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Tackling language and cultural barriers in superdiverse environments The Isotis multilingual Virtual Learning and Communication Environment for parental support, curriculum innovation and professional development.
Authors:Giulia Pastori, Andrea Mangiatordi, Valentina Pagani & Alice Sophie SarcinelliUniversity of Milano-Bicocca
EQUALITY & INCLUSION CONFERENCE UTRECHT 28-29 NOVEMBER, 2019
GENERAL OBJECTIVES
Supporting disadvantaged families in using their own social, cultural and linguistic resources to create safe and
stimulating home environments for their children (WP3)
Creating effective and inclusive curricula and pedagogies in early childhood education and care centres and primary
schools (WP4)
Competence building and professional development of key social agents, such as (pre)school teachers and other (para)professionals in extra-curricular programs (WP5)
About the ISOTIS PROJECT...
The use of a Virtual Learning Environment
“ISOTIS will develop, implement and evaluate inter-linked prototype programmes for parents, classrooms
and professional development using an innovative Virtual Learning Environment (VLE)” (p.19)
PARTICIPATING COUNTRIES
WP5 - Professional Development
WP4 - Curriculum Innovation
WP3 - Parent support
G L O B A L C O M P E T E N C E
(UNESCO 2013, 2015; OECD 2018)
Human rights & Social Justice Education
Plurilingual Education and Language
awareness
Intercultural Education
Critical Pedagogy
Education for Democracy
ICT Enhanced Learning and social
environment
Socio-contructivist Pedagogy & Children's
Voice
CONTENT KnowledgeValuesAttitudesSkillsAction
Design-based Research
Intervention
Theory of Change
Systemic and Eco/Biological Approach
ICT Enhanced Communication
and Learning
Process
Design-Based Research Intervention
Guiding Principles in the design of the platform
and of the interventionS
Raising awareness and knowledge of multiple languages, cultures, human rights, promoting critical thinking and establishing shared understanding
Promoting agency of all stakeholders
Using the resources available – (diverse family languages and cultural backgrounds) to innovate learning practices and to create rich learning experiences.
Sustaining communication and collaboration between stakeholders, encouraging and supporting networking between stakeholders and promoting community bonds
• Based on Open Source software• self-hosted & privacy oriented• standards-based learning environment with
a custom interface• redistributable
• Designed following Universal Design for Learning guidelines • Multilingual interface & multimedia communication
Essential Choices & Criteria FOR THE VLE DESIGN
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Providingmultiplemeansofengagement,representationofinformation,action&expression(Rose&Meyer,2002)
VLE MAIN FEATURES
REPOSITORY OF
RESOURCES
Multilingual videos
Short theoretical texts and other
selected resources
Guidelines for observation,
reflection and action
Documentation of the activities
in action
SOCIAL
NETWORKING
PERSONAL
WORK SPACE
Integration of different tools and functions
A multilingual interface• The overall interface of the VLE was available in 32+
languages; • 12 videos with scripts available in 31 languages, a few
available in “just” 27 or 23 languages;• The site Privacy Policy text was made available in 20
languages;• Support for the Romani language was added as a new
language pack during the course of the Project.
A linguistic mediator
Asmallcharacter,portrayedasaroboticbee,actedasalinguisticandaccessibilitymediator,appearingonallpagesandprovidingessentialservicesforlinguisticaccessibility:
Hello, my name is Beeba!
Here is what I can do…
Read text aloud for you (in 30+ languages) Show you a virtual keyboard to enter your text using a layout you are familiar with Translate text on-the-fly (thanks to Google Translator) Make text larger or more readable for you, by changing font size and color schemes.
resources organized into 7 main courses + several sub-themes
Videos
Already available on the main website
www.isotis.org/en/vle/videos
SOCIAL NETWORKINGA communication system designed to overcome linguistic barriers and to offer valid alternatives to writing, following the principles of Universal Design for Learning: • through forum pages that adopt graphical layouts inspired by social
media • featuring multilingual support • allowing to exchange messages in written, video and audio-
recorded form, to upload pictures, or to draw directly in the message area
It offered a shared collaborative work space for professionals, children and parents, fostering the creation of ‘communities of practice’
Multilingualism and global competence in pre- and primary schools.
The ISOTIS digital platform prototype. Giulia Pastori, University of Milan-Bicocca, Italy
Co-presenters: Andrea Mangiatordi, University of Milan-Bicocca, Italy
Non-presenting Co-authors: Valentina Pagani, University of Milan-Bicocca, Italy Alice Sophie Sarcinelli, University Of MIlan-Bicocca, Italy Jana Obrovska, Masaryk University, Czech Republic Lenka Kissovà, Masaryk University,
Czech Republic Zuzana Lenhartova, Masaryk University, Czech Republic Joana Cadima, University of Porto, Portugal Gil Nata, University of Porto, Portugal Kostantinos Tsioumis, Hellenic Opern University, Greece
Kostantinos Vasiliadis, Hellenic Open University, Greece
SPECIFIC GOALS- Connecting and bridging home and school children’s linguistic and cultural
experience, making visible (hence legitimating, valuing) all the multilingual repertories and profiles of children;
- Promoting good attitudes/representations of all the languages and cultures, soliciting the acknowledgement and deconstruction of the power relation between cultures, ethnicities, races and languages;
- Soliciting the acknowledgement of equal rights and social justice and promoting democratic values, attitudes, skills and behaviours.
- Enhancing digital competence and increasing the use of positive technology
Overview of sites across countries
Area Organisation N. Of Classes & children age range
N. of teachers Target group
Thessaloniki PRIMARY SCHOOL + KINDERGARTEN
3 classes: 5-7 age 5Low-SES,
immigrants and refugees.
Milan1 PRIMARY SCHOOL AND 1 PRESCHOOL
4 classes: 1: 3-6 yrs;
1: 7/8; 1: 9-10, 1: 10-11 yrs9
Culturally diverse (Maghrebian,
Filipino, Peruvian)
Brno/Ústí nad Labem 3 PRIMARY SCHOOLS 5 classrooms
(100 children) 8-11 years old
5 + 6 teacher assistants
Low SES, Roma
Greater area of Porto 2 primary schools
7 classrooms (teachers working with 7-10, 12-14 yrs in
site 1 and 7-10 yrs in site 2)7 Low SES, Roma
Site: One Istituto Comprensivo in Milan characterized by super-diversity (>60% of disadvantaged immigrant families and very few middle-class Italian families)
Activity: A multilingual digital storytelling - 8/9 y-o children - connection to curriculum (narrative thinking; story structure, parts and roles...; literacy competences); - involvement of parents and family resources; - creating a resource for the school and for younger/new children shared on the website of the school
AN EXAMPLE FROM ITALY
Interviewing each other
Survey of the languages of the class
Survey of the languages of the 3rd grade classes
What can we do…
…with the languages we know?
1. Screenplay definition in class
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Selecting 6/7 main scenes and sentences
Preparing drawings
2628
2. Parents’ involvement for translations
Video-messages for parents, also in different
languages
Parents’ reply through the VLE
27
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Voice-over recording in multiple languages
Digital writing of the texts in multiple languages
3. Realization of the Multilingual DS
WHAT did WE LEARN?
ABOUT THE multilingual interface
• The great potential of using a multilingual, multimedia digital support to improve communication and bi-directional exchange between various actors • The symbolic value of a multilingual digital tool such as the
VLE in providing visibility of languages and legitimating them in monolingual contexts
• Attractive because of their audio visual multilingual nature• Encouraging reflection on beliefs, attitudes and values• Providing concrete suggestions for enactment in
practice
A “live” resource bank: a dynamic and constantly evolving repository of content – with a quality content monitoring system –
supporting continuous professional development
ABOUT THE resources
ABOUT THE SOCIAL NETWORKING
Community of practice/of learners
• Teachers/parents • Teachers/children & teachers/children/
parents• Teachers across schools and countries
✓ Sharing documentation and resources of school-home experiences
✓ Enhancing communication and collaboration
✓ Sharing experiences
SOCIAL NETWORKING
• Compatibility with mobile devices and applications must be maximized, to match pre-existing uses of digital technology,
• Lower the skill requirements• Support parents and teachers in documenting home/school
experiences for sharing & collaborative group learning
Requirements & recommendations
• ICTshavegreat potential to engage children increasing their participation in accomplishing also typical school activities such as reading and writing giving them an active role in the whole process.
• Enhancement of digital competences even of low SES or SEN children
!Consider and plan for the role children can play in facilitating parent/teacher engagement
ABOUT THE Platform use
Difficulties in engaging parents and in integrating the VLE in the educators practice: scarcity of tech equipment, unintuitive interface
àProvide adequate technical support and dedicate time to familiarization with the platform àMaximize user-friendliness and compatibility with other existing apps and resources
ABOUT THE Platform use
Platform useRequirements & recommendations
Take user needs and contexts into consideration
Flexible use And
modularity Transferability
Make resources and tools as granular and
interoperable as possible
And now…
ISOTIS BLACK FRIDAY!
community.isotis.org/demo