The target groups that are to be addressed by the project are:

1. Secondary education audiences – Main needs to cater for: offer new incentives for science teaching to disinterested students; make available activities for “physical” manipulation, simulation of laboratory environment and laboratory work where students have no access to, illustrate phenomena and processes that might be too slow or fast to do in the school lab; offer access to non-existing entities, e.g. the frictionless body; model activities of examination of and experimentation on material that would be dangerous or expensive to carry out at school (Wellington 2000);

2. Adult audiences - Main needs to cater for: opportunities for science learning to adults with no previous knowledge or interest in science; learning opportunities to early school leavers; increased incentives to become involved in science learning; opportunities for social interaction through the web or locally in the science centre; “safe” contexts for exercising life skills.

3. Science centres and museums – Science centres and museums develop their content most of the times relying on external consultancy (e.g. publications, exhibits, various audiovisual and printed information material, etc). Otherwise they select their content themes from the agenda set by the media. In other words, the information and educational resources reaching the citizen are out-dated and argely mediated by various extra-scientific selection processes. This project will help science centre and museums to increase their positive impact to the public, offering innovative ICT-enabled services and well informed, state-to-the art scientific content, through the fast and direct communication between research laboratory/academia and intermediary organisations such as the science centre.

Long-term beneficiaries

The project will bear positive consequences to:

a) Science centre visitors of all ages and educational background who make use of educational activities.

The e-KNOWNET experience will be promoted through science centre networks with an aim to illustrate its contribution and added value to science learning in science centre and museums, and produce multiplication effects. A proportion of these science centres and museums are expected to adopt the cooperative ICT-enabled approach of e-KNOWNET in producing up-to-date science educational activities.

b) Users of science popularisation portals.

The partenariat will activate its multiple links in order to promote the contribution of the e-KNOWNET initiative to all learning communities who seek to benefit from electronic learning resources. The GR-NET will mobilise its extended web of high-capacity networks which provide advanced services of national and international internet access to the Research, Academic and Education communities (27 Universities, 15 Technical Universities, 33 Research Institutions and 12,673 schools to the Pan-European Research and Education Network, GEANT).

c) Formal education communities (students, educators).

The e-KNOWNET is expected to function as a good practice for various learning communities, offering new ideas and inspiring the duplication of similar activities in the formal education context. There is already a silent partner, i.e. the Greek Ministry of Education who have expressed their interest in taking up the results of this project and feeding them in the official portal of the Ministry which is highly attended by the formal education community in Greece. Additionally, the Education Portal will be the liaison between the e-KNOWNET initiative and the European School Net, linking the project with the European formal education community, clustering and creating synergies with existing successful project such as e-Twinning.

d) Professionals and experts specializing in ICT in education, museum educators, etc.

The e-KNOWNET will set a good practice in and act as a catalyst to promote dialogue in fields such as ICT in education (particularly in science education), museum science learning, etc. The portal will act as a test bed and as a discussion platform for experts and practitioners from all related disciplines and professional fields.

e) Info-centres and libraries (and all relevant intermediary organisations and networks).

A faster circulation of up-to-date science research results in a variety of innovative forms will benefit info-centres and libraries which support life-long learning activities and promote digital culture.

f) The mass media and the general public.

The mass media are the main information provider on science issues for the non-expert public. The science centre is often a place where mass media look for up-to-date information on science and technology issues. The better awareness-raising methods are used for the media, the more accurate and updated information reaches the citizen.