content development

Last week the 11^th DIVERSE International Conference took place in Dublin, Ireland from 28 to 30 June 2011. The programme was full of interesting keynotes and presentations and we were delighted to be amongst them! On Thursday 30 June, Sally Reynolds (ATiT, Belgium) and Deborah Arnold (Videoscop - Universite Nancy 2, France) presented "Sound! Light! Action! Learning? Experiences from the annual MEDEA Awards", a plenary session which combined a presentation of winning MEDEA entries as well as a judging session using a sample MEDEA entry.

On Tuesday 31st of May and Thursday 2 June 2011 the first 2-day MEDEA2020 workshop took place alongside the annual EdTech conference organised by the Irish Learning Technology Association (ILTA). This conference took place in Waterford Institute of Technology (WIT).

This workshop on animation took place over 2 days. The first part, aimed at beginners, provided an overview of different animation techniques and included hands-on practice with different tools. Topics covered getting started with animation as a way of engaging learners, different types of animation for example 2D, 3D. The session continued with hands on sessions with different software tools (Flash and Animate) for the creation of animation. Participants carried out the first steps in creating an animated movie, and explored in that way the principles of animation.
Winning examples of animation from the MEDEA Awards were presented by Deborah Arnold from Videoscop Universite Nancy2 (France) and invited guest Yannick Mahé from CNDP (France) who is the director of award winning educational media Evolution of LIfe. Demonstrations and presentations were followed by discussions with all participants.

The second part of the workshop, aimed at more advanced users, took place as part of the EdTech programme on 2 June. On that day, examples and explanations on the use of animation in a pedagogical context were discussed: how was it produced and what is the impact on learning. How can animation motivate and stimulate the learner and aid understanding of complex abstract concepts. Also on the second day, there was a hands on session on the creation of scenarios that continued where the first day ended based on the scenarios created during day 1 from an educational and media production perspective. The workshop showed the participants clearly the first steps in the development of a short animated movie plus discussions.

The tutors on this workshop were Deborah Arnold from Videoscop, France; Yannick Mahé, from CNDP in France, Philip Penny from IADT, Ireland and Mathy Vanbuel, ATiT, Belgium. Altogether 30 participants attended the workshop over part or whole of the two days.

The next MEDEA workshop will take place in Poland in July and will cover the topic of Webinars. More information soon on this site and on the MEDEA Awards site.

The campaign for the MEDEA Awards 2008 is in full motion and we're still welcoming participants, partners and sponsors! The aim of the MEDEA Awards is to encourage innovation and good practice in the use of sound, video or media-rich applications in education. If you're interested in becoming a sponsor and supporting this competition, please download our PDF with conditions and benefits for our different sponsoring categories. For more information you can visit the website  http://www.medea-awards.com.

Mathy Vanbuel was invited to participate in the Fe-ConE (Framework for eLearning Contents Evaluation)  conference in Vilnius (Latvia) on October 10th 2007. During the meeting Ms. Claire Belise, Mr. Graham Attwell and Dr. Minna Lakkala presented their views on intercultural issues in e-learning and e-content. Read their position papers on the eLearning Europe Portal.

ATiT, in collaboration with several partners has recently launched the MEDEA AWARDS to encourage innovation and good practice in the use of digital moving images and sound in education. The award will also recognise and promote excellence in the production and pedagogical design of media-rich learning resources. These materials will typically be delivered online via internet or virtual learning environment and used as an integral part of a programme of study. The award is open to anyone working with or in European education at all levels. We welcome participation from producers, teachers, academics, support staff and students. Find out more on the MEDEA web site http://www.medea-awards.com