Applied English Linguistics (Kurt Kohn)

EcoMedia Europe Network

ICT in European Primary and Secondary Education

EU Comenius Network (2005-2008)

EcoMedia-Europe is an educational Socrates-Comenius Network co-financed by the European Commission. The main thematic area of the network is the strategic development of ICT and media based education in the field of Comenius. Furthermore the network works on three different but well complemented sub-themes linked to SOCRATES-COMENIUS:

• ICT Basics (Videoconferencing, communication- and presentation technologies, ICT based language learning, new knowledge-based European society and more)

• Media (Media literacy, Life long learning in the media society, Virtual Communities, Media research)

• ICT Prospects (e-learning, E-Government in school organisation, SchoolNets, e-twinning, e-participation)

The network is designed in order to include 23 institutions from 19 different European countries as formal network partners but moreover EcoMedia-Europe has at the moment approximately 50 qualified network members.

THE MAIN OBJECTIVES of EcoMedia-Europe are:

1. The use of ICT for training and teaching differs widely all over Europe. Therefore sub-objectives of the network are building up specific know-how about the different European ICT standards and strategies in education and research for good practices on use of ICT for education on all levels.
2. Exchange of experience as European education methodology in combination with ICT use is quite varied, the exchange of experience among project partners is very fruitful for the spread of new and well approved ways of ICT-based training / education. In addition to this exchange of experience, which will mainly be gained at international conferences and workshops, the dissemination can be channelled by
3. Taylor cut transfer of knowledge to balance lack of know-how and different standards in various countries, requirement of ICT use for education and training is significant and demand for specific knowledge transfer was detected.
4. Promotion of all forms of innovation in the ICT based school education. The objective is to render available contents for ICT based education and to create a learning community for teachers and pupils from compulsory education systems, who are involved in project-based ICT learning.

THE TARGET GROUPS of EcoMedia-Europe are:

• all types of schools and teachers involved in Comenius projects
• all teachers and teacher trainers, headmasters and educational researchers
• educational policy makers
• students and pupils, interested educational staff not directly ivolved within EcoMedia-Europe

THE MAIN ACTIVITIES and types of activities are:

• development of "good practices projects" related to ICT Comenius projects
• research on the state of art within the thematic network area via three working groups
• improvement of educational systems (strategic development with new concept and measures)
• to act as European information point and development of new co-operations
• improving standards of educational policies as well as skills and knowledge of educational staff

THE MAIN OUTCOMES are:

• demand analysis and COMENIUS comparative studies
• multi-lingual web portal
• promotional materials and final DVD-ROM
• annual project progress report and evaluation reports
• EcoMedia-Europe II, continuation of activities after end of network period