quality

The Yourvid Save Energy project is all about finding innovative teaching and learning methods on the topic of "saving energy and raising understanding of the need for sustainable energy in schools and society” through a new didactical approach based on Web 2.0 (social networks).

Take a look to the winers at: http://www.yesenergy.eu/

The Commission will organise a high level conference on 7 November 2011. A legislative proposal is foreseen for December 2011.

Internal Market Commissioner Michel Barnier said "Updating the Professional Qualifications Directive is one of the priorities of the Single Market Act and will help make the European economy more competitive while encouraging growth and job creation. We need to make it easier for professionals to go to where job vacancies exist. We will consider a number of important issues during this process including the creation of a professional card for interested professions and improving the training requirements for certain professions."

The Green Paper outlines possible ways forward that build on past achievements while developing new approaches to enhance mobility:

For instance, the introduction of a professional card closely linked to the Internal Market Information System (IMI) could make it considerably easier for professionals to have their qualifications recognised in another Member State. A professional card issued by a competent authority in the professional’s home Member State could then allow the professional to demonstrate his/her credentials (having the necessary qualifications, being authorised to practise) to consumers, employers and relevant authorities in another Member State.

Similarly, stakeholders are invited to give their input about the potential of new common platforms to facilitate the mobility of professionals where there is no automatic recognition by developing sets of commonly agreed criteria for professional qualifications. They could be used to reduce differences in training requirements).

In addition, the minimum training requirements of certain professions (e.g. some health professions and architects) could be reformed. To that end, certain adjustments to the duration and content of training, as well as possibly changing the requisite language skills for health professions, could be necessary. This would also strengthen the legitimacy of automatic recognition of qualifications.

Stakeholders are invited to respond to the consultation by 20 September 2011. The Commission will subsequently organise a high level conference on 7 November 2011. A legislative proposal is foreseen for December 2011.

Background

The Green Paper aims to gather stakeholders’ views on the modernisation of the Professional Qualifications Directive (Directive 2005/36/EC).

The primary aim of this is to facilitate mobility of EU citizens for professional purposes. It is one of the twelve levers for growth proposed in the Commission’s Single Market Act (IP/11/469). The Green Paper follows a report of how the Directive works in practice (IP/10/1367) and a first technical-level public consultation launched in January 2011 (IP/11/14). A final evaluation report, as well as a summary of the responses to the first consultation, will be published by the end of June.

The consultation document can be found here:

http://ec.europa.eu/internal_market/consultations/2011/professional_qualifications_directive_en.htm

See also MEMO/11/438

For further information:

http://ec.europa.eu/internal_market/qualifications/index_en.htm

The assessment of CIL will be authentic and computer-based. It will incorporate multiple-choice and constructed response items based on realistic stimulus material; software simulations of generic applications so that students are required to complete an action in response to an instruction; and  authentic tasks that require students to modify and create information products using “live” computer software applications.

The student questionnaire will gather information about computer use in and out of school, attitudes to technology, self-reported computer proficiency, and background characteristics. Teacher and school questionnaires will ask about computer use, computing resources, and relevant policies and practices. A number of items will link to SITES 2006. The national context survey will collect systemic data on education policies and practices for developing computer and information literacy, expertise of teachers, and digital technology resources in schools.

Target Population

The main population to be surveyed will include all students enrolled in the grade that represents eight years of schooling, counting from the first year of ISCED Level 1, provided that the mean age at the time of testing is at least 13.5 years. For most countries the target grade would be Grade 8. In addition, the assessment will be offered (using a modified set of assessment modules) as an option for Grade 4.

Participating Educational Systems

Educational systems considering participation in ICILS: Canada, Chile, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Germany, Hong Kong SAR, Israel, The Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Russian Federation, Saudi Arabia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain (Catalonia), Thailand, United States.

Schedule

ICILS was inaugurated at the National Research Coordinators meeting in Amsterdam, June 21–25, 2010. The project aims to elaborate the assessment framework in 2010 and finalize it in 2011, develop and pilot survey instruments over 2011, conduct a field trial in the first half of 2012, and collect data at the beginning of 2013 (Northern Hemisphere) and at the end of 2013 (Southern Hemisphere), with reporting in November 2014.