1. TEACHER EDUCATION FOR 21ST CENTURY TEACHERS:
A Focus on Technology and Collaboration to Improve the Quality of Education in the Americas
UPDATE
SEMINAR and ONLINE COURSE REPORTS
Dr. Marva Ribeiro, Project Coordinator – Caribbean
Adriana Vilela, Education Specialist, OAS/DEC

2. SEMINAR REPORT Teacher Education for 21st Century Teachers:
Re-visioning Teacher Education in the Americas
October 29-31, 2009
Trinidad

3. Number of Participants
93 participants from 33 countries
35 participants from T&T
Staff of the OAS Department of Education and Culture
Staff of the International Cooperation Initiatives Unit of the TT MOE
FEMCIDI representative

4. PURPOSE The purpose of the seminar was to:
Bring together stakeholders from a wide cross section of universities and higher education institutions to rethink teacher education for the future
Reflect on the achievements of the OAS Teacher Education four-year project
Inform participants about the online, capacity building activities of the New project.

5. Papers were presented under six themes/tracks:
Recruitment and selection of
future teachers
Initial formation and teacher
preparation
Once in the classroom:
In-service teacher education
Collaboration:
public-private partnership
Teacher evaluation and
quality assurance
The teacher educator:
mentor and role model

6. Particularly helpful or interesting presentations
New Mexico Teacher Licensing experience
Teacher education system in Brasil
The innovations in teacher education in Argentina
The public-private partnership in TVET in Jamaica
Presentations which described the utilization of ICT in teacher education

7. Evaluation The seminar received high ratings from participants
Participants felt that there should have been more room for discussion
Reflections shared suggest that what was shared was relevant and applicable to most countries present

8. ONLINE COURSES FOR TEACHER EDUCATORS
Aimed at demystifying Information and Communication Technology integration for pre-service teacher educators across Latin America and the Caribbean. Through active discussion and practical activities participants will learn ways to bring collaborative technology and 21st century teaching and learning into their practice.

9. OBJECTIVES Teacher Educators in this course will:
Gain an understanding of foundations for 21st Century teaching and learning
Experience hands-on integration of ICT and collaborative learning into their teaching practice
Recognize the benefits of international collaboration and knowledge sharing
Develop a portfolio of ICT resources relevant to their future work 

10. STRUCTURE Ten weeks guided instruction (2 facilitators)
30 participants per course
Asynchronous
Active participation & discussion in forums
Scaffolding structure (building on learning and skills)

11. DATES Courses in English: Courses in Spanish
January 2009 (currently active with participation of Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Guyana and Suriname)
April 2009
Courses in Spanish
August 2009

12. PARTICIPATION
Countries submit a written proposal through the Ministries of education.
Ministries designate a country coordinator who serves as suppor for participating teachers.
Ministries invite teachers to participate.
OAS assigns scholarships to selected teachers.

13. PARTNER ORGANIZATIONS
ENGLISH COURSES
International Education and Resource Network (iEARN), a not for profit organization with 20 years experience developing online teacher professional development and creating online teacher and student communities.

14. PARTNER ORGANIZATIONS
SPANISH COURSES
Fundación Evolución, a not for profit based in Argentina with Ibero American Outreach.
They have 18 years experience in ICT professional development.
NOTE: Both courses are aligned to the UNESCO ICT-CFT

15. Thank you!