Traditional learning methodologies, based on the passive transmission of information, fail to develop important personal competences like critical, lateral and creative thinking, problem solving, group collaboration, leadership and communication abilities. These methodologies also fail to motivate the “digital natives" students that are used to be surrounded by technology. These students expect instant responses and feedback and want to be active in their learning. Teachers are required to adopt new pedagogical methodologies, ICT-based, and to move into active and collaborative learning processes whereby students engage in activities that promote higher order learning skills like analysis, synthesis, and evaluation. Project and Problem-based learning (PBL) are active, learner-centred methodologies in which students develop their abilities by going through a problem solving process, usually based on real-life situations. Supporting active learning through ICT tools (serious games, interactive simulations, virtual communities’ platforms, etc.) creates Active Learning Environments (ALE) where the new technologically-savvy generation of students feels comfortable and is motivated to be active. These tools involve mental and physical stimulation and develop practical skills: players have to decide, to choose, to define priorities, to solve problems, etc. Nevertheless, to make teachers confident in using and applying these new methodologies and the supporting ICT tools, they must be supported. The objective of the ADLES (Active Learning in Schools) project is therefore to work with and prepare teachers to design, implement and validate active learning methodologies based on PBL (Project/Problem) scaffolded by a set of digital tools (games, simulations and communication) that will allow students to experiment, collaborate and communicate in an extended and multinational learning community. The project will mainly address STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths) subjects therefore tackling underachievement in those areas. The project will respond directly to the priority of open and innovative practices, by developing learning materials that support the effective use of ICTs in education and youth, therefore promoting the new technologies as drivers of improvements in education, training and youth policies.
Traditional learning methodologies, based on the passive transmission of information, fail to develop important personal competences like critical, lateral and creative thinking, problem solving, collaboration, leadership and communication abilities. These passive methodologies also fail to motivate the “digital natives" students that want to be active in their learning through interaction, online information, and social networking with their peers. While developing the state of the art in the scope of the ADLES project, partners were able to confirm that these assumptions were still true and justified the project approach. Therefore, schools and teachers are required to adopt new pedagogical methodologies, supported by information and communication technologies. They should move into active and collaborative learning processes whereby students engage in activities that promote higher order learning skills like analysis, synthesis, and evaluation. Project and Problem-based learning (PBL) are active, learner-centred methodologies in which students develop their abilities by going through a problem solving process, usually based on real-life situations. Supporting active learning through ICT tools (serious games, interactive simulations, virtual communities’ platforms, etc.) creates Active Learning Environments (ALE) where the new technologically-savvy generation of students feels comfortable and is motivated to be active. These tools involve mental and physical stimulation and develop practical skills: players have to decide, to choose, to define priorities, to solve problems, etc. Nevertheless, school managers need to know how to integrate these methodologies in their institutional vision and mission. Therefore the ADLES (Active Digital Learning in Schools) consortium prepared a set of documents to guide school managers on the systematic implementation of active learning methodologies. But teachers must also be confident in using and applying these new methodologies and the supporting ICT tools. So the ADLES consortium also worked with and prepared teachers to design, implement and validate active learning methodologies based on PBL (Project/Problem) scaffolded by a set of digital tools (games, simulations and communication) that allows students to experiment, collaborate and communicate in an extended and multinational learning community. The ADLES consortium created a gamified PBL platform available in all the consortium languages where teachers can create, edit and share problems that can be used in PBL implementations. The platform also supports the actual implementation of PBL (what we call a PBLEX) by organizing the process, storing all the generated documentation and allowing the communication between teacher and students. Furthermore, the platform functions as a support to an established virtual community of practice where teachers, researchers and managers can share experiences and results of their practice using active learning methodologies. The gamification components add motivation to the participants, reinforcing their will and enthusiasm and increasing the level of collaboration.