tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6189299142954267926Sat, 05 Oct 2024 02:05:27 +0000EducationThings to rememberReadingsEducation and PoliticsNew Technologies and the WebScienceFree resources for schoolsMovieshttp://www.pinofiermonte.com/noreply@blogger.com (Pino)Blogger53125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6189299142954267926.post-516009505360782133Sun, 20 Mar 2011 12:28:00 +00002011-03-21T21:38:03.148+01:00EducationEducation and PoliticsThe more I got involved in educational development, as a school consultant or as a teacher trainer, the more I got aware that school buildings and facilities represent a major obstacle to innovative educational concepts and policies. On rare occasions contemporary school design offers new perspectives to teaching and learning but unfortunately most of the time new schools are not better than old http://www.pinofiermonte.com/2011/03/schools-for-today-and-tomorrow.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Pino)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6189299142954267926.post-2765456315079098833Sat, 12 Mar 2011 09:59:00 +00002011-03-12T11:40:24.192+01:00EducationTeachers are like old cats. It's very difficult to teach them new tricks, especially if they feel comfortable using old ones.http://www.pinofiermonte.com/2011/03/teacher-is-cat.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Pino)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6189299142954267926.post-1127628075580015162Thu, 29 Jul 2010 20:03:00 +00002010-07-30T13:06:54.508+02:00EducationEducation and PoliticsNew Technologies and the WebWhen I have a difficult subject to discuss, I sometimes like to start off with a graph to visualise my ideas and the complexity of the subject. The first draft of this one was hand-made. I did it during a discussion I had with teachers about choices of ICT equipment, systems and applications. I argued that you need to have a sound framework for ICT decision-making in education.Any choice that youhttp://www.pinofiermonte.com/2010/07/when-i-have-difficult-subject-to.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Pino)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6189299142954267926.post-3542969839859036171Mon, 07 Jun 2010 20:35:00 +00002010-06-08T19:26:46.607+02:00EducationNew Technologies and the WebAges ago, I participated in a R&D Project called TEO. I was a primary school teacher then, back in 1994. The project's main objectives were to develop a software to record narratives using a computer, and to use this application to practice oral language skills. The tool was called TEO - meaning Text Editor Oral. It worked under the old MacOS 9.We used TEO in primary school but tested it alsohttp://www.pinofiermonte.com/2010/06/constructing-oral-narratives-online.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Pino)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6189299142954267926.post-3287570678976406214Tue, 20 Apr 2010 20:49:00 +00002010-09-12T23:01:10.639+02:00EducationThings to rememberI have completed the list of the interview transcripts below, that have been published on the website on http://www.desimages.be/spip.php?article40401 - le chemin pour devenir professeur de morale02 - l’invention d’une pratique vidéo avec les enfants03 - ne pas garder de savoir en réserve04 - la caméra introduit de la distance05 - rencontrer l’humanité à travers un écran06 - la correspondance http://www.pinofiermonte.com/2010/04/jacques-duez-pleasure-of-real-questions.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Pino)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6189299142954267926.post-3426011473238382696Thu, 11 Mar 2010 19:48:00 +00002010-03-28T21:26:19.174+02:00EducationThings to rememberJacques Duez has died Monday 2nd of February 2010.It's difficult to find words to express how sad I am that I will not have the chance to meet with you again as we planned to do it the last time we met, and the last time we talked on the phone.I'm thankful that I had the chance to know you and that you followed my invitation to Luxembourg for a presentation of your work on 19th of June 2008.With http://www.pinofiermonte.com/2010/03/jacques-duez-has-died-monday-2nd-of.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Pino)1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6189299142954267926.post-6881669567396187412Fri, 15 Jan 2010 21:14:00 +00002010-01-18T00:40:33.158+01:00EducationScienceScience education is non-existent in Luxembourgish elementary school. We do a little bit of geography and history in fifth and sixth grade and we have a science curriculum for first to sixth grade. But, as far as I can observe, natural science is often reduced to filling out work sheets and doing personal projects where students individually or in groups look up information on the Internet or in http://www.pinofiermonte.com/2010/01/way-out-of-pseudoscience.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Pino)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6189299142954267926.post-5987623514290240764Sun, 14 Jun 2009 21:15:00 +00002009-06-15T22:59:09.326+02:00EducationSince the reform of the teacher training at the newly created university in Luxembourg I have met a some teachers complaining that student teachers had been sent to their schools for practical training with their heads filled with theories about education, but lacking the most basic teaching skills. The answer to my question which kind of basic teaching skills they expected the students to have http://www.pinofiermonte.com/2009/06/making-of-teachers.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Pino)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6189299142954267926.post-3018455382907447559Wed, 01 Apr 2009 17:29:00 +00002009-04-01T22:13:06.969+02:00EducationReadingsScienceRecently I attended a seminar on learning and emotion. A major part of the penal presentations were on neuroscience. As, according to Della Sala, the famous scientist, "neuroscience is a hype", no surprise then, that a lot of teachers were present to get an overview on the recent findings in that field. I suspect that anyone attending the conference Sergio probably has his on view on the subject http://www.pinofiermonte.com/2009/04/neuroscience-is-hype.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Pino)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6189299142954267926.post-2147148417913907031Thu, 05 Mar 2009 21:34:00 +00002009-03-05T23:39:21.060+01:00EducationWhen I go visiting school classes I usually try to avoid sitting in the back to observe the whole classroom activity. I also avoid to start a discussion with the teachers in front of their pupils. I usually go straight to one desk or group of desks and I ask the students if they don't mind me sitting next to them to observe what they are doing.There are some reasons for me not sitting in the backhttp://www.pinofiermonte.com/2009/03/sustaining-chain-reactions-of-learning.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Pino)2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6189299142954267926.post-5168951853994918403Sun, 25 Jan 2009 14:15:00 +00002009-01-25T16:15:03.796+01:00EducationEducation and PoliticsWhen I see the capital that is needed to save the banking sector and the automotive industry, and maybe there will be other sectors, I can't help but asking myself if this money is more real than the one these sectors have produced so far. There must be some endless reservoir somewhere. Maybe politicians have finally managed to find the only endless resource in the Universe before scientist http://www.pinofiermonte.com/2009/01/new-way-money-goes.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Pino)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6189299142954267926.post-1705424403014858016Mon, 19 Jan 2009 17:16:00 +00002009-01-23T00:12:06.063+01:00EducationReadingsScienceThings to rememberOn February 12th we are going to celebrate (some would probably prefer to say "deplore") Charles Darwin's 200s birthday and on November 24th 2009 the 150th anniversary of the publication of his book "On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection, or the Preservation of Favoured Races in the Struggle for Life" - in short called The Origin of Species. Another milestone of his work is the http://www.pinofiermonte.com/2009/01/on-february-12th-we-are-going-to.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Pino)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6189299142954267926.post-475726557263485408Thu, 08 Jan 2009 21:48:00 +00002009-01-09T08:14:45.300+01:00Things to rememberLouis Braille's celebration day reminds me of the fact that it is not the child's disability that prevents her/his inclusion into mainstream schools but the school's disability to include children that do not fit into the norm. (Besides, being in the same building is not a sufficient condition for talking about integration or inclusion.)Reading about Braille I also remembered how impressed I was http://www.pinofiermonte.com/2009/01/200th-birthday-of-luis-braille-january.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Pino)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6189299142954267926.post-7802081526853273885Sun, 04 Jan 2009 12:47:00 +00002009-01-04T14:55:19.969+01:00EducationRecently I came across the term Andragogy which was used by Alexander Kapp in 1833 and which was adopted by Malcolm Knowles to designate "the art and science of teaching adults". (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pedagogy).On most websites dealing with andragogy, I found that it should be distinguished from pedagogy, which relates to teaching children. The authors generally state that andragogy, in http://www.pinofiermonte.com/2009/01/andragogy-and-pedagogy-whats-difference.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Pino)1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6189299142954267926.post-8727327813085555404Wed, 31 Dec 2008 17:30:00 +00002008-12-31T19:09:13.614+01:00Education and PoliticsThings to rememberTo all the children in this world I wish at least one caring elder, enough food, a meaningful education, the intelligence to know which role model to follow, and a safe place to stay in this world of adult madness and perversion of power.For all my friends, relatives and page visitors : May the beauty of life be with you!Original images found on Wikimedia Commons.http://commons.wikimedia.org/wikihttp://www.pinofiermonte.com/2008/12/to-all-children-in-this-world-i-wish-at.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Pino)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6189299142954267926.post-1138442754834568770Sun, 14 Dec 2008 13:52:00 +00002008-12-14T15:11:42.555+01:00EducationTo be able to scaffold students’ learning and to amplify their cultural awareness and their selfawareness, teachers should engage in a process of investigation on how young people see the world and themselves, how they feel about learning and schooling, how they build concepts of something and how they reflect on their own thinking, doing and being.Teachers don't know more about their students ashttp://www.pinofiermonte.com/2008/12/rethinking-achitecture-of-teaching.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Pino)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6189299142954267926.post-8045014269560483583Tue, 04 Nov 2008 19:56:00 +00002008-11-06T21:50:03.508+01:00EducationI have set up a new website with my past and current short publications on learning and teaching. You can find it at the address http://www.fiermonte.lu. Some articles are in German, others in English or French. Only one has been translated from French to English. (If someone is interested to provide a translation for anything I have written, feel free to contact me.) Most of the articles have http://www.pinofiermonte.com/2008/11/thoughts-on-education.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Pino)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6189299142954267926.post-6996518686130972601Sun, 21 Sep 2008 22:20:00 +00002008-09-23T16:11:00.382+02:00EducationReadingsScienceThings to remember40 Years ago, in 1968, the psychologist Robert Rosenthal and the principal of an elementary school Lenore F. Jacobson conducted their famous study to test the hypothesis if children would become brighter when expected to by their teachers. The study was conducted in 18 primary school classes from which 20% of the students were randomly chosen to be the "brighter" kids after they all had taken a http://www.pinofiermonte.com/2008/09/if-only-teachers-could-all-be.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Pino)1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6189299142954267926.post-4611493663813861500Wed, 20 Aug 2008 19:57:00 +00002008-08-21T15:06:06.658+02:00EducationFree resources for schoolsNew Technologies and the WebAs a producer of web technologies that provide teachers and learners with online content production tools I often find myself involved in a discussion around the legitimacy to use images found on the internet in students' and teachers' personal projects.Although teachers over the globe complain that the internet facilitates plagiarism and encourages copying and pasting of text they usually don't http://www.pinofiermonte.com/2008/08/bad-times-for-teachers-and-students.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Pino)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6189299142954267926.post-4083444622585428493Sun, 17 Aug 2008 19:38:00 +00002008-08-20T21:57:26.112+02:00Education and PoliticsThings to rememberMy recent family holidays took me to Croatia, a beautiful country which I already wanted to visit years ago, before Yugoslavia split apart. We drove through Germany and Austria before arriving in Slovenia and finally in Croatia more exactly to the Plitvice Lakes. When the Third Balkan War broke out back in 1991, the maps which were displayed during the head news on TV always made me aware of how http://www.pinofiermonte.com/2008/08/croatian-thoughts.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Pino)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6189299142954267926.post-4673200788731457514Thu, 10 Jul 2008 20:56:00 +00002008-07-22T13:47:51.921+02:00EducationThings to remember26 Years ago I finished my teacher training and I started my career as a teacher in the same year in September. Who was I at that time, who am I now, twenty five years later? I remember being an angry young man, bored and frustrated by school, bored by most of my teachers, impressed by a few, opposed to authorities, especially those without intellectual and ethical strength or empathy, not very http://www.pinofiermonte.com/2008/07/25-out-of-47.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Pino)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6189299142954267926.post-572602940937947483Wed, 02 Jul 2008 22:14:00 +00002008-07-03T00:44:06.252+02:00New Technologies and the WebReadingsScienceIn analogy to archeology, pedagogical reflection doesn't deal with an objective truth or evidence but with a subjective construction which can become - sometimes only for a limited period - a shared truth in a given social context.For example, an archaeological discovery like a female figurine can be seen as a religious object, or a symbol for fertility, or evidence for a matriarchal society, http://www.pinofiermonte.com/2008/07/what-teachers-can-learn-from-new.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Pino)2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6189299142954267926.post-3937255153214524371Thu, 26 Jun 2008 20:58:00 +00002008-06-26T23:13:49.628+02:00EducationReadingsI recommend this book to all who used camcorders in their class for doing action research or ethnographic inquiries, and to all those who have read my last post on Jacques Duez, the Belgian teacher who used the video camera in his ethics lessons to record the discussions that took place in his classroom and to share it with other classes, the local community or teachers in his school.Some quotes http://www.pinofiermonte.com/2008/06/points-of-viewing-childrens-thinking.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Pino)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6189299142954267926.post-7343384699777582641Thu, 26 Jun 2008 14:18:00 +00002008-06-26T16:38:33.220+02:00EducationEducation and PoliticsMoviesIn the last week I was very absorbed by Jacques Duez's work and busy preparing an event where I presented it to teachers. Jacques Duez has worked for more than 30 years as an ethics teacher in Mons (Belgium). In his early teaching he was very soon frustrated with giving lessons to students during which they were When he noticed that what students brought up themselves was much more interesting tohttp://www.pinofiermonte.com/2008/06/jacques-duez-on-listening-to-children.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Pino)2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6189299142954267926.post-4627080454804182698Tue, 10 Jun 2008 19:52:00 +00002008-06-10T22:48:00.132+02:00EducationNew Technologies and the WebThe MIT Media Lab has published an interesting research project called "Storied Navigation". The project is based on an idea developed by Edward Yu-Te Shen. His thesis has been published under the title and subtitle Storied Navigation : Toward Media Collection-Based Storytelling.Storied Navigation is said to be novel approach and a tool to construct narratives based on a collection of annotated http://www.pinofiermonte.com/2008/06/rethinking-storytelling-with-storied.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Pino)0