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that will keep learners’ attention. Students’ centered teaching approaches such as the
inverted classroom methodology require comprehensive learning programs that are
easy to follow for the learner and include relevant supporting materials.

In order to create and implement digital materials in motivating and autonomous
learning environments that are in line with current German integration program
teachers necessarily need to be supported with teaching examples for more inclusive
teaching strategies. Further, they need upskilling sessions that promote empathy and
learning diversity empowering them to understand and reach their learners with mo-
tivating activities that will encourage learners to actively participate in digital classes.

4.2.3 FROM THE EXPERT PERSPECTIVE: UNMET NEEDS AND REQUIRE-
MENTS IN DIGITAL EDUCATIONAL SETTINGS
First of all, teachers and educational staff members urgently need to be digitally up-
skilled.
Germany is investing in infrastructure and educational centers are expected to run
their programs in digital formats but there is an important gap between expected min-
imal skills and the real digital professional development in the educational field. In
the last three years, many trainers and other staff members have been partially up-
skilled. Nowadays, most teachers are able to present some digital teaching formats but
these often lack the expected minimal pedagogical quality for the learning programs.
Consequently, learners often refer to the classes as boring, difficult to understand, too
demanding and inefficient. Trainers and teaching institutions need to experiment in
order to create more motivating and better tailored programs for the learners.

Second, many of the learners lack the technical resources to actively participate in
digital classes. For many of the current digital solutions learners are expected to work
in laptops or computers. A relevant number of most vulnerable participants have al-
most no access to such devices. Teaching solutions should consider including activities
that could be accomplished in smart phones.

Finally, teachers need simple and easy to use solutions. Most trainers complain about
the fact that they do not have the time to practice and improve their skills so that they
can properly adapt their teaching sessions to their learners’ needs. There are numer-
ous intuitive apps and learning tools that teachers could easily use if they were given
short and simple examples for their utilization and implementation in the classes. Of-
fering trainers elementary and easy to follow teaching examples or upskilling opportu-
nities could represent a motivating first step in their pressing digitalization process.