European IST project brings e-learning community closer together

Brussels, 02 Apr 2003

Europe needs to make full use of the expertise and best practice available in the field of e-learning technology, concluded a meeting to launch a new user group for European organisations involved in the development of high tech learning objects for schools, on 28 March.

The 'context eLearning with broadband technologies' (CELEBRATE) user group was created by a project of the same name, funded by the European Commission's information society technologies (IST) programme of the Fifth Framework Programme (FP5). The CELEBRATE project involves 22 partners from nine Member States as well as Norway, Israel, and Hungary. With a budget of seven million euro, the initiative is providing up to 500 schools in six countries with access to affordable digital and online education.

With a view to reinforcing the initiative, the newly launched use group will provide a community for European organisations such as educational publishers and content owners, public and private sector developers of learning platforms and national and regional content repositories. The user group is also expected to act as a bridge to international initiatives developing learning objects for schools.

'It is intended that the CELEBRATE user group will act as a catalyst for the European eLearning content industry by providing a forum for schools and national school networks producing open source material, commercial content owners and publishers, and ICT [information communications technologies] learning platform developers,' said Ulf Lundin, director of the European Schoolnet, the project coordinator.

Speaking at the launch, Mr Lundin outlined the international dimension of this initiative and the work of the European Schoolnet. 'Schoolnet will also build on its existing relationships with international initiatives such as Canada Schoolnet and the Learning Federation in Australia to ensure that Europe not only exploits global standards related to the design of Learning Objects but also makes full use of expertise and best practice related to this field from around the world.'

For further information, please visit:
http://www.eun.org/eun.org2/eun/en/About _eschoolnet/sub_area.cfm?sa=95

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