As the International Director of the Czech MirandaNet Chapter (www.mirandanet.ac.uk/internat/czech.htm) she has
been very influential in the development of MirandaNet learning theory and practice as they relate to digital technologies and collaborative professional learning. Since she joined the Fellowship in the early 1990s with several of her Czech colleagues, there have been many fruitful Anglo-Czech collaborations. In the first days of partnership we investigated how different political systems impact on education systems publishing a book chapter about these perceptions called Collaboration through Technology Now and in the Future (Preston and Mannova 2000).

In this first stage the Czech teachers were interested in ideas from Western Europe about democratic classroom pedagogy, topic learning and innovative computer applications designed to promote learning. However UK teachers were not offering computer science and the Czechs introduced to MirandaNet members some good practice in teaching programming. The outstanding work of these young
Czech learners prompted the English teachers to question the UK Information and Communications curriculum that only focused on computer applications not the science underlying them.

In later years the exchanges between the English and the Czechs has concentrated on teaching senior citizens, improving classroom practice, social networking between teachers and the design of Professional Development programmes.

Awards
In recognition of their work in building learning communities of teachers
Christina Preston and Bozena Mannova won the European Union of Women Humanitarian prize in 1998.

Joint Projects
With her great flair for organisation and management of colleagues, Bozena has directed two European projects in which MirandaNet Fellows have been partners. The Tempus project focused on school exchanges and the SENNET activity concentrated on teaching senior citizens about information technology.

Currently the Czech Miranda is working on several studies for World Ecitizens about the motivation of teachers in using ICT, creating teachers in service training programs, mentoring Anglo-Czech school projects and building professional communities. We are now planning a book about outlining the most effective ways in which teachers learn about digital technologies.

Dr Christina Preston
Chair of the MirandaNet Fellowship
Professor University of Bedfordshire.

References

Joint Projects

Building Etopia here: Learning as World Ecitizens – http://web.me.com/christinajpreston/World_ecitizens_podar/Welcome.html
SEN-NET – Seniors in Net (coordinator), Socrates, 2005 – 2008
Implementation of Telematics in Education (coordinator), Tempus,1998 – 2000

Joint publications
Preston, C., Mannova, B. Teachers Learning in a Changing World. In ITTE 2001 Information Technology in Teacher Education. Bristol: ITTE, 2001.

Preston, C., Mannova, B., Lengel, L..Collaboration through Technology Now and in the Future (Chapter in Book). In Culture and Technology in the New Europe. Stamford: Ablex Publishing Corporation, 2000, ISBN 1-56750-466-3.
Preston, C., Mannova, B.: The Future of Culture and Technology in the New Europe. In Educating for the 3rd Millennium. Cheltenham: Cheltenham and Gloucester College of Higher Education, 2000.