M.Sc. – ΤΠΕ στην Εκπ. για την Αειφόρο Ανάπτυξη

Human society faces many environmental, social and economic threats as a result of unsustainable behaviour and values. The root cause of these problems is our collective lack of awareness and inability to understand that change for sustainability occurs through systemic and transformational processes. This course is meant to serve as an introduction to the concepts and examples of sustainability, systems theory and transformational change in a global, local, individual and collective context. Drawing on the literature, the course focuses on some of the identified key contextual issues that need to be addressed in changing our unsustainable behaviour and values. In this context, the course examines various models and pedagogical approaches that could enable learning for an interconnected/systemic worldview and transformational change. It then develops an interactive model in addressing sustainability issues and to promoting transformational change for sustainable development. The course aims to encourage students to think in a more systemic way and through questioning their way of thinking and acting to generate transformational change towards a sustainable future.

This course is intended to introduce the ideas, concepts, theories and practices that constitute the emerging field of ESD pedagogy enabled through ICT. Within this context, participants will examine the fundamentals of ESD pedagogy and the learning processes aligned with ESD. The issue of how ESD fits into the curriculum and how ICT fits into ESD and vice versa will be further explored. Particular focus will be placed on ESD pedagogical approaches enabled through ICTs that seek to promote learning experiences that are transformative, empowering, and emancipatory. Consistent with this philosophy, pedagogical theories associated with ESD to be explored are: deep learning, problem-based learning, transformational learning, experiential learning, active learning, action learning, participatory learning, inquiry-based learning, service and place-based learning. There will be an attempt to bring a balance between the political dimensions of critical ESD pedagogy (that is often highlighted) with the personal/inner self or the pedagogy of the psyche (that is often ignored). The overriding goal of this course is to help participants design and apply innovative approaches to teaching and learning for sustainability enabled through ICTs.

ESD is at a pivotal point in many school systems and the recognition of the role of policy and planning is clear with regards to how schools can be turned into “sustainable schools”. In response to the growing demand for infusing sustainability into education policies, curriculum and other support processes, this course examines the relationship between education policy, planning and ESD, using the UNESCO ESD Lens metaphor. The ESD Lens is focused on providing tools for reviewing educational policy and practice towards sustainability. To explore further this approach, the course focuses on participatory engagement and contextualization of the ESD Lens contents. The analysis is coupled with a series of strategies on how the ESD policy and practice might be better executed for reorienting schools towards sustainability. The overriding goal of the course is to help students develop a deeper understanding of the relationship between education policy and planning in the field of ESD, the institutional structures needed to support ESD policies; and the role of various actors and entities in shaping educational policy and change for sustainability.

Education systems worldwide need to include a focus on the causes, consequences and solutions to climate change, if the necessary changes are to be addressed in time. Addressing the causes (mitigation) and the consequences (adaptability) of climate change requires education systems to integrate content and methodologies that will help transform human-induced unsustainable behaviours and actions (transformability).This course provides a cross/multi-disciplinary approach of climate change education through the support of open source GIS software and related spatial tools, ICTs, databases, datasets designed for educators who are interested in using such technologies to explore global climate change issues. Learners will focus on key aspects of climate change for their particular local environments and develop cross-thematic and inquiry and problem-based climate change lesson plans applicable to both formal and nonformal education settings. The overriding goal of this course is to strengthen the capacity of educators and trainers to provide quality climate change education for sustainable development at primary and secondary school settings enabled through GIS and other ICTs. In particular: how to use problem-based learning as a methodology for integrating climate change education in formal and non-formal education environments.

The course explores the links between cultural, linguistic and biological diversity, which are increasingly viewed as key elements in achieving sustainable development. Recognizing that diversity is an important prerequisite for ensuring sustainable development, this course explores conceptual and methodological issues and provides some examples of the linkages between biological, cultural and linguistic diversity at global, regional and local scales. The interactions between cultural and biological factors in human adaptation and variation are emphasized throughout the course. The course is organized into several sections, each with subsidiary activities that involve students in constructing knowledge on biocultural diversity issues. Several important questions form the core of this course, such as: What notions of culture and nature does the concept of biocultural diversity imply? What models of biocultural diversity exist? What political and legal measures need to be taken at the national and international levels so as to improve efforts to promote biocultural diversity? Is globalization a threat to or an opportunity for promoting cultural, linguistic and biological diversity for sustainable development? How can we make consumption and production patterns consistent with the promotion of cultural and biological diversity? Which measures should be taken to promote biocultural diversity so as to reinforce sustainable development? The overriding aim of the course is to help students understand and appreciate the interconnection of culture and biology. The specific objectives are: To explore conceptual/theoretical and methodological issues related to the links between biological, linguistic and cultural diversity. To involve students in the collection, evaluation and synthesis of relevant to biocultural diversity information that is available in the Web. To identify and document good practices that may support educational policy, management and decision/policy making processes. To explore how people culturally conceptualize, manipulate, transform, and humanize their natural environments over time.

e-Learning and Virtual World (VW) platforms provide affordances that may facilitate teaching and learning for sustainability. This course applies instructional design principles for designing virtually-based interactive learning courses and professional development courses addressing ESD-related thematic areas. Based on the instructional models of cognitive apprenticeship, situated cognition and problem-based learning, the course discusses the steps to be taken to design, create and assess virtual learning environments using tools such as Second Life®. Second Life is a virtual world in which individuals create a persona, or avatar, which is used to operate in the highly interactive virtual environment. The course also uses SLOODLE, an open-source Moodle® module for bridging communication between objects in Second Life® and assignments in Moodle® to enable authentic problem solving and processes, referring to ESD issues.The overarching goal of this course is to provide learners with an overview of theories and strategies related to the design, development and evaluation of online learning and courses.

Learning to live sustainably is a condition to sustain our planet for the present and future generations. The Earth Charter challenges us to examine our values and learn to live sustainably. The course will examine the links between Education for Sustainability and values and moral education and support students to think more clearly about their attitudes, values and ethical approaches towards the human and non-human world. Through an exploration of the ethics of nature, the environment, ethical frameworks as represented in political belief systems and ideologies, the course will provide students with the tools to construct and support rational and just approaches to sustainability in their professional and private lives. The course will also focus on the design, development and assessment of ICT- enabled instructional materials and programmes which can foster the formation of positive values, attitudes and ethical behaviour towards sustainable human development in the classroom/training environment. The course outcomes are reflected in the organization of the learning modules, which are presented sequentially to allow for a full study of the aims and objectives of the Earth Charter. These include a study of values and how they relate to the Earth Charter and Education for Sustainability, the promotion of dialogue on values for sustainable living, ethical development and the application of values in the construction of sound ethical choices in relation to sustainability. It will also focus on the design, development and assessment of ICT enabled instructional learning to provide opportunities for “learning to live sustainably”.The overriding goal of this course is to explore the links between Education for Sustainability and the Earth Charter and to develop the requisite knowledge, skills and attitudes to enable course participants to effectively use the Earth Charter as an educational tool.

This course explores an interesting confluence of two current topics: intercultural communication and sustainable leadership. Students in this course engage in a critical assessment of intercultural communication theories and applications with the explicit goal of addressing issues of sustainable leadership. The course examines key factors in green and distributed leadership models and strategies and draws attention to the importance of transformational sustainable leadership in connection to inter/cross-cultural communication competence. Emphasis is given on issues of culture and power, the relationship of language (both verbal and non-verbal) and culture, the relationship between culture and strategies of negotiation, as well as differing perspectives of conflict and ways of managing intercultural conflict.Through experience, action and critical reflection, students are to collaboratively explore: 1. social entrepreneurship as leadership that facilitates societal transformation; 2. the role of ICT in facilitating leadership and transformational ESD; 3. the attributes of effective sustainable leadership and 4. the choice of communication strategies needed within different cultural contexts and how intercultural communication affects transformational leadership. The overriding goal of this course is to equip participants with the skills and knowledge to function as transformative educators and ESD leaders.