Organization of American States Department of<br />Human Development
Teacher Education for 21st Century

NOTE TO ALL APPLICANTS TO OAS SCHOLARSHIPS

PLEASE READ BEFORE STARTING

The application must be completed in its entirety before exiting the site or submitting the form. The information you enter can be saved as you are working on it during this session. However, information cannot be saved for another session before the application is submitted. We strongly suggest that you print the blank application form, prepare the narrative information in a separate Word document which you can copy and paste into the on-line application form, and fill out the other data by hand on the application form before you begin to fill out the form on line. Once you access and open the form, it can remain open (without exiting or submitting it) indefinitely, so you will have time to fillout the form and check your information before submitting it. No changes will be permitted after you submit the form.


This application must be completed on-line.

Professional Development Scholarships Program

OAS/DHDEC/CIR.057/2010

“Teacher Education for the 21st. Century: A focus on technology and collaboration to improve the quality of education in the Americas”

1) Study venue: The course will be delivered entirely online (Internet) through the Educational Portal of the Americas Virtual Classroom and requires a weekly dedication of 10 hours as well as basic computer skills

2) Coordinators:

· Adriana Vilela: [email protected]

· Rosario Popovici: [email protected]

3) Modality: On-line

4) Start and end dates: September 17th to December 11th, 2010

5) Course duration: Twelve (12) weeks

6) Language: English

7) Objectives:

  • Gain an understanding of foundations for 21st Century teaching and learning
  • Experience hands-on integration of ICT and collaborative learning into teaching practice
  • Recognize the benefits of international collaboration and knowledge sharing
  • Develop a portfolio of ICT resources relevant to future work
  • Get teachers involved in online collaboration with teachers from other countries.
  • Align ICT integration to the UNESCO ICT Competency Framework
  • Network with educators in the Caribbean and around the world who are using ICTs in their classrooms

8) Program: The 12-week course is organized in modules that include selected readings and related activities accessed through an on-line teaching and learning platform or "Virtual Classroom". The course is organized into ten content modules (one each week), as well as one week dedicated to the introduction of participants to the Virtual Classroom and its tools, and one week for the conclusion of studies and the final evaluations:

Module

Contents

Week 1

Getting acquainted with the virtual classroom

  • Login into the course
  • Password test
  • Test of emails
  • Identification of possible technical issues

Week 2

Welcome and Introductions

  • How to Navigate the Online Course Environment
  • Learning and Communication in the Course
  • Pre-course self evaluation rubric
  • Introductions: Meet Your Facilitators and Peers
  • Course Syllabus and Expectations
  • Forum Posting: National Experiences with ICT Integration and Collaborative Project Work

Week 3

Integration and Collaborative Project Work

  • Integrating ICT into the Teacher Education Classroom: ICT Integration in the Classroom: overview and rationale-Need of integrating ICT into teacher
  • education: Moodle Forum Posting

Week 4

ICT Collaboration

  • Introduction To ICT Collaborative Project Work Theory and Practice
  • Creating Networks to build Global Learning Communities of teachers and students: Forum Posting
  • Introduction to the UNESCO ICT Competency Standards

Week 5

Collaborative Project Work - Learning Methodologies

  • Types of Collaborative Projects
  • ICT Learning Methodologies:
    1. Student Centered Learning Approaches
    2. Problem-based Learning
    3. Project-based Learning
  • iEARN Resources: exploring and categorizing iEARN projects
  • Identifying projects to present to student teachers

Week 6

ICT-Based Online Collaborative Tools: Web.2

  • Introduction to Web.2 tools: Generalities and description
  • Google Docs: building a collaborative document
  • Group task with student teachers

Week 7

ICT Collaborative Project Integration

  • Managing ICT Work in the Classroom
    • Benefits
    • Challenges
  • Legal and Ethical Issues

Week 8

Collaborative Project Assessment

  • How To Evaluate the Quality of Collaborative Project Work
  • Assessment Options
  • Authentic Performance Tasks
  • Developing Rubrics

Week 9

Portfolios

  • Definition and use of portfolios
  • Elements of a Teaching Portfolio
  • How To Share a Teaching Portfolio
  • How To Continue Adding To a Teaching Portfolio

Week 10

Teaching Unit Creation

  • Lesson Plan integrating web.2 tools

Week 11

Group Online Activity

  • Student based international online exchange

Week 12

Evaluation & Saying Goodbye

  • Ideas For Future Collaboration and Information Sharing
  • Final Reflections and Course Evaluation

9) Methodology: This online course is delivered under the academic and technical supervision of tutors. The tutors guide participants throughout the duration of course by:

  1. Helping them to access course content;
  2. Suggesting reading and reference materials;
  3. Analyzing and evaluating assigned activities; and
  4. Resolving technical problems and answering questions.

In addition, the tutors provide students with a weekly analysis of participant responses and make individual interventions when necessary.

10) Requirements:

a. Citizenship or permanent residence of an OAS Member State

b. Be currently employed as a primary or secondary level school teacher educator in a teacher training institution.

c. A minimum of two (2) years of experience inside the field of teacher education.

d. Possess basic computer and internet skills.

e. Be fluent in English.

f. Be able to dedicate approximately 10 hours per week for course activities.

g. Be a registered user in the Educational Portal of the Americas (www.educoas.org)

h. Have an e-mail account, reliable and efficient. (E-mail accounts are personal and cannot be shared)

i. Submission of completed application form by the deadline set by the National Liaison Organization (ONE).[1]

j. Have unrestricted access to a computer with Internet with following minimum technical specifications[2]:

Processor

  • 500MHz, Pentium II or equivalent OS: Windows 98, NT, 2000 or XP, Apple Macintosh G3 or G4

Memory

  • 64Mb or better

Monitor

  • Minimum resolution 800 x 600

Internet Access

  • 56K modem or faster

Applications

  • JavaScript active, Cookies active

Browsers

  • Netscape 4.76 or more recent (for Windows),
  • Internet Explorer 6, newer (for Macintosh), or 6 newer (for Windows),
  • Mozilla 1.0 or Opera 6 for Windows.

Software

  • Adobe reader 8 or superior
    Flash 7.0, Multimedia is optional; antivirus

11) OAS Scholarship Selection Criteria: In accordance with article 4.2. of the Manual of Procedures of the Scholarship and Training Programs of the OAS, OAS scholarships shall be granted based on the following criteria:

  • The objectives and priorities established in the Strategic Plan Partnership for Development;
  • The training priorities of the member states;
  • The merits and overall credentials of the candidate, including his/her academic and professional background;
  • The financial need of the candidate; and
  • An extensive and equitable geographic distribution for the benefit of all member states and that takes into account the greater needs of the smaller and relatively less developed economies.

12) Responsibility of Scholarships Recipients:

  • Access to computer equipment and the Internet with technical specifications must be met (see above)
  • The selected candidates must confirm their acceptance of the scholarship award to the OAS General Secretariat Office in their respective countries and through the ONE in order for the OAS to proceed with making the necessary arrangements or, if the scholarship is refused, to appoint another candidate.
  • The selected candidates must confirm their acceptance of the scholarship by signing and returning to DHDEC their completed “form of acceptance of the scholarship award”
  • Upon selection, candidates must accept the scholarship by confirming their availability to follow the course during the period indicated and their acceptance of the duly provided conditions of study.
  • If the fellow declines, cancels or terminates the Scholarship after the course or program has started without giving enough proof to the OAS/GS, he or she must reimburse the total amount of incurred costs/expenses.
  • Computer access and communication costs (Internet access and e-mail) are the responsibility of the student. Computer: should include the last versions of browsers. Access to Internet: it should have access to the network from its work place or home. The minimum acceptable modem speed is: 28.8 kbps. Browser: The browser that you use is very important. The e-learning platform requires a browser that allows the use of Javascript. These options should be enabled in the browser.
  • In the event that a selected candidate accepts the scholarship and then, for good reason, is unable to follow the course, he or she must so inform the Department of Human Development, Education and Culture immediately so that it may decide what actions to take.

13) Certification: Participants who successfully complete the course requirements will receive a Certificate.

14) Benefits: The OAS Department of Human Development, Education and Culture will cover the complete registration fee of the selected candidates.

15) Presentation of candidacies:

Please Notice: If you were awarded an OAS Professional Development Scholarship in the past twelve (12) months or if you currently hold an OAS Scholarship for Academic Studies, you are not eligible to apply for another Professional Development Scholarship.

The online application form must be completed on-line and can be accessed at: http://www.educoas.org/portal/es/oasbecas/distancia.aspx?culture=es&navid=281 here you’ll find the announcements of all the online courses, click in the one you are interested in, go though the end of the page, and then you’ll find the Continue button which will direct you to the online application form.

Once the applicant has completed the online application form and submitted it, a copy will be sent automatically to his/her e-mail account. This completed form must be printed, signed and submitted to the National Liaison Office (ONE) with all other forms (http://www.educoas.org/portal/en/oasbecas/formspd.aspx?culture=en&navid=282)

All the additional forms must be completed electronically or in typewritten format.

The following is the list of National Liaison Organizations (ONEs) in the OAS Member states: http://www.educoas.org/portal/en/oasbecas/ones.aspx?culture=en&navid=282

Please note that the official announcement is published in the language of instruction of the course and is available via the Educational Portal of the Americas Web page at: http://www.educoea.org.

Any questions regarding submission of applications for this course should be sent to: [email protected]

IMPORTANT NOTICE: THESE SCHOLARSHIPS ARE SUBJECT TO THE AVAILABILITY OF FUNDS CORRESPONDING TO THE 2010 REGULAR BUDGET

LZea-Yonker/Teacher Education for the 21st. Century/Portal/USA/2010



[1] It is the candidate’s responsibility to ascertain the deadline set by the ONE in his or her country of residence

[2] Access to technological hardware and connectivity (internet and email) costs are responsibility of the participant

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