Lithuania: P2V policy peer learning visit
23 participants from five countries partners in the P2V project (Peer to Peer networking for Valorisation) participated in the first policy visit to Vilnius, Lithuania on 18-20 June 2007. The meeting was organised by the Lithuanian Centre of Information Technologies of Education (ITC) and addressed the topic of digital resources, one of the three key areas of the P2V project together with digital literacy and new learning environments.
This meeting was organised as part of the policy strand of the P2V project, other strands include inspection and school peer reviewing activities. The methodology developed in P2V calls for organisers of the visit to identify a specific issue or problem to be presented and possible solutions discussed with peers. The issue under discussion in Lithuania was ‘the reuse of digital methodical material or the pedagogical use of units of learning by teachers’.
Through the P2V project, Lithuania is seeking some insights and guidance on how best to design an efficient DLE (Digital Library for Education) which would correspond to teachers’ and learners’ needs. At the moment Lithuania has using Microsoft’s Virtual Classroom Tour (VCT) which has had limited uptake by teachers and does not comply with international standards for describing pedagogical material (such as IMS Learning Design).
On the first day, Vaino Brazdeikis, Director of the Centre of Information Technologies of Education, introduced the latest developments in the area of ICT applied to teaching and learning in Lithuania and the general country context. In the afternoon, Asta BuineviÄ?iÅ«tÄ— from the ITC, presented the Lithuanian experience in using Microsoft Virtual Classroom (VCT) and on the use of the VCT templates in preparing digital methodical material for use in schools.
On the second day of the meeting, Eugenijus Kurilovas of the ITC centre described the issue in detail to P2V partners from France and Spain (Catalonia). As one possible solution to promote the exchange of digital pedagogical material Lithuania is currently designing a Digital Library of Learning Resources (DLE) which will include connections to several repositories of digital content (Learning Objects and Unit of Learning) while ensuring compliance to international standards such as those developed by European Schoolnet and the connection with EUN’s Learning Resource Exchange.
Input to the topic was given by EUN and the two partners. EUN referred to findings from the ICT impact study and the school’s survey to give feedback on the discussions from the first day on general conditions for successful ICT use in schools. The experience related to the topic coming from Celebrate, Calibrate, building the LRE and elearning content issues in other countries where highlighted likewise.
The other two partners of the peer learning ‘triad’ in the policy strand described their experience in developing digital learning resources. Laia MartÃn and Cristina Santamaria from the Department of Education of Catalonia presented several tools and learning objects developed by XTEC, Catalonia's Educational Telematic Network, which offers educational resources to Catalonian and French schools. Among the projects presented were ‘Quaderns virtuals’ or virtual notebooks and JClic, a series of computer applications used for carrying out different types of educational activities.
Jean-Michel Leclercq, from the French Ministry of Education’s ICT for Education sub-directorate, talked about the Virtual Learning Environment being developed in France. The scheme aims to roll out a common ‘Espace Numérique de Travail (ENT) in all classrooms in the years ahead’ The ENT is a web portal offering a personalised workspace for schools. The plan will help strengthen the education community as well as help parents to be more informed and involved in the education of their children.
The last day of the meeting consisted in feedback from all partners on the various aspects of their presentations with an aim to share experience and advise the Lithuanian partners on the issue of the use of digital methodical material. The session also reflected on the methodology used during the visit and how it is perceived by partners.
More information about the meeting and its outcomes will be available on the P2v portal to be launched in July: http://p2v.eun.org