Tutors Bart Bonamie, Geert Bonamie
Comenius/Grundtvig Course Title Training for the Future - Improving Education with Blogs & Wikis
Comenius/Grundtvig Reference Number BE-2010-131-003
Application Deadline 16 January 2011

Target group Teachers, teacher trainers & course providers
Number of participants Max. 25
Number of sessions 1
Session duration 1 week
Session dates 19 - 26 August 2012
Session location Ghent, Belgium

Syllabus Book & online manuals
  Objectives Provide technical knowledge and skills about applications relevant to the implementation of Blogs and Wikis in education. Provide general knowledge about client (Wordpress) and server (Dokuwiki) software, with specific relevant information regarding the use of these for blended learning activities. Raise awareness about pedagogical and methodological skills and differences vis-a-vis traditional teaching methods to effectively implement blended learning activities in the classroom.

Participants should have a decent command of Windows, and be familiar with Internet Explorer or Firefox and general Windows file management.

Since English will be the language of instruction, and participants will have to interact in English with the tutors and with each other, a good command of the English language (at least C1 for listening and B2 for speaking on the Common European Framework scale) is a necessary condition for successful participation in this course.

Also, please note that this is not a crash computer course for beginners, but a course that combines technology and pedagogy: it aims to address language teachers who already know how to use the computer, and want to learn how to use New Media tools such as blogs and wikis to improve their language teaching. Participants should have a decent command of Windows, and be familiar with Internet Explorer or Firefox and general Windows file management. Due to the limited amount of time during the course, tutors will not be able to help participants lacking these general basic computer skills.

To prevent disappointments and frustrations, participants doubting their English and ICT competence are invited to contact the course organisers in advance.

Participants will be asked to provide written information about their experiences in the field of ICT and teaching and to reflect about their objectives and expectations.t;/p>

This is a "learning by doing" and "learning while doing" workshop. There are no real lectures; instead the instructions and tutorials are delivered in a step by step fashion, and participants will be invited to gradually explore the blogs and wikis. Following the educational principles of social constructivism, participants will be actively involved and will develop – alone or in small groups – activities for direct use in their lessons, using the full set of applications offered by Wordpress and Dokuwiki.

Participants Participants will receive a a memory stick with a copy of all activities created by the course participants, the (Free/Open Source) software that has been used during the training, as well as a booklet containing the basic steps towards creating and setting up a Wordpress blog and a Dokuwiki. Using the access code that will be sent to all participants, and which is valid for a whole year, participants get access to the online course material. They are also entitled to one month of full follow-up support via the trouble ticket system.

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