Helping teachers get the most out of interactive whiteboards in schools across Europe
Helping language teachers to use technology like the interactive whiteboards (IWB) can be tricky. Some teachers have access to IWBs, but lack the time and training to get the most out of them in teaching a foreign language. Other teachers have technology training, or are keen to try out IWBs, but don’t have one in their classrooms. So where should we begin? With training or equipment, the chicken or the egg?
The Lifelong Learning project iTILT, or interactive Technologies In Language Teaching, aims to support language teachers whatever their current context via open education resources. In the website you can find multilingual video resources and training materials on the use of IWBs in language classes, including:

• the iTILT video resources with examples of over 250 classroom activities for different languages, proficiency levels, and age groups from seven European countries;
• the iTILT training handbook in six languages;
• iTILT teaching materials for several languages, levels, and age groups;
• the iTILT library with links to IWB material collections, IWB literature, information on copyright and more;
• ideas for exploiting iTILT resources for teacher training.

All materials can be accessed and downloaded free of charge. They should help teachers who already use IWBs to go a little further in their teaching, and perhaps inspire those not yet using this tool to explore ways to try it out.
More about iTILT
Find out more by visiting iTILT website or sending an e-mail to info@itilt.eu. iTILT is also available on Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn. IWB news and links to relevant resources can be posted using Scoop It.

Investment in education fell in eight out of 25 Member States assessed as part of a European Commission study on the impact of the crisis on education budgets since 2010.
Cuts of more than 5% were imposed in Greece, Hungary, Italy, Lithuania and Portugal, while Estonia, Poland, Spain and the UK (Scotland) saw decreases of 1 to 5%. However, five Member States increased education spending by more than 1%: Austria, Denmark, Luxembourg, Malta and Sweden, as well as the German speaking area of Belgium. Germany and the Netherlands did not provide data for the period since 2010.
Spending trends vary in other Member States, with some increasing their budgets one year then decreasing them the next, or vice-versa. Belgium (French speaking community), Cyprus, Latvia, Finland, France, Ireland, Slovenia and the UK (Wales), as well as future member Croatia, increased their education budget in 2010-2011, but reduced it in 2011-2012. It was the opposite case in Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Romania and Slovakia, which cut education budgets in 2010-2011 but increased them in the subsequent period. The Flemish community of Belgium kept their budget stable in both years.
"These are difficult times for national treasuries but we need a consistent approach on public investment in education and training because this holds the key to the future of our young people and a long-term sustainable economic recovery. If Member States fail to invest properly in modernising education and skills, we will fall further behind our global competitors and find it harder to tackle youth unemployment," said Androulla Vassiliou, European Commissioner for Education, Culture, Multilingualism and Youth.
The study analysed funding at all levels of education, from pre-primary to tertiary level, in 35 national and regional education systems. It shows that, in 2011 and 2012, teachers' salaries and allowances were reduced or frozen in 11 countries (Bulgaria, Croatia, Estonia, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Portugal and Spain). Teachers' pay accounts for more than 70% of education budgets.
The cuts have also resulted in reductions in the number of teaching staff in 10 Member States (Bulgaria, Cyprus, Estonia, France, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Portugal, Romania and UK). As well as the impact of the crisis, a decrease in student numbers was also a factor in the staff cuts. On a brighter note, funding for teacher training increased in 18 European countries – a significant development given the link between teaching quality and students' results.
Public sector support for pupils and students such as grants, loans and family allowances, were not affected in the majority of countries in 2011 and 2012. Eight Member States (Austria, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg and Portugal) offer specific financial support for unemployed or low-skilled people to improve or renew their skills. In most cases these investments are matched by the European Social Fund. Funding of education in Europe - The impact of the economic crisis.

IEETel 2013 Call for Papers Extended to 1 April
The 4th International workshop on Interactive Environments and Emerging Technologies for eLearning (IEETeL 2013) has extended its call for papers until the 1st of April.
The conference, to be held in the Netherlands from 5-8th of June, will cover a variety of topics, including: 3D virtual learning environments, educational mashups, the semantic web, and augmented reality implementation.
Read on for a full list of paper topics.

By Apostolos Koutropoulos. Emotive vocabulary in MOOCs: Context and Participant Retention. This article was originally published on the online Journal The European Journal of Open, Distance and E-Learning – EURODL, issue 1, 2012.
Massive Online Open Courses (MOOCs) have been growing in popularity with educational researchers, instructors, and learners in online environments. Online discussions are as important in MOOCs as in other online courses. Online discussions that occur in MOOCs are influenced by additional factors resulting from their volatile and voluntary participation structure. This article aims to examine discussions that took place in MobiMOOC in the spring of 2011, a MOOC structured around mobile learning.
This line of inquiry focused on language from the discussions that contained emotive vocabulary in the MobiMOOC discussion forums. Emotive vocabulary is words or phrases that are implicitly emotional (happy, sad, frustrated) or relate to emotional contexts (I wasn’t able to…). This emotive vocabulary, when present, was examined to determine whether it could serve as a mechanism for predicting future and continued participation in the MOOC. In this research, narrative inquiry approach was used in order to shine a light on the possible predictive qualities of emotive text in both participants who withdrew from the course as well as moderately or moderately active participants. The results indicated that emotive vocabulary usage did not significantly predict or impact participation retention in MobiMOOC.

The Second Conference on Educational Innovation will be held 18-19 March at the University of the Basque Country.
The “II Jornadas de Innovación Educativa” conference organised by the Universidad del País Vasco, offers a chance for academic professionals to share innovative teaching practices. Topics will include: moving toward a more inclusive society, learning through videogames, and mobile learning, among others. For details regarding the program and exact location, please see the conference website.
Venue: Universidad del País Vasco
Address: Barrio Sarriena, s/n, C.P. 48940, Leioa (Vizcaya).

Semaine franco-allemande de la science et des alumni du 15 au 19 avril 2013. Échanges universitaires, réseaux scientifiques, carrières transfrontalières: Rôle et responsabilité des alumni, étudiants et chercheurs.
L’année 2013, où sera célébré le cinquantenaire du traité d’amitié franco-allemand, est une occasion privilégiée pour donner de nouvelles impulsions à la coopération franco-allemande, notamment dans les secteurs porteurs d’avenir dont le potentiel n’a pas encore été pleinement mesuré ni exploité. Par ailleurs, la coopération doit évoluer à l’avenir en faveur de l’intégration croissante de l’Europe et, si nécessaire, s’inscrire également dans des structures relationnelles mondiales. Plus que jamais, il s’agira en 2013 de mettre en lumière l’amitié franco-allemande comme un processus qui présente un important potentiel de développement, rayonne vers l’extérieur et s’ouvre à de nouvelles perspectives.
L’objectif d’une semaine franco-allemande de la science et des alumni consiste à réunir des alumni, étudiants, et chercheurs issus du franco-allemand, qui sont des acteurs majeurs de l’engagement transfrontalier au niveau de la société civile, de les mettre en relation et de discuter de propositions visant à souligner leur importance et à tirer parti de potentiels encore inexploités. Cette semaine de la science permettra dans le même temps de contribuer au développement d’une diplomatie scientifique et d’une politique scientifique extérieure communes. En savoir plus.

L'agence 2e2f participe cette année encore aux RUE. Elle animera deux ateliers et disposera d'un stand.
Initiées par AEF en juin 2008 sous forme d'un colloque, les RUE se tiennent désormais au Palais des Congrès de Paris, signe des attentes fortes de tous ceux qui sont attachés au développement de la relation entre l'enseignement supérieur, la recherche et les entreprises.
Cette 6ème édition mettra en avant quatre temps forts pour mieux structurer l'animation (Formation/Insertion, R&D Innovation, Communautés pros et International), sept villages pour mieux identifier les publics (Village des PME, Village des Fédérations professionnelles, Village R&D, Village Numérique, Village Attractivité des campus et Village International, Village économie sociale et solidaire), un forum de recrutement masters et doctorants, tels sont les trois axes des RUE 2013 qui jouent un rôle majeur en faveur du rapprochement entre les milieux académiques et les milieux économiques.
Vous pourrez venir tester vos connaissances sur le programme « Erasmus pour tous » 2014-2020 sur le stand de l'agence et participer aux ateliers suivants:
    Comment et pourquoi accueillir un stagiaire européen Erasmus ou Leonardo da Vinci au sein de votre entreprise?
    Comment préparer vos ressources humaines de demain grâce aux programmes européens?
Vous pouvez aussi candidater à la 3ème édition des Prix AEF Universités – Entreprises: « Les meilleures initiatives partagées ».
Ce prix récompense des « bonnes pratiques » reposant sur une collaboration entre universités (ou leurs services) et entreprises ou fédérations professionnelles (ou leurs services). Plus d'informations.
Contribution de l'Agence
Atelier 27/03 – 14h-14h30 – Agora du Village « Un métier pour demain »
RH : préparez vos compétences de demain grâce aux programmes européens
Animation : Hélène Pinaud
« Les programmes européens d'éducation et de formation sont ouverts depuis longtemps aux entreprises mais ils sont souvent peu connus ou mal connus. Si une entreprise peut accueillir un stagiaire européen, elle peut aussi bénéficier de financements pour travailler sur la formation de ses employés, réfléchir à des problèmes de ressources humaines dans une perspective européenne ou anticiper ses besoins en compétences pour demain »
Intervenants: Hervé Imbert, Direction du développement international - SNCF, Master MISCTIF « Interopérabilité/Sécurité/Certification », Tempus, Nathalie Ganzel, Armand Labat, Direction des Affaires européennes et internationales - La Poste, « Training partnership for changing post », Leonardo Partenariat
Atelier 27/03 – 16h15-16h45 – Village « PME, terres d'avenir »
Comment accueillir un stagiaire européen (Erasmus-Leonardo da Vinci) ?
Animation : Quitterie Gadret
Depuis le film « l'Auberge Espagnole », il n'est plus utile de présenter le programme Erasmus, synonyme de mobilité des étudiants au sein des universités européennes : 230 000 étudiants européens profitent de cette opportunité chaque année.
Ce qui est moins connu, c'est que plus de 40 000 d'entre eux n'ont pas pris le chemin d'une université européenne mais d'une entreprise. Et insertion professionnelle oblige, cette tendance est en forte augmentation.
Plus de 50% de ces jeunes sont accueillis au sein d'une PME : le programme Erasmus serait-il donc aussi devenu opportunité pour les PME?
Intervenants: Thomas Popovac, AGEFA PME, Un représentant d'une PME.