University of Helsinki – Faculty of Educational Sciences will apply latest methods for bridging the gap between formal education and informal learning with already tested models related to responsible research, sustainable developments and interaction between society and academic world. The unit for out-of-school education can give the impact related to research and evidence-based standardized methods for digital learning. Principles of evidence-based education are utilized in practical work supported by latest research related to on-line virtual, augmented, and mixed reality. University of Helsinki has also a wide national and international network of teachers, pedagogics, and educational administrators.

Ellinogermaniki Agogi (EA) is a school in the greater area of Athens, Greece. Its Research and Development Department focuses on the design, implementation, and support of pedagogical and technological innovation in educational practice, through work within the school and through national, European and international collaborations with numerous educational and research institutions. In more than 20 years of activity, EA has coordinated or been involved in numerous national and international collaborative projects, networks and initiatives, which have established EA as a leading pioneer in innovative approaches to learning, teaching and teacher professional development, especially in connection to science education and educational technology.

The Arktikum Science Centre is located in the Arktikum House together with the Provincial Museum of Lapland. Over 100 000 persons visit the Arktikum House every year, more than half of them are tourists from abroad. The Science Centre exhibitions display the results of Arctic research interactively and inform about the nature and people in the Arctic region. The Science exhibition unit is also responsible to design, implement and offer education-related activities to schools and teachers. It also takes part in the pedagogical training of the teachers’ students of the university’s faculty of education. The Science Centre is active member of the STEM of Lapland which is led by the University of Lapland.

The Natural History Museum of Crete of the University of Crete (NHMC-UOC) is a pioneering institute at national and European level been established in 1980. It has nine fully operational departments and occupies a significant number of specialists in biological and geological diversity. It is the only NHM in Greece, dealing with all aspects of natural environment. In its permanent Exhibition Halls, the natural environment of the eastern Mediterranean area with special emphasis on Greece and Crete, is displayed. NHMC-UOC pursues special interest in Integrated Learning Strategy Plan for the active diffusion of the knowledge accumulated to all sectors of the society including Formal and Informal Education, Life Long Learning, Editions and Public Environmental Awareness activities focusing to engage new audiences.

The Museo Galileo – Istituto e Museo di Storia della Scienza (IMSS), located in the centre of Florence, Italy, is one of the foremost international institutions in the History of Science, combining a noted museum of scientific instruments and an institute dedicated to the research, documentation and dissemination of the history of science. The museum, the specialized library, the archives, the multimedia and photographic laboratories provide an integrated whole in the service of diffusing scientific culture. The museum has also a rich experience in offering numerous educational services and activities aimed at schools and families along with a multiannual participation in local and European projects.

The Nobel Prize Museum is located in Stockholm, Sweden, home of the Nobel Prize. Our museum shows that great ideas, hard work and cooperation really can change the world. The courage, creativity and perseverance of the Nobel Laureates can inspire and give us hope for the future. Based on the Nobel Prize’s unique combination of fields – natural sciences, literature and peace – the Nobel Prize Museum offers exhibitions, school programs, lectures and dialogues about the great issues of our time. We are a small museum with vast content and a large, international audience. We also run an international network for teachers that annually meet in Stockholm for a four-day conference. Now, we´re developing virtual guided tours, digital school programs and online seminars for teachers, in order to make our exhibitions and our instructional resources accessible and even more inspirational to visitors, schools and teachers from all over the world.

An integrated methodological framework describing a novel cooperation scheme between school and informal science learning organisations (science centres, science museums and archives) for enhancing the digital readiness of the educational community. It is aimed at helping educators develop their digital competences and skills, and design pathways and tools related to virtual interactions with informal learning environments, following specifications based on Universal Design for Learning (UDL) in order to offer equal opportunities to all students in the face of unpredictable challenges such as the current pandemic.

Α collection of innovative educational activities following the Open Schooling Model by offering access to unique informal learning scientific resources to teachers and students organised under a systematic pedagogical framework focused on virtual visits to science museums and science centres. These activities will be based on the principles of Responsible Research and Innovation (RRI) and the Universal Design of Learning (UDL), incorporating instructional materials derived from the exhibits and the exhibit-based educational programmes from the participating science centres and museums. This high-quality and inclusive digital material, comprising of structured materials, images, videos, 3D representations and animations of exhibits, is aimed to enhance both formal and informal learning processes for different ages, interests and curriculum groups.

A modular training programme with innovative materials and apps aimed at helping teachers develop digitally enhaced open educational resources through the use of an intuitive platform in order to continue delivering high-quality educational services in the time of the pandemic. The design of the training programme is based on three main axes to facilitate the uptake of the VIRTUAL PATHWAYS approach: a) teaching science by inquiry will help teachers organise effectively their instruction while realizing virtual explorations and field trips with their students; b) motivating teachers to adopt inquiry-based techniques and activities in their classrooms; and c) offering access to a unique collection of open educational resources linked to the science curricula, expanding therefore the limitations of classroom instruction by involving students in endless scientific explorations, discoveries and natural phenomena.

The VIRTUAL PATHWAYS Roadmap will demonstrate how the worlds of educational and technological research and development, school communities, and formal and informal education stakeholders can be brought together, mobilized and facilitated to interact and collaborate towards generating meaningful and sustainable educational innovation, opening paths to the desired future of today’s education. The Roadmap will also offer a vision of what can be achieved with adequate investment and will also provide detailed recommendations on how to achieve that vision, including a plan with clear targets and priorities, clear research objectives, and a concrete management plan that will ensure continuous evaluation and feedback that can, in turn, inform future actions based on the Open Schooling methodology responding to the specific needs of schools across Europe.

Read the report online here