European network for the integration of Web2.0 in education and work

EdWeb2Work is a European Union funded education project that has two missions:

• To create a network that spans education and the world of work and is designed to improve the use of Web2.0 tools in both fields.
• To create a set of tools for the empirical evaluation of Web2.0 tools.

The project will create a network between stakeholders in the education and work sectors that will examine how both should be using Web2.0 in the education and work environments.

Web2.0 and Enterprise 2.0 present great opportunities and challenges for educators and employers. The potential for autonomous creativity, research, communication and sharing by all stakeholders is a unique and unparalleled opportunity. Web2.0 may offer the fastest channel to tap human potential across all levels and raise productivity and growth in education and work.

The objectives
The project will build a sustainable network that will:

• Build an empirical template that can be used to create benchmarks to assess the effectiveness of existing and new Web2.0 tools.
• Identify and analyse the current and future needs of stakeholders in education and work and how Web2.0 tools can be utilised to support these needs.
• Examine existing uses (education and work) and build a set of best practices and case studies that show how various Web2.0 tools could be used.
• Establish and maintain a central repository containing relevant research, best practice guides and case studies, and training materials that can be used to make informed choices.

Mixed working groups of educators and employers will study how the new possibilities can be used within differing sectors and what each sector’s needs are and how the tools can be used to satisfy these needs. Three network conferences will be held during the project and local groups formed.

An early focus will be the founding of a European Centre, based on the Web2.0 European Resource Centre (www.web20erc.eu) founded in 2010. These centres will utilise empirically based evaluation and benchmarking tools for the use of Web2.0 tools developed by the project.

Learn more about the project at www.ed20work.eu site