Sköpunarsmiðjur í menntun ungra barna: Reynsla og viðhorf starfsfólks skóla, safna og sköpunarsmiðja

Í þessari grein er fjallað um þekkingu, reynslu og viðhorf til sköpunarsmiðja (e. makerspaces) meðal kennara ungra barna (3-8 ára) í leik- og grunnskólum, fagfólks á söfnum og í sköpunarsmiðjum. Upplýsingum var safnað með rafrænni könnun í tengslum við Evrópuverkefnið MakEY (e. Makerspaces in the early years: Enhancing digital literacy and creativity)1 sem er samstarfsverkefni fjölmargra háskóla og stofnana innan Evrópu og utan. Nokkrar íslenskar stofnanir tóku þátt í verkefninu.2 Gögnum var safnað meðal áðurnefndra hópa sumarið 2017 (n=254).3 Í ljós kom að minnihluti kennara (17%) en meirihluti safnafólks (72%) hafði áður heyrt um hugtakið. Um 28% safnafólks hafði reynslu af að nota slík rými og 13% höfðu skipulagt sköpunarsmiðjur en sambærilegar tölur hjá kennurum voru eingöngu 15 og 7%. Um helmingur kennara og safnafólks taldi gott aðgengi á sínum vinnustöðum varðandi vélbúnað til að búa til stafrænar afurðir. Álíka algengt var að hentug rými væru til staðar hjá kennurum og rúmur þriðjungur safnafólks sagði gott aðgengi að forritunarbúnaði. Aðgangur að verkfærasettum sem hentuðu í samþættum verkefnum var til staðar hjá mun færri og aðgangur að þrívíddarprenturum eða geislaskerum var fátíður. Áhugi var hjá stórum hluta safnafólks og kennara á þjálfun eða námskeiðum í tengslum við sköpunarsmiðjur og meirihluti svarenda (73% kennara og 60% safnafólks) taldi sköpunarsmiðjur samrýmast vel sýn sinni á nám og kennslu. Sköpunarsmiðjur geta gegnt lykilhlutverki í mótun menntunar á Íslandi í því tæknilega landslagi sem er í stöðugri þróun, þar sem stafrænt læsi, „germenning“ (e. makerculture) og forritunarhæfni leika aðalhlutverk ásamt faglegri starfsþróun þeirra sem mennta börn og styðja við nám þeirra og þroska. MakEY verkefnið og fræðilegt framlag þess er mikilvægt innlegg þar sem leitast er við að skoða stöðuna á byrjunarreit.Peer reviewe

Cutavirus in cutaneous malignant melanoma

A novel human protoparvovirus related to human bufavirus and preliminarily named cutavirus has been discovered. We detected cutavirus in a sample of cutaneous malignant melanoma by using viral enrichment and high-throughput sequencing. The role of cutaviruses in cutaneous cancers remains to be investigated

Pollution from the 2014–15 Bárðarbunga eruption monitored by snow cores from the Vatnajökull glacier, Iceland

The chemical composition of Icelandic rain and snow is dominated by marine aerosols, however human and volcanic activity can also affect these compositions. The six month long 2014-15 Bárdarbunga volcanic eruption was the largest in Iceland for more than 200years and it released into the atmosphere an average of 60kt/day SO 2 , 30kt/day CO 2 , 500t/day HCl and 280t/day HF. To study the effect of this eruption on the winter precipitation, snow cores were collected from the Vatnajökull glacier and the highlands northeast of the glacier. In addition to 29 bulk snow cores from that precipitated from September 2014 until March 2015, two cores were sampled in 21 and 44 increments to quantify the spatial and time evolution of the chemical composition of the snow.The pH and chemical compositions of melted snow samples indicate that snow has been affected by the volcanic gases emitted during the Bárdarbunga eruption. The pH of the melted bulk snow cores ranged from 4.41 to 5.64 with an average value of 5.01. This is four times greater H + activity than pure water saturated with the atmospheric CO 2 . The highest concentrations of volatiles in the snow cores were found close to the eruption site as predicted from CALPUFF SO 2 gas dispersion quality model. The anion concentrations (SO 4 , Cl, and F) were higher and the pH was lower compared to equivalent snow samples collected during 1997-2006 from the unpolluted Icelandic Langjökull glacier. Higher SO 4 and Cl concentrations in the snow compared with the unpolluted rainwater of marine origin confirm the addition of a non-seawater SO 4 and Cl. The δ 34 S isotopic composition confirms that the sulphur addition is of volcanic aerosol origin.The chemical evolution of the snow with depth reflects changes in the lava effusion and gas emission rates. Those rates were the highest at the early stage of the eruption. Snow that fell during that time, represented by samples from the deepest part of the snow cores, had the lowest pH and highest concentrations of SO 4 , F, Cl and metals, compared with snow that fell later in the winter. Also the Al concentration, did exceed World Health Organisation drinking water standard of 3.7μmol/kg in the lower part of the snow core closest to the eruption site.Collected snow represents the precipitation that fell during the eruption period. Nevertheless, only minor environmental impacts are evident in the snow due to its interaction with the volcanic aerosol gases. In addition, the microbial communities identified in the snow that fell during the eruption were similar to those found in snow from other parts of the Arctic, confirming an insignificant impact of this eruption on the snow microecology

Rapid shifting of a deep magmatic source at Fagradalsfjall volcano, Iceland

Recent Icelandic rifting events have illuminated the roles of centralized crustal magma reservoirs and lateral magma transport1,2,3,4, important characteristics of mid-ocean ridge magmatism1,5. A consequence of such shallow crustal processing of magmas4,5 is the overprinting of signatures that trace the origin, evolution and transport of melts in the uppermost mantle and lowermost crust6,7. Here we present unique insights into processes occurring in this zone from integrated petrologic and geochemical studies of the 2021 Fagradalsfjall eruption on the Reykjanes Peninsula in Iceland. Geochemical analyses of basalts erupted during the first 50 days of the eruption, combined with associated gas emissions, reveal direct sourcing from a near-Moho magma storage zone. Geochemical proxies, which signify different mantle compositions and melting conditions, changed at a rate unparalleled for individual basaltic eruptions globally. Initially, the erupted lava was dominated by melts sourced from the shallowest mantle but over the following three weeks became increasingly dominated by magmas generated at a greater depth. This exceptionally rapid trend in erupted compositions provides an unprecedented temporal record of magma mixing that filters the mantle signal, consistent with processing in near-Moho melt lenses containing 107–108 m3 of basaltic magma. Exposing previously inaccessible parts of this key magma processing zone to near-real-time investigations provides new insights into the timescales and operational mode of basaltic magma systems

Implementation of makerspaces in three Icelandic compulsory schools: Praxis and pedagogy, the first steps

Samtíminn er fullur af móthverfum sem fela í sér ógnir og tækifæri, álitamál og áskoranir. Nútímasamfélag kallar á skólastarf, þar sem nemendur eru virkir og skapandi þátttakendur, færir um að móta eigið nám. Þessi rannsókn segir frá fyrsta ári af þremur í þróunarverkefni þriggja grunnskóla í Reykjavík um sköpunar- og tæknismiðjur (e. makerspaces). Hún á að auka skilning á hvað þarf til að nýsköpun og hönnun í anda sköpunarsmiðja skjóti rótum í starfi grunnskóla og á hvaða uppeldis- og kennslufræði þar er byggt. Leitast er við að greina hvað helst einkenndi og hafði áhrif á innleiðingu tæknilausna, nemendavinnu og kennsluhátta í þeim anda. Byggt er á eigindlegri nálgun og reynt að fá innsýn í reynslu fólks, viðhorf og hugsun í verkefninu. Rannsóknargögn samanstanda af vettvangsathugunum, viðtölum við skólastjórnendur, verkefnisstjóra og teymi kennara í skólunum þremur, auk styrkumsóknar, upplýsingavefs og síðu Facebook--hóps. Lýst er hvernig margir þættir spila saman og takast á við framgang verkefnisins ásamt tilraunum kennara á þeim grunni. Ekki síst er athygli beint að hugmyndum um kennslu og eflandi kennslufræði sem þar birtast eða búa að baki. Viðhorf og stuðningur skólastjórnenda, starf verkefnisstjóranna, viðhorf, reynsla og færni kennara, skilningur á verkefninu og mikilvægi þess, skipulag stundaskrár, samtal og samstaða eru þættir sem virðast skipta máli í innleiðingunni en einnig sérstaða einstakra skóla auk hefðar fyrir þemanámi þvert á greinasvið, teymiskennslu og skapandi starfi. Mörg uppbyggileg skref voru stigin á þessu fyrsta ári sem þarf að fylgja eftir með virku samtali og samvirkni þessara þátta.In the past few decades we have seen huge technological advancements, demographic shifts, economic expansion and profound cultural changes. The generations now growing up have been immersed in digital technology from their birth. We do, in our modern contemporary society, need a shift in education towards teaching and learning, where students are more active and creative participants, having the agency to shape their own learning. This research presents the first year of three in a school development project on implementing makerspaces to support such a shift in three compulsory schools in Reykjavík, the capital city of Iceland: Ingunnarskóli, Selásskóli and Vesturbæjarskóli (2019). Our study aims to increase understanding of what is needed for the innovation and design thinking of makerspaces to set roots in compulsory school practice and the pedagogies underlying “making” in school contexts. We want to identify characteristic and influential factors in the developmental process during the initial year of collaboration and implementation, as well as mapping how participants look upon and experience the project. Theoretical background We build our understanding and interpretation of the findings on theories and research on school and educational development (Fullan, 2019; Gerður G. Óskarsdóttir, 2014; Helga Sigríður Þórsdóttir and Anna Kristín Sigurðardóttir, 2020; Mason, 2008), digital technology and development of fab-labs and makerspaces (Blikstein, 2013; Halverson and Sheridan, 2014; Litts, 2015), creativity (Eisner, 2002), agency (Emirbayer and Mische, 1998; Moore, 2016; Svanborg R. Jónsdóttir og Rósa Gunnarsdóttir, 2017) and emancipatory pedagogy (Svanborg R. Jónsdóttir, 2012; Svanborg R. Jónsdóttir and Rósa Gunnarsdóttir, 2017). Method The research is grounded in qualitative methodology, where we seek to gain insight into participants’ attitudes and experiences and connect these to the focus of the research (Creswell, 2013). The research data consists of field notes, interviews with principals, project managers, two teams of teachers in each of the three schools, as well as grant application documents, the schools’ application for funding, a public project website and a Facebook site where staff members share their efforts and experiences in making. Findings The findings reflect how we as researchers see or interpret coherent and contradictory factors affecting the process of introduction and initial implementation during the first year of the project. Many different influential factors were at play. Support and interest of principals, proactive efforts of project managers, attitudes, experience and skills of teachers, how the project and its importance was understood, the organization of the school timetable and conversations and solidarity were all issues that appeared to make a difference in the implementation of the makerspaces. Many steps, actions, attitudes and different roles characterised the project in the first year. Principals and project managers shared a genuine belief in the potential of the developmental project to change teaching approaches towards the needs of modern education by enhancing creativity, supporting technological literacy, integrating knowledge, encouraging teamwork and giving students ample agency. We see the all- female project managers both as “midwives” helping to deliver a precious baby and as “gardeners” sowing seeds and tending to them as they sprout and grow. A key effort in this respect was to conduct educamps for all three schools, twice or three times over each school term. Some of the teacher teams showed enthusiasm and readiness to embrace the affordances of makerspaces while others were more hesitant or reluctant. Some indicators revealed how the flow of information and conversations between teachers, project managers and principals had not reached all the teaching staff and was seen by some members as a top-down venture. We saw many interesting examples of integrative and creative school projects built on the makerspace approach, both digital productions and hands-on constructions from recyclable or other tangible materials. Our analysis of the pedagogical modes emerging in those projects indicated that they varied from being teacher controlled, to being progressive, involving less teacher control, and even being emancipatory in character with ample student agency and creativity. Many positive steps have been taken in this first year of implementation and this needs to be followed up with constructive conversations and exchanges between all stakeholders to ensure that all elements and factors at work in the project culminate in a momentum coherent enough to move this developmental undertaking in the right direction. Conclusions Many positive steps were taken in this first year and they need to be purposefully followed up with constructive and active conversations between stakeholders in order to make the coherence of elements and momentum push in the intended direction.Peer reviewe

Exploring contemporary illustrations of Scottish identity through a study of Scottish fashion influencers on Instagram.

This paper explores the construction of Scottish identity and place amongst fashion and style influencers on Instagram. Existing research and information surrounding the Scottish fashion industry is sparse and focused on traditional textiles, such as tartan and tweed. Style influencers have revolutionised the fashion industry and it is argued that, by identifying as Scottish or Scotland-based on Instagram, these individuals are shaping perceptions of Scottish identity and place, acting as contemporary cultural icons. The study consists of 14 interviews, where participants were also asked to provide a selection of posts that they felt demonstrated their identity as a Scottish fashion influencer. Participants expressed pride in their Scottish identity and surroundings; this was revealed through their desire to promote Scottish designers and destinations. They did not see tartan as a feature of their own style but recognised its value in Scotland's fashion story. People and place-related symbols were regarded as more authentic representations of Scottish identity and style. This research contributes to the field of Scottish studies by presenting contemporary illustrations of Scottish fashion through the influencers who are shaping these