2007 Stockholm Open classroom conferences

Real Learning in Virtual Worlds

Teacher Professional Development and the Role of Mentors and Avatars in Schooling 21C

 

Surrounding evidence fostered by a number of developments coming with the pervasive impact of the Information & Communication Technologies on school education, is leading education researchers and pedagogists as well as policy makers and international agencies to adopt the hypothesis of an emerging Paradigm of Schooling, in the 21st century.

In the years to come we need to further intensify our joint efforts in order to better understand, plan and act upon the social evolutions, namely the social mobility, migration, internationalisation, multicultural societal structures, that are changing the mandate of School Education, in Schooling 21C.

Transforming School Education systems to open (e-)learning environments, in the Lifelong Learning perspective implies evolutionary changes as regards:

  • the way we understand the emerging learning needs of youngsters at school ages, the way we define learning objectives and how we go about meeting them through structured learning offers;
  • the planning and the running of schools and networks of schools, teachers, classes and classrooms, with individualized learning paths and collaborative learning experiences;
  • concerning the way we innovate and scale-up, by validating new forms of education content development, consolidation and knowledge building and sharing of experiences.

The Sixth Open Classroom Conference aims at offering an opportunity to present, be informed about and join the European dialogue about how families, teachers, experts, authorities and societies at large are experiencing and handling the changes that are leading towards Real Learning in Virtual Worlds.