Wednesday 23 June 2010

SHAKIRA SINGS FOR EDUCATION

This is the perfect opportunity, as the campaign for the World Cup ends, to focus on the campaign for universal education.You can still vote for education:
www.join1goal.org/r/yellowcard

Tuesday 22 June 2010

2010 WORLD CUP - 1 GOAL FOR EDUCATION

Dear friends,

There’s one goal at this World Cup that has millions of fans around the world talking: using this unique opportunity to guarantee education for every single child. And what do we need to achieve that goal? That’s where you come in.

Your support couldn’t come at a better time: now the South African President has invited world leaders to a summit at end of the World Cup to discuss the plan to deliver education for all. This is the perfect opportunity, as the campaign for the World Cup ends, to focus on the campaign for universal education.


If countries’ governments don’t believe there is a global demand for action on education, they won’t agree to fix the problem. Issue your own Yellow Card calling on world leaders to guarantee education for every child, and we’ll deliver it directly to them before the Final.

World leaders need to agree on a plan to provide education, and to do that they’ll need to hear from all of us united in our demand to make education the lasting legacy of this World Cup. That’s where your Yellow Card could make the difference:

http://act.join1goal.org/ea-campaign/clientcampaign.do?ea.client.id=821&ea.campaign.id=6814
www.join1goal.org/r/yellowcard

Our nine million supporters are drawn from cities, towns, and villages in over 120 countries, and have shown their support in an incredible range of ways. Teachers, students, local education activists, football fans and celebrities have all rallied, and whether they’re doing it using email, mobile phone, social networks or attending the World’s Biggest Lesson, we are becoming a global voice too large for world leaders to ignore.

In villages throughout Bangladesh, thousands of children have taken part in football matches in support of 1GOAL, joining 194,047 fellow Bangladeshis who have sent SMS messages to join the call for education for all.

In Senegal, the Senegalese President invited hundreds of 1GOAL supporters to the Presidential Palace where he made a public commitment to the 1GOAL campaign and its aim of making sure every child receives an education.

While in the United States, 1GOAL received national attention when the Good Morning America TV program visited a South African school in Soweto with the 1GOAL team.

You can be part of this global movement building momentum towards a world where every child is guaranteed an education, by sending your own Yellow Card to world leaders before the World Cup Final:

www.join1goal.org/r/yellowcard

This opportunity is too good to miss – global attention will be on Africa, and world leaders will be pressed on the issue of education. Help us reach 10 million supporters by filling out your Yellow Card today.

Thanks for making a difference,
The 1GOAL team

Sunday 20 June 2010

PENTRU O NOUA EUROPA, UN NOU SISTEM EDUCATIONAL

In 2007, futurologul american Thomas Frey a lansat noua sa viziune asupra educaţiei: după părerea sa în 2-5 ani, tehnologia urma să declanşeze o nouă direcţie în evoluţia educaţiei.

Trecutul a devenit prezent şi nu mai există nici un dubiu că tehnologia digitală a câştigat un rol dominant. Această tendinţă este privită cu suspiciune de către unii pedagogi şi părinţi. Va pune tehnologia IT stăpânire pe educaţie? De ce fel de educaţie avem nevoie în acest secol?

Puterea de inovaţie a Europei este recunoscută în toate domeniile. Este unanim acceptat astăzi că performanţa lingvistică devine esenţială în toate domeniile profesionale şi sociale iar moştenirea europeană în domeniul limbilor străine se cere remodelată pentru viitor.

Intre 16 – 21 mai 2010 a avut loc la Sofia, Bulgaria, o vizită de studii cu tema “ Metode inovative în predarea limbilor străine pentru scopuri specifice şi IT”. Participanţi din zece ţări au prezentat proiecte pe această temă: Austria, Bulgaria, Republica Cehă, Germania, Polonia, Portugalia, Marea Britanie, Spania, Turcia şi România. Proiectele au fost realizate în instituţii şcolare, centre de perfecţionare, organizatii şi instituţii de stat sau particulare.

Discuţiile vor continua şi cu ocazia altor întâlniri pentru a se ajunge la o concluzie finală. In discuţiile preliminare acestui schimb de experienţă, participanţii au fost de acord asupra următoarelor aspecte:
1. Nu se poate demonstra că un profesor este mai eficient decât un program tehnologic. Profesorii vor
fi întotdeauna pionii-cheie. Doar ei pot să îndrume paşii unui elev spre succes prin interacţiune şi schimb de experienţă,.
2. La evaluarea calităţii procesului de învăţare, atenţia se va transfera de la aprecierea performanţei profesorului, la cantitea şi calitatea abilităţilor transferate către şi asimilate de elev. Un scenariu ideal sugerează că metodele de predare care se adresează grupului să fie, pe cât posibil, individualizate.
3. Cu toate acestea, nu putem nega beneficiile aduse şcolii de către dezvoltarea tehnologiilor digitale. Toţi cei implicaţi în sistemul educaţional, adepţi ai introducerii acestor tehnologii în procesul de predare-învăţare, se confruntă cu o importantă provocare: calea de a-i ajuta pe elevi să distingă părţile bune de cele nocive pe care lumea virtuală le oferă. Tehnologia ajută doar dacă este folosită cu masură; altfel va deveni un obstacol.
4. Elevii nu vor mai fi recompensaţi pentru cantitatea de informaţie asimilată, ci pentru inventivitate, capacitatea de a comunica şi a lua decizii eficiente şi operative. In mod cert, profesorii vor deveni “antrenori” ai propriilor elevi pe un nou teren al învăţării pe căi electronice.
5. Mediile online generează discuţii şi îi stimulează pe elevi să accepte cooperarea şi schimbul de idei. Invăţarea prin metode electronice nu ne ajută să învăţăm mult, dar sentimentul pe care ţi-l dă parteneriatul stimulează. Chiar şi suporterii înflăcăraţi ai sălii de clasă tradiţionale vor recunoaşte că acest mediu de studiu, dacă este “neinteresant”, nu va încuraja sau motiva învăţarea.

Telul celor implicaţi în educaţie, indiferent dacă lucrează cu adulţi sau copii, pentru un scop imediat sau conturand viitorul, este unul singur: să educe, să instruiască şi să sprijine dezvoltarea profesională a elevilor.
Si mai presus de orice schimbări viitoare, conexiunea profesor-elev este vitală şi ea nu poate să dispară.

Informaţia privind vizita de lucru care a stat la baza acestui articol ne-a fost furnizată de dna Angelica Popa, Branch Director la Lexis Scoli de Limbi Straine, reprezentanta Romaniei la acest proiect sub egida ANPCDEFP Romania.

Evenimentul a fost găzduit de Big Ben Şcoli de Limbi Străine din Sofia, Bulgaria.

Friday 18 June 2010

CHANGING EUROPE, CHANGING EDUCATION




Back in 2007, the American futurist Thomas Frey had a strong vision of the future of education: in 2 to 5 years, technology will drive the future and determine the vehicle for education.
Past has become present and there is no doubt that digital technology is becoming dominant. This tendency may seem disturbing to some educators and parents. Will education be undertaken by computers? What kind of education do we need?
Europe’s capacity to innovate has been proved in many directions. Language skills acquisition is becoming essential in all walks of life and the European heritage in teaching languages needs to be shaped for the future.
A study visit took place between 16th May and 21st May 2010, in Sofia, Bulgaria. The topic of this study visit was “Innovative Methods of Teaching English for Specific Purposes and IT “. Ten participants from nine countries contributed to this project: Austria, the Czech Republic, Germany, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Spain, Turkey and the United Kingdom. The participants come from a wide variety of education and training organization, including state institutions and private companies.
The discussions will continue and other meetings will take place until a conclusion will be drawn. In their preliminary findings the participants agreed upon the following ideas:
1. Nobody can demonstrate that a good teacher is way better than technology. But teachers will remain the key actors. It’s only real people who can show the learners their way to success, thru interacting and learning from each other.
2. The teacher-centric process is changing into a learning-centric process.The transition from generalized education to individualization  is also a part of the ideal learning scenario.
3. Nevertheless, we cannot deny the benefits advances in digital technology could bring to education. The challenge for everybody involved in education is to find the best approach to help the students distinguish the true and the good in the virtual world. Technology becomes an asset only if used properly. Otherwise, it will be an obstacle.
4. Spoonfeeding the learners must stop. Students will be rewarded for innovativeness, communication and entrepreneurial abilities instead of academic and memorizing skills. Teachers will most certainly act as e-learning coaches, as well.
5. Online environments can help learners work together, share and generate discussion. E-collaboration does not always end up in learning much, but the feeling of working with real peers is a great stimulus. Supporters of classroom learning environment have to admit that an authentic but "dull" learning environment world does little to encourage or motivate learners.
Whether we educate children and young learners for today’s world or looking ahead to tomorrow, the GOAL remains the same: to educate, train and support the students’ professional development. The vital student-teacher connection should not be lost.
Information on the ANPCDEFP project by courtesy of Mrs. Angelica Popa, Branch Director at Lexis Schools of Languages – Romania. Event hosted by Big Ben Schools of Languages and Computing - Sofia, Bulgaria                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      

Sunday 6 June 2010

THE LEARNING REVOLUTION

You might have watched the previous post. A 12 year-old girl delivering a speech during a TED conference to a large audience of adults. On her website, many visitors expressed their doubt whether she had produced the speech herself; the doubters suggested the young speaker was nothing but a marketing product of her ambitious parents. Maybe. But maybe not. I’ve watched her several times: her facial expression, the tone of voice, posture, gesture, her timing and pace, and the way she managed to establish eye contact with her audience. It takes genuine intelligence to use nonverbal communication techniques. Moreover, You must have observed the young girl's ability to draw the listeners to her. This is what her parents must have worked upon: developing her ability to identify, use, understand and manage her emotions in a positive and constructive way. Adora’s other activities with children her age proved she could communicate clearly, inspire and influence the others and even work in a team, although she was thought at home by her parents.

In her case, personalized teaching created excellent conditions for her talents to develop. Watch Sir Ken Robinson’s plea for the learning revolution. If it ever happened, would the new system produce prodigy children? Or just better citizens?