Happy New Year



New York City Ballets
Paul Kolnik 2009

New York Ballets
Paul Kolnik 2009



Mudar o mundo é mudar os ponteiros onde se marca o bem e o mal. Não quer dizer pô-los ao contrário, mas dar-lhes andamento certo.

A vontade de transformar o mundo. Desgraçado do povo que não compreende isso: ele não tem génio. E triste do poeta que não sente assim, porque ele não tem simpatia pela vida. 
 
Agustina Bessa-Luís*, Mudar o Mundo
Opera Omnia, Dicionário Imperfeito, 
Guimarães Editores, Lisboa, Junho 2008





To my friends and colleagues
May we take the time to let them know
How much it means to us
To have them in our lives.


Happy New Year! Best wishes for 2010!


G-Souto
31.12.2009
Copyright © 2010G-Souto'sBlog, gsouto-digitalteacher.blogspot.com®

* Agustina Bessa-Luis, the best portuguese woman writer talking about the gift of Humanity to change te world with poets and writers spreading the word.

Christmas Season



La Pietà
 Villeneuve-lès-Avignon, Enguerrand Quarton



Quando um ramo de doze badaladas
se espalhava nos móveis e tu vinhas
solstício de mel pelas escadas
de um sentimento com nozes e com pinhas,

menino eras de lenha e crepitavas
porque do fogo o nome antigo tinhas
e em sua eternidade colocavas
o que a infância pedia às andorinhas.

Depois nas folhas secas te envolvias
de trezentos e muitos lerdos dias
e eras um sol na sombra flagelado.

O fel que por nós bebes te liberta
e no manso natal que te conserta
só tu ficaste a ti acostumado.

Natália Correia, Falavam-me de amor *
Publicações D. Quixote, Lisboa, 1979


* A Christmas' poem by one of the best Portuguese poets.

My best wishes! Merry Christmas!

G-Souto
20.12.2009

Have yourself a very Merry little Christmas by Kate Melua


Copyright © 2010G-Souto'sBlog, gsouto-digitalteacher.blogspot.com®



MEDEA Awards 2009




Recognising, encouraging and rewarding
excellence and creativity in media in education

Foi com muito prazer que recebi o convite de Nikki Cortoos para fazer parte do Júri de "MEDEA Awards 2009".

Com a especialização de Professora-Avaliadora de Aplicações Digitais e Locais Virtuais de Conteúdos Educativos pela Universidade de Évora, Universidade Católica Portuguesa/Porto em colaboração com o Ministério da Educação (2008),  ministrada pelos Professores Formadores José Luís Ramos da Universidade de Évora (UÉ), Eduardo Cardoso da UCP/Biotecnologia, essa é uma das actividades como pedagoga, para além de outras, que me agrada seriamente.

Este ano o número de projectos ultrapassou as expectativas. Suponho que a abertura a candidaturas em três línguas - Inglês, Francês, Alemão - alargou substancialmente o número de concorrentes.

Um trabalho criterioso, moroso, atento, já que temos que observar todos os aspectos fundamentais em diferentes fases. Depois, há que testá-los, experienciando todos os objectivos a que se propõem. Só assim, poderemos avançar para a fase de avaliação sistematizada propriamente dita.

Imensas horas, muitas mais dos que as previstas pela organização, de estudo, observação, análise, revisão, para chegarmos aos itens previstos no processo de avaliação. Mas, um trabalho de fundo a que nos entregamos sem ambiguidades, com coerência, independência e extrema isenção.



I was honoured to being a judge at MEDEA Awards 2009, invited by Nikos Cortoos.

As a teacher-assessor specialized by the University of Evora and UCP/Biotechnology), I commited myself thorough a careful work of analysis in all the areas of the projects evaluation. Long hours, testing, verifying, checking the several aspects of the evaluation  process.

It is an expertise work that we give unambiguous, with consistency, independence and extreme relief. 

The finalists were chosen by a jury made up of 76 education and media experts from 26 countries who assessed the MEDEA entries in October.



The 8 finalists of "MEDEA Awards 2009" had been announced by MEDEA Secretariat, on 9th November 2009. You can see the list here  

The MEDEA Awards 2009 included two new MEDEA Awards: the MEDEA Award for Creativity and Innovation and the European Collaboration Award.

The 8 winners and the 2 winners of the additional awards will be announced during the MEDEA Awards Ceremony on 4 December 2009, in Berlin.

Unfortunally, I can't accept the invitation to participate in the cerimony because I have another commitment at the same time.

Congratulations to all the winners!


G-Souto
23.11.2009
Copyright © 2010G-Souto'sBlog, gsouto-digitalteacher.blogspot.com®

An important message





Eminent voices were expressing their support for the WISE initiative through written or video messages in which they also share their views about pressing educational issue.

www.wise-qatar.org
Here the video of Mr. Kofi Annan, Former UN Secretary-General for WISE 2009, Doha-Quatar, 16-18 November 2009.


G-Souto
18.11.2009
Copyright © 2010G-Souto'sBlog, gsouto-digitalteacher.blogspot.com®

7th Open Classroom Conference


 

EDEN Porto/ Facebook


Alfândega do Porto
Fotografia: António Ámen

Decorreu no Porto, entre os dias 15 e 17 de Outubro 2009 a Seventh Open Classroom Porto 2009. Teve lugar no Centro de Congressos da Alfândega com uma belíssima panorâmica para o Rio Douro.


Incubating Creativity and the Capacity for Innovation:
Open Content, Social Networking Tools and
Creative Learning for All
15-17 October 2009
Porto, Portugal

A EDEN Porto 2009 organizada em colaboração com a Universidade Aberta e a Universidade do Porto, teve ainda o apoio da Comissão Europeia e do Ministério da Educação.

O programa era vasto, dado que envolvia o uso da Web 2.0 na Educação.

Foram muitos os autores que compareceram, oriundos de diferentes países europeus e intercontinentais.

A escolha era portanto diversificada, o que fez com que investigadores, professores e analistas de diferentes quadrantes partilhassem dos mesmos espaços e alguns trocassem ideias entre si mediante os seus interesses.

Tentadora, mais uma vez, esta oportunidade de poder participar, ouvir, partilhar conceitos sobre os actuais paradigmas da evolução das aplicações Web 2.0 ligadas ao ensino e aprendizagem nas escolas, neste Ano Europeu Criatividade e Inovação


Na sessão de abertura, Alan Tait, presidente de EDEN deu as boas vindas a todos os conferencistas, seguindo-se os representantes das organizações acima mencionadas.

Deu-se então início aos trabalhos! Nesse dia, a apresentação de António Dias Figueiredo, da Universidade de Coimbra denominada Innovating in Education, Educating for Innovation foi talvez a mais interessante, na minha perspectiva.

No dia 16, David Instance (Senior member of OECD) apresentou Innovative Learning Environments - Insights from recent OECD/CERI analyses. Como  participara na NML Conference pude seguir com maior interesse a análise complementar daquela que Francesc Pedrò apresentou em Bruxelas, como principal orador.

De assinalar também, Bjorn Teistung, representante da Globalskolen, um departamento da Net School da Noruega com Kids going global e Pilar Lacasa professora da Universidade de Alcalá, perita no uso de videojogos no ensino, com refrescante apresentação New media Ecologies: Children Lives in Real and Virtual Worlds.

As sessões em inglês tiveram uma maior afluência, embora, o panorama humano fosse alterando de dia para dia, dado a cidade apresentar temperaturas muito amenas para aquela altura do ano. Os conferencistas internacionais aproveitaram muito do seu tempo a visitar a cidade. E  o Porto sob tal luminosidade era bem digno do seu interesse!

As sessões em português foram um pouco esquecidas pela própria organização. Mas, talvez já fosse de esperar! No entanto, os conferencistas nacionais sentiram essa desigualdade.





 Fotografia: Paulo Moreira*

Nessa mesma tarde, participei na Sessão C3 (Sessão em Português), apresentando  "Anatomia de Aplicações Digitais e Locais Virtuais de Conteúdos Educativos: Geracao N-Gen".

No dia 17, durante a manhã, algumas apresentações tiveram ainda lugar, até que por voltas das 11 horas deu-se início à sessão de encerramento com entrega de prémios e leitura das conclusões finais.
Muitos conferencistas já tinham regressado a seus países de origem.

A organização foi razoalvemente impecável, o apoio a todos os participantes nem sempre atencioso e prestativo.
No entanto, os três dias decorreram num ambiente académico e informal em tempos de convívio entre pares.

Com presença no Twitter, a conferência ia quase virando um fait-divers, em alguns casos.


Researchers, teachers and some organisations from 30 countries participated in the Seventh Open Classroom Conference - European School Web 2.0, Porto, 15-17 October 2009.

The EDEN Porto 2009 had been hosted at the Alfandega do Porto Congress Center, in downtown Porto, by the Douro River.


To bring up and reflect upon these considerations, EDEN in the framework of its Open Classroom Initiative is organizing this Conference on The European School 2.0: Incubating Creativity and the Capacity for Innovation, together with the Universidade Aberta, the Portuguese Open University, and the University of Porto as well as the support of other European and international expert bodies.



The conference programme included plenaries, parallel sessions with paper presentations and workshops. The event started in the afternoon of 15 October, with registration and the Opening Plenary Session and ended with the Closing Plenary  Session on 17 October.

Conference themes:

In the age of the Social Web (Web 2.0/3.0), virtual learning environments empower teachers and learners to open their classrooms and be part of emerging folksonomies – the social construction of learning. Upcoming learning solutions gradually replace presentation tools with shared discussion and work spaces, offer coaching utilities instead of help desks, and learning resource repositories instead of ready-made digital materials. Teachers and learners alike are now using ICT very differently from one another and ever more creatively.

It was an interesting event! You can read the EDEN Porto Classroom message here

We certainly need to face the increasing Policy inter‐dependence between Educatiom, Growth and Social Inclusion. In other words, the new Equity Challenge
implies that we have to re‐engineer our school education systems, better than delivering “massive” education to the engagement of people in “massive” knowledge experiences, by up‐grading their Learning‐to‐learn Competence!



G-Souto
30.10.2009
Copyright © 2010G-Souto'sBlog, gsouto-digitalteacher.blogspot.com®


Creative Commons License
Esta obra está licenciada sob uma Licença Creative Commons.

* Agradecimento

L'Apprentissage au rythme 'native speaker' - outil de didactique







« Voyons, d’où vient le verbe ?
Et d’où viennent les langues ?
De qui tiens-tu les mots dont tu fais tes harangues ?
Écriture, Alphabet, d’où tout cela vient-il ?
Réponds. »

Victor Hugo, Voyons, d’où vient le verbe ? Et d’où viennent les langues ?, Dernier Gerbe



C'était la rentrée 2005! Une nouvelle génération arrivait dans les collèges, les enfants ‘indigo’. À présent, on les nomme  'native speaker'!

Ils avaient 9/10 ans, lisaient peu, mais ils étaient  très intelligents, vifs, hyperactifs, bavards, circulaient dans les couloirs sur des baskets à roulettes, écrivaient des SMS à la vitesse de la seconde sur les touches de leurs portables, écoutaient la musique sur les premiers 'mp3', se servaient de l’ordinateur avec une aisance incroyable et papotaient sur Messenger ou Hi5 en faisant leurs devoirs en communauté.

Cette année j’avais envie de toucher des élèves de 5e (9/11 ans) pour les cours de Portugais, langue maternelle. Jusque là, je n’avais eu que des classes en FLE et des élèves de 13/16 ans.

Je voulais continuer mon projet Kidzlearn Lugares & Aprendizagens mais cette fois-là en Portugais, langue maternelle, Français, langue étrangère et Citoyenneté.


Cela me faisait plaisir d’observer comment réagissaient-ils à cet apprentissage de la langue maternelle et d’une deuxième langue étrangère, hors curriculum, à l’aide des TICE.

Me voilà devant une nouvelle aventure !! Les ‘tout nouveaux, tout petits’ qui arrivaient au collège. Les petits “Caloiros” ! J’en étais éblouie !! Ils me dépassaient toujours en prouesses !

Et l’idée du blog m’est venue !! Pourquoi pas créer une salle de classe, encore plus vivante, plus ouverte en complément de "Kidzlearn Lugares & Aprendizagens" et des cours ?

http://google.images.pt 


Le Blog dans les cours de Langues et/ou Citoyenneté pour l’enrichissement et la dynamisation des apprentissages !

Deux semaines, après la rentrée, j’ai proposé à une classe, très à l’aise devant les claviers, de participer à la Journée Européenne des Langues”, le 26 septembre 2005. Défi accepté ! Nous voilà prêts à décoller !




Point de départ :

- Inscription sur Internet, en Labo Informatique : participation de la classe et du collège sur le site web JEL

Activités :

- Choisir une langue européenne,
- Écrire l’expression “Olá !” (Salut !),
- Ajouter deux ou trois informations sur le pays,
- Joindre une image,
- Ajouter un petit commentaire, à propos de son choix !

Différentes typologies d’élèves, différents niveaux d’apprentissage, différents compétences Technologie. Très intéressant, gérer tout cela!

J’ajoute, en plus, qu’il s’agissait d’une classe ayant quelques collégiens en difficulté d’apprentissage. Encore mieux !L'entraide serait aussi testée! Et ça a fonctionné!

Parmi le groupe, onze élèves travaillaient enormément et en tout enthousiasme ce projet ! Et nous voilà partis pour le Blog dos Caloiros en Septembre 2005.

Développement :

- Petits textes écrits en langue maternelle dans les cours de Portugais et Instruction Civique.
- Recherche sur Internet de sites web de traduction, pour l’expression “Olá !”(Salut !) dans des différentes langues.
- Séléction d’images esthétiques, motivantes et informatives des pays à faire découvrir.
- Archivement de toute information en easy disk individuel ou disquette.
- Webliographie : Liens sur Internet (contrôlés, testés).

Une fois par semaine, les élèves venaient me rejoindre individuellement ou par groupe de deux, à la Médiathèque. Là, je guidais leurs premiers pas concernant:

- La Recherche : Civilisation (pays choisi, curiosités), images (séléction).
- Les Traducteurs (langues choisies selon les pays).

Toute activité de recherche toujours adaptée au niveau âge/apprentissage de chaque élève.

À la maison, rédaction d’un petit texte informatif sur chaque pays.

Exemple : drapeau, situation géographique, capitale, et l’expression de salutation déjà traduite.

[Les élèves se répétaient un peu sur le choix des pays. Alors, j’ai dû sélectionner les travaux les plus créatifs et mieux élaborés (présentation pen-disk et papier)!]

Travaux élaborés, corrigés, évalués avant publication sur le net.
Aspects - Orthographe, langue, civilisation, image, esthétique et créativité.

Avant de partir au Labo Informatique, il fallait choisir le nom du Blog ! En classe, plusieurs en ont été proposés.

Le plus voté - Blog dos Caloiros
“Caloiros”, mot en argot académique qui définit les élèves qui arrivent dans un établissement scolaire pour la première fois.

Nous voilà donc préparés à partir dans la Salle Informatique pour la création/publication du Blog. À cette époque, pas d'ordinateurs en salle de classe!

Conclusion :

- Choix du serveur (à facile accès image/ texte),
- Création du domaine,
- Présentation du Projet (classe, collège),
- Introduction à l’Union Européenne,
- Publication des différents travaux/pays, par ordre de remise.

Produit : Porta Aberta sobre a Europa
http://torrinhasnetianos5c.blogs.sapo.pt/38201.html

“Curiosités :”

1. Pays, langues, curiosités, posts publiés sur le Blog :
Suède, Russie, France, Hongrie, Hollande, Belgique, Grèce, Portugal, Angleterre, Espagne. Pas mal !
2. Le Latin comme langue à l’origine du Portugais (en conclusion). Un élève l’a choisie. Super !
3. D'un groupe de onze élèves (9/10 ans), deux en difficulté d’apprentissage ont participé (posts le Portugais et l’Anglais LE I). Formidable !

Projet réussi !

Bravo les “Caloiros” !! Un des premiers web blogs 'éducatifs' au Portugal (2005) en vrai collabo avec les élèves.


Voilà! Ils étaient bien contents de leurs apprentissages dynamiques de langue et civilisation, à l’aide des TICE !
Et moi, heureuse de nous voir participer à des différents chemins de la pédagogie et de la didactique dans les cours de langues!

Viajar é correr mundo,
Voar mais alto que os pássaros
Ou pisar o chão da Terra
Ou as ondas do Mar Alto...

Alves Redol, Viajar

G-Souto, 19.12.2009
Copyright © 2009G-Souto'sBlog, gsouto-digitalteacher.blogspot.com®

Contrat Creative Commons
Cette création est mise à disposition sous un contrat Creative Commons.

publié sur éduFLE.net, 23 février 2006


Note : Le BlogdosCaloiros continue en publication, bien sûr !

On y ajoute de nouveaux thèmes: projets, culture, littérature, citoyenneté).


New Millenium Learners Conference






The OECD’s Centre for Educational Research and Innovation (CERI) launched the New Millennium Learners (NML) project in 2007. It has the global aim of investigating the effects of digital technologies on school-age learners and providing recommendations on the most appropriate institutional and policy responses from the education sector.

NML



Andreas Schleicher/ OECDICT and Education
http://www.nml-conference.be/

O conceito de New Millenium Learners sugere que a adopção das Tecnologias particularmente pelas novas gerações - os nativos digitais - tem uma presença forte na construção da sua identidade, no modo como comunicam socialmente em rede, e como administram a informação e o conhecimento.

The concept of New Millennium Learners suggests that technology uptake, particularly by younger generations, has an effect on the way people build their identities, communicate socially, and manage information and knowledge.



Roundtable chair Frances Kelly/ Educational Counsellor

http://www.nml-conference.be/

Durante três intensos dias de trabalho, investigadores de trinta países espalhados pelos vários continentes, apresentaram perspectivas desse impacto na Educação dos adolescentes Millenium.

No final de cada sessão foram apresentados vídeos com testemunhos de estudantes de uma escola secundária da Flandres, que demonstraram bem como o papel dos professores inovadores é importante no seu percurso escolar.

As chamadas competências do século XXI foram portanto o tema centralizador da Conferência. O consenso foi geral! A definição de aprendizagens e competências a serem exigidas aos jovens estudantes, de modo a tornarem-se futuros profissionais de qualidade e cidadãos responsáveis, é urgente.

These so-called 21st Century Competencies, which are the main topic of this conference, cover the range of skills and competencies that young people will be required to have in order to be effective workers and responsible citizens in the knowledge society of the 21st century.

Definiram-se várias estratégias, que passam pela transversalidade das Tecnologias e de temas de Cidadania em todos as áreas curriculares, pelo que áreas como Informática e Educação Cívica não terão mais razão de existir. Também são aconselháveis a modernização de alguns currículos escolares. 

A responsabilização das escolas na formação dos seus professores, e  consequente actualização dos mesmos, serão metas a atingir com carácter obrigatório. 
No penúltimo dia foi oferecido aos conferencistas e participantes um jantar de confraternização no 30º andar de um edifício, com uma  soberba panorâmica sobre uma grande parte da cidade de Bruxelas, num final de tarde com um pôr-do-sol esplendoroso. 

Saí mais enriquecida no final deste diálogo internacional! O projecto NML será um êxito se todos nos empenharmos nas novas tendências e objectivos da Educação, neste século XXI.


Dr Francesc Pedró OECD/CERI

100 researchers, teachers and organisations from 30 countries participated in the  New Millenium Learners Conference, Brussels, Belgium, 21-23 September 2009.

Micheline Scheys who manages the interface project between education and labour policy within the Flemish Ministry of Education and Training in Belgium has been an unique  hostess of NML Conference.

All the sessions taked place in  the Auditorium of the Conscience Building. The first NML Conference aimed at showcasing the results of the first phase  to link them to the next.
Many orators presented their overview about changing policies and programs. This slide from Marc Durando of the European Schoolnet succinctly captures the inhibitors to implementing such policies and programs.


Marc Durando/ European Schoolnet

Finland is a nation that has been very successful in raising education performance. The “Road Ahead” provided by Oystein Johannessen could be useful.  Mr Johannessen is the Deputy Director General from the Norwegian Ministry of Education and Research about to begin a secondment to the OECD’s Centre for Educational Research and Innovation (CERI).



Oystein Joahnnssen/Deputy General, NME*

For three days, researchers presented their investigations and opened an interesting debate with all participants, sharing ideas and experiences about "the range of skills and competencies that young students will be required to have in the knowledge society of the 21st Century".


Dirk Van Damme/Head of the CERI*

The last day, Anthony Mackay conference rapporteur made the final report  with some key-notes and Dirk Van Damme, head of CERI, presented general conclusions, mentioned the Global Financial Crisis.

This ongoing event highlights the need to prepare students for an unknown future where the only certainty is change and the most successful people will be able to analyze what’s happening and to make choices that support their own and their community’s welfare.  This brings to clear focus the difference between ICT Literacy /  “High Tech job prep” and 21st Century Skills.

Dirk Van Damme

Between all sessions, some videos with students' voices from the Provinciale Secundaire School Diepenbeek had been presented. It's always very interesting to know the expression of the students about their teachers, learning, e-skills, and Internet use, in school and at home.

All the research outcomes or policy initiaves in the area can only be put in practice if teachers and students regard them as valuable and relevant to their teaching and learning experience.

NML country survey

I think, most of  all, as a researcher teacher and an e-facilitator, that young people brought a fantastic new vision to schools and Education with their visual spatial skills, non verbal intelligence, multi-tasking attitude, in classroom.

As a "pioneer native" teacher and author, I create some educational digital resources as cross-curricular competencies, increasing skills and competencies of my students, motivating them to go further "in order to be effective workers and responsible citizens in the knowledge society of the 21st century".

A fruitful and instructive conference!


G-Souto
01.10.2009
Copyright © 2010G-Souto'sBlog, gsouto-digitalteacher.blogspot.com®

Creative Commons License
Esta obra está licenciada sob uma Licença Creative Commons.


Reference: Slides from Tom March's site.



Thanks:

Micheline Scheys
Flemish Ministry of Education
OECD/CERI


Sarina De Rijbel [Secretariat]

Digital schools versus digital teachers






John Palfrey/ Hanser
"Today's students – K through college – represent the first generations to grow up with this new technology. They have spent their entire lives surrounded by and using computers, videogames, digital music players, video cams, cell phones, and all the other toys and tools of the digital age."

Marc Prensky, 2001

Children and adolescents in digital societies are growing up in a world where digital technologies are ubiquitous.
Internet is used by net-generation also for education and learning purposes, often outside the classroom.
This emergence of digital native learners has major potential implications for Education.

Games and Digital Resources in School is an important and serious goal in the 21st century focus on the changing face of Education.

I am a "digital pioneer" teacher. I can not be called a "digital immigrant" . I did not grow up with Technology. It grew up with me, and I was there every step of the way. A "digital pioneer" who is doing a enthousiastic job infusing technology meaningfully into teaching and learning.

I am a tech researcher and a learning author for quite a time! After previewing the digital resource, created by myself or not, I put it in context phase, that means in the classroom and outside classroom (formal and informal learning), observing my own students, as they interact with the digital resources selected.

The selection must be the most desirable in terms of educational objectives and constraints.

I could feel the enthousiasm of the "N-Gen", when the Web 2.0 entered into my school time as being part of curricula.

I teach on formal (face-to-face teaching) and informal learning (web 2.0). Never missing a new way or option to use digital resources in Education. 
My students can reach me by email, on Messenger since 1999, text cell phone, blogs or moodle plataform since 2002. 

As an tech-savvy educator, I am teaching to the current generation of digital natives in ways that support these students varied learning styles.
.


Rick Wilking/ Reuters 2009

Reseachers and teachers recognise that learning is ongoing and seeks to provide digital resources of quality to support learning on schools.

The assessment of these new tools and devices in curricula is crucial! These digital resources must be certified by experts in IT & Education who have the knowledge of school curricula contents .

The feed-back of experimentation done by teachers and students have an enormous impact.

The objective of the assessment is to analyse the N-Gen - "new learning generation" in classroom and outside classroom, understand their expectations and attitudes facing the "new ways of learning", using digital resources.
Expert teachers must analyse needs and goals carefully, specify the requirements, and finally, test digital resources in classroom, with different students.

Digital resources, games, virtual worlds used in Education, after being analized and tested in real contexts, could join a kind of repository for teachers, parents, and students.

Something is already done by Merlot (Multimedia Educational Resource for Learning and Online Teaching).


Also European Schoolnet in cooperation with the International Software Federation of Europe (ISFE) organised too an European Conference on the use of electronic games in schools on 5 May 2009 in Strasbourg, France.

gis_small013.jpg


Conference "Games on Schools"

John Dowell (University College London) concluded by raising the point that some argue from generation to generation that our intelligence is evolving2) and indeed rising. If this is true, intelligence is also evolving into different forms, such as games and may even be driven by this kind of popular culture.


Well, "Digital games in schools" has been published with the support of the Interactive Software Federation of Europe:



Written by Dr Patrick Felicia, a researcher at the Waterford Institute of Technology in Ireland, the handbook is intended for teachers interested in using digital games in their lessons. It provides the necessary information to understand the educational benefits of digital games and to learn how to use them as educational and motivational resources. The handbook is available in digital version below and can be ordered in print against a small fee to cover shipping cost.



The Games in Schools Community of Practice report is now available in PDF (english version) here

I'ts a very good step on this long way from good pratical examples!

"Should we create a parallel curriculum for 21st century learning? Games can surely contribute. Perhaps on EU level, we need to build such a curriculum?"

John Dowell


Conclusion:

I don't know if we must create a parallel curriculum! I think it's very important create new curricula crossing traditional pedagogy and digital tools for digital natives if we want keep our students focus on school time!

The impact of Digital Resources on cognitive skills and on learning expectations, and the evolution of social values and lifestyles are important issues.


G-Souto

07.09.2009
Copyright © 2010G-Souto'sBlog, gsouto-digitalteacher.blogspot.com®


References:

Prensky, Marc, Digital Natives, Digital Immigrants, on Horiozon (MCB University Press, Vol. 9 No. 5, October 2001

Souto, G., Assessment of Digital Resources use in Education: Anatomy of Digital Resources in Learning Generation, Research, Reflections and Innovations in Integrating ICT in Education, Vol. 2, Formatex, Spain, April 2009

Palfrey, John, Publications

Games in Schools, European Scholnet, ISFE