mSchools promotes leadership and digital transformation in schools

• More than 500 education professionals take part in the Changing Education Together seminar 
• The Mobile Learning Awards are given to the most innovative teacher and school-led projects in Catalonia

March 1, 2018

mSchools, the education programme sponsored by Mobile World Capital Barcelona (MWCapital) in partnership with the Regional Government of Catalonia, Barcelona City Hall and GSMA, has hosted Changing Education Together (CET) today. The aim of the seminar, organised within the framework of the GMSA Mobile World Congress, was to encourage reflection on digital transformation in education. The event also included the Mobile Learning Awards (MLA), which are given to the most innovative projects created by teachers and schools in Catalonia using mobile technology in education.

This fourth edition of Changing Education Together gathered more than 500 visitors and education professionals, including school administrators, education representatives and policy makers, among others.

John Hoffman, CEO of GSMA Ltd., Francesca Bria, Commissioner of Digital Technology and Innovation at Barcelona City Hall, and Jordi Puigneró, Secretary of Telecommunications, Cybersecurity and Digital Society at the Regional Government of Catalonia, opened the event, with mSchools Director Albert Forn acting as master of ceremonies. Genís Roca, Founder and President of RocaSalvatella, and Carlos Magro, Vice-president of Asociación Educación Abierta, also took part.

Awards to educational work to promote digital technology

For the sixth year running, mSchools has celebrated the Mobile Learning Awards (MLA), which honour the most innovative projects created by teachers and schools in Catalonia using mobile technology in education. There are two different competition categories:“Best digital learning experiences and proposals in the classroom” and “Most innovative school in Mobile Education”.

– First prize in the “Best digital learning experiences and proposals in the classroom” category:

Project: Instal·lacions elèctriques: dels plànols en 2D a la realitat virtual. (Electrical wiring systems: from 2D diagrams to virtual reality). This project introduces virtual reality in presenting electrical and electronic wiring systems.

School: Institut Comte de Rius in Tarragona. Teacher: Núria Ferré.

– Second prize in the “Best digital learning experiences and proposals in the classroom” category:

Project: STEAM, design thinking, videojocs i impressió 3D a l’aula? Yes, we can. (STEAM, design thinking, videogames and 3D printing in the classroom? Yes, we can). This project is based on creating a videogame that helps to raise awareness of the need to recycle cooking oil.

Schools: Institut Frederic Martí and Escola Carrilet in Palafrugell. Teachers: David Llamas and Domènec Rusca.

– Third prize in the “Best digital learning experiences and proposals in the classroom” category:

Project: Gamifiquem l’aula a primària! L’Antiga Grècia: El viatge a Emporion (Let’s gamify primary school classrooms! Ancient Greece: the voyage to Emporion). This proposal is aimed at children in upper primary education and incorporates elements of the historical and artistic heritage of Empúries through videogames.

School: Escola Vila in Palamós. Teachers: Mercè Vilà and Roser Espelt.

Special Mention for the most inclusive classroom experience in the “Best digital learning experiences and proposals in the classroom” category:

Project: Natusfera Biodiversity Congress, in the scientific-technological field, led by students in Year 1 ESO.

School: Institut Salas i Xandri in Sant Quirze del Vallès. Teachers: Jaume Feliu and Laia Palou.The following schools were the winners in the “Most innovative school in mobile education” category:

• Escola Mossèn Albert Vives, La Seu d’Urgell

• Institut Badalona VII, Badalona

• Escola Puig de les Cadiretes, Llagostera

Additionally, the Parent-Teacher Association at EIP Drassanes School in Barcelona has won recognition for its project Cap al DrassanesLab: Tecnologia i coneixement contra l’escletxa digital (Towards DrassanesLab: technology and knowledge to bridge the digital divide), which was created to reduce inequalities in the access to new technologies.

mSchools has rewarded the winners with two training courses at the European Schoolnet in Brussels. The first focuses on applying new teaching methods using technological resources, while the second centres on innovation and digital transformation in education centres. In this year’s edition, the prize for the Parent-Teacher Association was sponsored by the company Ro-botica, which handed the winner a cheque for €2,000 to buy technological teaching materials in addition to pledging their commitment to developing a custom teaching project for the winning PTA and providing support in the project’s implementation.