Shaping the European School of Tomorrow: Role of Regional Educational Institutions

1. On the Role of the Regional Educational Institutions in shaping the European School of Tomorrow and its Laboratories Nikolaos H. Solomos Physics Dept. Hellenic Naval Academy & National Observatory for Education EUDOXOS, Kefallinia, GREECE

2. Types and Aspects of the Educational Systems • CLOSED “STATIC” SYSTEMS (Public, Private, primary & secondary schools) • The system of Knowledge given is finite, specific and does not prepare for continuous renewal of Knowledge • Uniformity in all levels • Offers easy means for “mechanistic” evaluation ! • OPEN – “DYNAMIC” SYSTEMS (Universities, Special Institutions, Regional Centres etc.) • They prepare for continuous acquisition of new knowledge without restricting themselves to the very material they offer • Non-uniformity (Teaching associated with research. Content based on the conclusions of Research and on the supplied by research • Evaluation very difficult ! • )

3. The question is: • ..Why we want to teach “Science” in the Basic (General) Education and ..What is “Science” ?

4. The Nature of Science -I • Science is a human attempt to put order and organization into the received perceptions of our brain (which cannot be handled in other ways due to its restricted capacity and the finite extent of our life). Science is therefore an approximation (..not the only one) to classify and process our empirical data, that uses powerful Generalizations which it discovers, to make us capable to adapt, efficiently, to the external world. • Science approaches the Truth, but never can it prove that the latter is reached !

5. The Nature of Science -II • The progress in science is the “disprove” and contradiction !! The science advances by disproving hypotheses so that a feeling of freedom and dispute should traverse the educational system…

6. THE POWER OF THE SCIENTIFIC METHOD

7. Developments in Physics and Astronomy in 1900’s • Discovery that astronomical objects emit spectra which consist of lines, specific to the various elements. These provide information about their conditions and composition. • Sodium emission spectrum • wavelength • The discovery of lines permits one to measure the velocity of the line emitting source. The lines shift to the red if the source is receding and to the blue if approaching.

8. Doppler effect

9. Measuring Astronomical Distances • Parallax distances measurable to 3000 light years • Beyond 3 klyrs, use luminosity distance D Luminosity=L

11. Cepheid Variable Period-Luminosity Relation Type I • Henrietta Leavitt (1912) discovers period and luminosity are correlated Type II L/Lsun Log(Period)

12. Spiral Nebulae Controversy • Inside Milky Way galaxy or “Island Universes”? • Heber Curtis (1917) discovers faint Novae in spiral nebulae, argues they are vastly distant using luminosity distance • Harlow Shapley (1918) determines size of Milky Way to be 300,000 lyr, argues nebulae are local • Shapley-Curtis Debate (1920) at NAS • Edwin Hubble (1921) discovers Cepheid variable in Andromeda Nebula • Using P-L relation, estimates distance to be 800,000 lyr • Proved extragalactic hypothesis • Spiral nebulae are now called galaxies, in analogy to the Milky Way galaxy

13. Andromeda Nebula (M31)

14. Instrument of Discovery:Hooker 100” Telescope Mount Wilson Observatory

15. Hubble’s Discovery of the Expanding Universe (1929) • Spiral nebulae known to have redshifted spectra • Hubble and Humason carry out quantitative study • Hubble shows velocity of recession is proporational to distance

16. The Hubble Law • Hubble’s original data showing the galaxy velocities to be propor-tional to their distance

17. The Hubble Law Hubble constant speed distance

18. Improved data showing that the Hubble law holds to much larger distances

19. Expansion !!!! …The dispute: the Standard Big-Bang theory did have some …not very advertised problems

20. The Present • The problem of the “integration” of the New Knowledge into the educational system • The “Scientific Methodology” problem. (We do not learn how to investigate) • New tools to “upgrade” the “courses”/lessons • Re-determination of the Aims of SCIENCE & EDUCATION=. The rate of increase of the scientific knowledge is much higher than the rate with which we have learned to incorporate the Knowledge into our social and cultural structure. -> We should avoid nominating Science the absolute “emperor” of the society. There is need for association of Science with the other major aspects of the Human nature (Historical feel, social evolution)

21. The Triangle of the Flow of Knowledge ??? ??? ??? RESEARCH ACTIVITY Frontiers of knowledge 3 Frontiers of Knowledge 3 University Education 3 2 Frontiers of Knowledge 2 3 Secondary Education 2 2 Primary Education !!! !!!

22. Emergence of Knowledge-based Society • With the arrival of the ‘industrial strength’ Internet in the mid-1990s, the notion of a knowledge-based society has gained considerable acceptance • Various trends reflect this emergence: • Jobs are shifting from a dependency on relatively low skills to high skills • Major transformations are affecting key sectors with the emergence of E-learning, E-commerce, E-government & E-health • Skills & knowledge upgrading are becoming a continuous requirement associated with on-the-job training • Designing, sourcing, developing & selling products & services is increasing globalized

23. Europe’s “Third Wave” Infrastructure for Innovation:The Integration of Grids, Repositories and Networks • First Wave: Open standards for Data Communication: The Internet • Second Wave: Open standards for Data Presentation: World Wide Web • Third Wave: Open standards for network-based applications: Web Services

24. The Need for Continuous Learning • In the New Economy knowledge is a key resource and the quality of a nation’s work force is critical to ensuring competitiveness • The key to this transition is for workers to make intelligent use of information • This capability will increasingly be the measure of an individual’s contribution to the economy • Therefore, life-long learning becomes an imperative

25. Emergence of Network-based Education • Traditional education is being transformed by the enabling capabilities of the Internet, which offer: • new ways of teaching • new models of learning • means to absorb rapid increase in numbers of students • means to deliver education/training with decreasing numbers of instructors • The Internet is globalizing education with the emergence of anywhere - anytime E-learning

26. Content Technology & Applications • Wired - copper • coaxial • Wireless • Satellite Physical Infrastructure SUPPLIERS MARKETS PublicSector Business Sector Mfg. Ops. Fin. Gov’t Health Edu. Convergence • XDSLLocal Loop“Dark Fibre • Cable Modems • “Broadband” Wireless End Users Institutions Factory Office Home Convergence

27. Primary Elements of a National Information Infrastructure Content Applications & Enabling Technologies INTEGRATION • Physical • Infrastructure • Wired • (Copper, Coaxial, Fibre) • Wireless • Satellite • MARKETS • Finance • Health • Education SUPPLIERS

28. Research & Education Networks • Since the mid 1990s various countries have established national & regional networks in support of R&D in general as well as the health and education in particular • Typical networks, include: • Internet2 & vBNS (USA) • NORDUnet (Nordic countries) • SURFnet (The Netherlands) • GrangeNet (Australia) • SingAREN (Singapore) • Dante (European Union)

29. Future Directions: Enabling Technologies • Learning Object Repositories • Optical Networks • Grids • Web Services

30. E-Learning Tomorrow • Universally improved access to the Internet • Content developed from repositories of multimedia learning objects • Courses designed for broadband will allow for: • the use of rich multimedia content • dynamic interaction between content & the student • Global community of students studying & learning from ‘anywhere’, ‘anytime’ at ‘any pace’

31. A Vision for the School of The Future • Produce more Inquiring Minds • Early Familiarization with the Open Problems of Science and Technology. Project-based education. • Curation of the Absence of provision for Research Experiences for Teachers, Students, Pupils. • Need for new efficient educational axes, especially in the subject of “Interdisciplinary Science” • Carry out (in the background) many educational experiments, draw conclusions and provide input to the CLOSED formal educational system.

32. Improvement of the pedagogical systems is based on the continuous Experimentation • Uniformity + absense of experimentation -> bad combination • Ability to experiment + differentiation = hopeful combination • If not, the new knowledge arrives very late (to be of value) …Roles for Regional Educational Institutes

33. The EUDOXOS initiative 1999-present • ΕΥΔΟΞΟΣ - talented • EUDOXOS-e-learning • ΕΥΔΟΞΟΣ - technology • ΕΥΔΟΞΟΣ - SETI • ΕΥΔΟΞΟΣ - Interdisciplinary Science …ALL BASED ON THE HUGE EDUCATIONAL POTENTIAL OF ASTRONOMY.

34. ….ΤΙΝΕΣ ΗΜΕΙΣ ; Who am I ?

35. INTERESTING QUESTIONS • Should we continue producing the “user of knowledge” in the School of tomorrow ? • Is the present educational system characterized by adequate capacity in producing the “producer of Knowledge” ?