After the 2018 course “STEM Is Everywhere” meant to connect Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) classes with “real life” and help teachers integrate real-world problems into their STEM lessons and practices, the European Schoolnet Academy is launching a new MOOC.

Designed and carried out by Scientix, the community for science education in Europe, the ‘STEM is Everywhere! Rerun’ MOOC will help primary and secondary school teachers, and teacher trainers from Europe and beyond, to identify Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) in everyday life and learn how to integrate real-world STEM problems to their lessons and practice

The first STEM MOOCs package of European Schoolnet Academy consists of three unique MOOCs and allows teachers to obtain a special certificate from European Schoolnet Academy on their “Connecting STEM to the world all around us in an Integrated STEM expertise”. These courses give teachers the opportunity to bring their learning experience to the next level by mastering the integration of real-world STEM problems in their lessons with the ‘STEM is Everywhere!’ MOOC, and discovering how to develop and implement a STEM integrated lesson plan with the STE(A)M IT MOOCs.

Thanks to the ‘STEM is Everywhere! Rerun’ MOOC, participants will:

• Identify STEM in everyday life and learn how to integrate real-world STEM problems in your lessons
• Build confidence in trying out new methods in the classroom, such as an interdisciplinary approach
• Explore a range of resources, tools and strategies for activities that enhance STEM in real life
• Learn about 21st-century skills and how to address them in the classroom • Review the work of course peers
• Reflect on your professional practice, beliefs and learning

DATES

• ‘STEM is Everywhere! Rerun’: 7 September – 14 October 2020 (5.5 weeks)
• ‘Integrated STEM Teaching’ MOOCs: 26 October – 2 December (5.5 weeks)

For more info and details about the course you can visit http://www.scientix.eu/live/moocs/stem-moocs-package.

By SGI

The STEAMonEdu Consortium is currently developing a two-phase training programme for STE(A)M educators comprising a six-week MOOC and a two-week blended learning course.

The MOOC “STE(A)M education for educators: Design, orchestration and implementation of STE(A)M education” will become available during April 2021. It is based on the five perspectives of the Competence Framework for STE(A)M educators, which represents the different roles that a STE(A)M educator can have during the educational procedure:

1. Educator as teacher-trainer-tutor
2. Educator as learning designer and creator
3. Educator as orchestrator and manager
4. Educator as community member
5. Educator as professional

The course supports the professional development of educators and managers/directors at all levels of education and guides them in becoming STE(A)M education tutors, designers and orchestrators. It addresses their need to understand, adapt, apply and create modern STE(A)M educational procedures and practices that enhance the effectiveness and acceptance of short and long-term educational processes.

The participants will gain knowledge and develop competences in the following areas:

• Modern approaches of STE(A)M education
• Design and implementation of STE(A)M educational activities
• Content creation for STE(A)M education
• STE(A)M educational procedure and resource management
• Community building, participation and interaction
• Policies in the context of STE(A)M education
• Competence frameworks and lifelong learning opportunities.

The MOOC will last six weeks and will provide multilingual material in seven different languages (English, Catalan, Italian, German, Greek, Romanian, and Spanish) along with community building interactions.

The course is addressed to all individuals who are interested in applying or finding out about STE(A)M education, such as:

• active educators (teachers, trainers etc.) at all levels and settings of formal and non-formal education;
• managers/directors at all levels of formal and non-formal education;
• students or graduates.

Participation is open and unlimited. In addition to traditional course materials, such as filmed lectures, readings, and problem sets, the MOOC will provide interactive courses with user forums or social media discussions to support community interactions among learners, tutors, teaching assistants and mentors, as well as immediate feedback to quick quizzes and assignments.

Following the MOOC, a blended learning programme will be delivered, which will delve into specific topics such as:

• Knowledge and experience exchange in the context of a community of STE(A)M educators
• Delving into STE(A)M curricula design and development
• Cooperative activities towards the design of STE(A)M activity templates
• Understanding the STE(A)M competence framework and educator profiles and using them towards the promotion of new educational policies

By CTI

Our Romanian project partner EOS Romania is currently implementing the program EOS DIGITAL ACADEMY, a program that offers a wide range of digital and software skills courses that correspond to the most sought-after jobs on the job market, courses as:

Basic digital skills course (IC3 – internet and basic digital skills)

Microsoft Office Productivity Skills Course (Word, Excel and PowerPoint, intermediate and advanced level)

Microsoft Technical Skills Course (Azure Fundamentals and Azure Ai Fundamentals, intermediate and advanced level).

EOS DIGITAL ACADEMY is a platform for learning, certification, and employment that supports people affected by the COVID-19 pandemic to acquire digital skills necessary to enable them to keep their current job or to apply for other jobs.

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Since 2021, EOS Romania Foundation – with the financial support of Microsoft, brings digital training programs closer to people who have lost their jobs due to the COVID pandemic19. Beneficiaries of the program will have access to:

• Initial assessment of skills and interests in order to identify the best career opportunities
• Personalized learning plans that will define the individual training needs as well as the courses that are needed to improve employment opportunities
• Training activities that will largely consist of courses offered by Microsoft and LinkedIn
• Testing and validating user training, skills, and experience through LinkedIn and Microsoft certifications
• Support in the process of identifying and applying for relevant jobs through mentoring and access to an assistance system for every job seeker.

EOS DIGITAL ACADEMY offers access to a number of resources, including the ones from Microsoft and LinkedIn portfolios. The resources provided by Microsoft and LinkedIn reach millions of people worldwide each year. These resources prepare interested people to look for and apply for new jobs. By accessing these tools, they can gain the confidence and the know-how they need to turn new digital skills into opportunities.

In addition to free access to resources, EOS DIGITAL ACADEMY offers to participants in the program a range of mentoring sessions in which the tools will be presented and explained to all those interested. Mentors in the program will ensure that by participating in the program, students will acquire skills and validate them, and they will be 100% ready for the employment process in a digital job (CV creation, LinkedIn profile, search, application, and interview preparation).

For more information, please visit the project website.

Photo by Annie Spratt on Unsplash

By EOS

STEAMonEdu MOOC started on the 10^th of May and lasted for 6 creative, learning, challenging, fascinating weeks.

The MOOC’s participants had the chance to meet their peers and tutors and familiarise themselves with the platform during the introductory week. Moreover, they acquired deep knowledge in the STE(A)M education approach, in teaching and learning techniques that promote STE(A)M education, in content, tools, content creation and educational activities design for STE(A)M education. Furthermore, other topics developed within the MOOC have covered the relevant methodologies within STE(A)M related to teaching organization, classroom management, educational resource management, lab management, human resource management, communities of educators, research and business communities, policies to promote STE(A)M education, research activities, lifelong learning, professional development, digital and transferable skills, frameworks and tools for STE(A)M educators.

Our STEAMonEdu researchers made great efforts towards the creation of a MOOC providing the maximum support to learners and the learning process by adopting and adjusting a student-centred learning approach in order to cover the needs of all different learner audiences. Also from the early stage of the design to the actual creation and operation, special attention was given to the effective communication among participants to support student learning complemented by high levels of engagement as well as the monitoring and assessment of students’ activities in order to ensure a qualitative effective MOOC performance. Some first input referring to the satisfaction of the participants can only reinforce our partnership’s endeavours for the Blended MOOC to come in early September!

Dear STE(A)M educators and members of the STEAMonEdu community thank you for your trust and your commitment!!

Photo by Chris Montgomery on Unsplash

By RDEWG