Pan European
Curriculum reform in Europe - The impact of learning outcomes
This Cedefop research paper, addressing 32 countries participating in Education and Training 2020, discusses different curriculum policies focusing on learning outcomes and examines the implications these have on teaching and learners’ assessment in initial VET. Conclusions propose key policy messages for effective curriculum design processes and curriculum delivery that may benefit learners.
The past decade has seen intense curriculum reform in vocational education in Europe. Learning outcomes now provide the foundation for curriculum design in all European countries seeking to make vocational training more attractive and responsive to leaners’ and labour market needs.
LD-Skills
The aim of this project is to have a positive impact on the development of students' problem-solving competencies by promoting the use of inquiry and problem-based approaches to teaching. To achieve this, a training framework will be developped for training teachers how to create science lesson plans by not just providing examplar solutions to problems that arise from everyday practice, but also enabling them to perceive effective lesson planning in relation to educational principles that may enhance students' problem-solving skills.
Following the recommendations of the Rocard report on science education in Europe, the use of problem-based and inquiry-based approaches is important because they provide the means to increase students' interest and motivation.
LD-Skills is a pilot project that is funded by the European Comission's Comenius Multilateral project programme. It has started in January 2011 and is expected to run for 2 years.
Discover the European Union
'Discover the European Union with EuroparlTV' is the title of an educational pack for teachers of pupils in the age groups 11-15 and 15-18.
The pack includes a series of 20 videos designed to appeal to young viewers, encourage classroom debate and promote understanding of key European issues of our time which have a direct impact on students' lives: treaties, laws, institutions, policies, etc. It also offers interesting insight on the history of the European Union. The videos are available online in the 22 languages of the European Union as well as on two DVD's, each one addressed to a specific public.
DVD I (11- to 15-year age group) presents the key aspects of the European Union in an informative fashion and offers insights into topics of interest to young people.
DVD II (15- to 18-year age group) provides a more in-depth analysis and puts the key stages and policies of European unification into historical perspective.
All videos are available here.
UNESCO Working Paper Series on Mobile Learning
This Working Paper Series scans the globe to illuminate the ways in which mobile technologies can be used to support the United Nations Education for All Goals; respond to the challenges of particular educational contexts; supplement and enrich formal schooling; and make learning more accessible, equitable, personalized and flexible for students everywhere.
Today there are over 5.9 billion mobile phone subscriptions worldwide, and for every one person who accesses the internet from a computer to do so from a mobile device. Given the ubiquity and rapidly expanding functionality of mobile technologies, UNESCO is enthusiastic about their potential to improve and facilitate learning, particularly in communities where educational opportunities are scarce
The subjects covered by these working paper series include Illustrative initiatives and policy implications, Exploring the potential of mobile technologies to support teachers and improve practice, and Key issues to consider and implications for policy makers and planners.
Call for proposals 'ICT Policy Support Programme 2013'
The European Commission has published its call for proposals 'ICT Policy Support Programme 2013' (ICT PSP), which is coming under the EU's Seventh Framework Programme (FP7).
The ICT PSP supports the Digital Agenda for Europe (DAE) - one of the seven flagship initiatives of the Europe 2020 Strategy -and is aligned with its priorities. It aims to stimulate smart, sustainable and inclusive growth by accelerating the wider uptake and best use of innovative digital technologies and content by citizens, governments and businesses.
The programme addresses obstacles hindering the use of ICT-based products and services and barriers for the development of high growth businesses, notably SMEs, in this field. In addition to illustrating and validating the high value of digital technologies, it will foster the development of EU-wide markets for innovations, thereby enabling every company in Europe to benefit from the largest internal market in the world.
The call encompasses three themes of crucial importance for the realisation of the DAE: a cloud of public services and smart cities; digital content, open data and creativity; and ICT for health, ageing well and inclusion.
Contact person: To see the official call announcement, please consult: Participant portal
To see partnership requests for this call, please consult: CORDIS Partners Service
How Technology Can Change Assessment
Many discussions of technology-based assessments concentrate on automating current methods of testing to save time and cost. However, technology also changes what educators can assess, how and when to assess it, and for what purpose. Assessments can be embedded in ICTs, and have the potential to measure learning processes, in addition to end-of-lesson knowledge.
Technology-aided assessments are useful not only in the evaluation of ICTs, but also as part of the design process, leading to iterative improvement. This brief focuses on assessment in ICTs, discussing how technology-enabled assessments can be leveraged to improve ICT design and student learning.
European Skills Passport launched
The European Skills Passport, which helps people to assemble their skills and qualifications online, has now been launched by the European Commission.
The Passport enables people to improve the presentation of their CVs by bringing together their educational and training certificates in one place, providing evidence for the qualifications and skills declared in the CV. It is available for free in 26 languages on the Europass portal where an on-line editor helps users to create their individual passports. It complements the Europass CV which is used by more than 20 million Europeans.
By giving a clear and comprehensive picture of the skills and qualifications users refer to in their CVs, the European Skills Passport helps job-seekers to improve their chances on the labour market and employers to find qualified personnel.
The European Skills Passport is one of thirteen actions launched under the Commission's Agenda for New Skills and Jobs, which aims to make Europe's labour markets work better.
Speakapps: applications to practice oral skills
The SpeakApps project focuses on creating a free and open source online platform that gathers ICT-based applications and pedagogies to practice oral skills online.
The SpeakApps platform would thus serve a community composed of foreign language teachers and their students with:
- Easy access to innovative and interactive online tools for learning and teaching languages.
- Virtual classrooms to carry out pedagogical activities.
- Exercises and tools for managing materials for synchronous tasks.
- Technical and pedagogical guides to assist SpeakApps users.
- A common space to exchange ideas and methodologies.
SpeakApps, granted by the European Lifelong Learning Programme (LLP), aims to fill these gaps by designing a popular language learning site supported and built by a large community that enjoys and takes advantage of the possibilities offered by e-learning.
European Work Programme 2013 to implement ICT
The objective of ICT research under the EU’s Seventh Framework Programme (FP7) is to improve the competitiveness of European industry – as well as to enable Europe to master and shape the future developments of these technologies so that the demands of its society and economy are met. You can find more details of the ICT Work Programme 2013.
The EU Member States have earmarked a total of € 9.1 billion for funding ICT over the duration of FP7; making it the largest research theme in the Cooperation programme, which is itself the largest specific programme of FP7 (with 64% of the total budget).
FP7 research activities will strengthen Europe’s scientific and technology base and ensure its global leadership in ICT, help drive and stimulate product, service and process innovation and creativity through ICT use and ensure that ICT progress is rapidly transformed into benefits for Europe’s citizens, businesses, industry and governments.
The Seventh Framework Programme (FP7) bundles all research-related EU initiatives together under a common roof playing a crucial role in reaching the goals of growth, competitiveness and employment; along with a new Competitiveness and Innovation Framework Programme (CIP), Education and Training programmes, and Structural and Cohesion Funds for regional convergence and competitiveness. It is also a key pillar for the European Research Area (ERA).
Innovative ICT for networked curricula
The general aim of the NetCU project is to develop models, guidelines and strategies for transnational networked curricula that supply a broader range of content and learning activities, that deliver state-of-the-art knowledge in the best quality supported by innovative ICT in an international setting - curricula that are meeting the diverse needs of today's student population and lifelong learners and that are symbolizing a European identity of higher education and lifelong learning in the 21st century.
The NetCU Handbook presents easy-to-use scenarios and provides examples of best practices. The Handbook will be available in various formats: the original, digital format, with two main navigation modes: by topic, to offer the reader a view on what aspects are relevant when undertaking a network curriculum, and by audience, where we start with the reader and his/hers questions arising from the particular situation in which they want to start a networked curriculum. Full version of Handbook is also available as a single PDF file suitable for the printing and viewing on most tablet devices.