SCoPE Seminar: Informal Learning: May 15 - June 4, 2006

Hm, all the time during this talk about informal learning and the enviroments and strategies that could support them , my mind wanders back to the French pioneer school leader Celéstin Freinet (from the 1920's to 1960's, working with the shared interest complex within the community of school classes  - and connecting to the outside, in the village. In the Freinet classroom community movement the free texts are key and there is very little mandatory content to be taught, as the everyday life would inspire what's the turning point.  Children who could not yet read started printing their own stories, with some help of older school mates.  And camera and tape recorder are very useful tools. Knowing these traditions from first hand experience from an internship period in a Danish Freinet school in 1981, I found that computers and email would likely be part of schools fifteen years later, and after some online searching I found six village schools  in France and asked for invitations to visit and exchange ideas.  I spent three eye opening and amazing weeks getting to know some of the most enthusiast teachers I've ever met, as well as some of the most excellent little curious and creative researchers age ranking from 5 to 12.

I wanted to find an introduction text about  the Freinet movement and discovered a video project with a Dutch background (A must dig deeper some day soon site).