Taking real-life seriously : an approach to decomposing context beyond 'environment' in living labs

The maturity of Living Labs has grown and several researchers have tried to create a uniform definition of what Living Labs are by emphasizing the multi-method and real-life, contextual approach. Although researchers thus recognize the importance of context in Living Labs, they do not provide insights into how context can be taken into account. The real-life context predominantly focuses on the in-situ use of a product during field trials where users are observed in their everyday life. The contribution of this paper will be twofold. By means of a case study we will show how context can be evaluated in the front end of design, so Living Lab researchers are no longer dependent on the readiness level of a product, and we will show how field trials can be evaluated in a more structured way to cover all components of context. By using a framework to evaluate the impact of context on product use, Living Lab researchers can improve the overall effectiveness of data gathering and analysis methods in a Living Lab project

Roots Reloaded. Culture, Identity and Social Development in the Digital Age

This edited volume is designed to explore different perspectives of culture, identity and social development using the impact of the digital age as a common thread, aiming at interdisciplinary audiences. Cases of communities and individuals using new technology as a tool to preserve and explore their cultural heritage alongside new media as a source for social orientation ranging from language acquisition to health-related issues will be covered. Therefore, aspects such as Art and Cultural Studies, Media and Communication, Behavioral Science, Psychology, Philosophy and innovative approaches used by creative individuals are included. From the Aboriginal tribes of Australia, to the Maoris of New Zealand, to the mystical teachings of Sufi brotherhoods, the significance of the oral and written traditions and their current relation to online activities shall be discussed in the opening article. The book continues with a closer look at obesity awareness support groups and their impact on social media, Facebook usage in language learning context, smartphone addiction and internet dependency, as well as online media reporting of controversial ethical issues. The Digital progress has already left its dominating mark as the world entered the 21st century. Without a doubt, as technology continues its ascent, society will be faced with new and altering values in an effort to catch-up with this extraordinary Digitization, adapt satisfactorily in order to utilize these strong developments in everyday life

A pedagogical model for integrating digital technologies in education : workshops on sustainable development goals (SDGS)

A proposal for a pedagogical model that integrates digital technologies in teaching Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in K-12 Education. The research is developed within project InTecEdu (Integration of Technology in Education), developed by the research group since 2008, and focusing on social inclusion for highly socially vulnerable K-12 students. The research was exploratory and qualitative; data was collected through a questionnaire and participant observation, with 253 students and 9 teachers from 5 Brazilian public schools. The research contributes by bringing a pedagogical model for integrating SDGs and Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) in K-12 education. All analyzed aspects received a high level of approval, although some opportunities for improvement were identified, such as the duration and frequency of the session. We recommend the reuse of the pedagogical model, since our intention is for it to be open-source, and free to use. The paper is aligned with the fourth SDG: Quality Education. It directly contributes with the education of 253 socially vulnerable students from a south American public school, and indirectly contributes with improvement of education. To improve the pedagogical model based on the feedback from the questionnaires and apply it with a more extensive scenario

Review of Learning in ICT-enabled Networks and Communities

This report is part of a project launched by IPTS with DG Education and Culture to study the innovations for learning, which are emerging in the new collaborative and informal settings enabled by ICT. The report gathers and analyses evidence from learning opportunities that are emerging in ICT-enabled networks and communities. In these new virtual spaces, participation is motivated by an interest to a topic, by creative production and by search for social connection. Online networks and communities emerge both within and across organisations as well as in a completely open and bottom-up manner. Accessing, following, and contributing to the communities can lead to a range of learning outcomes. New technologies afford tools and means for people to participate in communities in a personally meaningful way. However, not all individuals are necessarily equipped with skills or knowledge to benefit from these opportunities for their lifelong learning. Major challenges relate both to the initial barriers for accessing online communities with confident and critical digital competence and skills for self-regulated learning. Finding ways to identify, assess and certify relevant learning and new skills that can be obtained and practiced in these environments is a major task. The report argues that educational institutions should find ways to connect with and learn from these new learning approaches and settings in order to bring about their own transformation for the 21st century, and to support competence building for new jobs and personal development with a learner-centred and lifelong perspective.JRC.J.4-Information Societ

Media Literacy and the English as a Second Language Curriculum: A Curricular Critique and Dreams for the Future

This thesis investigates whether or not the Ontario English as a Second Language/English Literacy Development (ESL/ELD) curriculum imparts the critical literacy skills necessary for students to deconstruct the multimedia messages with which the contemporary world is saturated, in order to function as informed, agentic citizens of Ontario society. Using foundations of cultural theory, radical critical pedagogy, and critical race theory, particularly the work of James Paul Gee, Henry A. Giroux, Paulo Freire and Michael Apple, this thesis explores the ways in which the current ESL/ELD curriculum can be found lacking due to its enforcement of the banking model of education, which devalues student experience and enforces dominant Western ideologies. The final chapter recommends an experiential, media literacy-based curriculum that validates student experience and empowers students to become both critics and producers of media texts and culture writ large

Embodied Cognition Corpo, movimento e sport per la didattica

Embodied Cognition (EC) is an interdisciplinary and multiperspective scientific theory whose characteristic, from a cultural and professional perspective, opens up interesting scenarios in the field of psychopedagogy. In particular, a prolific and extremely interesting area of study is now provided by the contribution of EC to the world of didactics (Caruana & Borghi, 2013).This work is part of this research horizon, investigating how the key principles of Embodied Cognition offer new opportunities to enhance differences in learning processes (Gomez Paloma & Ianes, a cura di, 2014). Starting from the analysis of the body as a scientific mediator of the learning process on a neurobiological (Rizzolatti & Sinigaglia, 2006) and neurophenomenological (Gallese, 2006) level, the study focuses on the scientific evidence (Margiotta, 2014) that EC canprovide to teachers in the field of didactics. It represents a concrete springboard for delineating and validating an “EC-Based” model (Gomez Paloma & Damiani, 2015) to enhance corporeality as a cognitive system and a learning/ contextualization setting for the building of professional skills in the fieldof education.L’Embodied Cognition (EC) è una teoria scientifica multiprospettica ed interdisciplinare la cui caratteristica, riflettendo sotto il profilo culturale e professionale, apre interessanti scenari nel campo della psicopedagogia.In particolare, un fertile ambito di studio, estremamente interessante, è dato al momento dall’apporto dell’EC al mondo della didattica (Caruana & Borghi, 2013). Il presente lavoro si inserisce in quest’orizzonte di ricerca, indagando come i principi chiave dell’Embodied Cognition offrano inedite opportunità di valorizzazione delle differenze dei processi di apprendimento (Gomez Paloma & Ianes, a cura di, 2014). Partendo dall’analisi del corpo come mediatorescientifico del processo di apprendimento a livello neurobiologico (Rizzolatti &Sinigaglia, 2006) e neurofenomenologico (Gallese, 2006), lo studio si focalizza sulle evidenze scientifiche (Margiotta, 2014) che l’EC può offrire al docente nell’ambito della didattica. Un concreto trampolino di lancio per delineare e validare un modello “EC Based” (Gomez Paloma & Damiani, 2015) per valorizzare la corporeità come dispositivo cognitivo e come ambiente di apprendimento e contestualizzazione (setting) per la costruzione di competenze professionali nell’ambito della formazione