Rural Learning for Development: Experiences from Europe

Introduction ................................................................................................................................................................... 9
Main Conference
Introducing the challenges for lifelong learning and development in rural areas ...........................................27
The Essence of Being Rural: Reality and Vision .................................................................................................27
Rural development using Elearning: How learning technologies can help in the adjustment
to a knowledge economy ....................................................................................................................................... 33
Rural school education and educators’ training.......................................................................................................39
Rural Education In Peru: The Role Of Families In Schooling In Andean Communities .............................. 39
Innovative Life Long Learning Approaches Through Romanian Rural Education Project .......................... 49
Creating Virtual Learning Communities of Rural School Teachers ................................................................ 59
Two Distance Education Projects for Sustaining the Training of Teachers in Remote Rural Areas:
the Romanian Experience...................................................................................................................................... 69
Providing Training and Support to Rural School Teachers through New Technologies ..............................79

Higher and adult education in rural Europe ............................................................................................................91
The Role of Regional Universities and Research Centres in Economic
and Human Capital Development: The case of Crete .......................................................................................91
Pursuing Higher Education in the Heart of Europe University of Applied Sciences
Burgenland Campus Pinkafeld.............................................................................................................................. 99
Innovation, Education and Partnership in Peripheral Rural Ireland ............................................................. 103
Usability and Ergonomics Considerations on e-learning of Older Adults ................................................... 115
Personal and professional empowerment in rural areas ......................................................................................127
One career pathway from a remote rural school to a professional careerr................................................ 127
From Distance Learning to Blended Learning A programme Incorporating Multiple
Objects to Facilitate eLearning – Examples from V-learn.ie ......................................................................... 131
Career Guidance for Schools: A different Approach ..................................................................................... 143
Rural Development in Serranva de Ronda, Andalucia: Projects and Activities .......................................... 149
Empowering the farmer and the tourism small entrepreneur ...........................................................................161
The YPAITHROS project .................................................................................................................................... 161
The Impact of Education on the Productivity of Farmers: A Survey Analysis ............................................ 167
Virtual Communities of Practice for SMEs: Opportunities and Implications
for the Tourism Sector in Rural Areas ...............................................................................................................177
Approaches for learning and development in rural Europe ................................................................................185
Lifelong Learning, Empowerment and the Internet ....................................................................................... 185
VideoBridge: Learning where we live, learning what we want .................................................................... 195
The Problem Solving Methods To Support Teacher’s and Student’s Life Long Learning ....................... 197
Robotics-Enhanced Constructivist Learning: The TERECoP Project .......................................................... 207
Rural communities and governance ........................................................................................................................215
E-Government and Simulating Rural Regions: Towards Microsimulation-Based
Socio-Economic Spatial Decision Support Systems ......................................................................................... 215
Establishing an Eco-efficiency Analysis Program for the Area of the Aegean ............................................ 225
Post-socialist community action in Lithuania ................................................................................................... 235
E-Government services for the development of small & medium enterprises in rural areas:
the rural-EGOV approach .................................................................................................................................. 245
Bridging the digital gap ..............................................................................................................................................251
The One Laptop per Child Project:Providing Children around the World
with New Opportunities to Explore, Experiment and Express Themselves .............................................. 251
The RURAL WINGS project: Bridging rural Europe’s digital divide and introducing
a new learning culture to remote and isolated areas ..................................................................................... 257
Creation of Telecenters to Support Learning, Entrepreneurship and Access
to Information Society, in Isolated Areas: The TELEACCESS Project ......................................................... 263
Interactive Services and Scenario Specifications for Satellite-enabled Education ...................................... 273
The C@R Project: Rural Living Labs for the Collaborative Creation of Services - Enhancing
Rural Development by People Working and Living in Rural Areas .............................................................. 285
Workshops
Bringing and managing change – the community empowerment Rural Wings workshops ............................297
The Rural Wings Scenarios of Use: Tools empowering Change Agents in the Rural Communities ....... 297
Technology Enhanced Music Education in Remote Areas: Supporting the Teaching of
Wind Instrument in Rural Areas through the Virtual European Music School (VEMUS) ......................... 313
WebRadio and WebTV: Giving a Media Voice to the Local Community ..................................................... 319
A Model to Strengthen the Community Voice in Ireland’s Local Development Process:
The ADOPT Model .............................................................................................................................................. 321
The interplay of local tradition and rural development initiatives in Ireland: A case-study .................... 331

Simulation Learning Experiences in Rural SMEs ............................................................................................. 347
Enhancing Social Capital as well as Human Capital in Remote Rural Communities .................................. 351
The Educational Role of the Culture Association of a Remote Small Rural Community .......................... 363
Lifelong Learning in rural Greece - the local voices workshop ..........................................................................367
The contribution of Laboratorial Centre of Natural Sciences (EKFE) in the promotion
of laboratorial teaching of Natural Sciences in Chios ..................................................................................... 367
The Science Museum of Chios as a challenge to enrich the scientific and cultural life
of the inhabitants of the island of Chios and the wider area of Voreio Aigaio ........................................... 369
Pupils’ Learning Experiences n the Primary Schools of the Greek Countryside ....................................... 375