The work reported in this paper is informed by PerFECt, a performative framework supporting collaborative learning and creativity that addresses issues related to the effective use of digital technologies to establish and sustain learning communities. Its core principles are reinterpreted to implement unplugged collaborative learning activities to creatively explore sciences, technology and mathematics with special emphasis on the core principles of algorithmic design by presenting recipes in the form of flow diagrams. By presenting the execution of algorithms within a drama-based (theatrical) framework many creative explorations are offered within the so called STEAM education. The adoption of playful activities that put the children's bodies in motion is well aligned with pedagogical approaches that emphasize embodied knowledge and performance and open up opportunities for deeper personalized learning experiences that promote inclusion of children from different cultural backgrounds.
This paper presents how the PerFECt Framework for establishing and sustaining learning communities can be combined with innovative approaches of teaching mathematics using drama, to develop unplugged activities to introduce the binary system in primary and secondary school students. The resulting
Human Calculator theatrical game enables students, using their bodies, to learn the binary representation of numbers and discover the algorithms of addition, subtraction, multiplication and division.
Coursevo (http://coursevo.com/) is a multilingual multimedia information system for managing courses, supporting learning processes and learning communities through the Web. Its multi-tenant architecture supports multiple instances of the underlying server infrastructure using the same core to serve the needs of multiple communities. An advantage of Coursevo in comparison with other eLearning systems is the emphasis that is given in the use of multimedia as a powerful learning means. Learning activities using multiple media can be more effective than doing it through a single medium (such as text), but what is important is combining media effectively. Coursevo is used in several vocational training and life-long-learning initiatives to establish and continuously support
Onlife Communities. An Onlife Community is an aggregation that emerges in hyperconnected spaces when humans engage with other humans as well as with machines and natural entities in mindful interactions with sufficient human feeling to form webs of personal relationships. The paper presents how Coursevo is extended with gamification facilities to enable game-based learning scenarios within the context of the GAME IT project and beyond.
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