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Technology Outdoors Playdate in Northampton, Oct 2016
The Digital Learning Across Boundaries (DLAB) project addresses the need to align European educational practice with ways in which digital technology is changing how and what we learn, and how we apply this in education.
The purpose of this project is to promote digital learning across the boundaries of physical spaces, across curriculum subjects and across languages and cultures, to facilitate collaborative learning across national boundaries.
Over three years we have adopted three ‘learning across boundaries’ themes:
- Technology Outdoors: bridging formal and informal learning by extending learning beyond traditional classroom spaces and supporting learners with disadvantaged backgrounds by managing transitions positively through collaborative outdoor learning experiences.
- Stem to SteAm: adding the Arts to the integrated study of Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths creating inter-disciplinary challenge-based online learning resources.
- Technology Enabled CLIL: using curriculum contexts to teach language competencies and cultural sensitivity with aim of meeting the language needs of a diversity of learners, including learners for whom English is an additional language (EAL/EFL).
Visit the Project-themes page for details.
Project partners explore the innovative use of technology within the curriculum
Our target groups are from across four European countries and include:
- lecturers in Higher Education Initial Teacher Training programmes
- trainee primary teachers
- in-service primary teachers
- and primary-aged pupils
All groups work together in order to demonstrate how the innovative use of technology can quickly influence the curriculum at a number of levels.
We aim to approach our three themes in an aspirational way by involving local cultural institutions and small and medium enterprises (SMEs).
Visit the Project Partners page for details.
Promoting digital learning beyond boundaries across physical spaces is one of the aims of the project
The main aims are to:
- Develop a strategic partnership consisting of teacher educators, teachers, trainee teachers, school pupils and representatives from cultural institutions and SMEs, to explore how teacher education can accelerate innovation.
- Promote digital learning beyond boundaries across physical spaces, traditional curriculum subjects, and languages and cultures, and so have an impact on teaching and learning across school and university sectors.
The partnership also aims to develop:
- a Digital Leader programme for teacher education institutions.
- the digital competences of participants across the project themes.
- eTwinning project materials based on the project themes in cross-national teams.
- connectedness via face-to-face events based on the concept of Digital Playdates, linking educational and cultural institutions, and SMEs.
- a MOOC on each of the three themes, extending the scope of the project materials
Annual Digital ‘Playdates’ initiate the development of the main yearly theme and sub-themes
Each year will begin with a 5-day training event taking the form of a Digital Playdate initiating the development of the main yearly theme and sub-themes. Cross-national groups will leave with ideas for a methodology and lesson plans on their chosen sub-theme.
They will then develop and test their ideas for two months, and document and share as eTwinning projects over the following two months.
In April the groups will meet again for 5-days to refine methodology and ideas in preparation for a MOOC and the launch of eTwinning project kits.
In May and June each country will host a Digital Playdate as a CPD event for local teachers, held in cultural institution and supported by an SME.
Yearly MOOcs explore how technology can be used in education
Project outcomes will include:
- MOOCs on the themes of Technology Outdoors, Stem to SteAm and Technology Enabled CLIL, each consisting of a reusable and remixable set of content materials and an ongoing online community of practice.
- interdisciplinary eTwinning kits on the project themes uploaded to the eTwinning platform.
- a series of international and local teacher CPD events in the form of Digital Playdates and one Super Playdate.
- a Technology Outdoors set of eTwinning project kits designed to support learners from disadvantaged backgrounds during transitions by helping them to manage change in a positive way.
- a Technology Enabled CLIL set of resources and eTwinning project kits designed to support learners from disadvantaged backgrounds with additional language needs.
- a Stem to SteAm set of resources and eTwinning project kits promoting interdisciplinary learning
- a Digital Leaders Programme promoting technology use and eTwinning in schools
- a series of papers and journal articles based on data collected on the project themes.
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Project activities are designed to promote international collaborative work across partner HEIs
To provide sustainability, the project activities are designed to:
- enrich the capability and curricula of the partner HEIs
- promote international collaborative work by developing cross-sector communities of practice
- develop active cooperation from cultural institutions and SMEs.
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