Abstract:

Τhis article presents an electronic learning environment designed to enable the teaching and learning of Greek language and history among pupils (K-12) who attend various forms of Greek-language education worldwide. This European Union-funded project is run by the Centre of Migration and Intercultural Studies of the University of Crete and is supervised by the Greek Ministry of Education.

The web-based environment produced draws from multiple pedagogical orientations [1] such as socio-cognitive [2], social constructivist and transformative [3], with particular emphasis on the use of the Framework for Academic Language Learning [3] [4]. The outcome is the Combined Dynamic Model of Language Learning (CDMLL) [2], which allows students and teachers to engage in interactive and multimodal learning tasks promoting language learning. It also gives teachers and students the opportunity to become part of a community of learning through global learning networks and to use what they have learned in creative ways and in ways that have meaning for the learners.

This paper will:
(a) outline the theoretical underpinnings involved in the environment’s design,
(b) present the actual environment,
(c) describe how it has been used and (d) provide the reflections of teachers and students who have taken part in the communities of learning.

References:
[1] Skourtou, Kourtis-Kazoullis and Cummins (2006). Designing Virtual Learning Environments for Academic Language Development. In J. Weiss, J. Nolan, J. Hunsinger, and P. Trifonas (eds.), International Handbook of Virtual Learning Environments (pp. 441-468). Dordrecht, The Netherlands: Springer, 2 Volumes.
[2] Spantidakis, G. (2010). Socio-Cognitive Multimedia Environments for Learning and the Production of Writing. Athens: Gutenberg (in Greek).
[3] Cummins, J. (2001). Negotiating Identities: Education for Empowerment in a Diverse Society. Los Angelis, CA: California Association for Bilingual Education.
[4] Cummins, Brown and Sayers (2007). Literacy, Technology, and Diversity: Teaching for Success in Changing Times. New York: Pearson.

Keywords:

Communities of learning, computer assisted language learning, diasporic communities.