LearnDesk
LearnDesk
The city of Osterholz-Scharmbeck, as maintaining body, is very interested in good equipment of their schools for a modern and future-oriented, educational work. In addition to the media equipment includes also the efficient support during the installation and maintenance of the acquired technology. How well the solution of this problem can succeed, depends essentially on the exchange of experience between education authorities and schools as well as the knowledge of reflections on the future use of media in schools and the resulting requirements. One of the arising requirements is the use of e-learning courses as methodological supplement the existing teaching practice. For this reason, the city of Osterholz-Scharmbeck has carried out a project in a Comenius Regio Partnership in the Lifelong Learning Programme, an EU-funded program for the promotion of cooperation of school authorities, together with the Swedish Varberg and the European Institute of Innovation. The two-year project, entitled „LearnDesk“, started in August of 2010. The main task of the project was to study the requirements for teachers and the technical facilities and gaining experience, regarding to guidance and monitoring of results during the autonomous learning of the pupils, resulting from increased use of e-learning.
The schools in Varberg in Sweden have begun in recent years to become open classrooms with no fixed classrooms. An important tool for the targeted, self directed learning of the students are IT-based media. In Osterholz-Scharmbeck in Germany, a similar approach has been tried since August 2010, which was provided for a common educational space for students of elementary and secondary school lower secondary. Experiences in Varberg have shown, that special forms of guidance and feedback between sessions are required to allow students the best possible learning outcomes.
The aim of the project „LearnDesk“ was to analyze the practical applications and conditions of IT use in self-organized learning situations and also the specific requirements in supporting the learners by the school. Based on this analysis, a concept about how to support pupils and about the feedback possibilities has been developed, introduced in both cities and tested during several phases of e-learning. Moreover, it should be investigated to what extent this tool can be applied to adult education and communication between school and parents. The work results of the project were disseminated in workshops that were aimed to regional and national supporters of open learning from both countries. Structured exchange trips with school shadowings between partner countries and evaluation meetings were carried out in order to ensure an optimal practice exchange.
Partners
Germany:
City of Osterholz-Scharmbeck
European Institute for Innovation (EIfI)
Lernhaus im Campus (School)
Initiative D21 e.V.
Volkshochschule Osterholz-Scharmbeck, Hambergen, Schwanewede e.V. (adult education centre)
Sweden:
City of Varberg
Peter Skrivares Skola
Lindberg Skola
Lärarverbundet – Swedish Teacher’s Association
LR Lärarnas Riksförbund – National Teacher’s Association Sweden
Funding Programme
Lifelong Learning Programme
Comenius Regio
Project objectives
The projects objectives were the following:
Better understanding of the use of ICT in open learning environments
Improving ICT-based learning processes in both cities
Examination of the role of teachers and tutors in Blended Learning
Investigation of didactic and school organizational aspects (e.g. human resources), ICT-based, individualized learning opportunities
Answering the questions: Where are limits of self-directed, ICT-supported learning and how can guidance and feedback be organized in order to achieve optimal effects of inidividualized learning content?