Abstract:

This paper explores the significant role of Digital Educational Repositories and Platforms in developing meaningful learning experiences and fostering collaboration between schools and communities. It focuses on two innovative platforms developed under the "Partnership for Science Education (PAFSE)" project (pafse.eu), the Photodentro PAFSE Digital Educational Repository and the “e-me” virtual collaborative platform.

Photodentro PAFSE (photodentro.pafse.eu) is a multilingual European repository that hosts a wide array of STEM digital learning resources aimed at public health literacy and education. It offers Open Educational Resources (OERs) that are freely available under the CC license, thereby ensuring access to high-quality educational materials to all users regardless of their geographical or socio-economic backgrounds. In particular, it hosts Digital Learning Objects, such as interactive simulations, visualizations, and educational games, which not only captivate students' attention but also foster motivation and engagement. Additionally, it offers educational scenarios with inquiry-based and project-based learning activities, which allow skills development through active exploration and real-world connections. Advanced search functionalities and educational metadata further support personalized learning by enabling teachers to find resources tailored to different learning styles and individual needs. The repository supports partnerships allowing authorized users from various organizations to upload, document, and share resources in multiple languages, thus making them accessible to a broader audience via its multilingual interface.

The e-me Digital Education Platform, originally developed as an official platform for the Greek Ministry of Education, has expanded under the PAFSE project into a multilingual European platform available in eight languages. e-me is a social, cloud-based, collaborative Personal Learning Environment, providing a digital workspace to facilitate connection, communication, and collaboration. Designed with a user-centered approach, it supports learning in formal, non-formal, and informal settings. Its European edition (e-me4all.eu) is offered as a free service to support collaborations among schools, teachers, students, universities, and the educational community in general across Europe and beyond.

e-me facilitates social learning by allowing users to create profiles, build social networks, and communicate through various channels. These features promote the development of essential 21st-century skills, including critical thinking, collaboration, and leadership. e-me’s digital collaboration spaces, known as Hives, enable users to create private or public groups for teamwork and collective knowledge construction. e-me can also strengthen school-community partnerships, through Hives for joint projects, resource sharing, and discussions. Additionally, it offers a suite of extendable learning apps, supporting a wide range of educational activities, from the creation of interactive resources, to e-portfolio development for tracking personal achievements as well as the creation of collaborative and personal blogs.

By exploring the Photodentro PAFSE Repository and the e-me Digital Educational Platform, this paper highlights how digital repositories and educational platforms can contribute to enriching learning experiences and strengthening school-community partnerships.

Keywords:

Digital Educational Repositories, Virtual Learning Environments (VLE), Open Educational Resources (OERs), Collaborative platforms, Digital Learning Objects (DLOs), School-Community partnerships, STEM, Public Health Education.