Free EU online course

We're at it again!

The UNC European Union Center of Excellence and LEARN NC will be offering The European Union – An Introduction for Teachers, an online professional development course. The course, which runs for four weeks (June 25-July 22), provides two CEUs and lots of online resources for learning and teaching. The goal of this course is to introduce in-service teachers to the history and the function of the European Union, as well as to digital resources and methods for student learning. By the end of the course, teachers will understand the EU as an essential part of European history, government, economics, and culture, and will be able to facilitate learning about the EU through use of technology. The final project is a standards-based technology-rich lesson plan incorporating online EU resources for each teacher’s class. Lesson plans will be submitted to the UNC European Union Center of Excellence for possible inclusion in the online lesson plan database. For more information, contact Dr. Regina Higgins.

Register here.

EU Workshop Coming Up

Please help to spread the word of this upcoming workshop on the EU.  Note that you can attend in Chapel Hill or in Waxhaw, near Charlotte. (And don't forget that Turkey's a candidate country!)

The New NC Essential Standards: Incorporating the European Union

Join your colleagues for a 1-day workshop designed to help North Carolina K-12 teachers better understand our interconnected world by learning more about the European Union. This workshop will include presentations on the European Union and transatlantic relations, along with sessions on how to incorporate the EU into the new NC Essential Standards. Teachers will also learn about resources that use technology to enhance content and better integrate the EU into the school’s curriculum. One CEU will be awarded for completion of the program.

Chapel Hill, Thursday, June 14          Waxhaw (near Charlotte), Friday, June 15

Early Bird Registration Deadline: May 1 (registration fee $30)
Regular Registration Deadline: May 15 (registration fee $40)

Space is limited to the first 60 participants. Register today!

For more information, please email gali@unc.edu and/or call 919.843.9852

Sponsored by: UNC Center for European Studies and EU Center of Excellence

More information and registration form here.

Europe Day

Coming up next week (May 9th, to be exact) is Europe Day, commemorating the occasion when Robert Schuman proposed the idea for a supranational European organization that would ultimately result in the creation of the European Union.

Are you teaching the European Union?  UNC's European Union Center of Excellence offers classroom resources for teaching the EU here.

You can also go to LEARN NC to learn more about Teaching the European Union and Using EUROPA to Teach the European Union , and  Teaching Contemporary Europe .

Bonne anniversaire, l'union européenne!

Euro Challenge 2010

A flash from the Center for European Studies at UNC-Chapel Hill.

Read on to find out more about a great learning opportunity for grades 9 and 10 and the chance of a free trip to Brussels for you, their teacher!

Welcome to the Euro Challenge 2010 -- an exciting educational opportunity for high school students (grades 9 & 10) to learn about the European Union (EU) -- the largest trading partner of the US -- and its single currency, the euro.

The competition is also an excellent opportunity for NC teachers, as teachers enlisting a team in the Euro Challenge are eligible to win a free trip to Brussels next summer. Now in its fifth year, the Euro Challenge is designed to appeal to students with a background in global studies, economics, world history/geography or European studies.

The competition aims to:

* Support local learning standards related to global studies and economics
* Foster economic and financial literacy and understanding of economic policy issues
* Increase students' knowledge and understanding of the European Union and the euro
* Develop communication, critical thinking and cooperative skills

The Competition

Each team of 3-5 students must make a 15-minute presentation describing the current economic situation in the euro area and analyzing a specific economic challenge in a country of their choice. Teams then answer questions from a distinguished panel of judges. Preliminary rounds are held in each of the participating regions, and the regional winners advance to the semifinal and final rounds held at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. Cash prizes for the top teams are generously provided by The Moody's Foundation.

Check out www.euro-challenge.org for training videos, research materials, and web resources.

Euro Challenge in North Carolina: Orientation Session and Free Trip to Brussels!

UNC will host an orientation session for teachers from North Carolina schools participating in the Euro Challenge later in the fall (details forthcoming). Teachers enlisting a team in the Euro Challenge are eligible for one of two spots to travel to Brussels in summer 2010, travel and accommodations paid, on a program organized by the European Commission.

How to Register?

To register for the Euro Challenge 2010, please complete and send in the registration form . For more information about the competition in the North Carolina region, contact Gali Beeri at gali@unc.edu or 919.843.9852.

For details for NC schools, visit www.unc.edu/depts/europe/academicprograms/eurochallenge.html . Open the information sheet and registration form here .

The Euro Challenge is a program of the Delegation of the European Commission to the U.S.