The needs addressed by the project

It is known that, due to the progressive pace of the new technologies, the Internet developed from an informative instrument into a formative tool for all learners. However, the distance learning, no matter what level, increasingly involves the use of Internet. In fact, statistics showed that the need for this type of courses has boomed.

However, it is obvious that the Internet - as resource and support for web-based learning development - hadn't been exploited at its full technological potential so far. The main causes, shown by many European reports and surveys, seems to be:

• Insufficiently developed competences of those designing Internet-based courses - Web-based Trainers (WBT). There are two critical competences that the WBT must have at the same time: technical competences (how to better use the new technologies to build web-based courses) and pedagogical (how to better design, deliver and evaluate web-based courses, using specific pedagogical approaches and methods available to a web-trainer).
• The chances and opportunities for the WBT to share the achieved experiences are low. Every WBT and/or institution involved in the Internet-based education tries to build their own platforms for web-based course. This way, the experience gained by each of them isn't disseminated and, therefore, the horizons for the further development of the Web/based ODL are not widened.

Keeping in mind these arguments, the project comes up with the initiative to build an instrument that will aim at developing both the technical and pedagogical competences of the WBT, building in the same time a complex "resource center" that will provide them all the instruments which will enable them to raise the courses quality

Furthermore, an "open virtual WBT community", ("self-developing" also) will be created and accessible to any WBT who wants to: post his articles, present demo modules, correspondence with other persons who share the same interests, etc., that will certainly encourage the creativity, the initiative and competition spirit in this top area.

Building an eEurope is not a "pure concept" anymore, is a reality. Documents, action-plans, measures, etc. are stating the clear and strong commitment of all the actors in EU for orienting their joined efforts towards building an ICT society, for which eLearning is recognized to be the core.

In Romania as well, the development of eLearning is one of the top priorities for the educational policies. In this direction, the initiative of the Education and Research Ministry to provide computers to all the Romanian schools, clearly shows the firm engagement of all the responsible actors in this matter. Furthermore the number of initiatives to create virtual schools and high schools, centres that develop web-based ODL courses, have grown larger and this a positive signal in the direction of correlating the Romanian learning system with the current European practices.

The main target group that our project envisages are those who (currently or intend to) design and deliver Internet-based training courses. The growing need for this kind of courses, leads to the initiation and development of a new profession: Web-Based Trainers (WBT). They truly need "special" competences that must be developed and continuously updated.

This is a really hard-to-reach target group, despite the fact there are many places on or off the Internet where we might find "the work" of these people. Many schools, colleges, universities, adult learning and vocational centres, software companies, etc are offering web-based courses, but those who design, programme, maintain and evaluate web platforms supporting those courses, rarely come to the light. These represent an important part of the target group, because the quality of the courses developed and delivered depends a lot upon their competences.

Another part of the target group are comprising people who, because of the lack of one or both of the critical stated competences, are unable (or inhibited) to develop web-based courses, and therefore incapable of fully exploit their professional potential. We are referring both to technical people (programmers) that are unable to build effective platform for web-based courses because they do not know what (and how to apply) a pedagogical approach that best suites to course objectives, and especially to teachers (no matter what level or type) that do not possess the minimum ICT literacy that enable them to approach web-based ODL learning for enhancing their pedagogical potential.

Disabled people are a "special" target group, due to the impact of web-based learning to their education. For this reason, an active role in the partnership will be played by the Transilvania University of Brasov (Romania) that will make sure the project's results will meet the specific needs of web-based education for disabled people. They will also elaborate a report upon the application and spreading of web-based learning in disabled persons' specific education at European level, highlighting the opportunities and best practices identified.

Specific aims of the project

The specific aim of the project is to create a powerful and flexible tool, within the framework of an Internet platform, capable of providing to WBT all the necessary information and instruction for building high quality courses. Through its informational content (in the concrete form of analysis of the European best practices in eLearning, periodical articles and reviews, presentations of the technical up-brings in the field, etc). WBT have the possibility to continuously up-date their knowledge in this area and enrich their experience. The courses packages, comprises in the platform and designed for the specific needs of the WBT will greatly contribute at raising the opportunities for the continue development of their competence.

From this perspective, the major objectives of the project are:

• to contribute at the quality improvement of the web-based courses, at European level, streamlining this way to the EU policies and initiatives in the direction of stimulating the eLearning and specifically the Internet-based ODL system.
• to create the premises of lifelong development of WBT' competences, by developing interactive on-line courses tailored on their specific needs, as well as promoting and maintaining a close contact with their changing needs
• to create the premises of an more effective use of the educational resources of the Internet by taking into consideration new methods and pedagogical instruments enabled by the current technological development (e.g. the continuously larger use of videoconference will enhance the use of experiential learning methods over the Internet) and not sufficiently exploited in the pedagogical structure of the existing ODL system
• to create an active and open community of the WBT, that will contribute to the raise of competitiveness and continue development of the web-based learning, as well as to finding new technical and pedagogical solutions for designing high quality courses, accessible in the same time to a larger number of users.
• to raise the chances for access at ODL specific instruction for broader categories of teachers and trainers, contributing this way at diminishing the existing differences between various education institutions (schools, private universities vs. public universities) or between different geographical areas in Europe.
• to contribute at improving and enlarging the offer and spreading (as area of applicability) of the Internet-based courses

The project will focus on developing both of the key competencies for WBT, by offering a flexible educational instrument, supported by Internet and new ICT technologies that will enable WBT to better:

• use the new technologies to build web-based courses
• design, deliver and evaluate web-based courses, using effective pedagogical approaches and methods

Thus, the Objectives and Priorities set forth in the Call of Proposals at which WBT WORLD is addressing to, are:

		Objective 2: To improve the quality of, and access to, continuing vocational training and the lifelong learning acquisition of skills and competencies. Priority 4 - New technologies: exploiting the potential of information and communication technologies (ICT); Proposals that will contribute to: the development of the necessary skills for the pedagogic use of ICT and its potential in vocational training actions and products at all levels and types of training; the development of pedagogic skills for ICT trainers.

In addition, the results of the project will create the basis for enhancing the Internet-based ODL Vocational System, through encouraging and supporting the lifelong development of WBT' competences.

Furthermore, the creation of the "virtual community" of web-based courses developers will certainly facilitate the first-hand contact with their continuous changing needs, which will set the best premises for anticipating the skills requirement, as well as for properly developing their competences according to these requirements.

Original contribution to existing European and national vocational training systems and practices

At European level, one of the main objectives of the eLearning initiative is to train European teachers in digital technologies and speed up their networking. Supporting this initiative, there have been developed with encouraging results numerous actions and measures at national level in the member states.

In Finland, the information Strategy for Education and Research 2000 - 2004 sets important objectives for the teaching profession. The aims have been that all educational establishments should devise a strategy for educational use of ICT till 2002, and over half of all staff in education should have the knowledge and skills needed to use ICT for teaching purposes. The OPE.FI project for teacher training in three steps is also a successful initiative in implementing these strategies.

The National Plan for Educational Technologies for 2000-2003 in Italy , aims also at strengthening the professional skills of teachers by providing in-service training, and also the necessary tools and services. FADOL issued by Ministry of Labour is also a successful initiative.

At European level, the Internet-based courses are highly supported through the educational programmes, Socrates-Minerva and Leonardo da Vinci that bring significant contribution to the European ODL system. Generally, though, most of the actions have been focused on developing basic skills in ICT use by trainers and teachers. Yet, so far their majority are not able to develop courses that would effectively take full advantage of the potential offered by ICT.

On the other hand, it has been acknowledged that the majority of those who develop educational applications on the Internet are persons who do not have the necessary pedagogical competences (or if they do, are not enough) for designing effective courses. This fact is also confirmed by European officials (n.b. Corrine Hermant) who, in a recent synthesis, show that " the pedagogical issues have not been addressed sufficiently and deserve more attention". Another aspect is revealed through the HECTIC Group (Higher Education Consultation in Technologies of Information and Communication), who pointed out that the pedagogical value of e-learning services in the Higher Education is most likely to be enhanced when collaboration, exchange of experience and collective building of new knowledge are given more emphasis than just content-acquisition as such. But it is obvious that this is also true for the other kinds of educations.

Keeping in mind these arguments, the main innovative contributions of WBT WORLD to existing European vocational training system is that:

• It correlates the good European practices and experiences in the Internet-based ODL, ensuring the premises of the quality development and facilitates as well the access to the benefits of this education system.
• It unitary approaches the development of the pedagogical and technical competences, stimulating the correlation of the pedagogical approach with the technical solutions of the Internet implementation of courses, bringing this way its contribution at joint development of educational applications and technological innovations.
• Encourages the development of a community of interests for those who develop such courses, stimulating the competitiveness and the development of the web-based ODL at European level as well as its spreading in various types and levels of education.

An Internet-based course is not an innovation anymore. The pioneers in this field, such as the multimedia courses for foreign courses, had a strong impact upon the distance education, fully proving their efficiency when applied by learners. The Internet-based ODL has succeeded in bringing the school, or at least a "part" of it, in peoples' homes. If up until some years ago, it seemed impossible to attend the courses of a school from home, (or from any other place at hand), now it's quite common. Moreover, for some important social categories of people disadvantaged by the classical education systems (such as disabled persons, housekeeping and nursing women, seniors, etc.), the Internet-based ODL is literally a second chance in life.

Still, what is innovative in the WBT WORLD project is the fact that these Internet courses, regarded as technology and methodology of designing and delivery, become a course topic in the attempt of developing the necessary competences of a WBT, contributing at the quality enhancement of this education system. Thus, one of the innovative aspects of the project is the target group itself, meaning the web-based trainers whom the project is addressed to. Being in the middle of the constitutive process as profession, they do not have dedicated educational systems. Still there aren't courses directly addressed to this target group, or if there are, they are clearly insufficient.

The instrument alone, as an "wide open resource of learning and development for the WBT" is by itself innovative because it joins in the same place both the necessary instruments for developing the basic competences of the WBT, as well as the adequate resources, enabling them to design high quality courses (exercises data base, software, articles, etc.).

The approach of the educational needs of the WBT from the European perspective enhanced the innovative character of the instrument developed within the project. This way, the partnership created will continuously monitor the impact of the platform upon the WBT education across Europe, as far as the necessary competences are concerned, being able to anticipate their instruction needs and to develop courses for these needs, keeping up with the pace of the ICT changes.