Article archive

Media & Learning News readers will be pleased to know that the June issue of the monthly newsletter is out now. In it you will read about how interest in media and digital resources is growing as a US Study on media and learning has been published and questions are raised in our featured article on What's the point of media education? The MEDEA2020 partnership also reports on the First MEDEA workshop on animation and an introduction to the Italian National Film School - Animation Department is also included in this issue, along with tips on interesting sites, tutorials, guides and much more in the new section Top resources which promotes some of the latest resources in the Media & Learning Community Resources Database, and plenty of other news items, notifications and announcements related to the use of media in education and training. You can download this month's issue here and next month's publications will again be available in English, French, German, Italian, Polish and Spanish.

On Wednesday 1st of June 2011, the MEDEA2020 consortium gathered at the Ramada Viking hotel in Waterford, to discuss the progress of this European Project. The project partners also participated in the EdTech conference where the MEDEA Awards were presented.

On Tuesday 31st of May and Thursday 2 June 2011 the first 2-day MEDEA2020 workshop took place alongside the annual EdTech conference organised by the Irish Learning Technology Association (ILTA). This conference took place in Waterford Institute of Technology (WIT).

This workshop on animation took place over 2 days. The first part, aimed at beginners, provided an overview of different animation techniques and included hands-on practice with different tools. Topics covered getting started with animation as a way of engaging learners, different types of animation for example 2D, 3D. The session continued with hands on sessions with different software tools (Flash and Animate) for the creation of animation. Participants carried out the first steps in creating an animated movie, and explored in that way the principles of animation.
Winning examples of animation from the MEDEA Awards were presented by Deborah Arnold from Videoscop Universite Nancy2 (France) and invited guest Yannick Mahé from CNDP (France) who is the director of award winning educational media Evolution of LIfe. Demonstrations and presentations were followed by discussions with all participants.

The second part of the workshop, aimed at more advanced users, took place as part of the EdTech programme on 2 June. On that day, examples and explanations on the use of animation in a pedagogical context were discussed: how was it produced and what is the impact on learning. How can animation motivate and stimulate the learner and aid understanding of complex abstract concepts. Also on the second day, there was a hands on session on the creation of scenarios that continued where the first day ended based on the scenarios created during day 1 from an educational and media production perspective. The workshop showed the participants clearly the first steps in the development of a short animated movie plus discussions.

The tutors on this workshop were Deborah Arnold from Videoscop, France; Yannick Mahé, from CNDP in France, Philip Penny from IADT, Ireland and Mathy Vanbuel, ATiT, Belgium. Altogether 30 participants attended the workshop over part or whole of the two days.

The next MEDEA workshop will take place in Poland in July and will cover the topic of Webinars. More information soon on this site and on the MEDEA Awards site.

The annual assembly and conference of the European Society for the Systemic Innovation of Education (ESSIE)  took place on 27 May in Leuven and attracted about 100 researchers from different parts of Europe. Peter Sloep from the Open University, the Netherlands set the tone for the day in his inspiring keynote presentation entitled 'Networked Learning, a Paradigm Shift'. A presentation from ATiT which elaborated on the role of educational media in general and video in particular in the new digital culture described ways in which video can contribute to innovative learning practices. This was also an opportunity to promote  various initiatives where educational media is nurtured and supported including the MEDEA Awards and the Media & Learning community.

The MEDEA2020 partnership recently launched a community of practice focused on media-based education! This multilingual online community of practice (CoP) called Media & Learning Community, was created for practitioners interested in the use of media in education. As a community member you can connect with other community members, start and join discussions related to media and learning related topics, and promote your own initiatives and events, as well as find and share educational resources focused on media and learning.

If you speak French, German, Italian, Spanish and Polish, you can participate in language-specific discussions that are moderated by a native speaker and expert. To explore and join the community, see www.media-and-learning.eu/community

VISCED partners met on 27 and 28 April 2011 in the accommodating MENON offices for a two-day meeting to discuss the progress on the main workpackages including the research activities. Partners discussed their research work and the public wiki which will contain all research results. Agreements were made about the classification of schools and colleges. Progress was made in setting up the International Advisory Committee and future project and committee meetings were discussed with a view on dissemination and network opportunities. During this productive meeting, the public launch of the VISCED website was also announced.

The fourth Media & Learning News of this year was published today, including a feature article about the award-winning "Et si c’était toi?" shortfilm tackling student bullying, an insight into the legal re-use of audiovisual media and the Tools of the Trade series is continued with part 4 of DIY 3D Video. Furthermore, readers will find out a tip on how to expand the use of your materials in other languages by subtitling, news about a equity competition with a visual/audio-visual category and plenty of other news items, notifications and announcements related to the use of media in education and training. The following issue in May will be published in 6 languages again. Visit the current newsletter here.

The popular Media & Learning News was published for the first time in March in 6 languages, French, Polish, Italian, Spanish, German and English. The newsletter includes an article from Catalonian Television about education as a communication challenge, a feature article on MEDEA Awards' winner Pocket Anatomy which visualises the complexities of the human body and a continuation of the DIY series on 3D Video.

It also includes news about new MEDEA National Contact Points in Germany and Cyprus and plenty of other news items, notifications and announcements related to the use of media in education and training.  

5 further multilingual editions are planned for 2011. You can access the newsletter here.

Two week-long residential courses combining theory and practice are taking place in Leuven later this year. The first takes place on 4-9 July and the second on 24-29 October. Places are still available for these courses which provide participants with the necessary basic skills to create and share their own educational video materials.

During these courses, participants work in teams to produce their own educational video programme and this process is interchanged with theoretical sessions and visits to ensure a good balance of work. The number of participants is limited to 20 and the course culminates with a public showcase of the videos produced by the different teams to an invited audience.

Find out more from this site which includes information about how you can apply for funding to take part.