Page 245 - International Perspectives on Effective Teaching and Learning in Digital Education

Culturally Sensitive and Congruent Digital Learning Initiative

systems around the world with cancellation of elective medical services and
disruption of daily life. Experts and authors such as Iyengar et al. () have
highlighted the learning opportunities offered by the pandemic and their
implication for a better future health care system through a comprehensive
review of the current literature undertaken to analyse the consequences of
COVID-19 on health care system by using suitable keywords like COVID-19’,
‹telemedicine’, ‹health care’ and ‹remote consultations’ on the search engines
of PubMed, SCOPUS, Google Scholar and Research Gate. Virtual and remote
technologies have been increasingly used in health care management. COV-
ID-19 has offered unique learning opportunities for the health care sector.
Yet, according to Age Platform Europe this fast digitalization is also pushing
aside a growing number of people in preventing them to access essential
services, as many older people’s organisations across Europe have warned
(Kucharczyk, 1). Therefore not all the results of digitalisation are positive as
some of them can be experienced as negative by other populations who do
not have the adequate resources. Some paradoxes observed are the advan-
tages of online tools versus the dependency on their smartphone and social
media, the availability of a wide range of news sources versus the dangers of
disinformation, the ease of use of data-driven services versus the concern for
our privacy, security and control over their personal data.
Furthermore, the current epidemic situation has made every HEI acutely
aware of the need to create digital, or distance, or blended learning courses. It
is vital that these are created in a way that optimizes learning and ensures the
students’ further development of their skills and competences in the future.

Experiential Learning and Good Practices Across Europe to Develop
Culturally Sensitive and Congruent Digital Learning Initiatives
The digital scope is also gaining stakeholders into other sorts of education:
blended simulation – described as combining hands-on simulation, such as
the use of high-fidelity manikins, with computer-based simulation in the
same course, continuing professional development (CPD) – any type of learn-
ing undertaken which increases your knowledge, understanding and expe-
riences of a subject area or role, combined mentoring – by combining tradi-
tional face-to-face and digital ones, among others. Several proposals have
succeeded in international calls funded by the European Commission (EC)
especially Erasmus+ calls under the purpose to fill the gap of a new digital
education paradigm that could cover the current situation lived in different
parts of the world and overcome one future characterized by population
mobility and the possibility of public health and epidemiological lockdowns

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