Empowering preschool teachers and parents for digital education: Influence of the pandemic on children and preschools

In addition to its impact on daily and work lives, the COVID-19 pandemic has significantly affected education delivery. According to UNESCO, nearly 90% of the world's student population has had their learning experiences disrupted by precautions and policies implemented to overcome the spread of the disease. The project 'Home, but not alone: Home, but not alone: Empowering preschool teachers and parents for digital education', a European funded project focused on the exchange of good practices to improve preschool education throughout Europe, will mitigate educational losses by supporting teachers and parents who are the main providers of education for young children. This work describes the actions made to analyse the influence of the pandemic on children and preschools. © 2022 IEEE.

Characterization of Spaces and Didactic Units for the Improvement of Diversity Gaps

Currently, most educational centers have specific spaces where, depending on the technology available in them, specific practices are carried out. Some examples of these spaces are the computer labs, electronics, biology, chemistry, or maker spaces. The CreaSTEAM project aims to create STEAM spaces in schools, so that they are multidisciplinary and transversal spaces where elements and technologies of all kinds coexist, and above all, rather than being focused on technology, they are focused on the development of STEAM skills and vocations, especially to reduce gaps in diversity. This article focuses on the design of an instrument that allows the conceptualization of STEAM practices in these new educational environments, contemplating and relating both educational methodologies, technologies, and diversity gaps to be solved or studied.

Educational initiatives for bridging the diversity gap in STEM

The diversity gap is a well-known problem that affects society across regions and countries. The interconnectedness and interdependence of peoples and countries are increasing;the movement of human beings and the exchange of cultural practices is becoming more common in all areas of society. STEM areas - Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics - are crucial for society's development;they are key elements in the COVID-19 pandemic, where these areas are playing a significant role in addressing the evolving needs of society. For this reason, the diversity of society must be represented in STEM sector, teams should consist of people from different cultures, disabilities, ethnic groups, gender, or sexual identities. This new edition of the track "Bridging the diversity gap in STEM"brings different projects, experiences, and studies in education focused on promoting diversity and reducing inequality in STEM. © 2021 Owner/Author.

Introduction of the gender perspective in the university teaching: A study about inclusive language in Spanish

Equality and inclusion are part of the strategic plans of the universities. In particular, the Spanish government has established that the universities should have equality units to apply the principle of equality between women and men. These units are in charge of the definition of the Equality Plans. These Plans vary from one university to another, but they are focused on including the gender perspective in the university's different activities. Teachers' specific training about gender mainstreaming should be one of the key actions to foster equality in higher education. This work presents findings on participants of a course about 'Introduction of the gender perspective in the University teaching' developed in the University of Salamanca in June 2020. The document describes the organization and structure of the course with a particular focus on the adaptation to online format due to the COVID-19 crisis. Furthermore, we share some of the results about the participants' perceptions and opinions on the inclusion of nonsexist language in Spanish and their educational practices. © 2021 IEEE.

Empowering young women in the Caribbean region in stem

Although the participation of women in the different stages of society has increased, there are still sectors where the presence of women is meager, and the visibility of their contributions to society still much lower. The confinement due to the Covid19 pandemic has only made this reality even more visible. Some studies indicate that by increasing empowering women and girls in settings where they are a minority, economic and social benefits are also obtained. The W-STEM project aims to increase women's participation in STEM disciplines. The paper presents preliminary results of a diagnosis of different STEM programs at one university in Colombia. Results show that seven STEM programs have low female enrolment. Therefore, the paper presents various activities developed to motivate young women to enroll in STEM programs. The activities were open to all interested students, showing that 47% of women participated in the activities. Thus, these processes empower women by providing information and inclusion in spaces to acquire new knowledge and skills. © 2021 IEEE.

Planning, Communication and Active Methodologies: Online Assessment of the Software Engineering Subject during the COVID-19 Crisis

The coronavirus pandemic has had a high impact worldwide. The health crisis has not only had an impact on people's own health and on health systems, but has also affected other areas. In the educational context, the lockdown measures implemented by different governments have challenged the learning ecosystem. In the case of higher education in Spain, with a strong attendance factor in most public universities, face-to-face classes were interrupted after a month in the second term, ending the academic year in the online mode. This change has meant a great effort on the teachers' side to transform the face-to-face teaching into the online approach, which in many cases has meant quite a comprehensive new design of the subject, changing the evaluation process and the methodologies used. This work presents a success case of online assessment developed in the Software Engineering I subject of the Degree in Computer Engineering at the University of Salamanca. The objective is to show how the previous use of active methodologies and the integration of educational technologies in classroom-based teaching facilitates the transformation of assessment to an online or blended approach while maintaining a high degree of student involvement and satisfaction. After presenting a comparison between the face-to-face approach and the adaptation to the online approach, an analysis is made of the learning results and student satisfaction concerning previous academic years. The results show that the change of approach has not reduced the satisfaction results obtained in previous courses. In terms of learning outcomes, there is an overall increase in the grades obtained by students in all assessment items.

Learning ecosystems for health professionals in the hospital environment

The education and training of health professionals are fundamental for the assistance to citizens and achieving from health systems the efficiency and equity that the population needs. This training is carried out from different fronts, models, actors, means, etc., offering a very complex map. In general, the teacher of the training aimed at health professionals is the health professional himself, since it is assumed that professional experience is a prognostic factor of the quality of the results. The complexity of training for healthcare professionals is intensified by introducing virtual and/or blended training, increased by the influence that the SARS-CoV-19 pandemic is having. In general, the training of healthcare professionals is usually supported by companies or organisations, which either create and develop the courses on an ad hoc basis (a specific course) or more broadly (supporting an annual plan). Bearing in mind that it is the health professionals who act as teachers and the intensification of virtual environments, it is reasonable to consider, as a first step, whether they have the digital teaching skills as to face the realisation (with all that it implies) of activities through virtual training to propose. In a second step, a training model that trains the health professional as a competent digital teacher. These two approaches are part of the objectives of the doctoral thesis "Incorporation of learning ecosystems by and for health professionals in the hospital environment". © 2020 ACM.