Digital activities for creative arts and culture: Learning with experienced teachers

In this paper we present the initial phase of a study in development under the project "Teachers\´ Aids on creating content for learning environments" (taccle2.eu), a European project funded by the European Union through the Comenius multilateral program (517726-LLP-1-2011-1-BE-COMENIUS-CMP). More concretely, we present the work that is being developed for the creation of a set of learning activities for the creative arts and cultural education curricula using ICT and Web 2.0 tools. The study was based on the principles of the development methodology approach (Van den Akker, 1999). Following this perspective, and using a focus group strategy, we present here the strategies created to catch the view of a group of art teachers previously selected on the basis of knowledge and experience of using technology in their teaching practice. Assuming the importance of involving teachers in the process of design and development of learning activities, we selected and worked during three months with a group of twelve experienced teachers in the use of the potential of information and communication tools, in particular in the use of Web 2.0 features. The main questions to answer with this joint reflection were: a) In the area of creative arts what kind of learning activities can benefit from the potential of digital technologies available today?; b) How should those activities be organized and presented to less motivated teachers in order to motivate them to use digital technologies in their practices? The preliminary results suggests the idea of structuring activities not individually, but in a "creative project integrator" as a way to bring inexperienced teachers from the arts and culture areas to meet the pedagogical potential of digital technologies and to integrate them more effectively in his or her teaching practice. In fact, the expert teachers interviewed suggest a consensus that the proposed activities should be organized around a common educational goal, albeit with - ufficient flexibility that allows inexperienced teachers build or adjust their own content and context. We will conclude with a discussion and a reflection about teacher training strategies based on some suggested examples of imaginative and creative ways and proposals to organise the learning contexts using ICT tools in the case of the arts and culture subjects.