[4 minutes reading]


1. Suitable topics for blended learning in Forestry Education:

During the interviews 4 topics were found to be most suitable for digital learning and are the following: 


In general, more theoretical subjects are preferred for digital or blended learning.

The following topics, having significantly more practical contents, were considered less or not suitable for blended learning.


  • Mechanised timber harvest

  • Manual timber harvest

  • Forest pedagogy

  • Hunting


2. Main barriers of digital teaching in Forestry Education

The main barriers for e-learning identified include:


  • Lack of digital competencies in teaching staff: E-didactics and tools

  • Increase of workload

  • Teachers concern related to didactical and technical challenges

  • Organisational challenges (building staff competencies/infrastructure)

  • Lack of technical infrastructure and/or financial means

  • Learners lack of compliance (interest/media competencies)

  • General fear of changing working conditions/job loss through digitalization

  • Lack of support from higher authorities


Fig.1: main barriers for e-learning, multiple answers possible.


3. Advantages/motivation to use digital teaching

On the other side the advantages/motivations to use digital teaching include:


  • The wish to increase their resilience with regard to the recent experience of the pandemic Combining digital and practical teaching is good, especially during preparation and after training phase;

  • Increasing attractivity and efficiency of forestry education

  • need to address future digitised working profiles

  • Increase teaching efficiency: trainees’ performances are improved and multi-media approaches help them to deepen, keep and refresh their knowledge and skills.

  • e-learning as a means to foster cooperation with other forestry education centres and to share or co-produce digital contents.

  • Saving cost/time => many forestry education institutions have only recently started or are currently at the beginning of the process to integrate digital teaching, a phase with rather high cost and work efforts.

  • The application of virtual or augmented reality training is also supported, especially for safety-relevant topics.



Fig.2: main motivation to use digital teaching, multiple answers possible


4. Potential barriers to cooperation between European Forestry Institutions

Although the explicit wish to engage in an exchange of experiences and best practice examples emerged from the Focus Groups, potential barriers were also identified such as:


  • Data security issues (joint administration)

  • Support by higher authorities

  • Joint business model

  • Securing ownership

  • Regional differences in teaching content


The participants‘ contributions describe barriers, complaints, fears, problems but also positive experiences and problem-solving approaches, providing recommendations. Often, statements are directly conflicting. The most frequent or relevant feedbacks are contrasted below.



















Ultime modifiche: giovedì, 21 dicembre 2023, 13:08