European schools on the web
European Ministries of Education are collaborating to produce a network of national networks that makes up the European Schoolnet, a central website. These national networks deliver content and are also responsible for translating the various sections of the website into their own language. This joint venture established upon an Internet platform, is not merely a technical network, but a human network, serving as an on-line campus where people concerned about European school education can find information and locate resources. There are networks for school managers, updated educational material for subject teachers and even businessmen, researchers or public officials can also participate. Through the supported e-commerce, organisations or companies may promote their products and services for schools. Educational ministry officials have the ability to collaborate closely. There are, within each national network, editors for content and people supporting the technical infrastructure. The EUN campus provides four main facilities: resources, innovation, collaboration and teacher training. The resource facility provides a software library and a virtual school. A selection can be made between subjects, such as arts, languages, social sciences, physical education and many more. There is also the provision of submitting one's own resources. While, innovation contains a number of informative articles on educational technologies, including hypervideo and news from innovative schools. In Israel, for example, technology based tools were used to set up dialogues between Jewish and Muslim school children, helping to bridge the long standing divide between the two communities. The Collaboration area, allows students from all over Europe to exchange messages and make friends online; teachers may find teacher-partners, or find out about projects undertaken by colleagues. Last but not least, the teacher training area is literally an open college for professional development, providing information on forthcoming workshops, online workshops and informative articles on leading edge technologies. You can visit the European Schoolnet website at: http://www.eun.org
