Project Management Information

INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATIONS EUROPEAN EDUCATION PROJECT
SOCRATES COMMUNITY PROGRAMME COMENIUS ACTION 1

"THE RIVER'S PLACE IN THE HISTORY AND IN THE CULTURE OF THE LANDS"

Background
The three year project is funded by the European Community. The partners G. Armellini, Rome; Frederiksbourg Gymnasium, Hillerød (near Copenhagen) Federico Mayor Zaragoza, Seville; Lycee Paul Vincensini, Bastia (Corsica), France. Stevenson College and Medio School Manin (Rome).
The project to investigate the historical role that has been played by European rivers in helping to facilitate travel, trade, and socio- economic and cultural development, at both regional and European level. And to assess the resulting impact of industrialisation, urbanisation and agriculture on the river environment.

Desired Educational Outcomes
To provide a European study context which will help students to develop a general knowledge and understanding of:

a specific knowledge and understanding of: To provide a European study context which will help teachers to: Physical Outcomes
The partnership will produce the following teacher/student resources for dissemination to all interested parties: Dissemination of the project findings
The partnership will take actions to ensure that the findings of the project are adequately disseminated to all potentially interested agencies. The feasibility of holding an exhibition of the project findings will also be investigated.

Progress Report
During the first year of the project an initial development meeting was held in Hillerod in December 1996. Subsequent development meetings have taken place in Seville and Rome during March and May 1997 respectively.
These meetings have led to significant progress being made towards reaching agreement on the design, organisation and management of the projec and are detiled below. The students of the partnership will begin work on the project in September/October. The co-ordinators will meet in Bastia during November 1997. A further meeting of the partnership is planned to take place in Edinburgh during March 1998.

MANAGEMENT STRUCTURE, ORGANISATION & ROLES

          Project Manager Roles

The Project Manager (Claudio Federico): The key management role, to be chairman of the project steering group, to liaise with the college and specialist co-ordinators and to advise and monitor progress.

The project steering group (co-ordinators from each college): To meet regularly to develop the strategy for managing and carrying out the project and to monitor progress. Each member will be responsible for directing and monitoring the progress of the project in their own college and for liaison with other co-ordinators. They will produce progress reports for the steering group meetings.

The specialist Co-ordinators (appointed by the steering group to manage the specialist components of the project): To manage those aspects of the project which require technical co-ordination such as the E. Mail, CD-ROM, Video and text production. To liaise with the teaching and technical staff in the partnercolleges, to provide specialist technical support and advice. They will produce progress reports for the project steering group meetings.

College Tutors (Named key contact teachers involved in project work with students): To communicate with other project teachers in their own college and to liaise with other contact teachers in the partner colleges, to send and receive, electronically, project information and advice from contact tutors in other colleges.

Contact Students (Named key contact students in each college): To communicate with other project students in their own college and to liaise with other contact students at the other colleges, to send and receive, electronically, project information and advice from students in the other colleges.

It is essential that the content of the project is specified in a way that allows it to be accommodated within the existing curriculum of each school. The project has been designed to allow each school some freedom in terms of the breadth and depth of content. Similar consideration has to be given to photography, video and information technology inputs.
This design requirement will be achieved by agreeing a general investigative approach based on what is common to the curriculum of most of the partners (see appendix). Individual partners will have the option to decide the breadth and depth of study, as required, to meet the specific needs of their own curriculum.

The project will have 3 phases as follows:

Phase 1 May1997 - September 1997
Production of a project brochure outlining the aims and objectives of the project and describing the members of the partnership.

Phase 2 October 1997- June 1998
This phase requires the students in each college to undertake and complete a study of their own river and region, and produce a report of their project for the partnership.

The report would comprise 2 sections.

Phase 3 September 1998 - June 1999

(I) September - December
Students of each college will be provided with copies of the reports from each of the partner colleges. They will then be required to construct a European River Project report.

(II) January - March
Fredriksborg (the publications editor) in the partnership will receive copies of all of the European River Project reports and will then edit them to produce a final, single, partnership report. This will also form the basis of information for inclusion in the CD ROM and Video to be produced by Armellini and Stevenson respectively.

(III) April - June
Production of the final products (Video, CD-ROM, Text.) by the designated partners. An end of project exhibition will take place in June, if money can be found to pay for staff and students to attend.
 

 
 

PROPOSED OUTLINE ACTION PLAN

PHASE 1 : MAY 97 - JUNE 98

The historical and cultural interest