Is it too late to be child? Is it too early to be adult?

the purpose of this article is to present authors’ experience related to methods applicableto adults’ education that could be transferred to children education and viceversa.It describes a number of cases in which methods like Game-based Learning(GbL) and storytelling, derived from children everyday life and education, are appliedto adults’ education; and methods like Problem/Project-based Learning (PbL)and Inquiry-based Learning (IbL), derived from adults’ experience, are applied tochildren education. the main research methods used are observations done duringpresented independent trainings, both of children and adults, as well as interviewswith participants in these training. the conclusions are drawn based on similaritiesand differences.KEYWORDS: Game-based learning, storytelling, Project-based Learning,Inquiry-based Learning

When I*Teach means I*Learn: developing and implementing an innovative methodology for building ICT-enhanced skills

The paper presents research findings and pilot experiences related to the development and validation of an innovative methodology for building ICT-enhanced skills. The concept of ICT-enhanced skills and the essence of the methodology are explained. The process of methodology validation – via a pilot teacher training course – is presented by offering the reader a dual perspective: that of a teacher and that of a learner. The main insights and conclusions are illustrated by authentic teachers’ impressions

Turning university professors into competent learners (or how to interweave a new educational methodology with a tool for Lifelong Learning)

This paper presents the results of a pre-pilot experiment offered in Bulgaria for teachers’ trainers who have to update their skills using ICT in teaching. The pre-pilot became a synergy of results of two European projects – the Leonardo Innovative Teacher (I*Teach) project and the FP6 TENCompetence project. The methodology for build-ing ICT-enhanced skills, developed in the frame of the I*Teach project, was applied for training teachers how to use ICT, using the provided by TENCompetence project tools and infrastructure

Inquiry-based science education in secondary school informatics - challenges and rewards

The paper presents an application of the inquiry-based science education (IBSE) approach in the context of informatics, specialized classes, in the process of studying Java language by 11 graders. The experiment under consideration presents classes, performed in parallel in two mathematics high schools in Sofia, Bulgaria, in two consequence years. The levels of IBSE as well as meta-levels of inquiry skills developed by students in process of learning are described. Next, the context of the experiment is presented. Two different variations of the approach application are shown – open inquiry and guided inquiry. The products, developed by student as results of the education, are presented. The analysis of the challenges, staying in front of the students and the teachers, in process of application of the inquiry-based science education takes special place in the paper. In conclusion, the application of IBSE is analysed from the point of view of long-term effect of education.1st International Symposium on Innovation and Sustainability in Education (InSuEdu 2012), Thessaloniki, Greece, 1 October 201

How to Build Up Contemporary Software Professionals Project-Based Learning in Data Structure and Programming

This article describes project-based learning (PBL) approach applied in the course Data Structures and Programming taught in Faculty of Mathematics and Informatics at Sofia University. PBL is a component of a larger and integral approach that includes teaching through lectures and seminars. The proposed PBL is based on group projects with medium development timelines. The basic phases of projects development are presented. Sample project descriptions in terms of subject are given. The results of the pilot are analyzed and future development requirements are proposed

Like a school (of fish) in water (or ICT-Enhanced Skills in Action)

The paper presents pilot experiences related to an educational methodology developed within the European Innovative Teacher (I*Teach) project for building ICT-enhanced skills [1]. The methodology is presented in the context of a workshop for teachers in mathematics and informatics with a special focus on enhancing presentation skills. The authors share their experience in treating the very workshop as a project with specific stages - analyzing the audience’s interests, developing a presentation scenario around a leading metaphor in harmony with the setting, distributing different roles among the presenters, involving the audience in an active reasoning and sharing. Thus the workshop has demonstrated at a meta-level how the collective intelligence of teachers could be harnessed in action. The main message is: such an approach makes teachers feel like co-creators of the I*Teach project´s ideas and teachers need only a bit of praise or encouragement to recognize themselves as innovative teachers

An Interface for Ontology Based Platform - the Evolution of the Ideas

The article presents main stages in the process of the development the user interface of the Share.TEC ontology based portal for teacher educators. The paper discusses how the various ideas were born, what types of challenges they provoke and different approaches to solve problems. The whole process of the dynamic progress and evolution of the first imaginations to its final version implemented in the prototype is described

IT education – challenging the limitations instead of limiting the challenges

The paper deals with addressing the most typical limitations and challenges the ICT teachers in Bulgaria (and all over the world) are confronted with. A set of ICT textbooks and supporting instrumentarium for 5th, 6th and 7th grades are considered. The specifics of these educational materials is that they allow both the students and their teachers to express themselves in various fields while covering the Standards’ requirements for building ICT skills for the corresponding age. The advantages of the project-based learning are discussed and the new role of the teachers when applying active learning methods is emphasized on

Myths and Realities about Technology Enhanced Learning

The article deals with some myths about teachers’ role in a technology enhanced learning process. The spectrum of myths under discussion ranges from complete rejection of ICT to their overidealization. We have come across these myths in the context of teacher education both in national and international setting. The paper is focusing on several in-service teacher training courses on interactive teaching methods, on new technologies in education, and on computer skills. The main problems are due to the prevailing attempts bringing the new technologies to an existing school setting which is teacher-centered, with practically fixed curriculum, treating ICT as an object of study… Such conditions make it natural for the teachers to feel uncomfortable and even insecure in a technology enhanced environment where students are more experienced technically. We discuss the effects of applying a recently developed methodology (known as I*Teach) towards altering the viewpoint of the teachers about the changes in their role

Embracing and enhancing ideas as a strategy for ICT education

The paper deals with effective ways of overcoming the most typical challenges the ICT teachers are confronted with. Based on their experience the authors claim that appropriately designed methodology, textbooks and computer environments could stimulate the learners (teachers and students alike) to embrace and enhance ideas so as to better express themselves