Category Archives: education

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French contest winners announced

group-winner imageAt the end of October 23, BOREAL Innovation , coordinator of the FromArchive To Alive  project, gathered teachers and students at the Lycée Professionel Célony in Aix-en-Provence, France for the awards ceremony of digital art creation contest.

This high school in AIx-en-Provence won the group category prize of the FATA Digital Artwork Contest, with a creation in the field of Environmental awareness. As they pointed out, the archives show that we have already been warned about climate and environmental issues many decades ago.

The pupils highlighted this feature with newspaper archives showing a digital drawing of the earth burning.

The individual prize was also announced during the session by videoconference.winner artwork

The winning individual art work dealt with inclusion and focused on the need for friendship and bonding in an individualistic society.

To develop the creation, the students used online tools they made into digital files combined with old documents.

The winners explained, “the results were amazing and we were all very proud to have entered a contest like this!

See the other entries in the Contest Gallery

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From Archive To Alive Awards Ceremony in Cáceres (Spain)

In October 2023, EOLAS, the Spanish partner of the From Archive To Alive project, met with the teachers and students of IES Javier García Téllez (Cáceres, Extremadura) to celebrate the awards ceremony of the project digital art creation contest.contest prizes image

Two categories of prizes were awarded in a session where students had the opportunity to explain their creations and interact with each other.

The winners, both in the individual and group categories, shared the themes of their works with the rest of the students. The themes included  diversity and inclusion and the environmental repercussions of the pandemic.

To express themselves on these topics, the students used digital files and online tools, and the results were very interesting!

Find out who the winners were

You can take a look at these and other works in the Archive project contest “Gallery”.

Archive Contest Deadline Extended

The From Archive To Alive (FATA) contest now has an extended deadline of 18.00h on 30th September to submit your entries.

Votes for the entries will be collected between June 20th and 20.00h on 15th October 2023.
Competition prize winners will be announced on 24th October at an online event at 19.00 CET

Young users of digital archives are invited to create a digital art work, related to AT LEAST ONE OR MORE of the following themes:

■ civic engagement
■ inclusion
■ environmental awareness

The competition will recognise excellence in content creation and visual storytelling that demonstrates creativity and innovation in using digital archives.

Find out more by viewing the Rulebook.

 

Enter Contest

 

Contest
Rulebook

 

 

View Gallery

 

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Using Archives on Cultural Education

The use of archive sources is central to education. Yet it is surprisingly common for primary and secondary students to graduate without any experience of using archives. They do not learn the skills of archival research although, as defined in the Dictionary of Archival Terminology, “the basic archival function is making available and promoting the wider use of archives”.

The primary value of archives is their role as part of cultural heritage, the contribution they can make to a better understanding of the past, of the historical roots of human environment, of national identities and of international interdependence. With this in mind it must be in the best interests of archivists to intervene with education at the moment when human ideas and convictions are formed, which means at the stage of primary or secondary education.

Yet, there are too many different kind of cultural archives in each country with different types of archives and archival documents that there is not a “universal” method of using those archives in education.PBL graphic

One possible solution could be the use of “problem based education” which is a student-centered pedagogy in which students learn about a subject through the experience of solving an open-ended problem found in trigger material.

So, what are the potential tasks in the field for national or local archives that we can use in Cultural Education?

In theory all types of archival documents may be used for teaching purposes. Using problem-based education can give some guidelines for institutions, archivists, and teachers:
a) Every national, regional or local archival institution could offer introductory visits to schools to demonstrate archival work and the different types of archival holdings. After the demonstration teams of students will be called to solve a problem using those same archives used during the demonstration challenge (e.g., to identify original documents versus copies or facsimiles).
b) Archivists in archival institutions can focus on key documents that they come across them in the course of their work. They may want to establish special lists or guides for educational purposes, grouped by subjects or types of documents, possibly with a differentiation for the various age groups of student users.
c) Teachers can use the documents provided by archivists in classroom, probably an individual document or perhaps a short sequence of related documents and give the students a challenge on local history or culture.

The development of modern and relatively cheap copying techniques and internet technology can make it possible to extend “teaching with archives” to the large majority of schools which have no archives repository in their immediate vicinity just by using copies provided by the archivists or online documents provided by the archival institutions.

But this kind of work needs synergy between Archival Institutions, Archivists and Schools that are currently not on the same track.

Questions? Contact the Archive To Alive team, we’ll be happy to help you out!

Further information
http://www.ijonte.org/FileUpload/ks63207/File/10.senturk.pdf
http://shorturl.at/avGSU
https://blog.euscreen.eu/2021/10/education-powered-by-audiovisual-archives/
http://sisifo.ie.ulisboa.pt/index.php/sisifo/article/viewFile/40/41

No more plastic for cosmetics: a small revolution

In today’s ever-changing world, it is better to have friends than enemies. This has been the strategy of 14 big enterprises in the beauty market, who have decided to cooperate to transform their value chain and make it more sustainable.cosmtics image

Chanel, L’Oréal, Sisley, L’Occitane and many more form now “Pulp In Action”, a consortium aiming at developing new cellulose fibre materials to replace plastic, in order to tackle one of the biggest issues of cosmetics: plastic packaging.

The consortium is working with laboratories, to research and develop innovative and sustainable materials, and a consulting firm, (RE)SET, who organises consultations and ensure that the new materials will be functional for the companies. After only one year of cooperation, fifteen packaging are ready to be tested.

Even if the urgency to get rid of plastic is no longer debated, this is rather revolutionary for cosmetics companies, who use plastic because it can be shaped and adapted to many products and preserves their quality. As Géraldine Poivert, co-founder of (RE)SET, said “plastic is a great material, with properties that are difficult to find elsewhere”.

It is for this very reason that cosmetics companies have decided to “work at the sector level to decide on new standards”, acknowledges Poivert.

Was it necessary to form a consortium?

Innovation is a risky and expensive process. In this case, these 14 companies want to challenge the monopoly of plastic established on packaging and “Then, there is always the risk that the consumer will not be onboard”, notes Géraldine Poivert.

In order to mitigate these risks, it is better to work together to reduce costs, find suppliers more easily, have a greater place on the market and better chances to find customers.

In other words, “Competitors have a common interest, which is also the general interest: that of redefining standards.”, says Poivert.

Cross-industry cooperation is not an easy task for companies, but consortia are multiplying to accompany the revolution.

The From Archive to Alive project: a pan-European consortium to raise awareness on climate change

Just as “Pulp In Action”, the FaTa consortium has a common interest, which is raise awareness of young generations on climate change and the importance to preserve the environment. To do this, a special e-learning module has been developed by the partners, to explore what is climate change, and what can artists do to fight it.

Discover the whole e-learning course on https://archive2alive.eu/.

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Using archives in education

archive graphicAn archive stores knowledge so that it can be used and benefit of all. It is a place where people can go to gather firsthand facts, data, and evidence from sources such as letters, reports, notes, memos, photographs, and other primary resources.

The varied content and format of archives makes them a perfect learning resource for a wide range of subjects. Archives can be used in schools and colleges to teach a range of subjects including History, English, Drama, Geography and Science.

The main reason for using archives in education is they provide access to primary sources of information. Primary sources are the firsthand facts and information that people go to in order to understand a concept in detail.

Primary sources are a gateway to the past, a peek into the documented evidence of history. They help identify patterns that might otherwise be quite hard to discern on the basis of present events alone.

Primary sources offer a critical perspective to support students in interpreting how past events may have contributed to our current world. Having access to these primary sources is therefore quite essential, and this is where archiving comes in. It is a way of looking into the past to understand the fate of our future. experiential learning

Archives can therefore provide learners with original materials that can help them get a clearer hands-on experience in the subjects they are studying.

Where the archives offer first-hand accounts, these learning experiences will remain with the students for a long time, which they can use in real-life applications elsewhere. (See Edgar Dale’s Cone of Learning diagram.)

In addition, using primary sources makes sure that students are more accurate in their research, hypotheses, and conclusions. Archives offer them access to the records and relevant information they would need to complete their tasks with ease and convenience.

Doing digital archive projects with students requires them  to develop their subject knowledge within a wider context, it helps them establish research skills and consider copyright implications. Archives encourage critical thinking by understanding perspective and bias, while analysing information sources and selecting relevant and appropriate content. Students will also acquire technical skills and increase their ability to effectively communicate their findings.

Find out more about archives and learning
Archives and Learning blog
Adam Matthew digital
TeachArchives
About the Internet Archive

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How to educate in art according to expressionist painter Mark Rothko

Have you ever wondered about the relevance of art in the education of young students? How could you contribute to an education that focuses on creativity, expressiveness and critical thinking to educate more empathetic and socially aware future citizens?art in school picture

Today’s post may not give you direct answers, but we hope it will be an inspiring tool to motivate you to make small but significant changes in your approach to teaching/training.

From Mark Rothko, a great admirer of the freshness with which children produce artistic expression, and his project “The Scribble Book”, we present five simple strategies to explore art education for secondary school students (equally valid for other educational levels).

1. Just like speaking or singing, art is an inherently human form of universal expression. The ideas, observations and emotions of young students can be transformed into moving and powerful works of art that communicate their views. Reflecting on a complex or topical issue and producing an artistic manifestation that reflects the student’s personal viewpoint can be a transformative vehicle for managing one’s emotions, developing creativity and lateral thinking.

2. Despite curricular limitations, art should not be expelled from the classroom, as limiting its creativity can also hinder the development of other skills such as communication or problem solving. As far as artistic expression is concerned, Rothko recommends providing flexibility, allowing for individualisation of proposals.art work

3. To reinforce students’ self-confidence, it is possible to promote activities such as collaborative discussions or classroom exhibitions in which students have the opportunity to present and express their opinions or exhibit their work in front of their peers. Inspiring confidence in one’s own abilities will be essential to develop adults who are personally and professionally capable and actively engaged in their environment.

4. Do you want to introduce art into your classes as a learning tool? Then make sure to include references to all stages of Art History, so that students have access to a wide variety of artistic manifestations and styles. This will encourage their breadth of vision and boost their creativity.

5. “Work to cultivate creative thinkers, not professional artists”. Although the reference here to the future artist is obvious, this quote can be equally applicable to other fields (e.g. an engineer or a future teacher). In any case, the approach remains the same – cultivating critical thinking will help develop more self-aware, empathetic and collaborative learners and will result in better citizens in the long run.

Painting source image: https://www.wikiart.org/es/mark-rothko

Further information
https://youtu.be/1v1mBepDlOw
https://nodoarte.com/2018/03/28/como-ensenar-arte-a-los-ninos-segun-mark-rothko/
https://www.artsy.net/article/artsy-editorial-teach-art-kids-mark-rothko
https://www.wikiart.org/es/mark-rothko

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The environment Is in You

“If we are to preserve culture, we must continue to create it” – Johan Huizinga
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And it is thanks to technology that we have the possibility to preserve culture, to keep it intact, to escape the wear and tear of time, but above all, we have the possibility to make it accessible to everyone; without limits.

But what is culture, if not everything around us? Indistinctly?
Picture by Romina Arredondo

And how can we preserve it if not by making new generations aware of what is happening, around us? Then the destruction, the fragility, the continuous struggle for survival of our planet is also culture. Climate change and all its dramatic consequences is culture.

This is what the participants of ‘The Environment Is in You’, a contest for students created and promoted by the Global Oneness Project platform, a digital archive of stories, sought to represent.

Indeed, the Global Oneness Project is a free multimedia platform for educators and students. It Is a multidisciplinary library of multimedia stories comprising award-winning films, photos and essays. The aim of the project is to use stories as a pedagogical tool and bring the world’s cultures alive in the classroom.

As explained on their website, the contest invited the students to take a photograph or create an original illustration that documents the fragility, hope, and future of our planet due to climate change.

Many students linked their pictures to the following statement by the writer and environmental activist Wendell Berry: “The environment is in you, it’s passing through you, you’re breathing it in and out, you and every other creature.”

Explore the finalists and winners and a full explanation of the initiative:

Domenica La Greca – Eagle Intuition – Portugal

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Digital Art contest for students

It’s time to launch the From Archive To Alive Digital Art contest for students!!!

FATA – From Archive to Alive is an ERASMUS+ project (No. 2021-1-FR01-Ka220-SCH-000031562).graphic audio-visual

FATA aims to motivate students to explore available audio-visual archives, compare traditional and digital art, learn about their civic engagement and social inclusiveness while raising awareness of environmental issues.

The competition is open to students of Erasmus Plus participating countries and those associated with the programme (list of countries).

The contest is for students aged between 12 and 18 years old; who can either participate individually or in a group with up to 4 other classmates.

Students should submit a piece of digital artwork on one (or more) thesecivic engagement image subjects:

– Civic Engagement 
– Inclusivity
– Environmental Awareness

Each entry must fulfil 3 main requirements:

– To be a work of digital art, therefore containing any type of digital elements (it can’t have a physical form);
– To be based on material found on one or more digital archive platforms;
– To address one or more of the topics of civic engagement, social inclusion and environmental awareness.

Register to receive more information

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Partner meeting in Marseille

eu screen logoThe project team met in Marseille on May 31st 2022 to work on the outcomes of From Archive To Alive. Specifically, Archive to Alive will produce an e-learning course for teachers that will show them how to design lessons and projects through the use of the digital audio-visual archives in order to make them more appealing.

The project uses EUscreen, which is a portal containing thousands of digital audio-visual items steaming from the biggest European audio-visual archives that provide an insight into the social, cultural, political and economic events that have shaped the 20th and 21st centuries, mainly form a European perspective. Teh content on the EUscreen platform content offers an important collection of resources that can be exploited in education and incorporated in school lessons and projects.

Find out more about EUScreen and education,