The Ministry of Science and Technology, Ben Gurion University, the Weizmann Institute of Science and Desert and Dead Sea R&D, invite educators and teachers and the general public to the first annual online conference on science education as a lever for growth in the periphery, including a keynote speech by Shai Rashef, president and founder of the University of the Masses that changed the The face of academic studies in the USA, which will take place on Thursday 21.1.2021/13/45, between the hours of 18:15-XNUMX:XNUMX p.m.
Today it is clear that the corona will leave behind a legacy even in areas that are not directly related to the health sector. The future of education depends on the skills of remote work and learning. Scientific literacy is directly related to personal and social growth and realization of possibilities for higher education. Advanced information and communication technology can connect the residents of the periphery to the centers of knowledge, foster scientific literacy and contribute to reducing the gaps between the periphery and the center, but the effective use of these platforms is still a challenge, since this learning requires different learning skills, a different construction of curricula and diverse documentation, as well as Meeting the social and emotional needs of the learners.
Dr. Oded Keinan, Director of the Scientific Literacy Unit at the Desert and Dead Sea R&D and the 'Araba Incubator' for science, agriculture and environmental studies in the Middle Arava: "The outbreak of the Corona epidemic gave us a threatening glimpse of the future we are moving towards and thus the "background diseases" of society were also exposed the Israeli one. The Israeli education system was perceived as being generally unprepared for the transition to learning based on 21st century skills. When the moment of decision came and the corona crisis required the application of the skills that were supposed to be learned in recent years, the entire system collapsed- The Ministry of Education, the teachers and the students, failed to meet the challenges that require basic skills of independent study, critical thinking and creativity. At the beginning of the transition to distance learning during the first closure, the education system did a "copy and paste" for normal learning. Most of the teachers simply started teaching the classes for long hours and face-to-face on "Zoom" and the results were accordingly and there was failure.
After a period of instability and chaos, change began to emerge in some schools and educational institutions, but this change was mainly the property of those who had access to laptops and developed internet infrastructures. With the partial return to school in the XNUMX school year, the education system tried to learn the lessons from the first lockdown and students and teachers began to adapt to "hybrid learning", which combines school studies with online learning from home. The system seemed to adopt new skills and manage to produce change. Even in the periphery it was possible to notice the buds of bridging the gaps in infrastructure and knowledge, but these were slower. Unfortunately, the second shutdown played the cards again. The studies show that only a small percentage of students take part in online learning and that close to half a million students still do not have access to the Internet.
Among the topics that will be presented at the conference: Distance learning-Zoom and beyond it, teaching and distance learning challenges, active distance learning, the Corona crisis as a lever for thinking, rethinking about learning, about diseases and vaccines, guiding teachers and training teams, about science and genetics, nature and man, the sky is the limit, distance learning challenges in Bedouin Arab society, transversal challenges Climate change boundaries and sectors, distance learning spaces, studying at Harvard without leaving home, the role of the local authority in distance learning.
The social and geographic periphery in Israel can benefit from distance learning tools even on regular days, these tools can bridge the gaps and the distance. In the periphery, you need to invest more time, effort and creativity, in order to get access to the information and knowledge centers, which is taken for granted in the center of the country. Indeed, schools in the periphery, which implemented innovative pedagogies of distance learning during normal days, managed the emergency situation better than most schools in the periphery, which went through years of neglect. Now, while the epidemic prevents schools from opening, the learning data in the periphery is not encouraging and this will have long-term consequences.
Desert and Dead Sea R&D is a research and development center of the Ministry of Science under the auspices of Ben Gurion University in the geographical periphery of Israel. The R&D researchers who live and work in its four branches: the Dead Sea, the Middle Arava, the Ayelot region and Mitzpe Ramon, study the challenges of the region and take part in the education system and communities in the region. For several years now, the R&D has been leading study programs and courses in distance learning for students from all over the Negev.
Link to register for the conference
Link to participate in the conference
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