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CONNECT

The project creates a network of museums, science centres and schools across Europe, to develop, apply and evaluate learning schemes that build on the strengths of formal and informal strategies. It explores the integration of physical and computational media for the design of interactive learning environments to support learning about complex scientific phenomena in informal settings, such as science centers and museums. The project technological outcome is an advanced learning environment, the Virtual Science Thematic Park, developed upon emerging technology that will allow for ubiquitous access to educational and scientific resources.

Project’s aims
The project aims to link science learning in the classroom with science learning in the museums settings. The main objective of the project is to designing the “classroom of tomorrow” by using advanced technologies to connect formal and informal environments. The project will also develop a systematic evaluation methodology, to assure maximal usability and optimal adaptation to the local environments and to identify the impact of the proposed approach and its educational potential in different (educational and cultural) settings.

The project promotes the pedagogical approach of enabling students to become independent learners and to adopt and use the scientific approach as a tool throughout their lives. It will provide platforms for "learning to learn" situations and a range of teaching approaches that will encourage experimental, theoretical, and multi-disciplinary skills.
Referring to the educators the project intends to enhance the cooperation between teachers, pedagogical experts, staff of science museums, and researchers who develop new educational technologies and activities. Virtual learning communities of students and educators could be created within the project, enhancing communication and collaboration.

The partners
CONNECT is an Information Society Technologies - IST project funded by the European Commission under the Technology Enhanced Learning and Access to Cultural Heritage Activity.
The project consortium is made up of partners from Germany, the UK, Finland, Greece, Portugal, Sweden, Israel and the United States:

-ICCS: Institute of Communication and Computer Systems (Greece);
-FIT: Fraunhofer Institute for Applied Information Technology (Germany);
-Ellinogermaniki Agogi  (Greece);
-Universitat Bayreuth (Germany);
-INTRASOFT International S.A. (Belgium);
-ECSITE - European Collaborative for Science, Industry and Technology Exhibition (Belgium); 
-ILI: Institute for Learning Innovation (USA);
-University of Birmingham (United Kingdom);
-Universitaet Duisburg-Essen (Germany);
- Vaxjo Universitet - Center for Learning and Knowledge Technologies (Sweden);
-WIS: Weizmann Institute of Science (Israel);
-GIASE: Bureau for Information and Evaluation of the Education System (Portugal);
-Universidade do Minho (Portugal);
-HEUREKA - The Finnish Science Center (Finland);
-AT-BRISTOL - (United Kingdom);
-Eugenides Foundation (Greece).

CONNECT is a 3 years project and it started in winter 2004.
More information: http://www.connect-project.net
Sofoklis Sotiriou  sotiriou@ea.gr