GLOBAL excursion - Extended Curriculum for Science Infrastructure Online (GLOBAL EXCURSION)

Framework: FP7 — Capacities
Programme: Research Infrastructures
Destination: Support to policy development and Programme implementation
Action type: Coordination and support actions
Countries involved: Austria,Spain,Spain,United Kingdom,Hungary,Belgium
Call:  (FP7-INFRASTRUCTURES-2011-2, 2011)
Start date: 2011-09-01
End date: 2014-02-28
Duration (months): 30.0
Total project cost (EUR): 912695.0
EU funding (EUR): 800000.0
Participants: 7
Project status: CLOSED

GLOBAL excursion will introduce e infrastructures to educators and pupils. It provides scientists, policy makers, pupils and their teachers a package of activities, materials and tools for enabling the integration of e infrastructures into school curricula. Main access point is the GLOBAL Virtual Science Hub – “ViSH”. It contains a selection of e Infrastructures, and a social network where scientists, teachers and pupils will be able to exchange and establish collaborations, and a virtual excursion room, where pupils will be able to experience real e-science applications in areas of high relevance for the future, such as nano- and biotechnologies. The technological basis of the Virtual Science Hub is the VCC, a communication platform developed in the GLOBAL project, which has already proven to successfully link distant researchers and to integrate remote regions. To allow for closer links between stakeholder communities, the hub will include a pedagogical framework that tailors science content to the needs of schools preconditions. With this aim, teachers and scientists will be involved in a user-centred design process and collaboratively elaborate generic tools and methods, offering joyful formats attractive to young people. With the ViSH portal as a hub, virtual excursions are possible through existing e-infrastructures and together with pedagogical concepts, a more efficient use of e infrastructures will be ensured. Teachers will have access to guided and compact materials, easy to implement and adapt in their teaching activities. Together with end-users, GLOBAL excursion will develop a common understanding, teaching use cases, as well as pedagogical and technical artefacts. The aim of this project proposal is to provide young citizens and their educators (teachers, parents, etc.) across Europe with a range of e-Infrastructures and access to expert knowledge on its usage for a joyful exploration of e-Science through e-Infrastructure. Based on the experience from previous projects, we intend to target pupils between 14-18 years of age (upper stage school). Participating schools and science communicators will elaborate communication and teaching activities. The driving themes will be nano- and biotechnologies, as well as volunteer computing and life sciences with an interdisciplinary focus especially including ethical, legal and social aspects (ELSA). The main purpose of the GLOBAL excursion project is to enable students and teachers access to the experimental laboratories and resources of selected e-Infrastructures in order to improve science curricula by enriching school’s existing teaching and learning materials. By connecting e Infrastructures, resources and tools with schools, pupils can experience challenging and authentic learning scenarios. Thus, students gain insights in scientific real work and relive interest in natural science education.

Keywords: virtual science hub,virtual excursions,user-centred design,reusable education material,bridging science-innovation-education