About > Projects European Schoolnet is carrying a number of projects which are specifically linked to the Future Classroom Lab.
The Future Classroom Lab has been specifically designed to help the iTEC project (http://itec.eun.org) showcase and disseminate designs for the future classroom.
iTEC (Innovative Technologies for an Engaging Classroom) is a flagship, four-year project which commenced in September 2010 that is focused on the design of the future classroom in Europe. It is investigating how established and emerging technologies can be used effectively in classrooms in the in next 5-10 years and particularly how scenarios for the innovative teaching and learning activities can move beyond small scale pilots and be really taken to scale.
The project involves 27 partners, including 14 Ministries of Education, and has received funding of 9.5 million Euros from the European Commission’s FP7 programme.
Currently, iTEC is piloting learning and teaching scenarios using integrated technology solutions in >1,000 classrooms in 15 countries, making it by some margin the largest pan-European validation of ICT in schools yet undertaken.
A new, high-level group of decision-shapers in charge of ICT in Education has also been established in order to ensure that iTEC results feed into policy-making and the educational reform process at both national and European levels.
The project looks beyond the way schools are currently using learning platforms (LMSs, VLEs etc.) and builds upon the popularity of community driven learning using personalised learning spaces created by individuals through interaction with multiple online services.
Technical strands within iTEC will examine the integration of Web services that allow teachers and learners to collaborate and reliably discover and fully exploit online tools and data. The project will particularly improve the integration of these services with the emerging range of interactive, multi-touch technologies being deployed at large scale in classrooms across Europe.
The Future Classroom Lab has been specifically designed to help the CPDLab project (http://cpdlab.eun.org) deliver continuous professional development courses for teachers.
The three-year CPDLab (Continuing Professional Development Lab) project, which commenced in October 2011, aims to improve the quality of ICT-related Continuing Professional Development available to teachers, school leaders and other school staff. It will help schools become effective learning environments by offering a portfolio of training courses directly related to the needs of teachers in the future classroom.
The project is responding to a recognition by Ministries in European Schoolnet that some key competences are not being adequately addressed by current CPD provision at either national or European level.
The CPDLab project will specifically design, test and disseminate three CPD courses that support:
- Innovative pedagogical use of Interactive Whiteboard technologies in secondary schools.
- Improved safety policies in secondary schools, addressing issues such as cyber bullying, use of social networks, responsible use of mobile and Internet technologies, etc.
- Implementation and dissemination of teaching and learning activities for the future classroom.
As part of the dissemination and exploitation activities of the project, a course for policy makers will also be designed based on these topics.
Each course developed in the project will be delivered in the Future Classroom Lab both face-to-face and via online webinars. Teachers, heads of schools, ICT advisers and other relevant stakeholders from across Europe will be able to apply for funding under the Commission’s Comenius programme in order to attend the face-to-face courses. The first CPD modules from the project will become available in 2012.
