ICTlogy

Julià Minguillón, Academic Director, UNESCO Chair in e-Learning, UOC, Spain
Conclusions of the UOC UNESCO Chair in Elearning VIII International Seminar

Some selected statements made during the seminar:

• Teaching is about inspiring people. It is not only about transferring knowledge, or building skills.
• Ask yourself what your passion is, then learn.

You can ask your learners what their passion is, then teach. Share part of the control on the teaching process.

• Playfulness is within every child and adult.
• We can all be part of the “net generation”.
• No distinction between teachers and learners, especially because of age.
• Break the teacher-student hierarchy.
• Everybody can teach and learn and enjoy it! And at the same time.

• But teachers are not entertainers.
• But students are not only consumers or costumers.
• Don’t preach facts, stimulate acts.
• Promoting collaboration.
• Promoting self-directed learning.
• Promoting sharing.
• Social networks and web 2.0 tools can be a powerful tools.

• There are new opportunities brought by mobile technologies, PLEs, OERs, video…
• New literacies are needed: information seeking and filtering, content creation and curation, sharing and organizing, working in teams. And literacy is no only skills but attitudes.
• Old barriers need to be overcome: school/university structure and bureaucracy, assessment (or just scoring?), coping with fast endemic change, knowledge comes in standardized and isolated silos, low transfer from educational research into practice.

• Promote creativity in class.
• Take risks, you also learn from failure.
• Adopt perspectives from other disciplines.
• Create communities of practice.

Don’t let this seminar be another “ivory tower”: spread the word.

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