A collaborative work on the creative uses of digital technology for learning in the 21st century

Several Quebec educators have collaborated on a book entitled Creative uses of digital technology for 21st century learning^e century, under the direction of Margarida Romero.

On October 10 and 11, the annual conference of the CIRTA (Community for Innovation and Research on Technologies in Teaching / Learning) was held at the University of Quebec in Montreal (UQAM). This year, the theme of the conference was “Opening the classroom walls with digital technology”.

Among the activities of this conference was the launch of Creative uses of digital technology for learning in the 21st century, a collaborative work edited by Margarida Romero. Ms. Romero is a researcher at Laval University and director of the Laboratory of Innovation and Digital for Education (#fabLINE) at the ÉSPÉ of the University of Nice Sophia Antipolis.

The book is divided into three parts which deal respectively with the following themes:

• Co-creative education for the 21^e century;
• Activities for co-creative education;
• Innovation, professional skills and leadership.

A glance at this new book

Through a collaborative approach, the book discusses in depth the particularities of learning in an increasingly complex world. First, Margarida Romero and Benjamin Lille from Laval University discuss the importance of creativity, a skill they place at the heart of group learning.

For my part, I particularly appreciated the fourth chapter of the first part where the authors introduce the new term of “creattitude”. This portmanteau word perfectly expresses the value given to a creative attitude in the educational model put forward by the #CoCreaTIC team.

In the second part of the book, adopted Quebecer Stéphanie Netto offers, in collaboration with Margarida Romero and Alexandre Lepage, a set of tips and thoughts on the importance of learning creative programming.

We then find in the third part the writings of Jacques Cool. He brilliantly supports the issue of developing teachers' professional skills. In this part, innovation is presented as a process of continuous improvement.

The last word ultimately belongs to Marc-André Girard, who deals with the fundamental importance of leadership in a context of change in the school environment. How can we apply this famous Growth Mindset in the service of professional development? Marc-André also discusses the concept of tribe, which provides each individual with a certain security during this innovative process which can sometimes be anxiety-provoking.

In short, it is a complete book, produced thanks to the collective participation of a bunch of educators of various nationalities, including several Quebecers.

SOURCE: Creative uses of digital technology for learning in the 21st centurykey. Edited by Margarida Romero & AL (2017) Québec: Les Presses de l'Université du Québec, 186p.