media in education

WEBstroom, a Special Interest Group of the Dutch SURFfoundation that focuses on streaming media in higher education, organised a meeting in the Netherlands on 11 February 2010 about user generated content. Among other highly interesting and relevant presentations about best-practice examples, Nikki Cortoos presented the MEDEA Awards and included a selection of online showcases featuring user generated online video.

WEBstroom is a MEDEA National Contact Point in the Netherlands and has recently moved its discussion group to LinkedIn.

The MEDEA Awards 2010 have been launched with the publication of a brand new website which features samples and stories from winning entries in 2008 and 2009.

Online submissions are welcome up to the closing date for receipt of entries which is 31 July 2010. This European awards scheme recognises, rewards and encourages excellent use of media in education and attracts entries from all education and training sectors. Last year more than 250 entries were submitted and they included cartoons, videos, media repositories and animations.

Mathy Vanbuel gave a presentation about the pedagogical framework and the approach to teacher coaching being undertaken by the EduTubePlus partners at the recent BaKaFORUM held 30 Jan – 1 Feb in Karlsruhe.

This annual event brings together educational broadcasters and others interested in educational and societal TV and Media and provided a good opportunity to find out more about what educational broadcasters around the world are up to.

The forum was made up of a mix of screenings and workshops and included many excellent examples of educational video material as well as documentaries on a several highly emotive topics like the racist attacks on migrant communities in South Africa in 2008 and people trafficking in the Ukraine.

On 15 January 2010 EUscreen launched its website (www.euscreen.eu) where all public documentation produced within the EUscreen project will be made accessible, along with links to specific sites and documentation about EUscreen technological issues. An important role of the website is also to capture and publish the social dynamic of the EUscreen user community and to enable sharing data and expertise with the targeted user communities and with the public at large. The site also provides links and information about activities related to the eContentplus Programme as well as articles, fact-sheets, project descriptions and specific PowerPoint presentations related to project activities and results.

The MEDEA Secretariat announced today the 8 finalists for the annual MEDEA awards. These are in alphabetical order: Daisy and Drago by Terakki Foundation Schools (Turkey), Eyes on the Skies by European Southern Observatory (ESO) (Germany), INgeBEELD by CANON CULTURAL UNIT (Belgium), Know IT All by Childnet International (UK), Les TIC en Classe by VISION FUTURE (France), Planet SciCast by NESTA (UK), Studiecoach by the Dutch Open University (The Netherlands) and Traditions Across Europe by Istituto Comprensivo “Don Bosco” (Italy). The overall winner will be announced during the MEDEA Awards Ceremony on 4 December 2009 in the Hotel InterContinental in Berlin.
 
This year the competition attracted 254 entries from 39 countries which was a significant increase in entries compared to last year. The finalists were chosen by a jury made up of 76 education and media experts from 26 countries who assessed the MEDEA entries in October.  All finalists will attend the Awards Ceremony on Friday 4th December 2009, where they will have the chance to win the main MEDEA Award as well as several other prizes, including software sponsored by Adobe and AVID.

If you would like more information about these awards, visit the MEDEA web site.

The October issue of the Media in Education Newsletter highlights the launch of the new Greek ministerial video web site for schools, the new JISC Digital Media Newsletter and the way Swedish schools are using media resources.

This month's newsletter contains a feature on the winner of the MEDEA Special Award in 2008 as well as a profile of CSP in Italy, a very active MEDEA national contact point. The October edition reports on the numbers of entries to the 2009 MEDEA Awards and gives information about other awards in this sector.

If you have relevant information or news you would like to share in this newsletter, contact the editors.

Entries to the annual MEDEA Awards have been arriving daily to the MEDEA Secretariat in recent weeks and more than 250 were received by the competition deadline of 30th September. The highest number of entries have been submitted by French organisations with organisations in Italy, UK and Germany also submitting a significant number. Judging will begin in mid-October and the organisers hope to have a list of finalists available at the beginning of November.