training

Aimed at enthusiastic educators who would like to create their own educational video materials, this week-long residential course organised by ATiT combines theoretical and practical elements and will raise your awareness as to the value video can bring to teaching and learning. On the summer course which takes place from 2-7 July, you will work in a small team to produce your own educational video programme and this process is interchanged with theoretical sessions and visits. The course culminates with a public showcase of the videos produced by the different teams to an invited audience.

Funding under both the Comenius and the Grundtvig programmes are available to cover the costs of this training course as part of the in-service training grant offer. Grants cover the cost of the course, travel and full accommodation.  If you are interested in the July course then apply to your national agency before 16 January. More information about the course and how to apply for funding is available from the ATiT video training course site

Course participants from Spain, Romania, Ireland and Italy took part in ATiT's week-long training course on creating and using video to support teaching and learning held 4-9 July in Leuven. Working in groups, they produced a series of 3 minute video clips about the city of Leuven which were presented to an invited audience on Friday 8 July, including the Education Alderman, Mohamed Ridouani.  For more information about these courses visit our website.

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.

Two week-long residential courses combining theory and practice are taking place in Leuven later this year. The first takes place on 4-9 July and the second on 24-29 October. Places are still available for these courses which provide participants with the necessary basic skills to create and share their own educational video materials.

During these courses, participants work in teams to produce their own educational video programme and this process is interchanged with theoretical sessions and visits to ensure a good balance of work. The number of participants is limited to 20 and the course culminates with a public showcase of the videos produced by the different teams to an invited audience.

Find out more from this site which includes information about how you can apply for funding to take part.

The first 'Using Video to Support Lifelong Learning' course was held in the Irish College in Leuven from 14-19 February. 12 participants took part from 9 different European countries. As part of their practical work, course participants created educational video clips in small teams and presented them to an invited audience on Friday 18th Feb which included Renilde Reynders from EPOS, Belgium and Schepen Mohamed Ridouani. The next course takes place from 4-9 July, for more information, go to the video course pages.

A week-long training course on using video to support lifelong learning being run by ATiT in February 2011 has proven so popular that two further courses on the same topic are being run in 2011. The first takes place from 4 to 9 July and the second from 24 to 29 October.  All courses are being held in the renovated Institute for Ireland in Europe, in Leuven, Belgium. Funding to cover the full costs of participation including accommodation and flights is available through the Comenius/Grundtvig programme of the European Commission.

Full details about the July course are available from the European Commission database. The deadline for applications for funding for this course is likely to be in January 2011.

Full details about the October course are available from the European Commission database. The deadline for applications for funding for this course is likely to be in April 2011.

A week-long course entitled ‘Using Video to Support Lifelong Learning’ is being organised in the Leuven Institute for Ireland in Europe in Belgium from 14 February 2011. This course will provide participants with the basics of video capture and editing as well as training on how to publish video materials online.

Aimed at enthusiastic newcomers, this course will also address issues to do with video as a learning tool and how best to use video at all levels of teaching and learning.  One of the goals of the course will be for participants to create their own educational video resource during the week-long workshop.

Despite the bad weather conditions in northern Europe, ATiT staff are planning to take part in the Learning and Technology World Forum 2010 being held in London 11-13 January.

This will include leading an innovation exchange session entitled "Critical Success Scheme for Step-Change in E-Learning" on Tuesday 12th. This session will be highly interactive and will provide an opportunity to further test the validity of the Critical and Key Success factors for e-learning that were developed during the Re.ViCa project. Participants will also receive a copy of the recently published handbook, "Reviewing the Virtual Campus Phenomenon: The Rise of Large-scale e-Learning Initiatives Worldwide" which provides a wealth of background on the Virtual Campus phenomenon as well as a snapshot of the current status of Virtual Campuses worldwide.

After a year of hard work, the EduTubePlus partners met for their first annual meeting in Rome on the 15/16 October to review progress and plan for the coming months. This meeting took place in the historical Sala 1 - the first radio studio used by RAI. It was a fitting location given the importance placed on educational content by RAI from the early days of the station during the reconstruction following World War II which continues to this day.

The first version of the EduTubePlus platform is almost ready and video content is being segmented and prepared for incluson. At the same time pedagogical scenarios utilising video material from the library are being prepared. Planning for the first user trials is now underway and will involve schools in Greece, Hungary, Italy, Finland, Belgium and the UK.