Weekly Roundup
PROVIDING EQUAL ACCESS TO DEVICES, The INTERNET, APPS AND MORE IN SCHOOLS AND DISTRICTS
Webinar: Unlayering Digital Equity: Empowering More Students with iPad
When: Tuesday, May 02 @ 2PM EDT | 11AM PDT
eschoolnews.com is organising a one-hour webinar this Tuesday, May, 2 that will discuss how schools and districts can establish digital equity. During one hour you’ll discover what it takes to provide all students with equal access to devices, the internet, available apps within a high-quality educational experience, as well as the positive effects found when evaluating learning outcomes influenced by this equitable environment.
You’ll learn:
· How schools can provide students with the technology resources they need
· The role IT management plays when offering digital equity
· Ways that can enable IT, educational technologists and teachers, to support the learning experience
Click here for registration, but hurry. Seats are limited!
Can’t make the live webinar? Don’t worry. Register for the event and you’ll receive a link to the recording when it’s available.
ABOUT EUROPEAN YOUTH WEEK 2017
From 1 to 7 May Europe is celebrating the 2017 European Youth Week!
During this week, hundreds of events will be taking place across Europe to inform young people about various EU mobility opportunities and highlight their rich contribution to Europe’s challenges such as solidarity, inclusion, democracy and active citizenship.
Under the slogan “Shape it, move it, be it”, the 33 countries participating in the Erasmus+ Programme will host from conferences to workshops and outdoor activities, spreading across three key messages:
- Find out and get involved in the new European Solidarity Corps
- Learn more about Erasmus+ and take part of it
- Get involved in youth policy making
Don’t miss this chance to participate and let the world know how you can make a real impact in your community!
For more information, please click here.
JOIN THE WEBINAR ON THE NEW SKILLS AGENDA FOR EUROPE
On 2 May the International Council for Adult Education (ICAE) is organising a free webinar on the new Skills Agenda for Europe. The webinar will be in English and will start at 14:00 CET.
A guest speaker at the webinar will be Paul Holdsworth, team leader for Skills for Adults in the Vocational Education and Training, Apprenticeships and Adult Education Unit in DG Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion.
At the webinar, the article The New Skills Agenda for Europe will be presented and discussed. The article talks bout the European Commission’s proposals to tackle challenges in the field of skills and human capital.
If you are interested you can register here before 1st of May.
For any questions regarding the webinar, you contact Ricarda Motschilnig here.
Source: ICAE
THE EUROPEAN EXCHANGE PROGRAMME FOR ENTREPRENEURS
Erasmus for Young Entrepreneurs helps provide aspiring European entrepreneurs with the skills necessary to start and/or successfully run a small business in Europe. New entrepreneurs gather and exchange knowledge and business ideas with an experienced entrepreneur, with whom they stay and collaborate for a period of 1 to 6 months.
The stay is partly financed by the European Commission.
Benefits
As a new entrepreneur, you will benefit from on-the-job training in a small or medium-sized enterprise in another Participating Country. This will ease the successful start of your business or strengthen your new enterprise. You can also benefit from access to new markets, international cooperation and potential possibilities for collaboration with business partners abroad.
As a host entrepreneur, you can benefit from fresh ideas from a motivated new entrepreneur on your business. He may have specialised skills or knowledge in an area you do not master, which could also complement yours. Most host entrepreneurs enjoyed the experience so much that they decide to host other new entrepreneurs afterwards.
It is really a win-win collaboration whereby both of you can also discover new European markets or business partners, different ways of doing business.
On the longer-term, you will benefit from wide networking opportunities, and, possibly, decide to continue your collaboration, possibly as long-term business partners (e.g. joint ventures, subcontracting activities, contractor-supplier relationships, etc).
For more info read the programme guide (English)
Source: Erasmus for young entrepreneurs.
THE EUROPEAN DECLARATION OF LITERACY AS A BASIC RIGHT
People who cannot read properly encounter severe difficulties in modern society. They fail in school, have difficulties finding a satisfying job, risk poverty and social exclusion…
It is alarming that, in Europe, one in five 15-year-olds and nearly 55 million adults lack basic literacy skills, limiting their opportunities for cultural and civil participation, lifelong learning and personal growth. It is even more alarming that there has been little improvement in literacy in the last 10 years, as the international surveys PIRLS and PISA demonstrate.
The European Commission has reacted to this challenge in two ways:
First, in 2011 – 2012 a High-Level Group of Experts on Literacy was established. The group concluded that literacy problems should not only be regarded as an educational issue but as a wider issue to which society as a whole must respond. You can check the final report here.
Second, the EU-funded the European Literacy Policy Network (ELINET), a group of 78 literacy experts – researchers and practitioners, professionals, volunteers and policymakers – from 28 European countries, who developed a wide range of theoretical concepts and practical solutions to foster literacy development from cradle to grave.
For over 50 years now, literacy has been recognised as a human right in several international declarations and initiatives. However, the ELINET group regards these universal declarations as too unspecific.
For more information, please click here.
If you will like to read the full text of the declaration, please click here.
EUROPE DAY 2017
To celebrate Europe Day, the EU institutions open their doors to the public on 6 May in Brussels, 13 & 14 May in Luxembourg and 14 May in Strasbourg.
Local EU offices in Europe and all over the world organise a variety of activities and events for all ages. Each year thousands of people take part in visits, debates, concerts and other events to mark the day and raise awareness about the EU.
Why a Europe Day?
Europe Day, held on 9 May every year, celebrates peace and unity in Europe. The date marks the anniversary of the historical ‘Schuman declaration’. At a speech in Paris in 1950, Robert Schuman, the then French foreign minister, set out his idea for a new form of political cooperation in Europe, which would make war between Europe’s nations unthinkable.
His vision was to create a European institution that would pool and manage coal and steel production. A treaty creating such a body was signed just under a year later. Schuman’s proposal is considered to be the beginning of what is now the European Union.
Europe Day activities around the globe
EU delegations organise in cooperation with EU member countries’ embassies in their host country activities on the theme of Europe in the World. Lectures, competitions, film festivals and other events will demonstrate the best the EU has to offer.
For more information, please click here.
NEW SCHOOLS INITIATIVE TO HELP YOUNG PEOPLE TRAVEL ABROAD
The one-off initiative is open to young people attending schools taking part in eTwinning, the online learning community for teachers in Europe. The young people must be aged 16 to 19 and the modes of transport used must be environmentally friendly.
The scheme will give more young people in the EU the opportunity to travel abroad and will encourage sustainable, low-carbon travel.
Commissioner for Education, Culture, Youth and Sport, Tibor Navracsics, said:
“Building on the success of eTwinning, this initiative will enable young people to discover and experience first-hand different countries and cultures across Europe. On the occasion of the 30th anniversary of Erasmus, this will be another example of this EU success story bringing people together, helping them to develop a feeling of what it means to be European.“
Commissioner for Transport Violeta Bulc said:
“Transport is not about tracks, ships or motorways; it is about people. We want to give young Europeans the chance to discover Europe. We also want to encourage them to travel in an environmentally friendly way, which is why CO2 emissions will be taken into account. I am also happy that we can count on the active participation of transport operators to help strengthen the initiative.”
eTwinning
eTwinning is the online community that lets teachers meet and collaborate with their colleagues around Europe. Over 450,000 teachers have used eTwinning from over 175,000 European schools since it was first launched in 2005.
To find out more, you can watch this video.
SOURCE: European Commission
NEW E-TWINING PUBLICATIONS
The two new publications released by eTwinning include “Growing Digital Citizens” and “a report on teachers” practice and competence development.
“Growing Digital Citizens”
This publication focuses on the importance of digital skills and the importance of teaching digital skills in school. Based on the premise that increasing numbers of people now belong to a digital society, the publication outlines the concepts of digital citizenship and showcases a series of eTwinning projects that have supported or promoted active digital citizenship.
“eTwinning provides a powerful learning experience, offering students the opportunity to participate in collaborative learning projects.” Tibor Navracsics – Commissioner for Education, Culture, Youth and Sport
Click here to read full publication.
Prepared by Raquel Garcia
