My thoughts about Education Humanities, Technology and Digital Culture. Interested on social media tools in educational contexts and
gamification in education.
Sometimes, I share with you some good talks about Education. I think it is important to hear specialists and discuss their ideas. For Music in school education, Sir George Martin, for private schools vs. public schools Sir Ken Robinson, for games at school Jane McGonigal, for re-engaging students in learning, Ali Carr-Chellman, for the future of Education, Professor Noam Chomsky, for psychology and behavior, Steven Pinker, for outdoor education, Richard Louv, for teachers and "alternative" education programs into the mainstream, Bill Gates or Sir Ken Robinson Today, I would like to share George Siemens, Professor at Athabasca University (Canada),
in a talk about changing schools, changing knowledge.
While more and more knowledge is available to us, the amount of time for us to pay attention to it remains the same.
What kind of knowledge will be needed in the future, and how are we going to be acquiring it?
How educational institutions are contending with these challenges.
These are some questions Professor George Siemens answers.
Education:
Interesting, isn't it? Change knowledge needs and structures are influencing the development of new learning systems and models. And it is not easy. A good critical talk. He provides a critical evaluation of the testing/evaluation narrative in education and of the future of education.
As an educationalist, I think these kind of talks of innovative thinkers about different subjects touching Education are always very useful to us.
Europe Code Week, taking place between November 25 and 30, 2013 all over Europe, is an open source initiative, aiming to connect initiatives that encourage European citizens to learn more about the art and science of computer programming.
"Computer programming is being heralded as the new literacy, yet it is still widely perceived as a skill that can only mastered with a computer science degree.
With the wider availability of internet connectivity and freely available, easy to use technologies, this is no longer the case."
To encourage people and young students to create a digital future, Europe Code Week will celebrate coding between November 25 - 30, 2013.
"Young Advisors can inspire us, point to mismatches between expectations of young people and current policy initiatives or plans. They can actively contribute to shaping Europe's digital future by employing their skills and talents and by sharing fresh and creative ideas. "
Digital Agenda for Europe
They are a bunch of young people with a dream of a world where all sort of crazy ideas are given a chance to change the world. Well, let's see!
It's about those of you who are already helping these dreams come true. The future.
Technology is shaping young lives, bringing crazy ideas to life, build things that will bring joy to others.
"It's never been easier to make your own app, build your own robot, or invent flying cars, why not! It's not an easy journey, but it's a journey full of creative challenges, a supportive community, and tons of fun."
Why Coding?
Coding is becoming a key skill for professionals in every field
ICT professionals, researchers, designers…
Basic ICT skills enable the creation of small business
Today there is already a shortage of ICT professionals in Europe
By 2015, we will be missing 900.000 ICT professionals
These positions could be filled by Europeans currently unemployed
The future economy of Europe passes by a strong focus on technology and startups
Dans une étude inédite, l'Unicef Francese penche sur le lien qui existe entre "privations et exclusion sociale" chez les enfants.
Entre février et juillet, 22.500 enfants, âgés de 6 à 18 ans, et originaires de plus de soixante-dix villes de France, ont répondu à 133 questions sur leur vie quotidienne.
Les résultats de la consultation montrent que près d'un jeune sur cinq est en situation "préoccupante" d'exclusion sociale.
Et tout est lié. Cette étude réalisée sous l'égide de l'Unicef France le prouve: pauvreté et exclusion sociale sont bien liées.
Les 14,5% d’entre eux qui sont en situation de grande ou d’extrême privation voient également leur qualité de vie se dégrader proportionnellement à leur niveau de pauvreté.
"Vivant dans la précarité, ils se perçoivent aussi, plus en difficulté à l’école ou dans leur famille, plus éloignés du système de soins, plus marginalisés dans leur quartier, plus en insécurité dans leur environnement proche et moins associés à la vie de la collectivité que les autres enfants."Face à cette situation inacceptable, Catherine Dolto évoque « la spirale du malheur », une triple ou une quadruple peine.
Ce n'est pas franchement un scoop, juste la confirmation de ce que l'on pressentait. La pédiatre Catherine Dolto l'appelle la "spirale du malheur". L'étude le confirme, chiffres à l'appui.
Selon cette étude menée avec TNS-Sofres et publiée ce mardi (19 novembre) 7% d’entre eux souffrent d'une "exclusion extrême".
Le rapport mesurel’intégration des plus jeunes à l’école, à la maison, ainsi que dans la ville.
On découvre que 55% ont répondu "oui" à l’affirmation "je peux être harcelé ou ennuyé par d'autres enfants ou jeunes "dans le milieu scolaire."
Les relations dans l'école peuvent être parfois pénibles d'après les enfants ", confirme Serge Paugam, sociologue coauteur de l'étude.
Dans le même temps, un enfant sur dix estime qu'on ne respecte pas ses "droits dans (son) quartier, (sa) ville".
Au-delà d’établir la proportion d’enfants et d’adolescents en situation de pauvreté, l’analyse des résultats de la Consultation souligne le lien entre précarité et exclusion sociale.
"Vivant dans la précarité, ils se perçoivent aussi, plus en difficulté à l’école ou dans leur famille, plus éloignés du système de soins, plus marginalisés dans leur quartier, plus en insécurité dans leur environnement proche et moins associés à la vie de la collectivité que les autres enfants."
Unicef
"Plus un enfant est dans la précarité, plus il connaît des difficultés à s'intégrer dans l'ensemble de sa vie", observait ce matin en conférence de presse Michèle Barzach, la présidente d’Unicef France.
"Il y a un risque de génération sacrifiée", a-t-elle ajouté.
Le sociologue Serge Paugam fait un constat qui pourrait surprendre : "Quel que soit l'âge, globalement les filles sont mieux intégrées socialement que les garçons."
Au-delà de ces observations, l’Unicef veut lancer un message : « Le rapport de notre consultation montre la nécessité d'écouter les enfants ! Écouter les plus vulnérables », insiste Michèle Barzach.
En écoutant ces deux enfants sur la vidéo en bas, je me sens encore plus bouleversée.
La France n'est pas le seul pays européen où les enfants et les jeunes ados souffrent de précarité sociale. Un rapport constate que "Un tiers de l'Europe sera en situation de pauvreté en 2025". à lire ici.
Déjà en 2012, l'Unicef avait présenté un rapport de 30 million d'enfants, dans 35 pays dévelopés qui vivaient en pauvreté.
"As debates rage on austerity measures and social spending cuts, a new report reveals the extent of child poverty and child deprivation in the world’s advanced economies."
Unicef (Brussels, 29 May 2012)
Les enseignants dans les écoles et établissements d'enseignement font un effort particulier pour informer les enfants de leurs droits conformément à la Déclaration des Droits de l'Enfant et la Convention relative aux droits de l'enfant.
Les enseignants stimulent leurs élèves à réfléchir sur les différences entre eux et les autres et d'expliquer la notion de "droits". Ressources: Vidéos/films Les mômes courage au cinéma, une séléction très intéressante de films présentée par le Figaro.fr aujourd'hui, le 20 novembre, et qu'on peut partager avec les élèves en salle de cours.
A vous de sélectionner le fim selon l'âge et le niveau d'enseignement.
L'harcèlement au collège ou lycée, est tout aussi un sujet qu'on travaille beaucoup. Les enseignants font aussi des efforts, par des activités dans les cours, des projets scolaires, de sensibilisation près des étudiants contre le harcélement.
Discuter les problèmes d'harcèlement en classe, écouter les jeunes, demander leur intervention près d'un copain ou un ami.
Écouter leur anxieté, partager leur soufrance psychique, c'est indispensable. On peut les aider et doit alerter les parents.
Dans certaines régions, l'UNICEF organise des événements pour attirer l'attention sur les droits des enfants.
Il peut s'agir de stimuler l'intérêt dans les médias du monde entier ou pour commencer des campagnes nationales.
Comme enseignants, nous nous rendons bien compte de tous ces problèmes de précarité, exclusion, harcèlement, entre copains ou violence de la part des parents, défavorisent de plus en plus les droits des enfants et des jeunes ados, diminuent leur intelligence, ne leur permettant pas de faire des études. "N'oublions que les enfants devenus grands rendent à la société ce qu'elle leur a donné."
"Up to 7,000 schools could have been damaged by super storm Haiyan in the Philippines warns Save the Children as the aid agency battles to reach the hardest hit areas like the city of Tacloban."
"Our aid teams in Bohol and Manila will tomorrow fly to Cebu and then travel by road and ferry to reach Tacloban. When they arrive they will work with our team already on the ground there to meet the basic needs of children such as giving them food and water,"
Anna Lindenfors, Save the Children's Country Director in the Philippines
Philippines typhoon | school destroyed photo: unknow www.google.com/
Of course the immediate focus must be on saving lives, but thousands of schools are out of action or badly affected by the typhoon.
In the worst hit areas this will have a terrible impact on children's education and it will be important to help children back to school as quickly as possible,
So, the Ministry of Education and Training of Philippines has asked schools in coastal provinces and cities from Quang Ninh to Ninh Binh, Red River delta provinces and northern provinces to create conditions to help students quickly get back to school after the typhoon.
The Hanoi city Department of Education and Training also issued a document asking schools in the city to carry out teaching and learning activities as usual from November 12, 2013.
Education: Schools across the world are considering to introduce in school lessons the Philippines typhoon and its consequences.
It is impossible not to talk about such a tragic natural disaster with our students.
I know, it is a delicate subject, there are shocking images - videos and photos -running on the internet about the victims.
But young people make questions, want to be informed, understand, and discuss in the classroom what it is going on around the world and why natural catastrophes such as Haiti earthquaker (2010), Katrina hurricane in USA (2005) and now Haiyan typhoon in Philippines. They have a conscious idea about it. They are the "internet generation" they are "wired" all day. And we have a new environmentalist generation among our students. They involved in campaigns, they fight bad behaviors against Earth planet.
There are so many stories and so many lessons that can be taught about climate change and natural disasters!
I linked a few digital resources on this post to support the theme in your lessons.
Resources:
Different digital resources are available. As educators, we can adapt and introduce them in school curricula to assist students as they seek learning opportunities around emotion-charged dates.
Of course every teacher must review the resources before introducing them, and evaluate one by one in school context.
Curricula: Geography; Sciences; Civics; History.
Photography:
There are thousands of photos online (newspapers, televisions). These are just some I selected. It's up to every teacher make a research of the best photos adapted to the curriculum and level they teach.
You can also ask your students to search for their personal sights about Haiyan typhoon.
A digital composite of Typhoon Haiyan approaching the Philippines, made using images captured geostationary satellites of the Japan Meteorological Agency
Natural disasterscontains a selection of content from NG Education about natural disasters. Teachers can use and find more.
Videos:
Videos are important digital resources. Students appreciate to watch videos. Please prepare previous pedagogical scripts that you must pass out your students to introduce the the discussion. Videos are an ideal, and natural medium for learning.
Serious game:
Serious Game (SG) approach encourages students to explore and develop their own experience, 'live' inside, following their own path and personalizing the experience.
The two Serious Game below might motivate students' awareness to the problems of the Environment, solve some problems, and prepare them to be active citizens.
What decisions would you make as an earthquake survivor, aid worker, or journalist in Haiti after the earthquake?
Inside the Haiti Earthquakeis a first-person simulation based on documentary footage from Haiti and real-life decision scenarios. Try it now, click the graphic below.
Level: Secondary Education; Vocational Education (up-to 17) Note: some images are real but brutal.
Fate of the World is a PC strategy game that simulates the real social and environmental impact of global climate change over the next 200 years. The science, the politics, the destruction — it’s all real, and it’s scary.
Fate of the World that I shared on my blog in 2010 is the sequel to the popular BBC Climate Challenge played by around 1 million people all over the world.
Levels: Elementary Education; Secondary Education Games online:
Stop Disasters | A disaster simulation game from the UN/ISDR
Stop Disasters is a game online the role in this game is to plan and construct a safer environment for the population.
Students must assess the disaster risk and try to limit the damage when natural disasters strike.
ISDR stands for International Strategy for Disaster Reduction The Strategy brings many organisations, universities, institutions together for a common objective: reducing the number of dead and injured by disasters triggered by natural hazards.
One last word to the Philippines people and most of all to all the Philippines children. My deepest thoughts are with you. I have no words. Please, have hope! And to the Philippines teachers, have the courage to restart school time with joy, supporting young children. Schools can be the best place to forget the reality and drama outside. We can't do great things in this life . We can only do small things with great love.
Mother Theresa
Really hope to help educators to enrich their lessons and support their students to understand the natural disasters using some of these digital resources. And, teach students to be supportive from an early age to other children.
