ENHANCING TEACHERS’ ICT SKILLS THROUGH THE PRIMETECH PROJECT

The paper is based on the PRIMETECH project (2016-1-DE03-KA201-023041), funded by European Commission under the Erasmus + programme. The project meets teachers’ most critical needs related to the development of their digital skills and competences in response to the digital revolution. The paper presents the project’s objectives, target groups, research and methodology on which its main tool, the Technology Enhanced Teaching Code – Framework, is based on.

The project aims:
- to create the Technology Enhanced Teaching Competence Code with benchmarks and indicators against which teachers’ practices, knowledge and skills are assessed and validated.
- to design and implement the PRIMETECH professional development programme for teachers with in-built ICT training offered both on-line and school-based.
- to design a dynamic, interactive and powerful tool eco-system open platform providing e-learning, e-connectivity and e-communication functionalities accompanied by learning modules, training material, guides etc.

The direct target group of teachers and the indirect group of primary students benefit from the implementation of the project at a transnational level; nowadays developing comprehensive professional programmes in the digital field cannot be achieved without the exchange of information, identification of good practices and complementarity of expertise. The project’s tools enable teachers to deal with diversity and use innovative pedagogies and ICT tools in their teaching in an optimal manner.

The transnational implementation of the project help partner countries utilize EU tools (the ECVET) and mechanisms (the OPEN BADGE) for validation while promoting various Erasmus+ priorities, such as strengthening educators’ profiles by developing digital competences, creating synergies, digitalizing learning and promoting the use of ICT as a driver for systemic change to increase the quality and relevance of education.