What happens when 57 Partners who represent 18 European countries including 10 schools, 21 universities, companies, NGOs, national authorities, research centers, associations and adult education providers, decide to join forces having cloud-oriented education in mind?
School on the Cloud: connecting education to the Cloud for the digital citizenship network (SoC) initiative-funded by the European Commission under the Lifelong Learning Programme, sets sail and a promising 3 year journey begins!
What is its aim? To explore new and dynamic ways in education that align with the way we think, share, learn and collaborate, by exploiting the opportunities arising from the Cloud.
The initiative was launched in the 1st European Summit: ‘Education on the Cloud’ which took place at the Dais Conference Center in Athens, Greece on March 22, 2014. 64 partners arrived in Athens, with more than 200 local participants, to attend an interesting event organized by the Doukas School SoC Committee.
The plenary sessions included a number of distinguished speakers from both Greece and abroad who clearly stated the objectives and the needs for a cloud-based education: Konstantinos Doukas (Doukas School – Conference Opening), Marietta Giannakou (Member of the European Parliament, former Minister of National Education and Religious Affairs), Prof. Kostis Koutsopoulos (European Association of Geographers), Karl Donert (Innovative Learning Network), Prof. Demetrios G Sampson (University of Piraeus), Bart Verswijvel (European Schoolnet), Tasos Pagakis (Ericsson).
Interesting workshops which examined pedagogical approaches and produced guidance resources for teachers and educators, attracted the participants’ attention and sparked fruitful discussions and exchange of ideas in Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook. The 1st SoC deliverable is “Education on the Cloud: State of the Art” which introduces the situation in different countries in early 2014.
The SoC Network had its first kick off meeting after the 1st European Summit on March 23, 2014. Four working groups were established which examined the various aspects of the overall goal on the impact of Cloud-based technologies and its applications on education. Each of the working groups focused on their own goals, objectives, activities and deliverables in their particular areas of interest. These are:
- WG1: Managing Cloud-based Developments (i-leader)
- WG2: Using the Cloud: the Innovative Teacher (i-teacher)
- WG3: Integrating the Cloud: Personalized Learner (i-learner)
- WG4: Future Scenarios for Education on the Cloud (i-future)
The Summit was followed by a pleasant social event where partners had the chance to know each other, exchange cultural information and strengthen bonds.
We’re looking forward to our next collaboration!
For further information please contact: Silvia Ciaperoni, silvia.ciaperoni@cesie.org
