Goals
The e-skillsIP is a partnership between 3 different European countries (Portugal - as host, Germany and Romania), requiring students mobility from the mentioned countries (15 students and 5 teachers).
The objectives of the IP is to provide students with information and communication technologies (ICT) skills for a digital society, namely:
With this intensive program students will be able to:
The objectives of the IP is to provide students with information and communication technologies (ICT) skills for a digital society, namely:
- Identification of students’ competencies in ICT;
- Present students with different available collaboration tools by exploring the web 2.0;
- Selection of specific tools to create students' personal learning environment (PLE);
- Acquire necessary knowledge to master the selected tools;
- Work collaboratively with the web 2.0 tools;
- Establish methods for instruction and course design based on Web 2.0 (teacher education) with the goal to integrate technology enhanced learning and individual knowledge management in educational processes.
With this intensive program students will be able to:
- Master the different tools & services;
- Be capable do use and select the most adequate web 2.0 tools & services;
- Create and manage their PLE;
- Share and to work collaboratively;
- Be digitally skilled.
Aim
It will promote the cooperation between 3 different European HEI (Instituto Politécnico de Santarém – Escola Superior de Educação; Paedagogische Hochschule Schwaebisch Gmuend, University of Education; Universitatea de Vest Timisoara). This cooperation will allow the exchange of ideas and enabling networking amongst participants. Roots might be set for further valuable cooperation and collaboration between the represented HEI.
The e-skillsIP will design and build - as an outcome - a set of workshops (e-skills pack) that can be used, reused, customized and updated by different HEI at different levels and for different purposes and subjects, making possible the knowledge transfer between more than just the participants of this IP, reaching a wider audience.
According with European Commission (EC) (2003) lifelong learning is defined as “all learning activity undertaken throughout life, with the aim of improving knowledge, skills and competencies, within a personal, civic, social and/or employment-related perspective”. Web 2.0 and 3.0 bring the opportunity for a closer contact with digital tools, virtual environments and immersive worlds, which allow citizens to inquire and gather information and therefore achieve knowledge and learn. Learning activities are at a distance of a click, for those digitally savvy. Although, to actually learn and retain knowledge there is the need of acquire digital skills (e-skills), soft skills and have digital literacy. Only in possess of those competencies will students be able to do a better research, select information, reflect, collaborate, produce and share knowledge.So that students acquire the needed e-skills, some action is requiered. Therefore “Tertiary education is the right place to start, because it is the right context to think of generating not only the brains that Europe needs, but also the minds that it deserves” (McCormack, 2010). Students with e-skills are capable of critical thinking, multitasking and collaborating in team work. Our society needs “e-skilled people to provide the infrastructure and e-skilled people to use it. An e-skilled society is thus a precursor to a knowledge-based society” (McCormack, 2010).
With the advent of social and collaborative environments, students became more active and participative - they not only access to contents but also create and share them, becoming reactive.
Communication has evolved, the new media allows now live conferencing, video sharing, social networking, collaborative tools, allowing the student to create, work collaboratively and communicate in a more direct way with their peers and their teachers. Instead of merely searching for information, applications such as bookmarking, feeds, tweeter and pinboards, digital portfolios, etc., along with the possibility of creating your own personal webpage, today’s Web gives students also the chance to create a PLE - A Personal Learning Environment. A PLE “recognizes that learning is continuing and seeks to provide tools to support that learning” (Attwell, 2007). The Individuals are responsible for the management of their own learning environment and for the selection of tools and contexts where learning will take place.
Students need to acquire certain skills and competences, specific of a digital and connected society, in order to “effectively benefit from e-government, e-learning and e-health services, and participate actively in the knowledge society as co-creators, and not simply consumers, as highlighted by the European e-skills strategy” (McCormack, 2010). To only possess hard skills (that comes with experience and formal education) may not be enough to land someone a job. Besides e-skills and e-literacy competences, soft and social skills are also required. These can be practiced and enhanced in virtual environments. Digital literacy, and therefore e-skills, are transversal competences needed to every citizen.
The e-skillsIP will design and build - as an outcome - a set of workshops (e-skills pack) that can be used, reused, customized and updated by different HEI at different levels and for different purposes and subjects, making possible the knowledge transfer between more than just the participants of this IP, reaching a wider audience.
According with European Commission (EC) (2003) lifelong learning is defined as “all learning activity undertaken throughout life, with the aim of improving knowledge, skills and competencies, within a personal, civic, social and/or employment-related perspective”. Web 2.0 and 3.0 bring the opportunity for a closer contact with digital tools, virtual environments and immersive worlds, which allow citizens to inquire and gather information and therefore achieve knowledge and learn. Learning activities are at a distance of a click, for those digitally savvy. Although, to actually learn and retain knowledge there is the need of acquire digital skills (e-skills), soft skills and have digital literacy. Only in possess of those competencies will students be able to do a better research, select information, reflect, collaborate, produce and share knowledge.So that students acquire the needed e-skills, some action is requiered. Therefore “Tertiary education is the right place to start, because it is the right context to think of generating not only the brains that Europe needs, but also the minds that it deserves” (McCormack, 2010). Students with e-skills are capable of critical thinking, multitasking and collaborating in team work. Our society needs “e-skilled people to provide the infrastructure and e-skilled people to use it. An e-skilled society is thus a precursor to a knowledge-based society” (McCormack, 2010).
With the advent of social and collaborative environments, students became more active and participative - they not only access to contents but also create and share them, becoming reactive.
Communication has evolved, the new media allows now live conferencing, video sharing, social networking, collaborative tools, allowing the student to create, work collaboratively and communicate in a more direct way with their peers and their teachers. Instead of merely searching for information, applications such as bookmarking, feeds, tweeter and pinboards, digital portfolios, etc., along with the possibility of creating your own personal webpage, today’s Web gives students also the chance to create a PLE - A Personal Learning Environment. A PLE “recognizes that learning is continuing and seeks to provide tools to support that learning” (Attwell, 2007). The Individuals are responsible for the management of their own learning environment and for the selection of tools and contexts where learning will take place.
Students need to acquire certain skills and competences, specific of a digital and connected society, in order to “effectively benefit from e-government, e-learning and e-health services, and participate actively in the knowledge society as co-creators, and not simply consumers, as highlighted by the European e-skills strategy” (McCormack, 2010). To only possess hard skills (that comes with experience and formal education) may not be enough to land someone a job. Besides e-skills and e-literacy competences, soft and social skills are also required. These can be practiced and enhanced in virtual environments. Digital literacy, and therefore e-skills, are transversal competences needed to every citizen.