Date and Time: 3.2.2012, 15.00 – 17.00
Members oft he workshop:
Teachers:
Günther: math teacher at a gymnasium
Renate: Teacher of Arts
Students
Caspar, Kolin, Clara members oft he international class; 16 years old
Parents/carers club:
Bettina (Scenario – Home school Communication; mother oft wo sons in BG K‘burg)
Researcher / Designer: Hermann Morgenbesser
Setting of all three workshops: Contact with the basic texts y students and teachers, discussion of the statements – podcasts –text (see below)
Interviews were made in English
Place: International School BG/BRG Klosterneuburg/Lower Austria
Scenario: Designing Math Games (Günther, Caspar, Clara):
Günther: I have worked for 3 Years designing math games with scratch; Students are very engaged in it, Teaching works students orientated. Students work with online wikis (e.g. http://virtuelleschule.bmukk.gv.at/wiki-pskills/index.php/Scratch) available in german;
Students (16 to 17 years old) have to create documentations (Powerpoint) of this lessons and have to teach the 13 year old kids in my math class.
Caspar (16) was great, I am not the best in Math, but it felt cool to teach them kids
Clara: we had a lot of preparing, kids shot photos of our programmes.
Caspar: It was cool, that we were better in programming games than our teacher ( J that’s me, Hermann)
Did the story generate any thoughts?
Yes, comparing the own project with the scenario created the following ideas.
Is this a possible story?
Yes we did it more or less the samein our scratch games workshop.
Is there something they would like to change in it?
Yes they will create Android apps next time, using eclipse.
Could they imagine themselves in the role of the teacher?
Yes they could…grat fun…
What part would they find most difficult to manage if they were in the role of the teacher?
Organizing the workshop with the younger kids – it was hard work two define the rules and the workload for the younger kids
How would the story continue?
Challenge with Austrian/European partners.
Scenario 2: Designing with multitouch technology:
Renate: We do a designing lesson every year in 3rd class (13 year old kids). They have to create Models of buildings. I would be interested in programms where you can create Buildings, We have different Picture animating software (Adobe; Ikea in design programm….)
Did the story generate any thoughts?
I think the experts must plan the goals and students should work with the professionals (architects) before doing their work. You also need some Mindmapping to make the work clear tot he students, and, they have to create a model in reality too. Companies do that to show the models live to their clients. These models look different to users, you recognize the gap between virtual reality and model.
I would use „Second life“, it is an elaborated tool and you have a lot of real cities in there
Is this a possible story? The story is possilbe, but the setting should be reorganized. Experts should be brought in earlier, at the beginning of work
Could they imagine themselves in the role of the teacher?
Yes Renate could, but she would bring in real models, she would share in groups and give one group the workload of designing real models
What part would they find most difficult to manage if they were in the role of the teacher?
Start up, Renate would take mindmapping tools to organize the project at the beginning of hrer work.
How would the story continue?
Renate would start a challenge between different models, may be different classes, that work on this scenario.
Scenario3: Home –School Communications:
Did the story generate any thoughts?
Bettina: I think it is necessary to organize daily feedback to the parents, but it should run on a school plattform. Social Networks are nice but not the right method, because students should have a room for free to communicate with the peers, If you start a parents network students may be in there, but they don‘t have to. Parents networks must be organized professionally. Nobody will work for free, Informations mus be correct and the data hast o be saved and secured
Is this a possible story?
Yes, but you should change social software
Is there something they would like to change in it?
Communication should be on a special board, where teachers and parent may work together
Could they imagine themselves in the role of the teacher?
Bettina: no, not really… J
What part would they find most difficult to manage if they were in the role of the teacher?
Bring the teachers to the software
How would the story continue?
Bettina:crate a new software….
What I miss in this scenario is the possibility to look up lesson plan, events etc. at one software application ore one place. Parents are needed to produce content in there, as teachers and students do. Some Companies run systems like these (e.g live at edu) but normally students don’t like to work with these applications.
Sharing content on handhelds, … is reality in our shcool (BG Klosterneuburg) but there is a need of content writing (homeworks, tests,…) New partnerships between parents,,teachers and shakeholders should be found.
At the end:
We had lot of fun, I think cooperation was better, we needed more time, but I was impressed about the products of this lessons
Photos are kept in school network, email addresses can be transferred, if needed.
End of Workshop: 17:20
