Dr. Davide Parmigiani from the University of Genoa is Conference chairman of the Winter Conference of the Association for Teacher Education in Europe, ATEE In few days the ATEE Winter Conference 2013 will take place. Why did you choose as theme "Learning & Teaching with Media & Technology"? The quality of the learning/teaching processes at school depends on the relationship between teachers, pupils, knowledge and competence. All along, teachers use various instruments to implement and improve such a relationship. In this way, old and new media and technologies represented and still represent ways to help teachers in creating meaningful instructional experiences. We chose this theme because we believe that ICTs can play an important role in creating and building a meaningful learning environment at all levels, from the early childhood to the higher education contexts. For this reason, we need to debate how to include media and technologies in various educational settings and how ICTs modify such settings. The use of ICT and Media in the educational context is a big issue. Are there scientific studies about the effects of new technologies on the way we learn? There are many studies that underline the close relationship between the ICTs and the learning environment. The learning context tends to change with the use of ICTs. I will try to explain. The teachers or the educators want to create environments where students can experience interaction, cooperation, problem solving, inquiry. These particular features of a good learning environment are supported by ICTs. So, if teachers design learning activities with ICTs, it’s more likely that their pupils will have the oppotunity for debating, searching, questioning, etc. In particular, I’m referring to the educational and instructional opportunities offered by the web 2.0. In conclusion, there is no evidence of a direct relationship between the use of ICTs and the way we learn but there are a lot of studies about the changes of the context where we learn. Consequently, we tend to develop and look for new forms of learning. If international associations would like to include digital learning in their conferences and seminars, what should they know about it? In our opinion, the key point is the environment not the ICTs. The context where we can learn is more important than the instruments. So, we must focus on the learning environment and on what we want to develop in that context. Obviously, in any environment there are a lot of factors: teachers, pupils, equipment, books, relationships, knowledge, competence. Moreover, we know that the instruments can implement and modify the context. As a result, ICTs can be useful for understanding, creating and building a context where the different actors and elements have the opportunity to relate and develop many kinds of learning. Which new media will you include yourself in your conference? 21st century learning has to be mobile. Not only because we use smartphones or tablets, but also because the learning processes can be carried out in various ways and styles. For these reasons, we will focus our attention on the new media: iPAD, IWB, smartphone but also on the relationships between them and the actors of the teaching/learning process, mainly teachers and pupils but also parents and society in general. ATEE aims to enhance the quality of Teacher Education in Europe. How important is your Winter Conference in this context? As underlined before, the topic of this Winter Conference is centred on ICTs but the real crucial point is the teaching/learning process and, precisely, how to design and carry out meaningful instructional activities inside and outside the school. For us, it’s a challenge... a challenge directed towards the building of a school where the pupils can experience various opportunities to learn and create new ideas, individually and in groups. In this path, the teachers should play a key role, because they have the task of designing the learning environment. So they should deal with the different ways to plan good contexts, contexts where the young people can join their informal ways to learn (through social networks, tablets, smartphones, etc.) with the formal educationl paths carried out at school. This is a hard challenge, but it’s the way to develop the students’ competences and the life skills provided by the European Union. The Association for Teacher Education in Europe (ATEE) is a non-profit European organisation, whose aim is enhancing the quality of Teacher Education in Europe and supporting the professional development of teachers and teacher educators at all levels. The members of the ATEE are individuals and institutions involved in the research and practice of teacher education, both within and outside higher education. The Winter Conference of the Association for Teacher Education in Europe, ATEE, takes place from 7 to 9 March 2013, in Genoa. www.atee1.org | ||||||