Maria Tsapara is an early childhood educator in 2nd Kindergarten of Perama, Greece and a PhD candidate in the University of Western Macedonia. She is also an ICT trainer and a certified trainer in STEAM and Robotics. Since 2017 she has participated in eTwinning seminars as a tutor. She has dealt extensively with STEAM education, computational thinking, coding, robotics and European programs since she became a European Code Week Leading Teacher for Greece and Scientix Ambassador. Her publications focus on the implementation of ICT, storytelling, board games and Freinet’s Pedagogy and the SDG framework in the educational process.

Tharrenos Bratitsis is a Full Professor at the Early Childhood Education Department, University of Western Macedonia, Greece and a director of the Creativity, Innovation and Technology in Education (CrInTE) Laboratory.
His teaching and research is related to Digital and Global Competences, Innovative actions in the Educational sector through technology, in all levels and types of Education (formal, non-formal, informal).
He holds a BSc in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science from the University of Patras. He holds a PhD in Technology Enhanced Learning from the University of the Aegean.
He is a member of many scientific associations, a member of the steering committee of the Hellenic Association for ICTs in Education since 2014. He has participated in over 300 international conferences’ scientific committees; is a member of the reviewers’ board of 47 scientific journals (3 as an associate editor) and publishes regularly, having over 250 scientific papers with over 1000 citations on his work. He has participated in over 50 research funded projects, 17 as a coordinator (global or for UOWM). He has significant expertise in Project Management, Quality Assurance Management (having served as a QAM in over 15 EU funded projects).
He has several international collaborations which European countries but also with the USA and OECD, working towards a collective research effort at the moment. He has been selected as an Expert to contribute to the adaptation of SELFIE to Early Childhood Education within 2022.
His research interests include Technology Enhanced Learning, Game-based Learning, Digital Storytelling, STEAM Education, Educational Robotics, Computer Supported Collaborative Learning, Game-based Learning, Gamification and Learning Analytics. Having served in an Early Childhood Education Department, a significant focus of his work has been that educational level.

Kindergarten Teacher, M.A., Scientix Ambassador.

I hold a Master degree focused in Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) in Education and a Bachelor in Early Childhood Education. My research interests focus on the impact of educational technology on developing 21st century skills and differentiated teaching.