SESTEM (Supporting Equality in Science Technology and Mathematics related choices of careers) is built on the premise that the study of the uptake of Science, Technology and Mathematics (STEM) studies by girls and their retention in the field can benefit from investigation into the triangulation of family-individual and school (secondary and tertiary) factors. Under this scope SESTEM aims to conduct four interrelated comparative studies engaging students, pupils, parents and teachers (both secondary and tertiary levels). Both qualitative (in depth interviews, conceptual mapping, tandem based dialoguing and review into existing literature) and quantitative (collection and analyses of data from across the Member States using on-line survey methods, and meta-analyses of existing statistical data) methods will be applied.

Lifelong Learning Programme, Key Action 1: Studies and Comparative Research
Code: 505437-LLP-1-2009-GR-KA1-KA1SCR
Coordination: Foundation for Research and Technology - Hellas (Greece) - Spanish coordinator: Mario Barajas
See the mayor results and more information about the project SESTEM (in Spanish)

SoRuraLL (Rural Social Networking for Lifelong Learning) is a European research project that aims to investigate the potential for enhanced lifelong learning offered by social networking tools and platforms to those living in geographically and socio-economically disadvantaged rural areas. Experimental learning approaches will be developed and implemented, examining the potential offered by these new trends and tools for the alleviation of the disadvantage suffered by such populations in Europe. The project will bring together and further develop content, services, pedagogies and practices for social lifelong learning in rural areas, formulating specific scenarios of use of social networking tools and platforms which will be tested with real learners and their teachers. Several technological solutions will be tried including weblogs, wikis, podcasts, social software, virtual social sites, as well as tools such as mobile phones, and various usage schemes in the various sectors of lifelong learning, both formal (school, higher education, VET, adult education) and informal.

Lifelong Learning Programme, Key Action 3 (2009-2010)
Code: 143680LLP120081GRKA3KA3MP
Coordination: RACTI - Research Academic Computer Technology Institute, (Patras, Greece)
Spanish coordinator: Mario Barajas

Official website: http://www.sorurall.eu

PREMA aims at deepening understanding of the socio-cultural and pedagogical factors that impede girls' achievement/performance in mathematics, which in turn effect women's under-representation in areas of social and economic importance. The project is particularly concerned with the emergence of the digital divide, which appears to be strongly linked to mathematics school performance. PREMA 2 is an attempt to build on the results of the PREMA project, making them more scalable and more useful (in the form of a model curriculum framework) to teachers.

European Commission, Lifelong Learning Programme - Action 6.1 and 6.2 (2006-2007)
Coordination: FORTH (Greece) - Spanish coordinator: Mario Barajas

Website: http://prema2.iacm.forth.gr/main.php

Kaleidoscope was a Network of Excellence which brought together European teams in technology-enhanced learning. Its goal was to integrate 82 research units from around Europe, including a large range of expertise from technology to education, from academic to private research. Altogether, it constituted a community of more than 800 researchers in 23 countries, which joined in their efforts to develop new concepts and methods for exploring the future of learning with digital technologies.

European Commission, IST6 - IST-VI. VI Framework Programme. Information Society Technologies (2004-2007) Code: 507838
Coordination: Nicola Balacheff, CNRS, France - Coordination University of Barcelona: Mario Barajas

Website: http://www.noe-kaleidoscope.org/pub/

Format was a content-based Kaleidoscope Joint Activity. This action proposed a reconsideration of the concept of lesson plan in education and the way this affects how learning takes place. The final aim was to build a digital library of educational formats, analyzing their rationale and the way they affect how educational activities and settings are designed, in order to promote the development of new formats and the related enabling technologies.

Coordination: Antonio Rizzo, University of Sienna - Spanish coordinator: Mario Barajas

Website: http://www.unisi.it/dida/kaleidoscope/home

PREMA aimed at the deepening of understanding of the socio-cultural and pedagogical factors that impede girls' achievement/performance in mathematics which in turn effect women's under-representation in areas of social and economic importance. This project was particularly concerned with the emergence of the digital divide which appears to be strongly linked to mathematics school performance.

EC, SOCRATES Programme - Action 6.1 and 6.2, Observation, Analysis and Innovation (2005-2007)

Website: http://prema.iacm.forth.gr/main.php

NEMED was a transnational network supported by the Comenius 3 Action of the Socrates Programme of the EU. NEMED brought together educators and researchers from ten European countries, who shared an interest in researching, enhancing and supporting multigrade education in their countries and at the European level.

European Commission – SOCRATES Comenius, Action 3. (2004-2007)
Coordination: Costas Tsolakidis, Aegean University (Greece) - Spanish coordinator: Mario Barajas

Official website: http://www.nemed-network.org/
Local website: http://www.ub.es/euelearning/nemed/indexeng.htm

The aim of MASSIVE was to design a model of support services for European traditional universities to successfully implement the virtual component of teaching, focusing on the following specific objectives:
· To define the conceptual model of virtualisation;
· To identify and classify good practices in the organisation of support services to the
university community regarding university virtual components;
· To explore and compare the elements for transferability;
· To validate the approaches to develop the support services;
· To guarantee the wide dissemination of the practices and use of the model.

European Commission, e-Learning Action (2004-2006) - Code: 2004-35/001-001
Coordination: Isabel Pérez, University of Granada - Spanish coordinator: Mario Barajas

Website: http://www.massive-project.org/

The objective of I Curriculum was to establish a European framework for defining information skills and a curriculum appropriate for living and learning in the digital age: to identify the key metaskills and metaknowledge needed for living in the digital age in detail; to explore digital tools and artifacts and pedagogical practices that could lead to the development of broad digital literacy; to develop a framework for the description of curricula in terms of the information/metaknowledge they encompass; to develop curriculum in information technology that may have more appeal to young women; and to disseminate findings to policy makers, teachers and other educators, as well as the producers of digital resources.

European Commission, SOCRATES-Minerva Action (2002-2004) - Code: AC100783-CT-1-2002-1-GR-
Coordination: Katerina Kikis, FORTH (Greece) - Spanish coordinator: Mario Barajas

Website: http://promitheas.iacm.forth.gr/i-curriculum/
Local website: http://www.ub.es/euelearning/icurriculum/

The project MERLIN looked at establishing a framework for a European-wide discussion on the research done in learning mediated by ICT. By disseminating MERLIN outcomes, the researchers and practitioners together with the Commission and other interested parties, created synergies for promoting a wider knowledge-base in this area. The project allowed the educational community to access a pool of diverse scientific results on different technology-based learning innovations in Europe, and highlighted the social implications of ICT-based learning innovations in the educational systems for better understanding of the emergent knowledge society. MERLIN defined an instrument to identify trends, strengths and weaknesses in research done in the area of ICT-based learning innovations, while contributing to identification of socio-economic issues and needs for future research.

European Commission, V Framework Programme – Key Action Improving the socio-Economic Knowledge Base (2001-2002) - Code: HPHA-CT-2000-00047
Coordinator: Mario Barajas

Website: http://www.ub.es/euelearning/merlin/

With the aim of gathering a group of European specialists to share their opinions with those of IVETTE participants, the University of Barcelona organised the IVETTE Workshop. We were interested in the transformations that traditional Higher Education institutions need to undertake in the near future in order to adapt themselves to the lifelong learning paradigm. These changes need a holistic view and should take into consideration the areas IVETTE proposed for further discussion. The Workshop also provided policy recommendations to the European Commission.

European Commission, V Framework Programme - Human Potential and socio-Economic Knowledge Base (2000-2001) - Code: HPHA-CT-2000-00042
Coordination: Dr. Mario Barajas

Website: http://www.ub.es/euelearning/IVETTE-workshop/