Athens, 23 April 2012 – 51 organisations from 23 countries gather in Athens on April 23 for the kick off of Open Discovery Space – an innovative new European Commission funded project (CIP PSP call 5, Objective 2.4 eLearning) that aims to create a socially-powered, multilingual open learning infrastructure to boost the adoption of eLearning Resources.

Open Discovery Space will engage students, teachers, parents and policymakers in a first of its kind pan-European effort to address the key challenges facing the European eLearning environment.  “We are eager to rethink the current model of education,’ said Antonis RAMFOS project coordinator and Director of Research and Innovation, INTRASOFT International. ‘Open Discovery Space aims to turn the world of learning upside down by creating an entirely new model that will become the most powerful engine of change and innovation that the world of education has ever seen.” 

Open Discovery Space will achieve its ambitious goals by engaging teachers and pupils in the co-creation of innovative, new educational practices rather than simply introducing them to the ‘new.’  In so doing, Open Discovery Space will advance the modernization of school education by increasing the digital competences of key stakeholders whilst simultaneously stimulating demand for innovative eLearning resources. Ultimately, Open Discovery Space will engage stakeholders in the production of new user-generated educational activities in a socially-empowered, multilingual environment and   empower them with integrated access to unique eLearning resources from educational repositories around the world.

According to e-Learning expert Dr. Sofoklis Sotiriou: "To achieve our goals, we must carefully craft a “change story” underlining the benefits that Open Discovery Space can offer to all the involved actors. We must cultivate a sense of community, making the teacher feel part of a cohesive multi-national team. This sense of belonging will prove critical to motivating teachers and asking them to take the next, rather demanding steps, of changing their practices”.

 "We believe Open Discovery Space will play a key role in supporting the take-up and use of eLearning resources in schools and create new communities of practices in eLearning. Europe's schools need to urgently take up digital technologies so that our children can develop the essential skills they need to learn, work, interact and to play a full part in 21st century society. ODS comes at the right time to showcase and raise awareness of the benefits of  eLearning ."  Khalil Rouhana, Director, European Commission

Fondation EurActiv PoliTech is in charge of the dissemination of the project at EU level.

For further information about hands-on training and experience with the platform and e-Learning more generally see: http://ods.ea.gr/.

Contact Antonis RAMFOS || Coordinator || antonis.ramfos@intrasoft-intl.com || Telephone: +30 2106876482

Info www.opendiscoveryspace.eu || Like ODS FAN Page on Facebook || Follow ODS on Twitter.