Today, at the Excelsior Hotel, the Embed 2009 exhibition & workshops was launched! This is an initiative of the Curriculum Management and eLearning Department, part of the Directorate for Quality and Standards in Education. The European theme for this year is Innovation and Creativity and thus this initiative helped in promoting this theme throughout all the schools, whilst embedding ICT tools in our teaching and learning experiences. “eLearning is changing education and the pace of change is accelerating with each new tool,” Emmanuel Zammit, Education Officer for eLearning at CMeLD, says, “Digital tools are continuously developing to give teachers and students the potential to adapt and change the way teaching and learning occur.”
Student interviewing Mr. R. Camilleri - Director Curriculum Management and eLearning
Embed - Best Use of ICT Practice Awards 2009 is an exhibition of good eLearning practices by Maltese schools, both primary and secondary schools. The 10 colleges around the Maltese Islands have participated through various activities and over 500 projects are being exhibited. eTwinning is part of this exhibition too, featuring projects which have been awarded the national quality labels in the past scholastic year.
Pupils visiting the eTwinning Projects exhibition stand
The Primary eLearning Peripatetic teachers played an important role in this exhibition. They have been working from the beginning of the year with the school teachers willing to participate in the Embed exhibition to help pupils create various ICT resources and materials through the use of different software available to them on the classroom pcs or online freeware. Each year group focused on a particular application or software:
- Year 1 pupils - Kid Pix Deluxe and/or Tux Paint - to create digital pictures through these painting programmes
- Year 2 pupils - Microsoft Power Point - to create presentations
- Year 3 pupils - Microsoft Photostory - to create short video clips
- Year 4 pupils - Picasa - to manipulate and edit digital photos and create posters or collages
- Year 5 pupils - WordPress - to create a collaborative blog
- Year 6 pupils - Audacity - to create a radio programme
Pupils visiting St Nicholas College's stand
Pupils visiting Gozo College's stand
Secondary school participated on their own initiative and contributed their material for the exhibition.
Apart from the 10 stands which were set up by each college, some private companies offering educational ICT products and services are also present. These include stands for interactive white boards, interactive tables and educational games such as game consoles or robots.
Pupils visiting the Lego robots stand
Pupils visiting the Design and Technology stand
The Design & Technology section also put up their own stand with various digital technology. All the stands are interactive. A number of pupils from all the schools around the Maltese Islands have been invited to visit the exhibition and take part in the various activities around.
The podcasting workshop
In addition to the exhibition there are also some workshops where the pupils are having hands on experience with some software or hardware exhibited.
Mr. W. Attard presenting the Stopmotion Animation workshop
Pupils working in the Stop Motion Animation workshop
Pupils making plasticine figures for animation
Amongst these workshops, there are the Claymation and Stopmotion Animation workshop and the Photostory workshop sponsored by eTwinning.
Ms. T. Gatt helping pupils creating their photostory
Pupils working on Photostory
This event will be held on three consecutive days with more than 750 pupils visiting the exhibition and participating in at least three formal workshops.
On Thursday evening the Awards cermony will also be held. This cermony will award the best use of ICT across the curriculum which have participated in Embed 2009 and best collaborative projects in eTwinning.
eTwinning had launched the application for the National Awards in the end of April and during this cermony the best three in the primary and in the secondary category will be awarded. National Quality Label Certificates will also be awarded to those eTwinners who have obtained this award.
A team of students from two secondary schools are interviewing and filming participants and organizers and reporting about the exhibition through edited videos on the Embed 2009 wiki.
The student press team filming an interview
The main sponsors for this event are: eTwinning, Microsoft, Excelsior Hotel, IMS, Smart, Promethean, Exigy, Forestals, Intercomp and Smart Technologies.
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