The use of social media for democratic participation
This Module Series spread over nearly eighteen months and consisted of five phases in which only two (Module A and B) were residential workshops.
- Phase 1: Planning and preparation (April - September 2012)
- Phase 2: Module A (25th - 28th September 2012)
- Phase 3: Development and piloting (October 2012 - May 2013)
- Phase 4: Module B (15th - 17th May 2013)
- Phase 5: Editing and dissemination (June - December 2013)
Team of facilitators
Ana Boa-Ventura
Rolf Gollob (coordinator)
Anne-Claire Orban de Xivry
Pascale Mompoint-Gaillard (General Rapporteur)
The use of social media in civic education
Author: Snježana Boškovic
Editor: Charlot Cassar
Last edition: February, 2015
Brief description
This training unit consists of three 90-minute sessions (including a short evaluation session at the end) focusing on human rights, social media and civic education aimed at a group of between 20 and 25 teachers. Participants will deepen their understanding of human rights, how these are manifest on social media, and what civic education teachers can do to support students stand up for human rights on social media.
Involvement of students in school management through social media
Author: Andrius, Bukis - Lithuania
Editor: Višnja Rajić
Last edition: February, 2014
Brief description
This unit explores how school management can use social media to involve pupils in management of school. During the proposed training school members will discover social media potential and the importance in communication and collaboration with pupils and their parents. At the same time pupils will learn about the opportunities to participate in democratic decision making.
Eduquer à la citoyenneté démocratique par l’intermédiaire d’un réseau social
Auteur : Audrey Cheynut
Editeur : Carmen Becker
Dernière édition: avril, 2015
Brève description
La formation a pour but d’éduquer les Lycéens à la citoyenneté et à la participation démocratique, à travers la création d’un journal en ligne, fonctionnant sur le mode interactif des réseaux sociaux.
Sa particularité est de s’adresser conjointement aux membres de la communauté éducative et aux élèves. L’un de ses buts est donc de favoriser le dialogue et la coopération entre les élèves et les adultes en charge de la scolarité, dans le sens de l’initiation à la participation démocratique et de son développement.
La création d’une plateforme respectueuse des droits fondamentaux est l’occasion pour les participants de se familiariser avec une utilisation responsable des médias sociaux, de développer leur conscience et comportement démocratiques et de tisser de nouveaux liens de coopération entre eux. La plateforme créée devient ainsi à la fois le lieu d’un apprentissage et un relais d’informations interactif pour tous les membres de l’établissement.
La formation comporte deux grandes phases : une première étape d’élaboration de la plateforme durant laquelle les participants sont conduits à réfléchir à ses grandes orientations tout en abordant la question des droits fondamentaux ; une deuxième étape de pratique au cours de laquelle les participants utilisent et améliorent les fonctionnalités de la plateforme mise en ligne, en mettant en oeuvre les notions abordées précédemment.
La plateforme créée peut avoir une utilisation pérenne, au-delà de la formation, constituant ainsi un outil de travail pour l’établissement.
Afin de respecter la mixité des groupes enseignants / élèves, il est préférable de prévoir cette formation dans le cadre d’activités telles que celles proposées par le Foyer Socio-Educatif de l’établissement (ou structure similaire). Toutefois, il demeure possible d’adapter une ou plusieurs de ces activités dans le cadre de la classe, en fonction de la matière enseignée.
Responsible behaviour in the social network in everyday life
Author: Vesima, Čičkušić
Editor: Višnja Rajić
Last edition: April, 2015
Brief description
This training unit focuses on learning about Responsible behaviour in the virtual social networks in everyday life. The idea is to raise participants’ awareness about the importance of responsible behaviour in communication with others in virtual social space. The issues of responsible behaviour and media literacy are reflected on with questions on respectful behaviour, privacy and communication rules.
The use of new media is becoming a potent force for creating, supporting, and building open and democratic societies. Online space provides opportunities, but it is important to understand what freedom of expression is and what the limits are when expressing opinions and what responsible behaviour is in the virtual social space.
Activer et utiliser un outil collaboratif dans le cadre d’un projet autour des réseaux sociaux à l’école
Auteur : Isabelle Colin
Editeur : Audrey Cheynut
Dernière édition: avril, 2015
Brève description
Cette unité de formation propose un ensemble d’activités qui permettront de créer et gérer un outil collaboratif pour mener à bien un projet requérant l’utilisation des réseaux sociaux à l’école.
Cette formation intègre un espace d’information et de débat sur le rôle des médias dans la démocratie.
Elle met au coeur de l’apprentissage un processus démocratique afin de sensibiliser aux enjeux de la démocratie, pour éduquer des citoyens conscients et responsables.
Negotiation and Reflection in Teacher Training
Author: Andrea Fischer
Editor: Audrey Cheynut
Last edition: April, 2015
Brief description
This training unit aims at developing participation of the learners in their learning process, by letting them take an active part in the choice of the studied topics, according to their interests and needs. The use of social medias facilitates the promotion of participation and responsibility.
Promotion of student councils through social media
Author: Márta Ispánovity
Editor: Guðrún Ragnarsdóttir
Last edition: January 2015
Brief description
The materials described in this training unit (TU) last for 3 ½ hours with a 2-week online preparation period. The TU focuses on promoting students’ councils and democratic participation through social media. The target group includes school leaders, teachers and trainees involved in student councils in schools.
Social Media for Teaching and Learning
Author: Igor Lipovšek
Editor: Charlot Cassar
Last edition: January 2015
Brief description
This training unit focuses on teachers’ use of social media on a personal and professional level. It presents three 2-hour sessions, starting with low level entry activities that address the actual use of social media by the participants. The training unit then encourages participants to explore how social media can be used in the classroom as part of the teaching and learning process. It also encourages them to explore ways in which social media is being used for democratic participation and how this can be harnessed in the classroom. The activities are aimed at a group of 20 to 25 teachers working with secondary and high school students.
Why do we need respect in virtual social space
Author: Milka Mihailović
Editor: Višnja Rajić
Last edition: April, 2015
Brief description
« Tongue has no bones, but breaks bones" (Serbian proverb)»
The aim of this training is for participants to come to realize that the concept of respect is inseparable from basic values of human rights, to understand its complexity and to take personal responsibility for respecting themselves and others in direct communication and in virtual social space. All that can be achieved through cooperative and empirical workshop study.
Communication, as one of the basic needs of individuals in a group or community, is spontaneous on one hand. On the other, it is a skill that is acquired.
The specificity of communication in virtual social space is that there is practically no limit in the number and range of people who may be involved in the communication process. Online space provides an opportunity for anonymity and thus reduces the responsibility of those who express anti-democratic views and spread intolerance and hate speech towards diversity. In this regard, anyone can be exposed to contempt and disrespect.
Children and young people use social networks as modern means of communication and therefore it is important to understand what freedom of expression is and what the limits are when it comes to expressing opinions, what the values of human rights are and what responsible behaviour is in virtual social space.
The creation of an online newspaper by cooperating schools
Author: Eirini Papadaki
Editor: Carmen Becker
Last edition: April, 2015
Brief description
The activities in this training unit (TU) give material for a seven-hour training session on how to use social media to enhance democratic participation in the classroom. The target group is secondary school teachers.
Teaching controversial issues through social media
Author: Svava Petursdottir
Editor: Pascale Mompoint-Gaillard
Last edition: February 2015
Brief description
Forming opinions of current events and the ability to argue a stance may be considered one mode of participating in a democratic society. The training unit focuses on how social media can be used as a tool for teaching and learning about controversial issues, or issues that are sensitive in society but often require individuals to take a stance for democratic participation. It proposes to explore how teachers may use social media with their students (12-18 years) to explore and debate in a systematic way, current controversial issues by gathering and evaluating information found online. Participants will be invited to discuss how democratic participation especially discussion of current, often controversial events takes place online. All resources are shared online so the training is paperless (except when technology fails). Participants are expected to choose the issues they want to explore so the methods learned might be adapted with all sorts of learners. Teachers will explore the issue of whether and how controversy belongs in the classroom, and how they may be handled tactfully.
Résumer les faits, distinguer les commentaires, proposer un compromis
Auteur : Jean-Luc Sorée
Editeur : Audrey Cheynut
Dernière édition : Mars 2015
Brève description
La presse fourmille d'exemples qui emballent les réseaux sociaux. Jeunes et adultes y sont confrontés au quotidien et y participent tantôt de manière volontaire tantôt malgré eux. Les activités qui suivent ont pour objectif de leur permettre de prendre du recul par rapport au "buzz" ou à l'information en général qui circulent sur les médias sociaux.
How to use social media to promote democratic participation in schools
Author: Aleksandra STAŃCZUK
Editor: Pascale MOMPOINT-GAILLARD
Last edition: February 2015
Brief description
How may teachers use different social media tools with their students to create more democratic lessons? In this unit of 6-7 hours, teachers will explore both democratic issues and social media potential and their importance in the daily life and personal and social development of youth. Each of the participants will create the plan of an activity that they can pilot at their school.
Participation of teachers and young people in social media: Is it democratic?
Author: Vítor Manuel Nabais Tomé
Editor: Guðrún Ragnarsdóttir
Last edition: January 2015
Brief description
The activities in this training unit (TU) give material for a four-hour training session on how to use social media for democratic participation in the classroom. The target group of the training is high school teachers.
The effectiveness of social media to promote Children's Rights
Author: Simona Vannini
Editor: Višnja Rajić
Last edition: April, 2015
Brief description
This unit will provide participants with proposals on how to use social media to teach participation in Children's Rights and finally contribute to the UN Campaign 'Education For All'. The participants will ideate activities and choose the most suitable social media to be applied. During the unit the participants will collaborate, share knowledge and competences. While learning the use of social media for democratic participation, they will experience concrete application, theoretical reflection and open confrontation. Moreover, the unit will give participants the opportunity to find out the possible applications of social media as teaching and learning tools. Ultimately, the training will provide participants with inputs for activities that can be invented, re elaborated and finally re-used in different working environments. The possible fields of application are English, Democratic Citizenship, Human Rights, ITC, Ethics, Social media.
Youth active democratic participation
Author: Dmitri Vergun
Editor: Ana Žnidarec Čučković
Last edition: March, 2015
Brief description
This training unit is focusing on democratic participation. At first, the training unit will get the theoretical and practical framework concerning participation opportunities in local government system. After that joint activities within training unit will be undertaken to strengthen the cooperation and create a very good contact inside the unit. The idea is to make a constant working local youth council, with developed democratic values, social and cooperation skills which represent all or most of the “youth” groups and through social media is in constant contact with own electorate.
The Pestalozzi Programme was the Council of Europe's programme for the professional development of teachers until the end of 2017.