Great Lx International Conference 2013

"How can we bring attention of policy makers to the significant potential of games? This  issue will be addressed by the GREAT Lisbon Conference on Games & TEL."

Claudio Dondi

The Great Lx International Conference on Games and TEL took place in Lisbon, Portugal last 15-16 September 2013 at ISCTE-IUL.

The GREAT LX International Conference on Games & TEL (technology enhanced learning) was promoted by Portuguese Association of People Management (APG) partnership with ISCTE and European partnership project supported by the European Leonardo da Vinci.

The Organizing Committee Claudio Dondi, Edeberto Costa, Maja Pivec and Ana Passos joined all the speakers and participants for a full and interesting day for the future of learning in Europe

Great LX | Auditorium

https://fbcdn-sphotos-g-a.akamaihd.net/

Interesting opportunity to participate, listen and share the last concepts about the current paradigms and evolution of Games in Education (GBL) Training (SG) and Technology Enchanced Learninig (TEL).

The Great Lx started, on September 15th with a Social Play - Porto de Honra followed by a dinner.

The main conference began on September 16th 2013 at 9:00. The conference themes were:

Theme 1: Games

• Serious Game

• GBL-Games based learning

• Gaming

Theme 2: Technology Enhanced Learning:

• E-learning
• Social and inclusive learning
• ICT Contexts
• Environments for learning
• Collaborative Virtual Environments

Claudio Dondi

https://fbcdn-sphotos-d-a.akamaihd.net/

Claudio Dondi, a policy maker and influent learning thinker about European issues gave the participants guidance and experienced learning processes. EFQUEL, Menon, Scienter some references of his work.

At the Great Auditorium (Grande Auditório), the conference started with "E&T 2020 strategy powered by networks and partnerships."

Over the past years the EU has gained more and more influence in the field of lifelong learning. 

The central points for dialogues on the round table were the relevance of joining forces from various sources in a common field of battle by learning interests with eyes on the future. 

• Networks are one of the agents for change. 

• The paradigm shift in learning is an opportunity to blow the collaborative work of thematic networks in lifelong learning.

• Games in Learning; Game Based Learning; Serious Games; Gaming - Findings and appreciations from recent researches The IPTS / JRC European Commission (March 2013), emphasized the importance of learning through play.

Great Lx Conference | Maja Pivec

photo: GSouto

"Game-based learning has been considered a significant approach to increase motivation of learners for a long time, and ICT has brought a lot of new options to broaden the range of learning objectives that can be addressed by games."

Claudio Dondi

"Gaming; Game Based Learning; Serious Games, Gaming: Findings and appreciations from recent researches" were at the top of dialogues at this Round Table at 11: 30,moderated by Edelberto Costa.

Maja Pivec presented a research project based in focus group and an online survey. Also presented several specific games that can be used in the learning process. 

I knew the work of Maja Pivec because we participated in 2010 at the ENGAGE Quality Awards 2010 as members of the Jury for evaluation.

Petridis Panagiotis from the Serious Games Institute (SGI), presented several games related to Health; Paul Pivec highlighted the characteristics of the games that a game designer need to considerer; Leonel Morgado introduced the new ways of learning and teaching – games change the process and the way we learn.

Great Lx Conference

https://fbcdn-sphotos-c-a.akamaihd.net/

After lunch and continuing at the Great Auditorium the round table "ICT for learning in the EU 2020: Findings and appreciations from recent researches" began.

I was very interested on key note speaker Claudio Dondi analysis about the role of ICT in learning moving the change on E&T and bringing a great challenge for the shift on paradigm in Europe. 

I know Claudio Dondi from different international conferences. The last one, in Brussels, at the European Forum on Learning Futures and Innovation, where I had a presentation at VISIR workshop on the 19th March, 2013 with Giordano Koch and Jan Pawlowski.

Claudio Dondi is one of best European researcher and expert and his thoughts are always very important.

Claudio Dondi made a splendid evaluation with remarkable key notes and items that I have the chance to hear.

Great Lx Conference | Final session

https://fbcdn-sphotos-h-a.akamaihd.net/

Some considerations or a possible report:

For one long day, speakers, researchers, practitioners, producers, skate holders and participants shared  interesting ideas and experiences.

I joined key speakers and round tables at the Great Auditorium. I am an independent researcher on TEL and I was very curious to hear about the new ideas.

Games, TEL and MOOCs were on my best interests

I knew the work of Maja Pivec. We worked together at the ENGAGE Quality Awards 2010 as members of the Jury for Evaluation.

As an expert on Social Media Tools in Education and  trainer teachers, I am an educator and practitioner of the integration of games in school. I really know the importance of gaming to change teaching and learning in Secondary Education.

I would like to hear something new. However, it was interesting to hear the questions of some participants in the room. 

Some teachers talked about their fears and demotivation to introduce games and ICT tools in the classroom. This is not new. 

Younger teachers who teach in schools now are the ones who reveal more Informatic skills but the domain of a simple technique does not guarantee that teachers uses it easily, with clearance and with critical thinking.

Teachers must not be afraid to introduce ICT and games in Secondary Education.

I think it is a question of changing mentalities and most important, training teachers, helping them to develop a high-attuned sense of technique in the classroom.

A good final session. The speakers and the participants presented an overview about their own ideas and interests, trying to contribute to better inclusion and excellent innovation technologies in Education.

Finally the team Rapporteurs leader's communication comments and questions selected from audience and internet addressed to representatives.

I special appreciated Claudio Dondi (Scienter) evaluation on TEL and António Teixeira (EDEN) on MOOCs.

It is very important to understand the new challenges until 2020. As the final rapporteur pointed:

• We have to work harder on the issues above. 

• MOOCs are not inclusive. 

• Less focus on thecnology and more in people.

Really liked a testimony of a college student talking about MOOCs. He feel more engaged on academy face to face learning and social experience between peers than online learning.

Of course there were interesting parallel sessions as The MOOC experience : "The Bright and the Dark Sides" by António Teixeira - EDEN; Natural User Interfaces: "Devices as smartphones and tablets brought several sensors into our daily life" by Antão Almada - Ydreams; "Technology Enhanced Learning: where are we heading to?" by Patrick Belpaire - European Training and Developement Federation; "The Social Learning Revolution: Knowledge workers uses social tools to work and learn" by Jane Hart - C4LPT.co.uk | Sara Brito - Global Estratégias and other.

Tuna Universidade Europeia | Great Lx

https://fbcdn-sphotos-c-a.akamaihd.net/

Break coffee and lunch were animated by Tuna Universidade Europeia (Academic Music) that cheered the network. As an ancient college student, I loved it!

Poster | Great Lx

https://fbcdn-sphotos-f-a.akamaihd.net/

On the lobby for launch and break coffee, the participants could read the different posters displayed on the corners as follow the last tweets about the sessions displayed on a big wall as a giant Twitter network. Great participation !

The event was broadcast live by Sapo and offered the possibility to interact with participants on Twitter, Facebook, Linkedin group and Google +

Lobby | Great Lx

https://fbcdn-sphotos-b-a.akamaihd.net/

A fruitful and instructive conference! The "Great Lx" was an excellent opportunity for an active participation, by sharing ideas building and exchanging visions. 

A great work from all the volunteer team!

G-Souto

25.09.2013
Copyright © 2013G-Souto'sBlog, gsouto-digitalteacher.blogspot.com®


Great Lisbon International Conference 2013 by G-Souto is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License.

* Credits: Photos The Great Lisbon International Conference & GSouto

EIF2011 day pre-one and something more

http://www.efquel.org

Last week, on Wednesday 14 September,  I've been in Oeiras, Lisbon to attend the  pre-conference CONCEDE at the EFQUEL Innovation Forum 2011 that took place at INA.

Palácio Marqueses de Pombal | INA

http://www.ina.pt/

Once again, it was wonderful to participate in a conference in such a beautiful environment as the Palácio Marqueses de Pombal!

"CERTIFY THE FUTURE...? Accreditation, Certification nd Internationalisation" was the aim of the Pre-conference programme and Side Events CONCEDE User    Generated Conference.

Different discussions, presentations and workshops have been followed by a good number of researchers, practitioners, who shared in open interesting debates their thoughts and experiences focused on the principles for certification and internationalisation on open learning.

The programme could be followed from here

My academic aim of interests are focused on b-learning practices, open education practices, mobile learning, social media networks contexts and certification quality.

Last year, I led a workshop with Sébatien Reinders and Rolf Reinhard: the ENGAGE workshop 3 Games in the school - a serious matter to consider for excellent classrooms...?! An interested group of educators and producers joined us during all day.

My presentation and theme discussion was "Creative learning in the digital age" (OER, GBL, Mobile Learning) in Secondary Education. And Sébastien Reinders' presentation "Serious Games on learning". Rolf Reinhardt was the ENGAGE moderator.

There, I shared some thoughts about changing face of teaching and learning considering the different generations that we have in the classroom, in our days. 

I addressed some guidelines about assessment and quality for open learning used in the classroom: the observation of learners, their interaction in different contexts or situations where personalised learning and informal learning are linked.

The objective of the assessment is to analyse this "new learning generation" in the classroom and outside classroom, to understand their expectations and attitudes facing the "new ways of learning", using open learning. 

Graphic visualisation

http://static2.boo.fm

"The innovation forum brings together speakers and workshops sharing innovative thoughts on certification in the light of internationalisation, open education and lifelong learning. The outcome shall be a concise vision of principles for future certification schemes and concepts. The CONCEDE conference will be held co-located to the forum during the so-called Open Laboratory Day (pre-conference day)".

I was focused on some sessions: "The good, the blog and the wiki" by Steve Wheeler, Plymouth University. He wrote a post Fire and brimstone in his own blog, "Excelllent Virtual Schools and User-Generated Content" by Sally Reynolds (ATiT) & Paul Bacsich (Sero) that I missed, "Using Youtube  in the Classroom, Issues and Oportunities", by Nick Pearce, Durham University, (nothing new) and "Do we need a Quality Label for UGC (user generated contents)? What elements and criteria would it need to contain?" by José Lagarto, Universidade Católica Portuguesa.

"User-generated content (UGC) poses a number of challenges to the current understanding of education and its institutions, very much due to its success. The concept of “authority” should be rethought. The “ivory tower” of higher education should be opened to the wider world. Knowledge management becomes even more fundamental than in the past."

EIF2011

It would be so interesting to stay for the EFQUEL Innovation Forum, Day one and Day two, September 15-16! Unfortunally, I could not stay to participate in the interesting and useful EIF 2011 workshops. 

I would like to listen some fantastic speakers such as Yves Punie, for example. Yves Punie one of the keynote speakers closed off Day one "by a thought provoking keynote that address the challenges and opportunities for certification and assessment in future learning scenarios."

The conference was recorded live streaming by Rolf Reinhardt and back home, I could listen one of my favourite speakers, Yves Punie, senior scientist in the Information Society Unit, leading the IPTS research and policy activieson ICT for Learning and Skilling. 

His keynote: The future of learning in Europe: challenges and opportunities for assessment and certification".

Video streaming by Ustream

First time I listened Yves Punie was at eLearning Lisboa 2007 Conference. After that, I met him a couple of times in some other events,  and he is always very friendly. 

I really admire his particular vision about Education. He can be provocative in the sense of stricted academia, but he is very 'avant garde' on his thoughts concerning how we must face learning environment in different way for different new learners in the 21th Century.

There was other well known keynote speakers that we can watch on EFQUEL UStream-tv here. 

I can not wait for the interesting graphic panels that will give us a complete vision of "EFQUEL Innovation Forum 2011".

* If you can listen the video of Yves Punie speech, please watch here.

Some conclusions:

School time have more impact if "millennium learners" (CERI) can relate it to the real-world. By providing relevant and current contexts, education moves from being purely academic, to where children and youth can make a connection between formal and informal learning and their own lives and interests.

Open learning environments, social networks, collaborative learning, blogs, wikis, virtual worlds, videos, mobile learning, 3D environments, are some of the potencial "interactive and collaborative learning web" that educators can use to improve learning results.

It is obiquitous that open learning can be an efficient way of helping to bridge the gap between formal learning and informal learning or non formal learning.

For the certification process is indispensable to include the observation of learners, their interaction in different contexts or situations in open learning environments. 

Without this feedback, in real environments, such as the classroom or online observation, where personalised learning and informal learning are linked, the process will be incomplete or mystified.

During the sessions of Day pre-one, all the educators and producers spoke  about certification quality on learning, but only a few mentioned the role of learners in the certification process. 

Finally, events as EFQ2011 are very important to improve the dialogue between academics and practitioners on open discussions about open learning and quality certification.

My sincere congratulations to EFQUEL board and team.

As Steve Wheeler wrote on his last post Grand Residence (Palácio Marquês de Pombal):

"Open and public forms of discourse need to be encouraged, not disparaged by ill-informed assumptions. This kind of debate that is the essence of what Efquel stands for."

G-Souto

19.09.2011

Copyright © 2011G-Souto'sBlog, gsouto-digitalteacher.blogspot.com®

EIF2011 day one and something more by G-Souto is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License.

Credits video: EFQUEL