Society Family School |
||||
Energy issue Consuming better with less |
||||
 |
||||
"Virtual Energ@tic Laboratory" offers some challenges to save energy :
|
||||
| |
||||
 |
APPROACH OF THE AUDIT Survey : information, observation, analysis, experimentation Assessment : evaluation Action plan : solution, decision, action Reaction : enrichment of the project thanks to the opinions of the external people |
|
CONTEXT School Family Society |
|
| |
||||
Training to the sustainable use
of energy
|
||||
Educating to sustainable energy
Faced with the sustainable energy challenge, it is crucial that every citizen gets involved in changing consumption patterns and in investing in more efficient energy technologies.
Education is key to take up this challenge as it can deeply influence people's behaviour from the earliest youth and throughout the life.
An ICT approach
The «virtual Energ@tic laboratory” offers several challenges to primary and secondary school pupils, based on familiar objects :
- Windows (how is the insulation? How to make it better?)
- Heating (audit of radiators and research of solutions)
- Lighting (efficiency, type of lamps, regulation,…)
- Copy machine (standby, on/off situation, type of paper,…)
- Computers and other ICT equipment
- Commuting to school (car sharing, public transport,...)
- Vending machine (light for advertising only, refrigeration during the week-end,...).
These challenges allow the pupils to master the audit process, which is the analysis of a situation in order to propose improvements to reduce consumption. Acquired through concrete and limited problems, this process can be used more easily for the whole school.
ICT play a fundamental role in the development of the project. The “virtual lab” proposes tools which facilitate cooperative work (online databases to collect the measurement done by the pupils, for example). Other multimedia tools are designed to facilitate the acquisition of new knowledge and competences online pedagogical tools, multimedia animations to understand the problematic more easily, interactive tools for simulation, etc.
A method combining action and education
In order to deal with each of the challenges, the pupils have several technological tools at hand, along with scientific material (light meters, temperature sensors,...). Guided by the teachers, they also work closely with experts to assess the situation of their school, to investigate energy consumption at home, at school and in their town, to measure and to implement systems that improve energy efficiency, etc. Every challenge has the same structure :
- Investigation : gathering information, observation, analysis of the problem, experimentations,…
- Assessment : evaluation, eco-assessment, identification of possible solutions, priorities and feasability,…
- Action plan : proposal and choice of solutions, goal setting, decision making, civic actions at school and at home…
- Reaction : evaluation and improvement of the project thanks to the comments of external people (pupils, teachers, headmasters, parents, companies, local authorities, experts,…)
ICT are an ideal tool to induce pupils to run a project and allow them to carry through a concrete action in favour of sustainable development.