Macedonian Teachers Return from Moscow
as the European Grand Prix Champions!

Two years ago, USAID’s Primary Education Project (PEP) and Microsoft Partners in Learning established a public private partnership to showcase and celebrate innovative uses of technology in schools and award the teachers who creatively incorporate the skills needed for 21st century learning into their teaching. As a result of that partnership, two Innovative Teachers Forums, one per year, were organized in Macedonia.
These Forums are national, European and worldwide competitions, offering the most innovative teachers a chance to share innovative ideas that can make teaching and learning more interesting and fun. All of them are parts of a series of Microsoft Innovative Teachers’ Forums held in more then 100 countries to promote a global professional development community where teachers can collaborate with colleagues from all over the world; access quality content developed by their peers, and challenge themselves to take their use of technology to the next level. At the last national competition, held on March 3 in Skopje, over of 100 teachers from 42 primary schools in the country presented their projects.
Grandma's games was a joint project between 5 schools aiming to bring back forgotten outdoor games our grandparents played, while at the same time utilize modern technologies and ICT's. Students from each region in Macedonia researched the games their grandma was playing, wrote about it, made a video of it and shared the information with students from other regions.  At the same time, teachers tried to tie each game to specific objectives of the curriculum, therefore providing the students with opportunities for integrated learning.
“Grandma’s games” impressed the guests and the judges with its original approach and creativity and therefore were selected as first prized winners. They were invited to represent Macedonia in the European Innovative Teachers’ Forum in Moscow, Russia, March 21-25. 
At the European competition, the project “Grandma’s games”, while competing against 84 projects from 41 countries, won the Grand Prix award in the Educators Choice category!  This huge success came because of the teachers’ and students’ unconditional engagement, the excellent promotion of the project during the Moscow competition, and the great enthusiasm and devotion to a quality education.

“Grandma’s games” will proceed to compete on a higher level, now, as a European representative at the global competition, which will take place in Washington by the end of the year. 
Following the success of the project, teachers from Spain, Italy and the Netherlands have expressed interest to collaborate with the Macedonian teachers.
Marina Vasileva, Dobri Jovevski, as well as the other teachers who participated in the creation of “Grandma’s games”, are Master Trainers trained by PEP and have been actively involved in all professional development activities undertaken by the project.
“I’m too excited to find the proper words. Among all of those wonderful examples of conjunction between technology, innovation and teaching process, our project, our effort, OUR COUNTRY, has been awarded! We proved the confidence we’ve been given by the Primary Education Project!” said Marina Vasilevska, the low grade teacher and a member of the winning team just after their arrival at the Skopje airport, as a statement for the numerous journalists. She was encompassed by her students and colleagues who eagerly awaited to welcome her. The PEP ICT component leader, Petar Nikoloski, who led the Macedonia team in Moscow, also noted:
“I believe that teachers, who practice technology in the curriculum, will be able to provide students with a modern education that will develop their critical thinking, teamwork and problem-solving skills. Such skills will enhance the students’ capacity to find productive employment and succeed in a knowledge-based global economy,” said Petar Nikoloski, the PEP ICT component leader.
And we all, at PEP, believe that our partners and stakeholders, the teachers from Macedonia primary schools, will succeed to make more and not less important achievements that will be a step ahead, in favour of quality education for Macedonia’s future!

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