Caterina Gasparini

The Italian person from ISUC is supposed to attend the meeting: there should be Dino Renato Nardelli instead of Mario Tosti, but Nardelli is on holiday till 19th July, so he will probably submit his application form for the visit after this date.

Will he be the person coming to our meetings and discussing the project on the Forum? If so, could you get him to send me a biography and a photograph for his avatar. <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Yes, he will come to the meetings, but now he is on holiday till the end of July, so I will contact him when he is back. Has anyone had their preparatory visit approved by their national Socrates agencies? The Italian one is waiting for a positive answer from any other agency involved before approving any.

The person from ISUC involved in the project will be prof. Dino Renato Nardelli, who is in charge of the "Cittadino consapevole" project. What follows is a short presentation of ISUC: Istituto di Storia dell'Umbria Contemporanea - Institute for history of Contemporary Umbria (ISUC) The Istituto per la Storia dell'Umbria Contemporanea is an agency dedicated to the training of teachers on 20th Century history. It organises courses and seminars in collaboration with the Direction of Education for the Umbria region and with schools. The Istituto per la Storia dell'Umbria Contemporanea also carries out research in numerous areas, collaborating with various institutes. Research areas include citizenship, emigration history, territorial history, characteristics of Fascism and anti-Fascism in Umbria and the Resistance. The research activities carried out by the Istituto per la Storia dell'Umbria Contemporanea have also led to a large number of publications, including "History of Umbria", of which there are 19 issues, from 1978 to 1994. Istituto per la Storia dell'Umbria Contemporanea can provide its expertise as teacher training agency. The Institute can also provide expertise in the field of historical research to the project as well as coordinate a number of Italian schools. It can also provide the very good co-operation links it has with other Italian and international institutes operating in the field of historical research.

Juan Carlos, I have seen your post only after writing mine. Actually, it is a very good institution and, if you have time to have a look at their projects, you can see they are doing interesting things. I think they could give their contribution to E-HELP as well.

Research Academic CTI is the Greek Ministry's of Education consultant on ICT matters. It's not exclusively a teacher's training organization but it has undertook many teacher training projects up to now. <{POST_SNAPBACK}> ISUC is a reasearch institute and a teacher training organization which organizes courses and meetings on the history of the 20th century for teachers in cooperation with the Regional Body of the Italian Education Ministry.

I have just spoken on the phone to prof. Alberto Sorbini, the Director of the ISUC in Perugia (Istituto per la Storia dell'Umbria Contemporanea) http://isuc.crumbria.it/index2.html They have read the material on "Citizenship" on the forum and they are interested in joining the project. One of the projects they are carrrying on just now is "Cittadino consapevole", which could be translated as "Aware citizen". One of their members could take part in the visit in September, so I am going to ask them all the data to complete the application form.

I am very disturbed by this news. Don’t re-submit until we sort this problem out. This was not a factor with the E-HELP project. All we needed was one teacher training organization. I know David Richardson’s is involved in training teachers. So also is Andy’s school. What about other members? <{POST_SNAPBACK}> I am quoting from: http://europa.eu.int/comm/education/progra...menius2_en.html "Project partnerships for European cooperation projects under Comenius 2 must include at least one eligible institution involved in the initial and/or in-service training of teachers or other categories of school education staff in each of at least three participating countries." This is verry worrying indeed.

I have sent my application form and I'm keeping my fingers crossed. <{POST_SNAPBACK}> So have I and hope to get good news.

The JFK section has turned into a "site within a site". While I can appreciate the interest that this topic has generated, it may also lead some visitors to perceive the Education Forum as being irrelevant to their subject area. I would like to see more postings on e-learning pedagogy, for example. The DfES in the UK is pouring vast amounts of money into e-learning (which, incidentally, is defined by the DfES as "using ICT" and does not necessarily imply distance learning), and I therefore believe that one of our major concerns should be how e-learning can really contribute to improved learning and teaching across the curriculum. <{POST_SNAPBACK}> I find it positively amazing to see that the JFK debate can attract so many people and have so many postings. I have never had enough time to read more than a few of them, nor do I feel particularly involved in the debate, but the fact that so many people are interested in the topic could represent a history case study itself. While I agree that new visitors may find this a little strange, it is also an indicator of what (many) members' interests seem to be at present. I also agree with Graham that there should be more postings in other subject areas as well.

It is true that we have to hand in the application form as soon as possible, the Italian Socrates Agency wants to get them 2 months before the visit. They will also check if the other national Agencies have received the same application from the other participants and if they are going to fund the visit. After that they will approve of it. That is why they want to have them so early. Here are my data: Participant: Caterina Gasparini Institution: Istituto Tecnico Industriale "Arturo Malignani" Country: Italy Town: Udine We shall need to mention the institution which is organizing the visit, it generally is one of the partners in the project. Thank you Richard for all the information on priorities, it is always important to read all the material (call, guidelines, etc) provided by the Commission.

I agree. I think that the approach should be changed, I mean "rights" should be taught together with "duties". The old question is that duties and rights are connected, the single citizen's rights may have to stop where the community's rights start. The stress should be on participation and involvement, so I agree with Andy that it is important to help students understand and discuss political concepts, theories and issues. This is done in part in Italy in the history and philosophy classes, which are usually taught by the same teacher.

I agree with Juan about practical matters, too. Quite a lot of good ideas have been given so far. I think that the European dimension of citizenship could be a feature peculiar to the project. I think that national institutions and the way the political system works in each country (political parties, electoral systems, the written constitution…) are usually dealt with at school, in Italy there is a specific subject to teach these topics. I would find it interesting to promote students' awareness of their European citizenship, not only in terms of institutions, rights, duties, but also with reference to to some big issues such as immigration, globalisation, multiculturalism and multiethnicity (the issues Juan Carlos suggested), etc. on a European level. This because a single state is unable to cope with these problems on its own, and common European solutions will have to be found in a global world. As Tasos wrote, the complexity of these issues can be a real challenge, so we should try to define the scope of the project. Of course this would imply collecting data, studying the issue, comparing and discussing points of views, etc. Having students discuss these issues on forums could be very interesting, although I do not know if it could be managed easily. One of the goals of the projects could be promoting in future citizens the ability to take part in their own community's life with a clear idea of its being part of a much larger system. I also think that the project could meet the need for promoting deeper involvement of young people in social and political issues, from the origin of the term politics itself (polis). I think there is a real need for this type of commitment in many European countries, also because the recent changes in our history call for new policies.

Italian, I got a degree in Foreign Languages and Literatures at the University of Venice. I have been teaching English since 1984 and English for Technology - Aeronautical Engineering and Electrical Engineering since 1987. I have been a coordinator of an ENIS school since 2002, coordinator of European projects (Socrates and Leonardo) and projects based on ICT for education, including projects for Spring Day, European Schoolnet eWatch and eSchola competitions. I am a member of the Italian ENIS web site editorial staff.

I am not a historian, but giving an opinion on WW2 events in Italy is extremely difficult, not only because, as Alf writes, interpretations may have changed over time, but mainly because it was a troubled time and many facts are not known yet. In Italy, and particularly in my region which is on the border with Austria and Slovenia, there were so many different events and factions that it is still difficult to understand what happened exactly. I think it will take time before we can have a clear and complete view of the events. When it happens, maybe we won't need to blame or justify anyone.

I've found an inexhaustible supply of energy and a willingness to try new techniques have helped in both vocations A good point, I agree. I never think of getting old, though I could start the countdown to my retirement (in terms of years, of course). I think teachers are lucky because they are always in touch with young people, who are growing and changing under their eyes every day. It is extraordinary to see how they accept to follow you and your ideas for a while and then start rejecting them, critizing them and suggesting their own interpretation of life. A few years ago I found it more difficult to manage the gap between their opinions and mine and probably wanted to assert my point of view. Now I find it much easier, I think I have started accepting the fact that they are the future inhabitants of this planet and maybe their ideas are more effective than mine. I think this constant exchange between distant generations is one of the most exciting and interesting aspects of a teacher's job. I still find a lot of interesting things to do and see: as John wrote, sharing or just witnessing young people's experiences is a source of joy, I can see it with my children, though granparents can feel it even more strongly because they are not so directly involved as parents are and their relationship is more balanced and relaxed, free from the anxiety which is typical of parents. The only thing I really miss is the time to do all the things I would like to realize.

I'm going to have to disagree with you here, Caterina. The position it would seem you are putting forward here is Deism - the idea that God left us alone to get on with it as soon as He created the world. I believe that God answers prayer, meaning that He does intervene in our lives. Often, however, this will be in ways which were not obvious at the time! Of course you are right, but the point I wanted to make is that man cannot expect God to do what man is expected to do, nor can man consider him responsible for all the evil which is present in the world. At the same time I agree that it is very difficult to accept events which may go beyond our understanding, in fact only faith can help us accept what we do not understand. It is the same for children, who have got to trust their parents till they are old enough to act on their own. And God is also a Father. You are right, and I can understand your concern. However, if someone is questioning God's existence, they are probably looking for him, otherwise they wouldn't be interested in the problem. Many people convert late in their lives, although conversion should not originate from fear of what comes after death. Anyway, what happens at the very last moment of one's life is a great mystery and, in his great mercy, God forgives and accepts much more than man is used to doing. Happy Easter!

The real meaning of prayer is to thank God for giving us our lives (incredible for atheists). God does not intervene in our lives, he only created the world and showed us, by means of his son, the meaning of our living in this world. I am sure our hell or heaven is already here on the earth, but, if there is a heaven after death, Gandhi and Buddha are there too with all the other good people who based their lives on loving the others. Why did so many people decide to follow Hitler instead of fighting him? Why do so many people in the world still prefer war to peace? Why do we still live in a world of ignorance and complacency with all the wrong aspects of our lives? Changing does not depend on God but on us.

May I just add something to your debate? John wrote: "For example, it is estimated that around 20,000 children die each day from lack of food and fresh water. What have they done to possibly deserve this fate?" They did nothing, of course, but what has each of us done to avoid their death? An earthquake like the one which struck East-Asia couldn't have been avoided, but man could have done something to prevent or limit the devastation it caused, by monitoring such events and taking some appropriate measures at least. God leaves us free to choose what to do and how to act: there's enough to make everyone feel responsible for their decisions and it is not easy to accept it.

I do not know if you have ever heard of the CLIC (Content Language Integrated Classrooms) or CLIL (Content Language Integrated Learning) projects, which concern teaching a subject in a foreign language. http://www.euroclic.net/ The site does not seem very active, but the aim, after a first experimental period, was to gather all the experiences so as to identify the best practices of this educational approach. In Italy this type of approach is very popular and is being pedagogically supported by some universities like Ca' Foscari in Venice www.unive.it/labclil In my school the experience started in 1993 with an Italian teacher of electrotechnics using English during his classes in order to prepare his pupils to cooperate on a European Petra Project (that was the name used for European projects involving in particular technical and vocational institutions before Leonardo and Socrates Programmes started in 1994). The Italian students were expected to work and study together with French, Dutch and German ones, the aim was to build some automated factory modules. As English was the most common language in the group of schools, my colleague, who is also the vice-principal in my school, started using it constantly and he was soon imitated by other colleagues who are still teaching part of their classes in English. This approach is being realized in other languages in other Italian schools too, but I am afraid most of it is still in the experimental stage. CLIL is also mentioned as one of the priorities in the latest call for Leonardo Projects, namely, PRIORITY 4: CONTINUOUS TRAINING OF TEACHERS AND TRAINERS, page 10. http://europa.eu.int/comm/education/progra...call2005_en.pdf

Has anyone tried the BECTA "Ask an Expert" site? It's part of the ICT Advice section at: http://www.ictadvice.org.uk I've looked at it many times and I have not been all that impressed with the experts' answers and with the way that this service operates. Firstly, I have my doubts about the choice of "experts" and, secondly, there is no possibility of interacting with the experts online if they make mistakes or miss out something important. You have to write to BECTA direct or to the experts themselves (if you can locate their email addresses), but you are highly likely to be ignored. I have spotted several mistakes and serious omissions. On a couple of occasions I pointed out mistakes, which were eventually rectified, but on no occasion have BECTA felt the need to rectify a serious omission. As the "Ask an Expert" section says: "The experts will not enter into dialogue about individual cases." I do not think the "Ask an expert" example you mentioned can be really considered a good resource if it does not offer the opportunity of interacting with the experts themselves. My idea of having academics and experts taking part in the teaching process should consist in giving pupils the possibility to listen to their contributions on specific topics on a videoconference, if possible, then ask questions and debate in real time, also by using a chat or a forum. The questions could be sent to the expert in advance so that all the time online would be devoted to answers and debate. This would imply finding experts willing to spend part of their time online and share their knowledge with "virtual" people they have never met before: I am afraid this is an "ideal" situation which is still too far away from our present reality.

Some Italian schools have introduced questionnaires of the type you mentioned in order to get a feedback from students, though there should be something alike for teachers and the whole staff, too. This is connected to the fact that each Italian school has its own "Education Offer Project", in which it states what its education objectives are and how it plans to reach them. What I do not understand in the Ofsted questionnaire statements for secondary school students is the use of the adverb "well": what does it mean exactly when referred to teaching or to social behaviour? I think it could be more useful to define exactly which aspects are to be considered and "judged". As for the consequences of introducing this type of survey, I think it all depends on the reason why it is adopted and how or for what purpose the results are going to be used.

I found your presentation very interesting and I agree with Terry that you made an important point. We sometimes tend to forget that the starting point is teaching and that some fundamental ways of using ICT can make it accessible to every teacher. Another aspect I consider important is the way you start from a local event to develop historical exploration. As I live in a region where many of the events of WW1 took place, I kno this an approach which is often used in our local schools, from which it is very easy to go and visit the trenches and the real battles sites which are preserved in very good conditions.

Graham wrote: <Always ask a subject specialist who is ICT-literate, not an ICT specialist> I have often tried to persuade my colleagues (English teachers) to learn how to use some simple HTML editors in order to create their own webpages. I even suggested starting with Word, which is not exactly the best example of the kind, simply because, as they were already familiar with it, they might find it easier. They have always refused to learn and in my school I am still the only English teacher out of 13 who is able to edit web pages. I agree that in the end the amount of what you need to learn about ICT depends on what you really need to do with it and trying to learn all the functions and options, etc. is usually a waste of time. At the same time discovering a new function often offers new opportunities, and the more you get to know, the more you may manage to realize or you may find new ways of using the software to your teaching needs. Another aspect is that most teachers would like to have a specialist sitting next to them all the time and taking care of all the technical aspects. This could be helpful, but I think that only the subject specialist, that is the teacher, can realize the potentialities offered by a specific ICT tool. This takes a long time and that is why maybe there will be a real big change in the way ICT is used at school only with the next generations of young teachers; at the same time, however, I would suggest having young teachers cooperating with experienced ones who may provide that "knowledge" which is the result of a long career!

Developing new history "European" curricula is not only a political need if we are to overcome the narrow-minded national points of view. It is a pedagogical need as well. A few years ago, the Spain's history curriculum for 17 years old students was changed. The previous government tried to come back to a "genuine" Spanish history curriculum that tried travel around every bit of Spain's history, from Altamira paleolitic paintings to 11th March 2004 terrorist attack in Madrid... From my experience, I realise that this curriculum is meaningless for my students. They are much more interested in getting to know about Islam fundamentalism or European Union enlargement than about Middle Age battles that "constructed" Spain... Fortunately. <{POST_SNAPBACK}> I agree and find it interesting to notice how our attitude to historical and political events has changed in the last years because of the most recent ones. I also think that young people seem to feel at ease as citizens of the world more than we did when we were their age, but at the same time they seem to appreciate national features and peculiarities much more than in the past. Without being nationalist, luckily, they like to find out and compare differences and similarities between different cultures without the need to assert their own over the others. Curricula should take into account these aspects so as to give students a larger historical perspective which may consider European history as a whole, but in the future they might even enlarge to consider the whole course of history on a world scale.

This is more or less what I used to do with advanced students of German - in German, of course. I also used articles from the German press for translation exercises and tests. My favourite sources were the "Süddeutsche Zeitung" and "Der Spiegel". TV news broadcasts in foreign languages were also useful for exploitation in class or in our self-access rooms. ICT makes these kind of activities a lot easier. One of the degree courses on which I taught offered Politics as an option - which meant that the students had to follow lectures on German politics in German and read about German politics in German. <{POST_SNAPBACK}> I have always used "authentic material" to teach languages, such as BBC news, newspaper or magazines articles, etc. The Economist is my favourite at the moment. Most of my students find it difficult to approach a written text, so I encourage them to practise extensive reading: I ask them to look for specific information and report the gist of what they have read. In the end we manage to get an oral summary of the text. Only when the topic is relevant to their technical studies, I insist on having the whole text read accurately and fully analysed: students have to divide it into parts, provide subtitles, find data to fill in charts and diagrams etc. I have never used ICT for these activities, but I remember seeing a teacher use Word to highlight the structure of a text by breaking it into levels, moving the paragraphs or the single sentences so as to find out the relevant information and the way it was actually conveyed.