Within the framework of the Erasmus+ DeSIRe Project, two online training sessions have so far been held on the MOODLE digital platform. The first training session, titled “Educational Data Mining” (EDM), took place from May 13 to June 2, 2024. The course, led by experts from Lappeenranta University of Technology in Finland, was divided into three main sections, each focusing on innovative methods and approaches for teaching soft skills and ensuring the effectiveness of online learning. Through this training, educators acquired essential knowledge and valuable insights into the study and analysis of educational data.

The course was delivered in an asynchronous format, allowing participants to independently review the materials on the MOODLE platform, complete assignments, and take tests of varying difficulty. Additionally, there was one live online meeting where assignments were discussed, clarified, and explained, providing participants with the necessary guidance.

The first part of the course focused on the European Union’s digitalization strategy, which highlights two key priorities. The first priority is building a digital teaching infrastructure to foster digital learning and teaching, effectively implementing digital tools and systems in universities, and adhering to ethical guidelines for using digital data in education.

The second priority emphasizes the enhancement of digital teaching capacities. Educators are encouraged to join the “European Digital Education Hub”, which offers opportunities for professional development in digital teaching.

The second part of the course concentrated on Moodle analytics. In this section, participants learned how to use data from the Moodle learning management system more effectively to understand and analyze student performance, make more objective decisions, and draw conclusions about student behavior on the platform.

The third section explored Social Network Analysis (SNA), a crucial tool for assessing students’ communication, initiative, and other soft skills. In an online teaching environment, these skills can be evaluated by examining students’ behavior in online forums and discussion groups. This module equipped participants with the skills to use digital tools for evaluating and analyzing student activity.

The second online training session focused on the methodology of Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs). The goal was to familiarize participants with MOOCs and their application in teaching soft skills, specifically in designing course descriptions and content based on Bloom’s taxonomy (knowledge, comprehension, application, analysis, evaluation, and creation). Participants were introduced to several digital platforms for MOOCs, such as Coursera, edX, and FutureLearn, and were provided with the algorithm for creating such courses. Templates for course and topic descriptions were also presented, which would be useful for participants when developing their courses.

Thus, we would like to emphasize that these two training sessions were beneficial and informative. One of their key advantages is that participants can access the MOODLE platform at any time to refresh their knowledge, whether for developing online courses or for accurately analyzing the learning process.