for immediate release
Empowering teachers and students beyond the classroom
Pan-European open learning platform introduces MOOC digital learning modules accessible to everyone, anytime everywhere. Even on your mobile.
Madrid, 19th of JUNE 2014 – A truly pan-European project where 9 different countries, 6 leading educational entities and 6 ICT companies collaborate on creating the largest eco-system of open teaching modules in Europe so far. With one goal: to convince the teacher to invest a little bit of time to become an E-teacher, step out of their comfort zone and create their own teaching modules. The modules are structured in such a way that it will allow for teachers (and pupils) to teach, learn, anytime, anywhere.
The project acronym ECO stands for E-learning, communication and Open-data and conveniently illustrates what the project partners set out to do. The goal within the project running time of 3 years is to create a self sustaining beehive of individual MOOCs that will grow as an independent and healthy eco-system. MOOC stands for Massive Mobile Ubiquitous and Open Learning.
Sara Osuna, is Assistant Deputy Head at UNED, university of distance learning in Madrid and head of the South American operation, is coordinator of project ECO: “We are 5 months into the project and the educational concepts as well as the technical groundwork are all set in place. They have to be because in November 2014 the pilot ECO-MOOC modules will be launched.”
These pilot MOOCs will serve as an example for teachers to look at when they will start and create their own MOOC and learn how to do so in 8 weeks. “We want to reach out to 50.000 teachers from all educational levels in 7 target countries” Sara explains. “From this interest group we will then recruit 4.000 teachers who will be offered to complete the accredited course to become a MOOC teacher”.
For those who are Interested: they can already sign up for the mailing list as of today to be informed about the course to become E-savvy teachers.
Press contact details
Marije Nieuwenhuis
communication@eco-learning.eu
Communication officer ECO learning
www.eco-learning.eu
About the ECO consortium
22 partners from 9 different countries work together to create a pan European platform for ubiquitous learning. The overall objective is to improve the quality and cost-efficiency of teaching an learning in Europe. Moreover the term ubiquitous learning in this project has an ideological intent as ECO aims to create an eco system where courses are freely accessible for teachers and students from different levels, backgrounds, age and ability alike. The creators of the platform are focused on creating a digital tool for a target group of 50000 teachers that will expand beyond the horizon of the classroom. The first practical goal is to create an online e-learning course for 4.000 registered teachers. Promotion of the platform and the recruiting of these teachers will commence in the 2 months prior to the launch of the first MOOCs created by the partner. The pilot MOOCs will serve as example for teachers as well as new students.
Consortium partners are:
- Editrain S.L.
- Fundação para o Estudo e Desenvolvimento da Região de Aveiro (FEDRAVE)
- Fundación Universidad Loyola Andalucia
- Humance AG
- Vicente Montiel Molina
- Open Universiteit Nederland
- Politecnico di Milano
- Prisma Vist Digital SL
- Reimer IT Solutions B.V.
- Sunne Hanna Eichler
- Telefonica Elearning Services TLS
- University of Manchester
- Universidad de Cantabria
- Universidad de Oviedo
- Universidad de Valladolid
- Universidad de Zaragoza
- Universidad Manuela Beltrán Fundación
- Universidad Nacional de Educación a Distancia, UNED
- Universidad Nacional De Quilmes
- Universidade Aberta
- Universidad Paris III Sorbonne Nouvelle
- Vereniging van European Distance Teaching Universities
