Criteria to guide a digital project in a training context

Generally, when thinking about the development of a training project, stages such as planning, design, implementation and evaluation are taken into consideration. But, before reaching that point, it is important to orientate the project, that is, to consider the particularities that differentiate it and the way in which it adapts to the specific situation. Without proper, clear and specific guidance, the project can become disoriented or lose coherence.

Based on this fact, and although it is difficult to track research that has put these actions to the test, various experiences that can be found through the web indicate that in order to properly guide a digital project it is necessary to consider the following variables:

Adequacy is the most general aspect and in a way it introduces others. This refers to the way in which the project adapts to the needs of the application context. To consider this adaptation, factors such as the institution where it is built, the community to which it is directed, the legal framework that encloses it, among others, can be taken as a reference.

Rather than applying the project to the entire program indiscriminately, suitability raises the need to look for curriculum spaces where a project of this type can be particularly useful. This utility may mean that digitization is capable of enhancing certain aspects of the curriculum or that it is significant to overcome specific gaps through the digital component.

The most common fact when trying to implement this type of project is that its development is progressive. It is very difficult to have the time and resources, including the people, with which to apply it to the entire curriculum at the same time. This is where priority comes into play. It is important to establish an order of application for the different stages of the project based on the results they can generate; which is closely linked to the previous point.

Many times the design and implementation of a digital project is linked to an interest in improving the current conditions of an educational curriculum, but it is also very common for this initiative to be born from an existing need. For example, it may happen that students lose motivation, which drives the migration to digital media to face this problem. In the same way, specific situations that require a digitization project may appear, such as the COVID-19 pandemic.

Interactivity is one of the greatest benefits of digital projects compared to traditional ones. In this sense, it is an element that must be taken advantage of. Making a video that only repeats what the teacher does in class or only projecting on the wall what was previously written on the blackboard, will only serve to superficially change the forms. It is necessary to go deeply and take advantage of the interactivity of digital media in order to enrich the training process.

Although the way we live today incorporates a large number of digital elements, we continue to exist in a real world, not a virtual one. For this reason, the implementation of digital projects in education has to take care not to show itself as an alien scenario, strange for students. For this reason, the contents that are handled must be easily transferable to daily life, including its intense interaction with the digital world, in order to facilitate learning.

In short, to properly guide digital projects in the educational field, it is necessary to consider certain key concepts that, although they have been quickly reviewed here, are complex concepts that must be carefully cared for. No list is complete and there will always be specific considerations for each context, but if these points are taken into account, surely the result of the digital projects that you wish to develop can be improved.