PierreAntoine Ullmo

Tag: classroom

  • Ask provocative questions to change education

    It is time for change education.
    It is time for change in education.

    Boosting innovation in education was one of the main objectives of the first Erasmus+ call for proposals that has just been published.

    But what do we mean by innovation in education? And what are the keys to making innovation in education possible?

    Innovation in education is often considered as the development of curricula that will provide students with “the knowledge and skills necessary for a knowledge and entrepreneurial society.”  This is the core of the Knowledge Triangle designed by the EIT (European Institute of Innovation and Technology).

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  • Technology in the classroom: lessons learnt from a mountain bike ride

    laptop
    Technology in the classroom.

    What is the relationship between a marathon mountain bike ride and a classroom experience?

    Last weekend, I spent the whole day mountain biking in the country side near Barcelona. For 120 km, our group of 14 bikers rode through small trails, many of them hard to find, and we came back at night using headlamps to find our way through the woods. Another rider and I had brought a GPS. We started following our tracks, sharing indications that appeared on our screens, looking for consensus each time we had doubts or different interpretations. Following GPS indications is not as simple as it may seem, especially in a group. It requires technology understanding, interpretation skills and consensus. Working with technology in the classroom requires the same ingredients, and consensus is hard to reach. Students using tablets in the classroom may be tempted to “follow their own track”, i.e. make individual use of technology. The teacher in the classroom is, like any GPS holder, challenged by another GPS holder to find the right trail.

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  • No more classrooms or more democracy?

    Vittra school Stockholm

    Vittra school Stockholm

    I rediscovered a very interesting study commissioned in the UK by the DfES – Classroom of the Future. It argues that a pleasant and comfortable environment for learning will stimulate children’s imaginations. Everyone will share this view even if most of our schools are very far from offering such architectural and design features. Very interestingly, the report linked the delivery of an effective education, which makes use of all the possibilities of the Information Age, to the way the school buildings reflect advances in technology (1).

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