ValNet
The European Schoolnet Validation Network (ValNet) will facilitate building knowledge about innovation in schools and help create the conditions for creating schools of tomorrow. ValNet is an accompanying measure for the validation and demonstration phases of R&D projects related to schools. The core activity of ValNet is to validate at least five Schools of Tomorrow projects using a framework methodology applied in selected schools across Europe, to cluster and animate projects and to consolidate and disseminate results.
Given the large and ever-increasing numbers of computer-based learning projects, initiatives and products around, there is clearly a need for coordination and validation. In the case of the European Commission’s Information Society Technology (IST) projects in the field of education (the "School of Tomorrow"), the European Schoolnet Validation Network (VAL NET) project is designed to provide a framework for a number of validation and dissemination activities. These include the development of a framework validation methodological and analytical tool, providing a platform for the validation of products and services, consolidation and integration of project results, animation of clustering activities and the use of a dissemination network to influence policy and practice in computer-based learning for schools. The results of the School of Tomorrow projects, when taken together, represent much more than the sum of the individual parts. Thanks to VALNET, the benefits of our increasing knowledge about innovation in schools can be maximised and made available to a large audience.
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To realise the benefits that projects supported by the European Commission under the "School of Tomorrow" theme can bring to our knowledge of innovative computer-based education, the results must be widely validated, consolidated and disseminated. The EUN Validation Network, ValNet, is an accompanying measure to the European Commission Information Society Technologies programme, Schools of Tomorrow. ValNet facilitates building knowledge about innovation in schools and help create the conditions for creating schools of tomorrow. It runs for 38 months to May 2004.
The aim of the VALNET project is to set up an integrated infrastructure for validating and demonstrating products and services arising from these projects. The project will begin with a study of existing practice and future scenarios in the field, and identify the key issues facing policy-makers. This analysis, which will include consultations with officials from European education ministries, will underpin the development of the framework validation methodologies to be applied to the IST projects. VALNET will provide standard guidelines for validations to allow users to produce comparable results for all the projects evaluated, irrespective of their context and types of partners participating. Templates and cost calculations for use in planning validation activities will also be included. A validation network of at least 500 schools will be set up. Its members will be selected from the European Network of Innovative Schools (ENIS), an established group of innovative test-bed schools in 20 European countries. The schools selected will be trained in the use of the validation tools. The validation framework will be adapted for each of at least five IST projects and then used to test products and services developed as a result of these projects across approximately 40 ENIS schools, in at least four countries.
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ValNet began with two preliminary studies
- NOW, providing a state of the art view of key ICT community projects and an analytical study of existing innovative practice
- THINK, a set of scenarios for educational future based on extensive interviews with senior policy-makers in ministries, industry and research.
The studies underpin the development of an evaluation methodology and tool set that builds on existing best practice in European evaluation. It is intended to be modular so that it can be tailored for particular projects and locations.
Selected schools belonging to the European Network of Innovative Schools (ENIS) are being trained in using validation tools and will provide feedback on School of Tomorrow project deliverables. ENIS is a network of nearly 400 innovative schools in Europe, in 20 countries. ENIS schools are tomorrow’s school today, at the forefront of using ICT to improve teaching and learning. ENIS has four objectives:
- To discuss and disseminate best practice as reflected in the work and activities of the ENIS schools;
- To encourage collaborative projects between a group of schools in the vanguard of ICT development;
- To test and validate Commission- or commercially-funded projects, content and services;
- To encourage further innovation and change in leading-edge schools, interacting with other less developed schools and experiencing new organisational and pedagogical solutions.
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IST projects about schools will be brought together as a cluster, so that they can share experience and identify areas of potential collaboration. Another function of VALNET is to consolidate the results of the projects and integrate them into the wider context of innovation and identify trends in the field of computer-based learning in schools. The results of this activity will be presented in a final report and synoptic overview.
To complement the validation activities, the VALNET project will include a number of dissemination, awareness-raising and commercial exploitation activities, designed to accelerate the implementation of innovative ICT learning systems in Europe’s schools. The European Schoolnet office is making use of established dissemination channels through the EUN and member education ministries. Dissemination will be supported by a network designed to promote and facilitate implementation of the products and services developed by IST projects. VALNET will also carry out activities aimed at standardising such products and services and will provide feedback to the European Commission that will be used in preparing the next call for proposals under the IST programme.
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ValNet is thus a unique one stop shop for the validation and demonstration phases of R&D projects related to schools, providing a test bed a set of relevant validation methodologies, to facilitate building knowledge about innovation in schools. Once set up, ValNet will provide a validation service for national research programmes and the ICT industry wishing to test new products and services for schools.
Outcomes are validation studies of at least five Schools of Tomorrow projects, two framework studies, a test bed of schools, a validation methodology, evidence for policy-makers and practitioners, and a means of helping to foster change in European school systems.
VALNET is co-ordinated by European Schoolnet (EUN), the organisation for co-ordination between European education ministries in the field of ICT and education.
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