Giving Teachers a Hand(book) to Develop ICT-enhanced skills,

Abstract

Shared web-based knowledge bases, enriched with the possibilities of discussing about their content and of proposing new one, seem to offer the opportunity to diffuse pedagogical innovation. To this aim, the knowledge base should enable teachers to put their own ideas at colleagues’ disposal; and moreover, to improve their pedagogical knowledge by availing themselves of colleagues’ proposals and suggestions. Thus, personal growth evolves in shared knowledge and vice-versa, facilitating the formation of a common educational line and the diffusion and reuse of valuable ideas, via the realisation of a learning community of teachers. The Innovative Teacher (I*Teach) project (http://i-teach.fmi.uni-sofia.bg) of the EU Leonardo da Vinci Programme (http://ec.europa.eu/education/programmes/leonardo/leonardo_en.htm) is being developed accordingly. The work focuses on the teaching-learning of ICT-enhanced skills that is the set of behavioural and relational abilities influencing interaction with others. The projects’ aims are to support teachers in devising, realising and sharing educational activities oriented to the learning of these skills. In this paper, we outline the pedagogical framework followed and the methodological tools developed. Hints on the operative tools that are being produced to realise a web-based teachers’ community working and learning on these ideas are also given. Some preliminary impressions based on the opinions of teachers who where involved in pilot trainings about the proposal conclude the paper.