The Oracle Education Foundation helps educators in Africa and Europe prepare students for success in a global economy

The Oracle Education Foundation (OEF) has launched its first regional 21st Century Learning Institute in Africa to help educators successfully integrate project learning and 21st century learning skills training into their curriculum and prepare students for success in a global economy.

The 21st Century Learning Institute was held in Sandton, South Africa from 30 June to 3 July at the e-Skills Academy.

The four-day programme brought together 58 educators from six countries in Africa and Europe, including Egypt, Hungary, Kenya, Lesotho, Romania, and South Africa.

Teachers learned to design and implement online learning projects that help students develop 21st century skills.

The course used OEF's global technology programs, Think.com and ThinkQuest, to showcase exceptional project learning examples and help teachers produce projects as a part of their training experience.

"The 21st Century Learning Institute is designed to help educators around the globe successfully incorporate project learning into everyday curriculum, so that students walk out the school door with the skills needed for life and work in the 21st century," said Clare Dolan, Vice-President, Oracle Corporate Citizenship.

"Think.com's learning environment has helped get both teachers and pupils excited about what otherwise could have been fairly routine work," said one of the attending teachers, Erika Horn, Irene Primary School. "We are eager to use Think.com, learn how to integrate 21st century skills into our projects and to align this new approach with curriculum standards. The institute has opened the door to new possibilities and ideas for project work. And best of all, we have managed to 'hook' other subject teachers in as well."