On June 12 at the University "Prof. Dr. Asen Zlatarov" - Burgas, a seminar was held on the topic of "School Strategy for Digital Transformation" in collaboration with the UNITe, K-TRIO and DigiLEAD project teams. The seminar was opened by Prof. Sotir Sotirov, Deputy Rector of the University "Prof. Dr. Asen Zlatarov" - Burgas, Mrs. Petya Petrova, Head of the Regional Department of Education in Burgas and Assoc. Prof. Elissaveta Gourova, Deputy Dean of the Faculty of Mathematics and Informatics of Sofia University "St. Kl. Ohridski". The seminar was attended by teachers and school leaders in Burgas, as well as lecturers at the University "Prof. Dr. Asen Zlatarov" - Burgas.
At the beginning of the seminar, Assoc. Prof. Gourova presented the cooperation between science and education in the UNITe and K-TRIO projects and their role in forming a new generation of researchers. Attention was paid to activities with teachers, school and university students to attract young talent to STEM.
The DigiLEAD project, in turn, contributes to the digital transformation of education, which requires careful strategic planning. This was the topic of the next presentation by Assoc. Prof. Gourova, who introduced the participants to conducting a SWOT analysis in schools, creating a vision and developing a plan for digital transformation.
The second part of the seminar focused on innovative methods of teaching, evaluating and working with different communities. Albena Antonova introduced the participants to the issue of applying appropriate tools in the learning process, using games, digital materials and interactive learning methods as essential components of the digital transformation in the school.
During the discussions, the participants shared good practices as well as various challenges of digitalization of the educational process. One of the essential issues is the motivation and commitment not only of school leaders and teachers, but also of technical staff in schools with the change related to the digital transformation of all business processes. During the COVID-19 crisis, many schools have faced a lack of knowledge and skills of teachers to work with digital tools, and the infrastructure – specific hardware and appropriate programs – still creates problems in schools.
