Home

Background Information

Goals of the Programme

GEMS Schools in Macedonia

Macedonian GEMS Team

GEMS Benefits

Statistics

GEMS Impact

GEMS Support

GEMS Stories

Evaluation

Background Information on GEMS Programme

In last 10 years International Education and Recourse Network developed community of educators and students in more then 90 countries all over the world involved in project work. That way iEARN let youth make a difference through telecommunications.

It was only natural that the two organizations would form a powerful partnership to create one of the largest on-line, project-based learning initiatives in education history. This effort, Global Education Model Schools (GEMS), will enable tens of thousands of teachers  and students all over the world to immediately expand their collaborative online project work and to create a dynamic and sustainable infrastructure for expansion to others who are not yet involved. 

Another grassroots effort has been pioneered by Schools Online, a public service organization based in San Jose, California. Schools Online has provided Internet access to more than 5,700 schools in the United States and in other countries around the world.

Many countries and communities lack capital, computer equipment,  telecommunications infrastructure and human expertise and capacity. One grassroots initiative, pioneered by the iEARN  has facilitated educational and development projects since 1988. The interactive nature of their approach to learning has empowered thousands of students in over ninety countries with new methods of   Collaborative PBL (acquiring knowledge), and provide youth  with possibilities to make a difference in the world through telecommunications.

This program in Macedonia begun in July 2000 and it kept its international name - GEMS. It let at thousands of students and teachers all over the world to spread their cooperation, on-line project work and creating dynamic and secrete structure capable to spread in the round where it is. This program begun in 7 countries: China, South African Republic, Russia, Argentina, India and Republic of Macedonia.

Through the partnership, schools that have demonstrated successful participation in online collaborative work will receive equipment and support to enhance their ability to expand the scope of their projects. They will become catalysts for sustainable expansion of the program to neighboring schools. This grassroots  “movement” will grow as time passes. Each school will make their computer labs available to teachers from neighboring schools, hence setting up candidates for participation in GEMS in the following years.