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For the first time, teachers and students in schools throughout Europe are being systematically surveyed on their use and views on technology for learning.
Technology is increasingly used in schools, is a ‘must-have’ for young people, and its contribution to educational, social and economic goals is recognised in national and European policies, It is therefore important to have a clear understanding of the extent of its provision and use in schools across Europe. That is why the views of head teachers, teachers and students are being collected, through online questionnaires (also a first), for the European Survey of Schools: ICT and Education. ESSIE aims to provide answers to questions such as:
• How do young people’s experiences of ICT compare in and out of school? Do they vary between countries?
• How many classrooms are really online, equipped with interactive whiteboards, and laptops? How many teachers are at ease in them? What do they do, and what are the outcomes for learners?
• What are the school and teacher factors associated with different patterns of ICT use? Can explanatory models be identified to inspire policy recommendations to support the development of 21st century teaching and learning methods and curricula?

Continue reading "First large-scale survey of ICT in Europe’s schools under way" »

Posted by Roger Blamire at 05:06 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Ingenious’ website, the website of the European Coordinating Body in Maths, Science and Technology Education will be launched in September and target teachers, researchers, policy makers, local actors, parents and anyone interested in science and technology education and careers. Whether you’re looking for tools and teaching materials or want to get the latest news about Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths (STEM), Ingenious will be your one-stop-shop. Above that Ingenious will offer best practices from all over Europe, research results and policy documents from European science education projects financed by the European Union and other national initiatives.
Initially available in English, French and German the portal will be extended to other languages a few months after the launch.

28 partners in 16 countries associating Ministries of Education, Businesses and Universities are already part of that initiative whose objective is to reinforce young European’s interest in science education and careers and thus address the future skills gaps. To do so they will build on existing school/business partnerships in the field of STEM education across Europe. A repository of practice will be developed and disseminated to stimulate good practices and encourage new practices.

Over a three-year period Ingenious will involve up to 1,000 primary and secondary schools throughout Europe, which will validate the best practices, design a programme of activities and organise seminars for teachers on industry-education cooperation in STEM education.

More information will be available as from September. Be ready for an explosive start!

Posted by Valentina at 12:12 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

The annual NMC Horizon Report 2011 K12 Edition is now available.

It's a highly readable, concise and practical overview of key developments in educational technology that are expected to be impact on teaching and learning in schools in the future. In the next year cloud computing and mobiles in all their forms are the ones to watch; in two to three years it's game-based learning and open content, while in four to five years learning analytics and personal learning environments are said to be taking off.

The report is a consensus view of 40 experts (including European Schoolnet) identified by three international organizations - the New Media Consortium, the Consortium for School Networking (CoSN), and the International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE).

The report has been released under a Creative Commons licence to encourage broad distribution, and we encourage you to send electronic copies to colleagues.

Posted by Roger Blamire at 12:01 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

In autumn 2011, schools throughout Europe are to be systematically surveyed on the access, use and impact of information technology for learning.

The Survey of Schools: ICT and Education is funded by the European Commission Directorate General Information Society and Media and supported by ministries of education. It is being undertaken by European Schoolnet and the University of Liège. It aims to benchmark progress in ICT availability and use in the 27 countries of the European Union, Croatia, Iceland, Norway and Turkey, and so contribute to the development of up-to-date and accurate indicators and of a continuous monitoring system on educational technology in schools. The online survey of students, head teachers and teachers is live from September to November 2011 and takes about 20 minutes to complete.

In each country 1 200 schools are randomly selected (all schools in countries if the total is lower) in order to obtain a representative selection. An email will be sent to the head teacher of these schools in the coming weeks, asking them if they agree to participate and, if so, to nominate a school coordinator to organise data collection in September-November 2011. All information obtained will be used solely and exclusively for the survey and no individual or school will be identifiable. The survey will produce findings of value for school planning and decision-making on the deployment, management and use of technology to be published in country and international reports in 2012. More information is here.

Schools are busy places and every effort is being made to ensure that there is as little disruption as possible.

Posted by Roger Blamire at 12:19 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

The Digital Competence Working Group took place at European Schoolnet on 24 March.

Continue reading "Digital Compentence Working Group" »

Posted by Valentina at 05:58 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Despite the fact that education systems have been heavily investing in technology since the early 1980s, international indicators on technology uptake and use in education are missing. Assessing the Effects of ICT in Education: Indicators, Criteria and Benchmarks for International Comparisons from the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) aims to provide a basis for the design of frameworks, the identification of indicators and existing data sources, and gaps in areas needing further research.

The publication is available free as a pdf from the OECD and EU bookshops.

Continue reading "Assessing the Effects of ICT in Education" »

Posted by Roger Blamire at 11:03 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Fifteen country reports on ICT in education (2009/2010 series) are now published on Insight. The reports are drafted based on the information provided by Ministries of Education through an annual questionnaire. This initiative is one of the major activities undertaken by European Schoolnet to gather and analyse information on ICT in education for Ministries of Education across Europe.

Continue reading "2009/2010 Insight Country Reports published" »

Posted by Valentina at 11:33 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

A new (draft) report Netbooks on the rise: European overview of national laptop and netbook initiatives in schools will shortly be published on Insight. The report is drafted on the basis of the information provided by Ministries in the Country Reports and the first results were presented during the eSkills week. Also European Schoolnet, in cooperation with Acer, is involved in a netbook initiative, the Acer-European Schoolnet Educational Netbook Pilot, started early in 2010.

Continue reading "Netbooks on the rise: European overview of national laptop&netbook initiatives in schools " »

Posted by Valentina at 03:46 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

DIGITALEUROPE and European Schoolnet announced the eSkills Week 2010, aiming to raise awareness of the growing demand of highly skilled ICT practitioners within the industry.

Continue reading "eSkills Week major campaing to improve ICT skills in Europe" »

Posted by Valentina at 10:19 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

A meeting of European Schoolnet's Policy and Innovation Committee took place on 4-5 November 2009 in Brussels. The aim of the event was to lead to a European action plan on Maths, Science and Technology in education. Please find below all presentations of the event.

Continue reading "Policy and Innovation Committee looks at MST in education in Europe" »

Posted by Paul Gerhard at 03:23 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)