SAUDI ARAMCO TEACHER TRAINING PILOT

From January 11th -24th Imagine Education trainers will be spending two weeks in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia working with teachers from Aramco's Training Centres. This pilot project is running in collaboratioin with Aramco and Menhaj Technologies in Jordan. The course will encourage teachers to think about new methodologies and intitiatives in education including Learning Styles, Critical Thinking, Emotional Intelligence, Assessment for Learning and the innovative uses of ICT. It is hoped that this pilot will be the launching pad for further collaborations between Imagine Education, Menhaj and Saudi Aramco to improve the educational experience for students throughout the kingdom.

SCIENCE LEARNING CENTRE PARTNERSHIP

Imagine Education is pleased to announce that it has accepted an advisory role with the Science Learning Centre to assist with creating courses for students in UK schools and looking at how new technologies can support the engaging delivery of the science curriculum. We will be working with researchers at universities to design courses with them which are then packaged for schools. The SLC act as a bridge between schools and universities/industry and are funded by the Department for Children, Schools and Families. For more information about the work of the Science Learning Centres see: www.slcs.ac.uk.

ASIAN DEVELOPMENT BANK CONFERENCE, MANILA

Imagine Education are pleased to be invited speakers at the International Conference on ICT in Education hosted by the ADB in the Philippines. Director, Adrian Blight, will be presenting on Enabling Teaching and Learning in Future Schooling Models – Teacher Training Needs, Strategic Planning, Management, and Enabling Technologies. We are grateful for the support of The British Council in Uzbekistan for this opportunity.

IMAGINE EDUCATION IN KENYA

Imagine Education are the pedagogical advisers for The Mukuru project in Kenya, a joint initiative between Cisco, Microsoft and British Airways to develop a fast-track ICT teacher training program . We are supporting hands-on teacher training and also providing bespoke training material. Current dialogue with the Ministry of Education in Kenya includes how this project can support the ICT strategy in Kenya. As well as on site visits in Kenya the project also involves working with teachers in the UK who are
partnered with the Kenyan educators. The project committee are looking at developing
models to support the teachers in Kenya through innovative technologies. The VoIP system Skype has been tested and will be used as one of many tools to ensure that the project is sustainable.
Imagine Education is also working with Cisco to develop a toolbox which
captures the experience and the processes we will go through during the life of the Mukuru project. This box will also contain the resources required to mirror the project model elsewhere in Africa and other developing regions. We are grateful for the support, guidance and expertise of Professor Ian Gibson, Chair of Future Teaching at Macquarrie University in Australia in this initiative.

NEW ZEALAND PATHWAYS PROGRAM

Furthering our partnership with New Era IT (New Zealand) we announce the launch of Pathways - a program designed to support schools throughout the country as they re-model their practices and processes for the future in New Zealand and as global players in the education space. For more information and news visit the following links:
http://www.newerait.co.nz/Pathways_Programme_104.aspx
http://www.newerait.co.nz/Client_Seminar_2007_107.aspx
http://www.schoolofthefuture.co.nz/

NEW ZEALAND SCHOOLS OF THE FUTURE PARTNERSHIP

This month Imagine Education is pleased to announce that it has agreed in principle, through its globalSOF consortium, to partner with New Era IT (http://www.newerait.co.nz/) to provide support, reources and training for New Zealand schools as they look to the future of education. More to follow after the New Era client seminar later this month.

MAY 2007– TUVALU, SOUTH PACIFIC CONSULTANCY

For the majority of the month of May Imagine Education Director Adrian Blight will be based in Tuvalu providing support and advice to the Ministry of Education as it begins the journey towards integrating ICT into teaching and learning. Tuvalu is the second smallest country in the world after the Vatican and consists of nine coral atolls in the South Pacific. The project is being funded by The Asian Development Bank and Imagine Education is pleased to form an alliance with another donor body working in education projects worldwide.