Erasmus+ Project: LINNEO

LINNEO is framed in the field of Technology Enhanced Learning and aims to innovate Natural Sciences (NS) education by
creating a web-based platform nurtured with high quality and engaging Digital Educational Resources (DER) for primary
education. It will target 2 categories of users: teachers and students in primary education. The platform will support formal
and non-formal learning experiences, and it will be developed with appropriate gamification features (Deterding et al., 2011)
to guide children in the exploration of the available DER. This approach will guarantee access to the DER to a wide number
of children, especially to those who cannot access on site educational experiences (due to health problems, social
disadvantage, etc.) and enrich their digital competences. The platform will be also endowed with resources for supporting
teachers in its use, to sustain the uptake of innovative methods and tools beyond the project boundaries
SUPPORTING TEACHERS, SCHOOL LEADERS AND OTHER TEACHING PROFESSIONS

The pandemic made even more evident that teachers should be able to effectively integrate digital technologies in their
teaching practice (OECD, 2021). This process needs a redefinition of the overall teaching methodology and an accurate
design of learning activities (Ott et al., 2015). LINNEO aims to train teachers in adopting the digital resources developed
through:
– an online course, piloted with the teachers of the partner schools, that will remain available for future users.
– a set of reusable activities and lesson plans for the design and implementation of blended or distance lessons integrating
LINNEO digital resources.

Finally, LINNEO will foster teachers’ collaboration by supporting the creation of a community for primary school teachers
that will build up on the e-Twinning platform. This aligns with one of the principles of successful professional training
programmes, that is to encourage the development of teachers’ learning communities (Schleicher, 2016).

PROMOTING INTEREST AND EXCELLENCE IN STEM AND STEM APPROACH
Technology has already been recognized as a key component of education in STEM (Dogan&Robin, 2015), and has
become even more important recently. Limited access to on-site education (due to emergency measures, children’s health
issues or social disadvantage) prevents students from experiential learning (Kolb, 1984), particularly important in the NS
field (Gorghiu&Santi, 2016). LINNEO grounds on the collaboration of Natural Sciences Edutainment Institutions with
educational institutions and a digital company to develop a student-centered system supporting technology-based NS
education. The project will provide teachers with resources aimed at involving students in educational experiences based on
exploration, discovery, and active participation. Resources will be tailored to the diverse students’ needs and support
conceptual change that is fundamental to science learning (Nadelson et al., 2018).

The project will pursue the following OBJECTIVES:
1. To increase the availability of high quality and engaging digital educational resources in NSs, targeting primary school
students.
2. To reduce the gap in the teachers’ competence as to the integration of digital technologies in their teaching practice from
the technological and methodological viewpoint
3. To increase the access to educational activities organised by NSEIs due to restrictions linked to societal emergencies or
specific disadvantages
4. To increase the cooperation opportunities between NSEIs, educational institutions and digital companies
The LINNEO platform ADDRESS DIGITAL TRASFORMATION by strengthening the readiness of Primary Schools [PSs] to
implement effective digital education in NS. This will be done supporting the implementation of a longer-term approach by
making available innovative resources and SUPPORTING TEACHERS in the process of integration. Finally the project will
PROMOTE INTEREST AND EXCELLENCE IN STEMS by making available resources aimed at involving students in
educational experiences based on exploration, discovery, and active participation also for those who cannot visit NSEIs
onsite.

The partners in this project are:

ITALY – Costa Edutainment SPA

ITALY – SI4LIFE – Scienza E Impresa Insiemeper Migliorare La Qualita’ Della Vita SCRL

LITHUANIA – Vilniaus Universitetas

LITHUANIA – Gedimino Miesto Mokykla

ITALY – Consiglio Nazionale Delle Ricerche

ITALY – Istituto Comprensivo Staglieno

MALTA – Be2Bit

MALTA – Newark School Malta