Insight Blog

To what extent can ICT contribute to support assessment in today’s context and what can policy do for ensuring transition from traditional to e-assessment and its effective implementation? A new report by the Joint Research Centre (JRC) of the European Commission, “The Transition to Computer-Based Assessment. New Approaches to Skills Assessment and Implications for Large-scale Testing”, provides an insight into this complex issue. Although there is a strong need of further research in the field, the conclusions show that the complexity of computer-based testing related issues to take into account increases with the use of computer technology. But still, it would be a wrong consequence to stop further activities because of the complexity of the challenges, as the potential benefits far outweigh the problems.

Continue reading "New approaches and challenges to e-assessment presented in a JRC report" »

Posted by Lucia Sali at 02:43 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

The Horizon Report: 2009 K-12 Edition, giving an insight into new trends in the use of technology in education, was presented yesterday 11 March 2009 in Austin at the Consortium for School Networking (CoSN) annual conference. The 2009 report, a collaboration between the New Media Consortium and CoSN, is part of a series produced by the New Media Consortium’s Horizon Project, an ongoing research project seeking to identify and describe emerging technologies likely to have an worldwide impact on education.

Continue reading "New tech trends in education presented in the 2009 Horizon Report" »

Posted by Lucia Sali at 05:54 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Teachers and students, stay tuned and mark 1 March 2009 on your calendars! The final countdown to the official launch of the pan-European platform www.eurocreator.eu has started! As of launch-day, the EuroCreator website invites students and educators to upload media pieces to express their creativity and share it with peers all around Europe. Media pieces can be uploaded and shared on any device (Ipod, PSP, mobile, laptop...) and posted anywhere you like (Facebook, Bebo, school websites, etc.). European Commissioner for Education, Training Culture and Youth Ján Figel’ will certify your participation in the EuroCreator project.

Continue reading "Media creativity lands at school with pan-European platform Euro Creator.eu" »

Posted by Lucia Sali at 04:06 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

The annual eTwinning Conference kicks off today in Prague, from 13-15 February 2009. The theme of this year's conference is "eTwinning and Creativity" to both celebrate the creative work that teachers have been doing in eTwinning as well as the new European Year of Creativity and Innovation. Over 400 invited participants from across Europe are atending including teachers, experts and representatives from the Central Support Service, National Support Services and the European Commission. The annual eTwinning awards will be handed out this evening.

Follow the conference, live, on the eTwinning Conference 2009 blog.

Posted by Alexa Joyce at 02:21 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Following a first visit in the EUN Office in August 2007, a group of visitor from KERIS, the Korean agency for ICT in education, came to Brussels on 23-10-2007 to visit an innovative school as part of a study visit for directors of Korean regional learning centres part of KERIS.

The visit took place at Sint Pietercollege, a primary and secondary school in the north of Brussels with a bilingual campus French and Dutch. The visit took place in the Flemish secondary school which has some 850 pupils. Teo Jaspers was our host together with the head teacher and deputy head teacher of the school.

Continue reading "Korean agency for ICT in education visits Sint Pietercollege, Brussels" »

Posted by Paul Gerhard at 09:06 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

The Kennisnet ICT op School foundation has released the 'Four in Balance monitor 2006'. 'Four in Balance' allows schools to self assess their readiness to achieve effective and efficient use of ICT in education. The purpose of this monitor is to provide management information for schools based around four indicators (building blocks): Vision on Education; Knowledge and skills; Educational software and Content and ICT infrastructure.

The monitor looks at how ICT has been used at schools in the Netherlands since 2001 when the Four in Balance model was presented for the first time (it was later updated in 2004). The Four in Balance monitor is based on data collected by the Dutch inspectorate and other surveying organisations.

Using this monitor and the four in balance test, schools can easily identify where they are as regards integration of new technologies at schools and in teaching as well as comparing their results with that of other schools and indicators at the national level.

Four in Balance test
Four in Balance Monitor 2006

Posted by Paul Gerhard at 03:33 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

EUN took part in a peer learning visit to Luxembourg at the end of September, acting as consultant to the ICT Cluster. We were particularly struck by:
- a single portal and learning platform for all 67,000 school students, mySchool
- primary schools making good use of ICT (Luxembourg is one of the few countries where the pupil:PC ratio is lower in primary schools)
- emphasis on language learning: Luxemburgish in early years, then German and French in primary school and English at age 12. There are many quadrilingual citizens!
- MiniBook, free software for creating little books and supporting open-ended and collaborative pedagogies. download it from the Technolink site

Posted by Roger Blamire at 01:01 PM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)

There has been an interesting discussion in the EdNA (Australia) groups on Social Networking: Philosophy and Pedagogy . Here is Sean FitzGerald for example on whether the Web 2.0 is matched with e-learning 2.0:
“Elearning 1.0 was static packaged content developed by content developers such as CD-Roms and courseware. It had litttle true interactivity and learner input and very little (if any) contact with a tutor.
Elearning 1.5 is best represented by Learner Management Systems. Some packaged content and some provided by the teacher. There is more interaction with a teacher and some with peers (through forums and chat).
E-learning 2.0 will follow a student-centred model and will be centred around the PLE using social software. Students generate and share content. They interact not only with teachers and their peers, but with anyone in the world they can learn from.�?

Continue reading "eLearning 2.0" »

Posted by Roger Blamire at 12:44 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

It is always useful and challenging to be put in the place of the learner. Yesterday I went on a course to learn how to use Macromedia Flash. Fear of failure kept me focused and the desire not to be behind the others. A tiring day but I managed to get a course completion certificate for what it's worth...

Continue reading "Learning about learning" »

Posted by Roger Blamire at 10:51 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

The 13 European Schools (no connection with European SchoolNet!) in different countries are embedding e-learning in ways that could show how many more schools will be organised in teh future. At the OCTA e-learning workshop June 2006, Richard Galvin and Sonia Mohan described developments.

Continue reading "European Schools - the future now?" »

Posted by Roger Blamire at 04:33 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)