Introducing Large-Scale Innovation in Schools

Education reform initiatives tend to promise higher effectiveness in classrooms especially when emphasis is given to e-learning and digital resources. Practical changes in classroom realities or school organization, however, are lacking. A major European initiative entitled Open Discovery Space (ODS) examined the challenge of modernizing school education via a large-scale implementation of an open-scale methodology in using technology-supported innovation. The present paper describes this innovation scheme which involved schools and teachers all over Europe, embedded technology-enhanced learning into wider school environments and provided training to teachers. Our implementation scheme consisted of three phases: (1) stimulating interest, (2) incorporating the innovation into school settings and (3) accelerating the implementation of the innovation. The scheme’s impact was monitored for a school year using five indicators: leadership and vision building, ICT in the curriculum, development of ICT culture, professional development support, and school resources and infrastructure. Based on about 400 schools, our study produced four results: (1) The growth in digital maturity was substantial, even for previously high scoring schools. This was even more important for indicators such as vision and leadership” and “professional development.” (2) The evolution of networking is presented graphically, showing the gradual growth of connections achieved. (3) These communities became core nodes, involving numerous teachers in sharing educational content and experiences: One out of three registered users (36 %) has shared his/her educational resources in at least one community. (4) Satisfaction scores ranged from 76 % (offer of useful support through teacher academies) to 87 % (good environment to exchange best practices). Initiatives such as ODS add substantial value to schools on a large scale.