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    Bridging INSULA EUROPAE

    Enhancing Pupils Motivation by Developing a EuropeanDimension of Learning and the Use of ICT

    Guidelines for the experimentation

    Bridging Insula EuropaeEnhancing Pupils Motivation by Developing European Dimension of Learning and the Use of ICT

    134214-LLP-1-2007-1-IT-COMENIUS-CMPGrant Agreement 2007-3435/001-001

    This project has been funded with support from the European Commission.

    This publication reflects the views only of the author, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use whichmay be made of the information contained therein

    1. Introduction

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    Starting from the experience of the Insula Europae project, Bridging_EI intends to :

    Encourage European teachers to use a new teaching method based on Active

    Learning. This would increase the quality of both teaching and learning in class byinvolving the participants in a European environment.

    Involve students in a new learning process that would increase the value of their

    work and in turn make them more responsible ofwhatand howthey study.

    Define a way to positively exploit new technologies as learning and teaching tools.

    Find a methodology for the use of TICs that can be economically and

    technologically sustainable for European schools. Develop a teaching method for a European culture of tolerance in school curricula

    and increase a European civic conscience.

    Following research on Active Learning (AL), in particular on Learning by Doingand Cooperative learning the project has created a learning Environment based onTICs for the use of the Open Distance Learning (ODL) method.

    This step concentrates on the experimentation of the teaching method identified inthe previous steps. The main feature of the project is that learners will be active andinvolved in the building of the curricula that the project aims to develop:

    a. Being Europeans means(Experiences on European Civic Education)

    b. Being Europeans reminds (Experiences on European Integration History)c. Being Europeans tells(Experiences on European Literature and Culture)

    Students will develop the content of the curricula by describing their national identity.The activities will be carried out in an on-line environment and students will be free tocooperate with their European colleagues and choose the tools (videos, presentations,photos ) for their work.

    At the end of the project all activities will be stored and presented in a Virtualexhibition of images and a Short film.

    The partners of this project are:

    Euneos Oy (Finland)

    Opetusalan Opeko - National Centre for Professional Development in Education

    (Finland)

    Centre for Educational Initiatives Association CEI (Bulgaria)

    Department of Information and In-Service Training of Teachers DIUU (Bulgaria)

    Universit Ca Foscari Venezia SSIS Veneto (Italy)

    IMCS Intercollege Ltd (Cyprus)

    Spanish Confederation for Educational Centers CECE (Spain)

    Technical Railways Transports High School (Romania)

    Casa Corpului Didactic Iai - Teacher Training Centre (Romania) Mid Sweden University, Department of Educational Sciences (Sweden)

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    2. The Learning Environment

    It is based on a Moodle platform, engineered and personalised on the Bridging InsulaEuropae specifications.Moodle is a Course Management System (CMS), also known as Learning ManagementSystem (LMS) or Virtual Learning Environment (VLE).It is available on the Web and teachers can use it to create online learningenvironments.

    Access :

    Through the web page www.era-edu.com/bridgingieor from the projects website www.http://www.edu-projects.eu/BridgingIe/index.asp,and by clicking on Bridging Learning Environment, the platform for theexperimentation opens (see picture below).

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    Enter username and password and click on login to visualise all the courses.

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    3. The structure

    The platform is structured in three paths (one for each curriculum)

    Being Europeans means(Experiences on European Civic Education)Being Europeans reminds (Experiences on European Integration History)Being Europeans tells(Experiences on European Literature and Culture)

    In each path teachers and students will find:

    A building room:

    This is a section common to all paths.Here teachers and students will learn how to use the wide range of tools available tointeraction (social networks, blogs etc) and acquire a better knowledge of thefunctions and usefulness applied to teaching and learning.The aim is to overcome digital barriers and create personalised work environmentsthrough the tools available on the web. This will help to learn how to use computertechnologies to teach, communicate and build a learning environment.Teachers and students will define the open source tools, analyse them and share theiruse. Teachers will familiarise with the use of web based learning tools by direct

    experimentation aimed at building their own learning environment. Students willanalyse together with their colleagues and their teachers the tools available on theWeb.

    At the end of this exchange of knowledge and competences a short report on theresults achieved will be published.

    The above activities will be carried out with a teacher.Time: 2 hours of group work.

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    The following are some of the tools available on the platform:

    Gym Wiki

    Students can browse the Web for information regarding all tools available to buildtheir curricula. A wikipage is a webpage in which each class can carry out jointbuilding operations with the browser with no knowledge of HTML processes.A wikipage opens with a fist page and each contributor can add further pages bycreating a link with a page that does not yet exist.This is a quick method to create a group content. Usually no one is in control of thefinal content but the whole community writes, creates and develops it.The class can therefore create its own product or alternatively each student can

    produce his/her own wikipage and work together with teachers and colleagues.

    Gym Glossary Language of the Web

    This activity allows participants to draw up a list of definitions, like a kind of dictionarythat can be prepared by the students during their search for tools and for new termsregarding the web and open source tools to be found in it.

    Students will meet with unfamiliar terms, therefore this type of glossary may beuseful to build up the spirit of cooperation in a group since each member can beassigned the task of finding a term, contribute to the search for a definition orcomment.

    Multiple definitions can be classified by the teacher and the students, and thoseconsidered more appropriate will be included in the final glossary.

    The purpose is to make students feel responsible for creating the definitions and alsoto feel more involved in the process which in turn will help to remember the terms andtheir correct definition.

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    Gym ChatThis model allows the participants to have synchronous debates in the Web in realtime.It is an excellent way to acquire a different level of understanding of each other and ofthe subject of debate.The way a chat room is used is quite different from that of asynchronous forums.Students and teachers can debate and exchange links and opinions on the toolsavailable in the Web and on how to structure the sections regarding the drawing up ofthe curricula.

    Gym Forum

    This activity can give a significant contribution to successful communications and tothe building of an online community.A Report with the results of the activity will follow.This will include the research carried out by the students and teacher on the opensource tools and their use in preparing the curricula as well as data andmethodologies for the use of the Moodle platform.

    The studying room

    This is a space in which students, under the teachers coordination, will develop the

    planned activities contributing to define the three curricula

    The sharing room

    During the learning process, this space will be used by the students to exchange theexperiences and competences they have acquired with their foreign colleaguesinvolved in the project.

    There will be an animator. His/her task will be to supply indications, check on the workin progress and assist students and teachers.Furthermore, when necessary, the teacher may ask the animator for additional help

    during the students activities.The coordinator will also create an international animation available in order to verifyand control the work carried out in other countries.

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    4. The Studying Room: planned activities

    Being Europeans means (Experiences on European Civic Education)

    Task 1. What do I know about my country Europe

    The teacher, after a brief explanation and a debate with the students, will verify theirknowledge of the structure of the European Union, its purposes and main objectives.

    A teacher will be present and the work will take 1 hour.

    Activities:

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    Questionnaire: What do I know about my country Europe

    20 questions (e.g. on festivities and symbols linked to European identity) to test thestudents knowledge on the topic.The teacher will then carry out tests on the basis of a series of different questions,some with multiple choice answers, true/false answers or short answers.

    Starting from the curricula of the Insula Europae project (the relevant coursewarewill be available for teachers and students) students will be actively involved in thedefinition of the consents.

    After having verified their level of knowledge students will have some useful tools tocontinue examining the other ones available on the Web.

    Teachers Speech:The teachers explanation will help to integrate or examine the courseware contents.The teacher will be able to supply the students with a resume on which they can referto to build the curricula.

    The students will take active part to the definition of the contents through the use ofthe following tools:

    RESOURCES

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    European Union Wikipedia:teacher and students will find further information and a detailed description of thesubject they are studying. In this way they will know more about the materials, linksand information available on the Web.

    Glossary Being European Citizen:the purpose is to create a list of definitions linked to the European Union andEuropean Citizenship.Students can be actors by searching for and giving a meaning to new terms regardingEuropes structure and objectives. They will also have the opportunity to create their

    own glossary when meeting with unfamiliar terms. Each member of the class cancontribute to find a definition.

    Wiki Europe:A wikipage can be considered a structured table of contends organised through itsown links.Students can, as a joint effort, find in the Web all the information related to the EU aswell as data and documents on the main characteristics of the Union itself, itsstructure, its main representatives and how it operates.The purpose is to create a wikipage in which each student can give his/hercontribution by adding other pages by simply creating a link to the already existing

    material.The result should be the development of contents by a group of students.The whole class can create a joint page or have his/her own wikipage and work on itwith teachers and colleagues.

    Task 2. Traces of Europe in my town (persons who know something,flags, documents)

    Teachers and students together will develop a table of useful indications to direct theresearch.

    Students will find emblems and symbols identifying Europe in their country or in theirhome town. The purpose is not that of carrying out a generic research on Europe butrather finding and discovering elements closely linked to the EU and understand theirimportance and their history.Students working in groups and following a conceptual map will describe the resultsachieved in their search for Traces of the European Union in their home town.They can add multimedia products to their work (e.g. images showing the Europeanflag, pointing out where and on which buildings it is flying, MP3 files with theEuropean anthem; files with interviews to fellow citizens who can contribute to theunderstanding of the European Union, e.g. the impact the introduction of a commoncurrency has had on the country economy ).

    This type of activity will be carried out in groups, with theteachers coordinationand in the students free time.

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    Time: 3 hours

    The platform

    Assignment

    Conceptual Map: the student and the teacher will develop together a conceptualmap showing the work to be carried out in the following step. Students can thereforediscover useful elements for their activity and produce a meaningful and welldistributed research.Each student will develop his/her own product, an own map which will include the

    results of the work and add MP3 files, videos and images. All these products will bedescribed following the studies carried out in the previous step and on the basis of theteachers explanations.(see index Group 0)

    Resources

    These are the most important tools provided by the platform. Each tool refers to a linkto a web page dedicated to the project containing a series of very versatile tools whichthe student will find useful for the search of materials (e.g. photos, files, audiointerviews, videos )

    An image and video hostingwebsite and online community platform for users to sharepersonal photographs and images.

    This is a photo slideshow maker to create slide shows with photos. Music and effects

    can be added.

    This is a video sharing website where the students can upload, view and share videoclips related to the theme of the conceptual map.

    Search engine to find data and documents on the Web.

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    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image_hosting_servicehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Video_hosting_servicehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Websitehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Online_communityhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Video_hosting_servicehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Video_cliphttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Video_cliphttp://www.google.com/http://www.youtube.com/http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image_hosting_servicehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Video_hosting_servicehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Websitehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Online_communityhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Video_hosting_servicehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Video_cliphttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Video_clip
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    This is a is afree, multilingualencyclopedia created by web users. Its like a traditionalencyclopaedia and a state of the art dictionary. Its purpose is to create and distributean encyclopaedia that is free and rich in content.

    Task 3. What the EU does and what Member States do

    Students, working in groups under the coordination of a teacher, will develop a

    conceptual map showing the data collected during their research, describing brieflythe meaning of each of them. In order to carry out this part of the research theguidelines for the map must be defined to be able to find useful elements to explainthe topics singled out within the area.

    Student will carry out a study and research based on a wider spectrum than in theprevious step which was more focused on their own home town or native country.In this case it will be more appropriate to think about how to find the information andhow to pass it on to a tourist who would like to know more about this country.Therefore, students must find, just as a tourist would do, key data on the EU in orderto understand more about the country they are interested in.

    The class will examine, with help from the teacher, one specific topic that can explainthe relationship between the EU and its Member States (e.g. economy and currency,agriculture and environment, justice, freedom and security ..)

    Output:: at the end of this phase the output will be a sort of Tourist Guide compiledthrough the use of tools found in the platform.The basic subject will be the one previously chosen and the Guide could be enrichedwith a kind of Virtual Journey (created with Web tools see in the mapwingPlatform).

    Activity carried out by the students in their free time. 3 hours.Activity carried out with the teacher: 2 hours (at school).

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    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Free_contenthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Free_contenthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Multilingualismhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Encyclopediahttp://en.wikipedia.org/http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Free_contenthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Multilingualismhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Encyclopedia
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    Being Europeans reminds(Experiences on European Integration History)

    Task 1. Some main points about the history of the EU

    The teacher after a brief explanation, a debate and an opinion sharing session withthe students will assess their knowledge on the history of the European Union, itsconstitution and development up to the present.

    This activity requires the presence of a teacher.Time: 1 hour

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    The activities will be the same as for the other curricula (see page 10), that is: onequestionnaire to assess the students level of understanding about the topic and toexamine the theme through the use of web tools.

    A courseware on the theme developed in the Insula Europae project will also beavailable for this curriculum.

    Teachers Speech:

    The teachers explanation will integrate and widen the courseware content and allowstudents to synthesise the material they will be using to build the curriculum.The students will also be involved in defining the contents by using the following tools:

    History of Europe - Wikipedia:teacher and students will find a detailed description of the History of the EU andcollect information on the topic they are studying.

    Glossary European Integration History:its purpose is to create a list of definitions related to the history of the EU and to theentry of the new countries up to today.

    Wiki Europes History:students can browse the web for all the information about European history. The canalso define data and documentation on the main steps of the birth of the Union and its

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    development.

    Task 2. Traces of Europe in your personal history and in the historyof your Country

    With the students, the teacher will develop a scheme containing useful indications todirect their research activities. Based on those indications they will find emblems andsymbols marking the history of Europe. The purpose is a research on Europe from theviewpoint of its historical development in connection with the history and the evolutionof ones own country.

    Therefore, students must find elements of precise significance with the Europeanhistory.They will work in groups following the teachers directions, and on the basis of theindications given by the conceptual map will describe the results achieved in theirrespective native countries.They will also be required to look for, find or create multimedia products brieflydescribing their significance in connection with the initial theme (e.g. photos ofmonuments or of historical events, videos etc.)

    This activity will be carried out in their free time.

    Time: 3 hours.

    In the platform:

    Assignment

    Conceptual Map: students and teachers will create a conceptual scheme givingindications on the theme to be developed in the following step.Students can therefore follow the instructions to discover useful elements to createtheir own work in this way giving meaning and distribution to their research.

    Each student will develop his/her own product, an own map to which elements fromthe research work will be added.They can add MP3 files, videos and images that describe these elements on the basisof what has been learnt from the teachers explanation and from the study done in theprevious step (see index group 0).

    The aim is to find emblems and symbols of some significance in European history andin the history of ones own country trying to understand and explain their meaning inconnection with the latter and therefore find and understand the relationship betweenEuropean history and integration and national history.Students can for instance collect images of monuments and events describing them

    on the basis of what they have previously learnt.

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    Resources

    As for the other curricula, the platform will supply a series of tools for thedevelopment and integration of the elements in the conceptual map.

    Task 3. Heroes in my Country, European personalities

    As in the previous phase, this part of the research will define a series of guidelines tocreate a map including elements useful to better explain and determine the topics

    within the My national heroes, European personalities area.Students, working as a group under the teachers coordination, will produce aconceptual map describing the research methods adopted and adding some furtherelements and describing their significance.These elements will be related to historical figures whose lives and actions are linkedto the building of the EU. Students will explain their meaning and importance in theirnational as well as European History.

    Time: 3 hours (in their free time)2 hours (at school)

    In this case, students can be better directed in their research work considering thewider range of action allowed after the previous step more focused on their hometown.

    Output: the end result could be a Photo Album created by the students 8includingdescriptions, captions, MP3 files )

    Time: 3 hours (in their free time)2 hours (at schools)

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    Being Europeans tells (Experiences on European Literature andCulture)

    Task 1. What do I know about EU Literature and Culture

    In this section the teacher verifies the students knowledge of European literature anculture.

    The activities will be carried out with the help of a teacher.Time: 1 hour.

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    The activities will be the same as for the other curricula, that is: one questionnaire toassess the students level of understanding about the topic and to examine the themethrough the use of web tools.

    A courseware on the theme developed in the Insula Europae project will also beavailable for this curriculum.

    After the in-depth study of the subject (including the Teachers Speech) the student

    will be able to use more tools to continue their work.

    RESOURCES

    European literature - Wikipedia:here students and teachers will find a detailed description of the topic they arestudying, links and additional information.

    Glossary European culture:

    the aim is to build a list of definitions linked to European culture and literature.

    Students will have an active role in finding and defining terms regarding bothEuropean culture and literature. The information can come from their own country orfrom other countries that have contributed to the development of todays Europe.

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    Wiki EuropeHere students will be able to find information about European writers and figureswhose lives and works have contributed to the development of a European culture.Through Wiki Europe they will be able to work together.

    Task 2. Traces of the EU culture and literature in your personalexperience

    With the information supplied by the teacher students will carry out their ownresearch. They will find those specific elements (in music, cinema, literature, TV )that testimony the presence of Europe. All the new information acquired will be addedto the map with a brief description of each element and its significance.

    This activity will be carried out by the students in their free time.Time: 3 hours.

    In the platform:

    Assignment

    Conceptual Map:

    Students and teachers will build a conceptual map showing indications on the topicthat will be developed in the following step and adding the elements of research andthe work carried out by the students.These elements will be important personalities found in music, cinema, literature etc.who through their works identify European culture and literature.Students can add to the map MP3 files, videos, images.(see index Group 0)

    Resources

    As for the other curricula, here will be several tools to choose from to continuebuilding the conceptual map.

    Task 3. Finding personalities that in your opinion represent Europeanliterature and culture

    Students will work together with the help of the teacher and present the conceptualmap they have created as well as the research methodology they have used and thevarious elements that compose the map.

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    In this way they will create a sort of guideline to explain the topics listed in this task.

    The elements that build the conceptual map will be historical figures whose lives andactions are linked to both European culture and literature and their importance fortheir country and for Europe itself.Output: a Free E-Book where students can write their personal book using toolssuch as Youtube, Wikipedia, Flickr, adding links, images form Google Images etc.

    This activity will be carried out (in their free time).Time: 3 hours

    2 hours (at school coordination and explanation of material).

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    5. The Sharing room: Four themes to think about European identity

    This section shows the students four themes to make them think about what being aEuropean citizen means.The results will be shared among the students of the other participating countries.

    There will be a national animator that will supply indications, check the work carriedout and help both students and teachers.

    The activities planed for this section will be carried out alongside the curricula and the

    whole work will take 8 weeks:

    1-2 week

    First theme : Us, Europeans

    Students, with the coordination of the teacher, will have to describe theirschool and their class and what they usually do in their free time.

    Topics:

    As we areOur schoolOur classWe, out of school (what we do just for fun)

    Suggested output: Facebook, a social networking in which students could talkand exchange information.

    3-4 week

    Second theme: My place, Europe

    Students, with the coordination of the teacher, describe their own country,region and town in order to give a general description of the country they livein in a European perspective.

    Topics:-Our country- Our region- Our town

    Suggested output: a Blog in which students could add information they havegathered.

    5-6 WEEK

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    Third theme: Being young Europeans

    Students, with the coordination of the teacher, will have to explain what beinga European citizen means through the use of music, films, books

    BooksMoviesCartoons & Strips

    Suggested output: a product that could be a Web TV in which students couldadd and share information

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    Fourth theme: European new society

    The students, with the coordination of the teacher, will describe the problemsand issues todays society in order to have an additional tool to betterunderstand what is Europe today.

    Topics:The problems as young citizensCrime and safety at schoolAddictionsFamily relationshipsHow we meet friends

    Suggested output: a product that could be a News Magazine.

    This section will be in English (a simplified version of the language through imagessigns and symbols ).

    A meaningful and exemplifying motto could be:

    Leave the Kids Alone!

    Students will be free to elaborate concepts, carry out their own work and produceresults. The teacher is just a guide and supplies inputs and indications.