ΙΝ-SERVICE TRAINING OF PRIMARY AND SECONDARY SCHOOL TEACHERS ON INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY (ICT) BASIC SKILLS IN EDUCATION

 

Introduction
The Ministry of Education is training 35.000 Primary and Secondary School teachers in the use of computers. By the end of August 2008 over half of the total number of teachers in Greek schools will be, for the first time, officially certified computer literate. The training is provided in 2350 Centers by 8240 Trainers (rounded figure) both specially certified for this particular purpose by the Pedagogical Institute and the Research Academic Computer Technology Institute. The training takes place in the teachers’ free time. There are Training Centers both in the state and private sectors. It is up to the trainees to choose the center, the time and the trainer of their preference. It appears that the vast majority has opted for the state sector over the private one. Help desks will be available to support the trainees. Teachers working abroad can also be trained if such interest arises.

 

The project’s ID

3rd Community Support Framework 2000-2006 for Greece
Operational Program	“Information Society”
Action line 1	“Education and culture”
Measure 1.2	“New Technologies in the Educational Process”
Title	“In-Service Training of Primary and Secondary School Teachers on Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Basic Skills in Education”
Management	Ministry of National Education and Religious Affairs
Technical Advisors	Pedagogical Institute (PI), Research Academic Computer Technology Institute (CTI)
Legally Responsible	Ambassador Dimitrios Platis
General Manager	Evaggelos Zaharakis Head of Unit A1b of Implementation Authority of CSF Projects
Central Management Committee	Dr S. Glavas Chair Prof. H. Zagouras Member Pavlos Davarinos Head of Secondary Education Studies Member Evaggelos Zaharakis Head of Unit A1b of Implementation Authority of CSF Projects Member
Budget	39,086,331,94€
Funding	75% European Union funds 25% National funds

 

Curriculum
The training program covers the basics in information technology, word processing, spreadsheets, PowerPoint, Internet and offers an overview of educational software. It gives the teachers the opportunity to get acquainted with ICT and use it productively to improve their teaching methods, to be able to search for new sources of knowledge and participate in new educational communities for professional development. It is a 48-hour program, in groups of 10-15 trainees, spread over 8 consecutive weeks in two 3-hour sessions per week. The trainees are provided with educational material for home practice. They are also partly funded, with close to 600 euros, for the purchase or updating of home computers.

 

Basic Structure

 

Procedure
The Central Management Committee at the Ministry announces the dates and sends out the call for participation. The Training Centres submit to the Local Training Committees the timetable of the standardized course(s) they offer. The Local Training Committees inform the schools. The teachers apply at school level. The applications are processed by the Local Training Committees. The places are allotted by computerized draw. At the end of the course the teachers who have attended at least 90% of the training course are issued a certificate of attendance and are given half of the 600-euro funding. When the teachers feel they are ready for certification they sit an on-line 3-hour test. There is a limit to how many times they can sit the test. On certification they receive the second half of the 600-euro funding. The Research Academic Computer Technology Institute is responsible for the certification scheme. It has also developed a Management Information System (MIS) to completely digitalize the project. The Pedagogical Institute is responsible for processing the applications to become Training Centers, Trainers and Local Training Committee members.

The Course

Title of the Unit	Content
Introductory concepts, use of PC	1. Data and information 2. Structure and function of the Computer 3. The computer and its peripheral units (Turning the PC on and off, the keyboard, the mouse, the modem, CD/DVD-ROM, diskette, connecting the cables) 4. Graphical Environment (using the windows, desktop, time/date) 5. Managing directories and files (local and network) 6. Zipping and unzipping files 7. Software and basic categories of software
Word processing	1. Get used to the working environment. 2. Formatting a text (paragraphs, fonts) 3. Cut/copy/paste 4. Select-correct-search 5. Check for spelling 6. Page format 7. Print preview-print 8. Tables, borders, shading 9. Inserting objects (pictures, drawing)
Spreadsheets	1. Get used to the working environment. 2. Formatting cells, rows, columns 3. Cut/copy/paste 4. Copying, moving, deleting the content of a cell. 5. Formulae and basic functions. 6. Formatting a spreadsheet. 7. Print preview-print. 8. Creating graphs and charts.
PowerPoint	1. Get used to the working environment. 2. Formatting a presentation. 3. Copying, moving and deleting the content of a slide. 4. Formatting a slide. 5. Print preview-print. 6. Slide show and slide transition effects. 7. Inserting objects (pictures, drawing)
Internet and Communications	1. Computer networks and the Internet. 2. Using software for browsing, accessing Internet locations-using the structure of hypermedia of www. 3. Navigation, collecting and managing information. 4. Search engines. 5. E-mail (the various fields of an email message, managing email messages, inserting file attachments). 6. Virus protection.
Educational software	An overview of the educational software.