Innovative practices in Bulgaria
Sharing innovations for improving local self-government
Ensuring an all-inclusive approach for computer training and use
Municipality of Dobrich City
Background
At a session in 1999 the Municipal Council adopted a Municipal Program for Development of Education for the period 2000 - 2003. One of the leading strategies in it was the introduction of modern information and communication technologies in education in the city of Dobrich. In this context, in 2000, 2001 and 2002 the Municipality managed to equip on its own financial resources five computer rooms in the municipal schools annually. The schools boards of trustees assisted the process of setting up computer rooms by endowments and participation in programs and projects.
At a session in 1999 the Municipal Council adopted a Municipal Program for Development of Education for the period 2000 - 2003. One of the leading strategies in it was the introduction of modern information and communication technologies in education in the city of Dobrich. In this context, in 2000, 2001 and 2002 the Municipality managed to equip on its own financial resources five computer rooms in the municipal schools annually. The schools boards of trustees assisted the process of setting up computer rooms by endowments and participation in programs and projects.
Practice
In the process of setting up the computer rooms a fundamental problem emerged connected with:
- Lack of adapted programs for people of all ages to introduce them to the computer world and to provide basic computer literacy.
- Shortage of qualified instructors to conduct the training and introduce appropriate software.
- Lack of sufficient and diverse specialized literature.
- Lack of opportunities to provide operational information to citizens about problems, processes and activities in the field of education.
These problems generated the idea to establish a specialized municipal unit at the Education and Youth Activities Directorate to provide information and training. The center accomplishes its activities mainly in four directions:
- Collects, stores and processes information for students and teachers, complementary educational literature and schools curricula. Conducts different forms of training for IT teachers and pedagogues in order to bring in ICT in education;
- Creates alternative possibilities for communication between municipal schools, the information center and international governmental and non-governmental organizations through the Internet;
- Provides services in the field of education to citizens. The Education and Youth Activities Directorate is looking for opportunities for international contacts in order to compare its results to the European educational standards. In connection with this the Directorate is planning to organize a national conference under the theme: Modern education within the IT environment . The cooperation with the Danish Center for Qualification and Re-qualification is very beneficial at that stage.
In the process of setting up the computer rooms a fundamental problem emerged connected with:
- Lack of adapted programs for people of all ages to introduce them to the computer world and to provide basic computer literacy.
- Shortage of qualified instructors to conduct the training and introduce appropriate software.
- Lack of sufficient and diverse specialized literature.
- Lack of opportunities to provide operational information to citizens about problems, processes and activities in the field of education.
These problems generated the idea to establish a specialized municipal unit at the Education and Youth Activities Directorate to provide information and training. The center accomplishes its activities mainly in four directions:
- Collects, stores and processes information for students and teachers, complementary educational literature and schools curricula. Conducts different forms of training for IT teachers and pedagogues in order to bring in ICT in education;
- Creates alternative possibilities for communication between municipal schools, the information center and international governmental and non-governmental organizations through the Internet;
- Provides services in the field of education to citizens. The Education and Youth Activities Directorate is looking for opportunities for international contacts in order to compare its results to the European educational standards. In connection with this the Directorate is planning to organize a national conference under the theme: Modern education within the IT environment . The cooperation with the Danish Center for Qualification and Re-qualification is very beneficial at that stage.
Results
The project has achieved the following results: - The school equipment has been modernized;
- The cognitive activity of students has increased;
- Teachers interest towards professional growth in the area of ICT has increased;
- The abilities of teachers and students to implement innovative practices in a team have broadened;
- The exchange of information between the Directorate and schools, between schools and municipal departments, between teachers, students and parents has been facilitated;
- The exchange of official information has increased;
- The transparency in the work of educational institutions and the level of citizen s information about the educational processes has been enhanced;
- The provision of services to citizens has improved.
The project has achieved the following results: - The school equipment has been modernized;
- The cognitive activity of students has increased;
- Teachers interest towards professional growth in the area of ICT has increased;
- The abilities of teachers and students to implement innovative practices in a team have broadened;
- The exchange of information between the Directorate and schools, between schools and municipal departments, between teachers, students and parents has been facilitated;
- The exchange of official information has increased;
- The transparency in the work of educational institutions and the level of citizen s information about the educational processes has been enhanced;
- The provision of services to citizens has improved.
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