On 4-5 April 2019 UNESCO Institute for Information Technologies in Education (UNESCO IITE) took part in the first SELFIE Forum: Teaching and Learning in the Digital Age, held in Madrid (Spain). The event was organized by the European Commission in cooperation with the Ministry of Education, Culture and Sports of Spain. The main objectives of the Forum were to discuss practices in the use of the new online tool SELFIE by European schools and next steps in the further implementation of SELFIE in the school learning system in order to ensure quality education for sustainable development.
SELFIE (Self-reflection on Effective Learning by Fostering the use of Innovative Educational Technologies) is a free, online self-reflection tool, developed by the European Commission (EC) in close cooperation with a team of experts from schools, education ministries, research institutes and other organizations across Europe. UNESCO IITE is one of the partners of the European Commission for the development of the SELFIE and the national coordinator of its implementation in Russia (on the basis of UNESCO associated schools). SELFIE is designed for primary, secondary and vocational schools in Europe and beyond. The tool helps schools assess how efficiently they use new educational technologies in their work, see where improvement is needed, prioritize activities and define next steps in the introduction of innovated digital technologies into teaching and learning process. SELFIE is currently available in 25 European languages, including Russian, and can be accessed at https://schools-go-digital.jrc.ec.europa.eu/school/registry.
In total, the Forum was attended by over 200 people from European countries – representatives of the European Commission, experts of ministries of education, researchers, heads of educational institutions, teachers, national and school SELFIE coordinators, etc. The program of the Forum included panel discussions and workshops. The participants considered best practices in applying SELFIE in Europe, shared feedbacks on working with the tool in their countries, discussed the importance of using the tool for improving the efficiency of education and enhancing sustainable development of schools, made suggestions for motivating and supporting schools in the next stages of SELFIE implementation. During the Forum, UNESCO IITE Director Tao Zhan discussed further collaborations with EC SELFIE team.
