BET K-12 (FNS)

Project owner: Isabella Rega

Project staff: Francesca Fanni, Stefano Tardini

Period: October 2005 to March 2009

Funding agency: SDC + SNF

Website: http://www.betk12.net/

BET K-12 (Brazilian elearning Teacher training in k-12) is a project funded by the Swiss National Science Foundation and the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation under the Joint Research Partnership Program. The project partners are the School of Communication Sciences of the University of Lugano (Switzerland) and the School of Education of the Federal University of Bahia (Brazil).

The project aims at studying the impact of eLearning in Primary School Teacher Training in Brazil, assessing its possible applications and advantages, as well as success conditions and shortcomings.

The project involves three main areas:

1. The issue of access to ICTs: this involves technical, economic, sociological and psychological factors influencing persons’ opportunities to use the technologies;
2. The issue of quality: the conditions under which it is possible to implement an effective and efficient eLearning program for primary Teachers in disadvantaged Brazilian areas;
3. The issue of impact: the readiness of Brazilian primary teachers to use eLearning in their training, and their adoption patterns.

The project is structured in two main phases:

1. Phase A aims at mapping different models of teacher training programs involving ICTs in Brazil and at understanding the quality of these programs; this is done in order to seek and suggest innovative eLearning models, which can allow effective and efficient learning practices.
2. Phase B focuses on a particular case study: eLearning courses for primary school teacher training offered by CEAP – Centro de Estudos e Assessoria Pedagogica -, an institution placed in Salvador de Bahia and dealing with teachers working in “community schools”, i.e. schools promoted and sustained by poor communities. This phase wants to understand how primary school teachers in a disadvantaged Brazilian area react to their first eLearning experience.

NewMinE doctoral school I (2000-2003)

The first edition of the New Media in Education doctoral school began at the outset of NewMinE lab’s activities running from 2000 to 2003.

Its main aim was to create a network of Swiss PhD students, who do research on the world of New Media in Education form different points of view and with different backgrounds ranging from education to communication sciences, from engineering to economics.

Over three years, about 30 doctoral students from Swiss Universities benefited from the seminars and events of the NewMinE doctoral school.

It was a joint project of the Università della Svizzera italiana and other Swiss Universities, among which the Institut de Psychologie (Université de Neuchatel), the Institute of Information Management – Learning Center and the Media and Communication Management Institute (Universität Sankt Gallen), Institut Technologies de Formation et Apprentissage (Université Genève), Centre Nouvelles Technologie et Enseignement (Université de Fribourg), Chaire de Psychologie du Comportement (Université de Lausanne), Istituto Svizzero di Pedagogia per la Formazione Professionale.

It was funded by the Swiss national Science Foundation (SNF).

The NewMinE doctoral school hosted many scholars, including Mary Barrie (University of Toronto), Tony Bates (University of British Columbia), Roberto Brazzola (IBM), Susan E. Brennan (State Univesity NY), Licia Calvi (University of Parma), Joseph Coyne (Washington State University), Larry Friedlander (Stanford University), Hermann Maurer (Technical University Graz), Mel Muchnick (Governors State University), Jörg Staeheli (Novartis), Mary Thorpe (Open University, UK).

List of students and participants:

Jacopo Armani, Lara Bachmann, Davide Bolchini, Luca Botturi, Barbara Class, Nathalie Deschryver, Sylvie Franz Pousaz, Julia Gerhard, Joachim Haes, Diana Ingenhoff, Terry Inglese, Patrick Jerman, Barbara Leithner, Miriam Li Keller, Sabrina Lurati, Stefano Mastrogiacomo, Riccardo Mazza, Elvis Mazzoni, Chiara Piccini, Isabella Rega, Sibilla Rezzonico, Chiara Succi, Oliver Sukowski, Vivian Synteta, Stefano Tardini, Carlo Tomasetto, Luca Triacca

Cantoni Lorenzo – NewMinE director (Prof.)

Lorenzo Cantoni graduated in Philosophy and holds a PhD in Education and Linguistics.

He is professor at the University of Lugano (Switzerland), Faculty of Communication Sciences, where he is also deputy-director of the Institute of Public Communication and Education. He’s vice-Dean of the Faculty.

Lorenzo Cantoni is director of the laboratories webatelier.net: production and promotion over the Internet, NewMinE Lab: New Media in Education Lab, eLab: eLearning Lab; he is executive director of TEC-Lab: Technology Enhanced Communication Lab.

View Lorenzo’s profile.

Contact Lorenzo at

Tel. +41 (0)58 666 47 20
lorenzo.cantoni@lu.unisi.ch