU), Technische Universität Wien (TUWIEN), Latvijas Universitate (UL), Vilniaus Kolegija (VIKO) and a representative from the European Chemistry Thematic Network (ECTN).

Partners were asked to participate to practical activities demonstrating the potential of various hardware and IT tools for teaching and assessing in remote/hybrid courses. The shared experience allowed partners to widen their knowledge and apply new or improved methods to their teaching activities.

The meeting was opened by Cristina Femoni from University of Bologna (the hosting Partner), then contributions from Erwin Rosenberg (TUWIEN) and Mariafrancesca Fochi (UNIBO) on digital support for lab courses and video making followed.

The second day a practical demonstration by Ciro Polizzi (UNIBO) showed advanced hardware tools for remote/hybrid remote activities, followed by a visit to the teaching laboratories to examine the actual equipment used in the demonstration, and more.

After the lunch break, the afternoon was dedicated to active demonstrations of various IT tools from UNIBO.

First, Marco Garavelli and his PhD student Francesco Montorsi showed the participants advanced IT tools for modelling courses, with the presentation of a test case.

Second, Cristina Femoni and Mariafrancesca Fochi involved the other Partners to engage in other IT tools exploited for formative assessment which also help to break the lecture flows.

On the third day Lauma Buša, Jāzeps Logins and Anete Stīne Teimane showed the numerous IT tools available for formative and summative assessment.

Vincenzo Russo from ECTN illustrated relevant didactic aspects for laboratory activities, which not only take place on the days of the actual lab experiences but should also consist of pre- and post-lab moments to prepare students and summarize the expected results. These moments are as well crucial to the lab assessment, as rubrics are presented. During this contribution the different roles of tutors, demonstrators, technicians, teachers were pointed out.

After lunch, people from CESIA (UNIBO IT System), more specifically Dr. Antonella Cirigliano and Dr. Fabio Belsito, explained to the other Partners how UNIBO reacted to the pandemic, pointing out that University of Bologna was mentioned by the Financial Times as one of the first Institutions in the world to set up a system to move online (for remote lecturing and assessment) over 90% of the courses for more than 80,000 students in just three days!!! The head of CESIA, Dr. Enrico Lodolo, was also present at the meeting, together with Dr. Rebecca Micheletti and Nadia Perri.

Michał Woźniakiewicz (JU) contribution was on useful software for supporting research-based learning. Later, the Project Coordinator, Marek Frankowicz (JU) illustrated future perspectives for the Distinct Project.

The social event was a dinner at the “Buca Manzoni” trattoria, downtown, to enjoy some local food like the worldwide famous Bolognaise sauce and mortadella.

The third day was devoted to wrap up all the contents, outcomes and compiling the guidelines according to the modules we had all agreed on.

And now… we are looking forward to participating to the LTTA event in Vienna!!!!

First  TPM Meeting in Riga

On the days of May 11-13, 2023 the partners of the Erasmus+ project “Digital Support in Chemistry Teaching (DISTINCT)” met in Riga, Latvia for a project meeting to discuss the overall development of the project, the ongoing activities and future steps for achievieng the set objectives. Participants from all partner organizations were present and collectively worked on the roadmap for achieving our future goals, aligning our steps towards the successful implementation of upcoming activities.”

We are looking forward to participating to the TPM event in Vilnius now !

Presentation of DISTINCT project during the VIKO International Staff Training Week

On 21^st of June in Vilnius Kolegija (Vilnius, Lithuania) during the VIKO International Staff Training Week, there was a short presentation of DISTINCT project. The project was presented by Aleksandra Lis from Krakow  as one of the initiatives of collaboration between JU and VIKO.

After a short introduction of a project idea, also a Question and Answer part was provided. The Training Week in Vilnius brought together lecturers from European, Asian and African universities and was a great opportunity for sharing DISTINCT project with a new audience and extent the networking of the project.

2^nd TPM at Vilniaus kolegija / Higher Education Institution, Faculty of Agrotechnologies

The second transnational partners‘ meeting took place on January 24 and 25, 2024 at Vilniaus kolegija / Higher Education Institution, Faculty of Agrotechnologies.

Representatives of the Faculty: Lecturers of the Department of Chemistry and Food Technology: Erasmus+ Coordinator Nijolė Ružienė and Kristina Žilionytė; Faculty Vice Dean dr. Erika Kubilienė and Project Manager Marius Ignatonis organized the meeting and welcomed the project colleagues from the universities of Poland, Italy, Latvia and Austria, the representatives of the European Chemistry Thematic Network Association (ECTN).

During the meeting, the main goal of the project was emphasized – to find an appropriate approach to the digital transformation of chemistry, taking into account the situation of the last pandemic, to develop an experience-based digital pedagogy (peer-to-peer learning, a “bottom-up” approach), to implement accessible supporting technologies for distance and blended learning, to create the DISTINCT platform – an integrated system of educational and practical training offers in the chemistry sector.

During the meeting, the implementation activities of the DISTINCT project were discussed and specific deadlines and commitments were defined: Design and development, testing, monitoring and implementation of project results; dissemination to the professional community and the public, events, publications, participation in conferences; interaction with other projects, activities covering the entire chemical sector, networking for digital transformation; project management, communication between partners, preparation of reports, organization of partner meetings. The results of the project will be directly applied both in the national context (partner institutions) and at European level (through the activities of the European Chemistry Thematic Network Association (ECTN) and associated partners). The results of the project will be integrated into the overall digitization policy at institutional, national and international level (European chemistry education sector).

It is intended that the results of the project will meet the needs of the academic community in chemistry in terms of digital transformation. The DISTINCT project consortium contributes to support and help to solve the main issues related to digital transformation: “How to carry out a balanced, systematic digital transformation of the chemistry curriculum?”; “How to live and survive in the digital world?”; “How to accept the “new reality“ and overcome the psychological barriers caused by IT?”; “How to get used to the risk and uncertainty caused by the pandemic after a long period of stability and predictability?”; “How to act when you get out of the rhythm of daily life?”; “How to build resilience to possible future crises through digital solutions?”

The project results – DISTINCT platform (integrated multilingual collection of good practices based on self-learning modules); Remote Lecturing Support Toolkit; Remote Laboratories Support Toolkit; support and recommendations from all interested parties – will undoubtedly contribute to the improvement of digital pedagogy and experience of using digital tools in chemistry education and provide support to academic, technical and administrative staff (online training materials for students and teachers, including educational videos on the use of IT tools in training activities). The results of the project will help to further open up the study of chemistry to people with special needs. During the project, partners from different institutions develop examples of good practice, considering their needs and aiming to ensure adequate impact and sustainability of the initiatives. Methodological guidelines and support will be provided for other sectors of education and training in the field of chemistry (secondary schools, vocational training, workplace learning). It is expected that the results of the project – DISTINCT toolkits, recommendations, and media – will facilitate the work of teachers and students and motivate them to achieve the study outcomes foreseen in the study programs.

The VIKO Faculty of Agrotechnologies is pleased and proud of the opportunity to be part of the DISTINCT project consortium, to contribute to the development and implementation of the project results and to create a future in which the study of chemistry becomes even more accessible, efficient, and inspiring.

Second Learning, Teaching Training Activities (LTTA) Event in Vienna (Austria)

The second LTTA event took place in Vienna, Austria, from 3^rd to 6^th April 2024, at  the Faculty of Chemistry, Getreidemarkt Campus of TU Wien. On this occasion the DISTINCT partners from Jagiellonian University (JU), University of Bologna(UNIBO) Technische Universität Wien (TUWIEN), Latvijas Universitate (UL), Vilniaus Kolegija (VIKO) and  representatives of the European Chemistry Thematic Network (ECTN) met in person and worked together to  discuss and share advanced solutions applied in remote learning in their own institutions.

The meeting was opened by: Peter GÄRTNER – the Dean of Studies of the Faculty of Technical Chemistry TU Wien,  Marek Frankowicz from the Jagiellonian University in Krakow – the project coordinator and Erwin Rosenberg from the Institute of Chemical Technologies and Analytics TU Wien – the local organizer of the workshop.

Apart from the DISTINCT project staff the workshop was also attended by laboratory heads and teaching staff involved in Lab Course Organisation. The programme of the four-day workshop  contained lectures and practical demonstration of advanced hardware tools for on-site, remote or hybrid activities.

Besides the practical activities strictly connected with the subject of the DISTINCT project the participants took also part in an evening visit with a guided tour through the Roy Lichtenstein exhibition at the Albertina. After this event all delegates had the opportunity to taste the local food and drinks during the dinner organized in one of the exceptional Viennese restaurants.

The second Learning, Teaching Training Activities event in TU Wien was organized  in conjunction with the General Assembly 2024 of European Chemistry Thematic Network (ECTN). Detailed meeting report the LTTA is available here.

Hybrid Teaching, Learning and Assessment: Why and How?

Multiplier event organized  by UNIBO on 20.04.2024

 The University of Bologna (UNIBO), partner in the European Project “Digital Support in Chemistry Teaching – DISTINCT”, organized a Multiplier Event (ME) to present some of the obtained results. The Event took place in Bologna, on April 20th, 2024, in the meeting room located in the Department of Industrial Chemistry “Toso Montanari”, Navile Campus, Via Gobetti 85 – Building Ue4. The invited audience consisted of chemistry-and-science high-school teachers coming from different Institutions of the Emilia Romagna region. UNIBO considered this target suitable for presenting its project results, mainly focused on detailed guidelines on hybrid teaching and learning (T&L) activities. The occasion for inviting them came with the regional phase of the “International Chemistry Olympiad (IChO)”, which was locally organised by local representatives of the Italian Chemical Society, as one of the chosen venues was the Industrial Chemistry Department in Bologna. The IChO presented the opportunity to invite the accompanying science/chemistry teachers of the high-school student contestants to the Multiplier Event. All of them (fifteen in total) accepted the invitation and were taken to a separate meeting room. Refreshments were arranged during the session and a gadget was given to all participants, as a welcoming gesture.

About information technologies in teaching natural sciences School of Chemistry Didactics, Faculty of Chemistry, Jagiellonian University

Multiplier event organized  by JU on 25.06.2024

The School of Chemistry Didactics is a conference held every 3 years since 1979. This meeting is a unique forum for the exchange of knowledge and experience in the field of chemistry teaching between: school teachers, chemistry teaching specialists and methodologists and researchers dealing with various areas of chemistry. The aim of the DISTINCT multiplier event organized during this school was to familiarize participants with the main products of the DISTINCT project and the possibilities of their use in the educational process. Teachers of primary and secondary schools as well as teachers of the higher education institutions took part in this multiplier event.

Final TPM Meeting in Kraków

On the days of September 11-12, 2024 the partners of the Erasmus+ project “Digital Support in Chemistry Teaching (DISTINCT)” met in Krakow, Poland for a project meeting to summarize the results obtained during the DISTINCT project and prepare the assumptions of the final report. Leaders of certain Work Packages (individual project tasks) presented a summary of the goals  and discussed the achieved results. Multiplier events planned for the near future were also discussed, whereas the events that have already taken place were summarized.

In addition to discussions on the work of the DISTINCT project, the meeting participants considered both the possibilities of consolidating and developing the obtained project results, as well as further partnership cooperation and the possibility of applying for further joint European projects.

The participants of the meeting, representatives of all DISTINCT project partners (ECTN, JU, LU, TUWIEN, UNIBO and VIKO), had also an opportunity to familiarize themselves with the history of the Jagiellonian University and the Faculty of Chemistry and visited the Museum of the History of Chemistry at the Jagiellonian University.

Digital support in education at Faculties of Chemistry. Polish Chemical Society Congress, Poznań 2024, Section of Didactics and History of Chemistry

Multiplier event organized  by JU on 19.09.2024

The annual Scientific Congress of the Polish Chemical Society is the most important meeting of chemists from all over Poland, both from academic centers and industry. In 2024, the 66th Congress was organized in Poznań and was exceptional  due to at the same time in Poznań there was also organized 11th Congress of Chemical Technology. It was, therefore, an opportunity to  exchange experiences between scientists representing various areas of chemistry (from basic to applied chemistry) and experts from the industry. Taking advantage of this fact, we provided information about the possibility of using the results of the DISTINCT project to a group of chemists involved in educating young staff and to employers from the chemical industry employing graduates of chemical studies.

Hybrid Teaching, Learning and Assessment and CPD: Why and How?     

Multiplier event organized  by UNIBO on 09.10.2024   

On 9^th October 2024 the University of Bologna (UNIBO), partner in the European Project DISTINCT, organized a Multiplier Event (ME) to present some of the achieved in the project results. The event took place at Università degli studi di Palermo in Palazzo Chiaramonte – Steri, piazza Marina 61, in Palermo, where the STEM-CPD Summer School was also organized.

The audience consisted in STEM teachers coming from differet Univerisities. Unibo considered this target suitable for presenting DISTINCT project results, mainly focused on detailed guidelines on hybrid teaching and learning (T&L) activities. Moreover, the audience was perfect for proposing activities aimed to align IT Tools with specific Learning Objectives and to find out how to suggest strategies for encouraging fellow university lecturers to adopt ICT tools that they may not yet be familiar with. The presenters of the ME was prof. Mariafrancesca Fochi.

After the presentation of the Project and the Guidelines, participants were divided into groups and each of them had to select two Learning Objectives and identifying the IT tools they considered most suitable for achieving them, as well as devise a strategy to encourage their university colleagues to incorporate such IT tools into their lessons.

Finally, each group presented to the audience how the selected tool could be utilized, its potential to enhance lessons and classroom activities, and provided a brief demonstration of its application. The participants were highly active and enthusiastic, and expressed particular satisfaction in discovering and exploring new tools they could experiment with in their own classrooms. Additionally, they provided valuable feedback for UNIBO.

Digital change in chemistry education in the age of artificial
Multiplier event organized by VIKO on 24.10.2024

On October 24, 2024, the Faculty of Agrotechnologies of Vilnius Kolegija organized a conference-discussion on “Digital change in chemistry education in the age of artificial intelligence”, where the results of the DISTINCT project were presented. The event was attended by 29 participants (26 general education chemistry and biology teachers from various schools and three members of the JSC specializing in chemistry and biology products).
The participants had the opportunity to familiarize themselves with the newly established chemistry laboratories of the Faculty of Agrotechnologies which open the way for modern educational technologies. The focus was on the application of digital teaching tools in the educational process to improve student performance and teacher efficiency.
The conference was welcomed by the Dean of the Faculty Ramunė Vanagaitė, and the project leader Marius Ignatonis presented the program of the project dissemination event and invited the participants to visit the newly established chemistry laboratories. Nijolė Ružienė, Head of the Faculty’s Applied Sciences Laboratory, introduced the participants to the laboratories for chemical analysis, chromatographic analysis and spectral analysis, as well as their equipment and application in studies and applied research.
M. Ignatonis, presented the idea and results of the DISTINCT project and the teaching/learning resources. Ingrida Radveikienė, Head of the Department of Chemistry and Food Technology, gave a presentation on digital tools for chemistry teachers. Participants had the opportunity to log into the DISTINCT platform, familiarize themselves with the competency models and try out the teaching materials developed as part of the project. During the event, the participants gained insights into the practical application of generative artificial intelligence in teaching, kindly provided by the expert in e-learning technology from Vilnius University, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Saulius Preidys.
The participants had the unique opportunity to participate in discussions and share their experiences. The DISTINCT dissemination event provided not only theoretical knowledge, but also practical skills that will help educators to work more effectively with new technologies and apply artificial intelligence solutions.

DISTINCT – Digital Support in Chemistry Teaching. Introduction
Multiplier event organized by LU on 25.10.2024

On October 25, 2024, the University of Latvia’s Faculty of Medicine and Life Sciences hosted a teachers’ conference, during which high school chemistry and other science teachers were introduced to the results of the Erasmus+ project “Digital Support in Chemistry Teaching (DISTINCT).” The conference was attended by 31 participants in person and 25 participants online. This gathering provided a unique platform to bridge the gap between innovative educational practices and traditional teaching methods, highlighting the importance of digital tools in modern education. By addressing the challenges posed by remote and hybrid learning environments, the conference underscored the growing necessity of integrating technology into teaching to enhance both teacher and student experiences.
During the conference, participants were introduced to the goals and achievements of the DISTINCT project. They had the opportunity to practically explore and work with the ZOTERO database developed by the R1 working group of the project. Conference participants also had the opportunity to learn about various artificial intelligence tools that can simplify the preparation of educational materials. Furthermore, they explored and practically tested several online resources and tools that can make learning chemistry more interactive and, consequently, more engaging.
The participants appreciated the chance to acquire not only theoretical knowledge but also practical skills that can be applied in their daily work. The conference concluded with participants reflecting on how the presented tools and methodologies could immediately impact their teaching practices, helping them create a more vibrant and effective learning environment for their students.

DISTINCT – towards digital didactics
Multiplier event organized by JU on 28.10.2024

This virtual meeting gathered over 100 participants (among them 45 outside of JU), mostly students and employees of higher education institutions, but also students and teachers of secondary schools. The meeting program included two lectures entitled: “Digital support for chemical education – results of the DISTINCT project” – delivered by dr. hab. Marek Frankowicz from Faculty of Chemistry, Jagiellonian University, and “DISTINCT – towards digital didactics: introduction to the use of microcontrollers in laboratory classes at school and at university” – delivered by dr. Kamil Strzelak from Faculty of Chemistry, University of Warsaw. The discussion that ensued after the lectures demonstrated the participants’ interest in the results of the DISTINCT project.

Disclaimer: The European Commission’s support for the production of this publication does not constitute an endorsement of the contents, which reflect the views only of the authors, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.