presentation

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.

The annual assembly and conference of the European Society for the Systemic Innovation of Education (ESSIE)  took place on 27 May in Leuven and attracted about 100 researchers from different parts of Europe. Peter Sloep from the Open University, the Netherlands set the tone for the day in his inspiring keynote presentation entitled 'Networked Learning, a Paradigm Shift'. A presentation from ATiT which elaborated on the role of educational media in general and video in particular in the new digital culture described ways in which video can contribute to innovative learning practices. This was also an opportunity to promote  various initiatives where educational media is nurtured and supported including the MEDEA Awards and the Media & Learning community.

The European network that has been building up around the annual MEDEA awards was further expanded during the 13th annual ICL conference held in Hasselt from 15-17 September when Sally Reynolds presented MEDEA. During her presentation, Sally described the way in which the competition operates and the type of entries it attracts.This presentation included a discussion about the selection criteria used in the judging process and highlighted the growing level of interest in the use of media in teaching and learning. It also included samples of entries from previous years. More information about MEDEA is available from this website.

Almost 400 people attended the EDEN annual conference held in the beautiful city of Valencia from 9 - 12 June. The theme of the conference this year was 'Media Inspirations for Learning' and so a presentation of the MEDEA Awards given by Sally Reynolds from ATiT turned out to be a popular choice for lots of participants.

This presentation provided a snapshot of how the MEDEA awards scheme has been growing since its launch in 2007 and a description of the types of entries it receives.  It was also a timely reminder that the closing date for receipt of entries this year is 31 July.

EDEN also provided a good opportunity to promote the Media and Learning conference being held in Brussels on 25 - 26 November in collaboration with the Flemish Ministry of Education, where themes related to to how best to utilise the impact of media will be the main focus of discussion.

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.