Integration of digital technologies into the educational process

Introduction

The digital transformation of education has brought numerous challenges, but also opportunities for improving the quality of teaching. One of the key challenges is the adaptation of traditional classroom teaching materials to the digital, online environment. This is a process that goes beyond the mere transfer of content to digital platforms — it requires pedagogical, technical and didactic transformation of teaching materials to make them functional, useful and accessible to students in a virtual environment. Teachers often own digital teaching materials, but the design and purpose of these materials is more oriented towards classroom use, and less towards independent student work in an online environment.

1. Pedagogical-didactic adaptation

Classroom materials often presume the physical presence of a teacher, spontaneity of interaction and the ability to directly explain content. In an online environment, materials need to be reshaped to encourage independent and active learning. This includes:

• a clear introduction to the topic, goals and expectations
• asking questions for reflection and self-examination
• visual organisation of information (e.g. infographics, summaries, tables)
• specifying deadlines for working with some content
• inclusion of diverse forms of material (text, video, audio, tests).

2. Technical adaptation

Materials prepared for the classroom (e.g. PowerPoint presentations, notes, instructions) must be adapted for display and distribution via e-learning or educational content sharing systems (e.g. Moodle, MS Teams or Google Classroom). Basic technical adaptations include:

• use of formats available on different devices (e.g. PDF, MP4, HTML5)
• adding subtitles and transcripts to video content
• compressing large files for easier download (but this is not possible with video and audio recordings because they are already compressed)
• checking the accessibility of teaching materials (contrast, font size, existence of alternative text/description for images).

3. Interactivity and engagement

The digital environment requires a greater degree of active student involvement. Therefore, classroom materials should be enriched with tools and activities that enable two-way communication and collaboration:

• by incorporating knowledge checks and feedback within the content
• using forums and comments for discussion
• by implementing tasks that encourage the application of knowledge (case studies, projects)
• gamification of content for additional motivation.

4. Accessibility and inclusivity

Online materials must be accessible to all students, including those with diverse needs and limitations. Accommodation includes, among other things:

• ensuring compatibility with screen readers
• structuring content using headers and tags
• using simple language and clear navigation
• avoiding content that requires special programmes to view (to a reasonable extent).

5. Evaluation and feedback

Unlike a classroom environment where the teacher can immediately spot misunderstandings, in an online environment it is crucial to include mechanisms for self-checking and feedback. Materials should include:

• built-in tests with answer explanations (i.e. specific feedback)
• student feedback capabilities/functionality
• instructions for additional learning, repetition or corrections (with an emphasis on self-regulated learning if there is a need for it).

Conclusion

Adapting classroom teaching materials to the online environment does not mean copying them literally, but rather transforming/reshaping them into a form that is meaningful, effective and stimulating for digital learning. Such materials must be pedagogically well thought out, technically feasible and didactically effective. Only in this way can they meet the needs of the modern student and support the achievement of defined learning outcomes in the online context.