Papillon

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The “ Papillon ” [“Butterfly”] educational concept supplies the content for global learning in the 21 st century and is a free learning method which grows with knowledge like a living organism, creates, uses, reuses and improves continuesly new things. Imaginative multimedia learning environments are offered and depicted in an initial online school book with this educational content. A concept that connects worlds; multimedia, intercultural and interdisciplinary as well as classical education and New Media — intelligently networked!

The Papillon method works on the base of keywords and transforms teaching books into a huge dynamic ecosystem of knowledge.

This completely new digital learning method allows children to see our world in a global context, fosters an alert creative spirit as well as analytical abilities, teaches playful learning and motivates students to develop their own ideas, and can also provide help for self-help in the best sense. In addition, the project not only imparts knowledge, but also forms the entire personality. Students and teachers work together in an educational network, and garner the opportunity to be brought up to the latest standard of knowledge. Papillon is an example for new paths of imparting knowledge in the 21. Century.

Innovative learning in the knowledge society

Internet and school realities

“Instruction is so deadly dull that you could fall asleep“, a student said during an interview and was not alone in her opinion. The motivation to like going to school is lost and must then be re-stimulated. This a bitter truth in the age of the informational society.

It has everything you need: proven teaching methods and digital methods which the children need in order to again feel like going to school. Combining these elements in a sophisticated manner and making learning an experience through interactive elements is rather a question of creativity than a question of money. You have to want it. However, in these parts, there seems to be more than a risk because the Internet has to assert itself against many objections. The school still blocks out this part of learning acquisition to a very large extent although E-learning accommodates the media use of learners and important pedagogical goals such as independent, self-determined learning and cognitive and communicative skills can be promoted.

The school still blocks out this part of learning acquisition to a very large extent although E-learning accommodates the media use of learners and important pedagogical goals such as independent, self-determined learning and cognitive and communicative skills can be promoted.

Here the Internet is an adventure, conquering new worlds, the whole universe in the palm of your hand! The Internet is exactly what the school needs to be appealing again because the potential for positive application opportunities to improve the quality of the instruction is virtually unlimited and ensures interactive and challenging learning with a lot of variety. Therefore, Papillon shows the strengths of the Internet and wants to stress its positive sides!

No other medium is more able to interlink information in such a sustainable way and still be so boundlessly entertaining, informative, vivid and current. Topics can be worked on in an interactive and playful manner with this method. There is access through playing and faster successful results because feedback is given after each task is assigned. If students discover their own interests through digital learning, have fun researching and discovering, their curiosity is kindled and talents are encouraged, then they have invested so much more time in the development of their personality and have prepared themselves for life after school. They have developed important traits to help them survive when they have left the protected area of the school.

Practicing media competency is just as important as learning how to read and write. Those who are prevented from doing so or exclude themselves for various reasons are denied the ability to get a foothold in the knowledge society. Access to one of the most important resources of the 21st century gets lost. That is why students should learn to use the Internet with a much certainty as they use a light switch. We can bring knowledge from the entire world into the school via the Internet and improve the quality of instruction. Without this access, only a limited horizon is conceivable.

Media project in actual practice

Testing the model project in instruction

Since February 2005, the model project “Papillon“ has been successfully tested at the Ellen-Key Grammar School in Berlin[1]. Two further education courses in the 7th grade were involved in the project.

References

Hans Prengel Graduate in Media Studies Technical University of Berlin Institute for Language and Communication Media Studies Department Department director Professor Norbert Bolz

“…] Papillon is worthy of praise in the area of media pedagogy (enhancement of the instruction through materials) both from the perspective of what is urgently needed for the future (Internet competence) and the psychology of learning (motivation/interest and orientation toward action) and a very promising project is worthy of support“

Sybille Volkholz Education Expert of the Heinrich Böll Foundation Former Berlin Scholl Senator Citizen’s Network on Education in VBKI

“[…] The project is particularly suitable for letting students work independently”.

Margit Günther, Teacher Project Manager “Papillon” Ellen-Key Grammar School

[…] “The fact is that the blackboard and the school textbook are no longer sufficient in our digital world to present the teaching materials in a contemporary manner. I can only say therefore that an innovative teaching method has succeeded in making children interested in school again with the Papillon model project. Creative and eventful learning has resulted in increased motivation for our students. They were so enthusiastic about what they were doing that I sometimes hardly recognized them".

H. Bader Subject Director for German Ellen-Key Grammar School

“I liked the media project from the very beginning because it is a completely new learning method. […] The different between this project and the projects which we have previously known on media competence was that the virtual world and real world are combined and that completely new areas can be pursued in terms of content. So far we have analysed films. We have designed Internet pages. We are experimenting with PowerPoint Presentations but the structure of the content is what’s new and that is what is so well received here”.

Thomas Theus, Teacher Ellen-Key Grammar School

“[…] In this context I am really happy that this work is opening up new, interesting avenues of acquiring knowledge. This is a real benefit for every school which cannot be praised highly enough".

Nhat Phong Tran, Friedrich-Engels-Gymnasium, Berlin Class 12 / Semester II

“Finally a new form of the book! It was the film-maker who made the stuff which dreams are made, always created more and more extravagant forms and illusions and conjured up new variations. But authors have presented their stories in the same way since the beginning without giving books a new, contemporary touch. I would enjoy learning in class based on these materials. It is not a myth but rather a fact that general knowledge is continuously on the decline. By linking a the GOLD DUST tale with the Internet, I can expand my knowledge beyond the scope of the class because the teacher only has a limited amount of time available. A good class for me is when someone is encouraged to learn more and more than the material requires. The class should be signed in such a way that people acquire additional knowledge through their own interest. In general the students are no longer motivated. This reading is motivation for self-motivation! Things take on a completely different meaning and the background knowledge is expanded through the appropriate choice of key words.

Everyone can participate in the first global online schoolbook Interaction

Start: Level I – becoming a translator or artist

Goal: Level II - becoming Einstein

Thank you for support:

Oliver Wetter's work was chosen to be the cover of the fantasy story “GOLD DUST” that is part of the education concept “Papillon”. He doneted the piece: „The source“.

External links

• Learning in the 21st century
• „Papillon“ educational concept
• Fantasy story "GOLD DUST"
• News