Boris Volarič, Osnovna šola bratov Polančičev Maribor

Edgar is not a web service. Edgar is not social media. Edgar is a storyteller. Usage is as simple as his definition. Primary school pupils are able to get familiar with him within less than a lesson even without the help of the teacher. In this paper we will show that anything can be as simple as that. Being able to always extract the essence from the floods of factual information, multimedia and interactive resources and then present it in seven chapters of the story. We will show how »out of the box« thinking can transform every, even the most professional topic into a story, which the students will never forget, and how we can transfer these skills to our pupils while having lots of fun. Legendary American storyteller Edgar Allan Poe was reincarnated as a web address edgartells.mewhich hides the project “Swiftly, and with style.” It is a practical example how even highly specialized topics, such as Cascading Style sheets (CSS), can be presented quite popularly. And that even nine graders can do it. Who would have thought that Edgar can combine storytelling, computer science and English? Some call it a cross-curricular integration.

Katja Skubic, Davor Zupan, Sara Drožđek, Matej Zapušek, Jože Rugelj, Univerza v Ljubljani, Pedagoška fakulteta, oddelek za matematiko in računalništvo

We started making this game in order to present the subject of functions and procedures in an interesting and fun way to pupils, who are learning to program and develop their algorithmic thinking. Adding humor and motivational elements to the game, we tried to achieve that pupils will enjoy playing the game, and with that gain knowledge about creating algorithms. The topic is quite difficult, that is why we decided to include a lot of interesting activities, which we present in an appealing storyline, to ensure the transfer of knowledge. The game was developed during the subject With information and communications technology supported learning materials on the Faculty of education in Ljubljana, department of Mathemathics and Computer science, as a group project. The article describes how we made the game, the script, included activities and learning goals, which we want to teach with this game. The final product is an example, how to create a didactically appropriate, theoretically based game, which hides the learning goals in the games context and allows pupils, while playing the game, unknowingly learn important concepts about programming. The game still has to undergo beta testing, and also needs to be tested in primary schools. After the testings are done, we will, based on the results, improve the game, where improvements are needed. 

Bernardka Radej, Zavod Antona Martina Slomška, Škofijska gimnazija Antona Martina Slomška

Excursions are part of the secondary school education. When incorporating innovative approaches of learning and teaching with ICT into our “innovative classes”, we decided to alter the concepts of fieldwork which is becoming authentic and has moved out from the classrooms, and involves active students participation in the planning phase (expenses, route, content, sightseeing), photo and video coverage, the use of e-guides (agencies, museums, galleries, public transport). Students also use different devices for evaluation and documentation of the chosen subject area (a wider selection of choices possible) and to complete survey questionnaires in order to improve future work.

After two years of experience we have noticed the students are actively involved in all phases of the authentic classes, develop their creativity and communicative skills in a foreign language. They have also improved critical thinking and managing electronic devices. Parents are actively involved in the process and communicate with us through social networking sites during the excursions. This year before the excursion to London we organized a parents – teacher meeting conducted as a video conference. 

Lidija Jug, Osnovna šola Sladki Vrh

The article presents the research activity in which the students also use the tablet PC to explore geometric shapes by assembling parts of the tangram. Tangram is a centuries old Chinese puzzle, which consists of seven parts, which are basic geometric shapes. We put together various figures, in which we must use all seven pieces, which must not overlap. With mathematical logic games we deal at an optional subject called mathematical workshop. The introduction to the research was to make their own tangram by folding a sheet of paper, following the instructions. The challenge for us was to compose a triangle, a square, a rectangle, a parallelogram and a trapezium from the parts of the puzzle. We also set up a new rule for constructing, where was not necessary to use all seven parts. We proceeded with the task systematically: we started with one part of the puzzle, then we continued with two parts of the puzzle, then three parts, etc. and we were finding out what shapes, listed above, we can make. The emphasis was on the research: from how many parts certain shape is made. The students were using the tablet PC, where they were trying to find the solutions with the help of computer application Tangram (preinstalled on the tablet PC). Students found this kind of work interesting, some of them even met the game tangram, which allows many possibilities to explore, for the first time.

The use of ICT equipment is an important factor that contributes to improvement of the quality of teaching. For the teacher and for students, as well as, it represents a better, more interesting, faster, and in some cases, more concrete work in the classroom.

Lucija Žnidarič, Aleša Žandar, Tadej Bogataj, Matej Zapušek, Jože Rugelj, Univerza v Ljubljani, Pedagoška fakulteta, oddelek za matematiko in računalništvo

Mysterious Surini is an educational computer game created for children attending both elementary schools as well as high schools where they may find themselves learning the basics of search algorithms. The game gives the player a piracy-themed adventure, where he learns and internalizes the workings of the Dijkstra’s algorithm through well-selected activities. Dijkstra’s algorithm is used for finding the cheapest path in a given graph. The algorithm is used in various fields of science, for example computer science, where it is used for routing packages of information that travel through the internet, making it useful for children to know about it. The design of the game is adjusted to the school environment, making its learning objectives hidden and offering a fun gaming experience. The player embarks the game as a friendly pirate, where he helps the governor of the island Fantan to find his missing daughter Arabel, who was kidnapped by a hostile tribe, the Tantams. He can only succeed if he successfully finds his way through four islands. To do that, he must find the least dangerous paths to all hostile tribe houses on each of the four islands. In this waye collects coins, making it possible to complete the game. All the four islands together represent a complete learning process of the above mentioned algorithm, whereas an individual island is used for the representation of a single learning stage. Mysterious Surini is a new opportunity for all teachers to embed a learning game in their curriculum, making it more interesting and diverse for the children as well as simplifying the process of learning while getting better results than ever before.

Jerica Glavan, Srednja vzgojiteljska šola in gimnazija Ljubljana

Compared to individual work, collaborative learning helps students not only to reach a broader understanding of the topic, but also to develop collaborative skills. Collaborative work promotes authentic learning, thus it should be widely practised in modern schools, particularly in 1:1 learning, which enables a quick access to information and encourages learning by using various ICT tools.

Assessing collaborative work remains a challenge for teachers since rubrics have to be designed according to specific activities in the classroom. When our teaching goals are set properly, the outcome of learning can easily be assessed. However, the problem arises when we decide to assess the process as well. When there are six groups working in one classroom, how are we supposed to monitor each individual’s work? In order to solve this problem, I have chosen to consider each student’s own reflection of their work. To overcome the school’s organisational barriers I used the advantage of 1:1 learning: instead of having a discussion with each student in person, students had to make an audio recording of their reflections, using their tablets. What is presented is a specific example where it can be seen in what way each student’s reflection has contributed to assessing their collaboration, communication and analytical-cognitive skills, and where there is still room for improvement. 

Boštjan Papež, Osnovna šola Bršljin

Children with learning disabilities require a lot of consolidation and repetition to master the material, and they also need the subject is explained several times. To this end, I have prepared a lot of paper worksheets and handouts.

When the worksheet is completed, it can not be reset and used again. You can only ad pictures to it. To view a video or listening it is necessary to use another device. Time and number of viewings is limited. Working with worksheets is monotonous so students are less motivated to work and have a shorter concentration span.

Listed problems are to a large extent solved in favor of the student using a tablet computer in which the students solved the e-learning sheet, created in an application Note Anytime Lite. So prepared worksheet exceeds the usefulness of the classic work sheet. It’s possible to make connections to previously prepared explanation, which the student can view according to their needs. Via the e-work sheet learners can access online educational games, audio and video material. Tasks can be made interactive because the student is able to manipulate elements on the screen. In this way, we gamified the process of repetition and prolonged child’s attention and motivation to work.

Barbara Hebar, Osnovna šola Dobje

The use of ICT enables teachers to present pupils new concepts more specifically and clearly. This is for the pupils of the first triennium and their image very important. In order that the students, through researching, obtaining information and the use of ICT, design the teaching materials by themselves, I made a cross-curricular project Games of our grandmothers and grandfathers. I introduced the pupils the cloud computing Google Drive and taught them about the basic use of the shared documents. They documented descriptions of various old games and counting rhymes, which their grandparents told them about or which were found on internet by their parents. Then they used a video camera on a tablet computer and recorded a presentation of an old game. With a voice recorder they recorded a new counting rhyme which was recreated on an old rhyme. The products were put on YouTube, where we could watch them. This kind of work has proven to be very successful. With its diversity it was motivating for pupils of different learning styles, pupils have developed new skills in the use of ICT, and their knowledge was gained through experiential learning and teamwork. Even the pupils were satisfied with the work and they have been proud of their own teaching materials.

Majda Šubic, Osnovna šola Ivana Groharja Škofja Loka

Computer science in the cloud is an expression which is increasingly seen and used nowadays. The service enables the user to transfer the data and documents to the distant servers and can access them and work with them at different locations and on different devices (computers, iPads, Smartphones, etc.). To do that, all one needs is the internet access and suitable software.

A working day of students and teachers is more and more filled with numerous obligations. We can hardly adjust the time to location. A team of teachers used OneDrive at schoolwork. I chose OneDrive because it enables teamwork of many users in the same document at the same time. It also enables the formation of documents in Word Online programme. However, at more demanding tasks, such as the school newspaper, home reading and presentations, the students were using Microsoft Office 2010. Before using OneDrive, the basic instructions were given to the participating teachers and students. The teachers presented the task to the students. The task was done in a joint document or a file – more documents, where they presented their solutions for the given task. After using OneDrive at school work, the teachers and the students gave feedback on using OneDrive at schoolwork and forwarded the experience and some suggestions for further usage.

Alenka Pokeržnik, Janja Petar Ipšek, Branko Bele, Srednja ekonomska šola Maribor

Cross-curricular integration is a fixture at our school. For several years, the subject on flora has been associated in total hours of biology and geography. This year, we wanted to enhance and actualize this knowledge. Thus, we have included computer science, where students will learn about the usefulness of online journals (blogs).

The primary purpose of the project, which was attended by students of the first grade of high school of economy, was to create a web log, a blog, where students keep track of seasonal changes in vegetation in the park near the school. Students have visited the park once a month during biology lessons and there they learned about the different characteristics of the ecosystem, mainly through the use of ICT. During the project, students have learned about different types of ICT. With Vernier interfaces they measured temperature, determined the longitude and latitude. With the help of tablet computers and interactive charts students determined the species of the trees in the park. Selected trees were photographed and the photographs included in the blog. They learned how to graphically present their results.

Significant advantage of this kind of work was seen in particular in connecting the knowledge from various fields. Also, such a modus operandi makes the use of ICT technologies viability.