Atlas of diversity: an innovative educational tool

Atlas of diversity

by arquitecturadiaria.com 11/03/2011

ATLAS OF DIVERSITY is an innovative educational tool. It is made of a net of schools that thanks to mutual cooperation has created one of the most important and thorough databases about cultural diversity in the world. It is a site that aims at collecting the characteristics proper of each place starting from the criteria and the subjective vision of the participants.

The ATLAS creates a virtual space that, with the sense of judgement and subjective point of view of its participants, aims to bring together the particularities of each place. It is also a meeting place for reflection and collaborative learning, supported by ICT (Information and Communication Technologies) such as the Internet, 

geolocation and social networks.

Students create cards and pieces of knowledge that are available to the rest of the community. These cards can relate to different topics: geography, literature, cultural traditions, languages, musical instruments, architecture, gastronomy… Thanks to the active participation of students, teachers and family members, a large multimedia library linked to different fields of study is generated.

The use of geolocation, an innovative technological resource, allows linking the cards to specific geographic locations. Many different new facilities have been created: from a children’s playground to a soccer field.

The process not only enriches the participants as creators of knowledge, but also teaches them to appreciate other cultures, realities and ways of life. Thus, ATLAS is a meeting place for reflection and collaborative learning.

The photo was taken by San Jose Library | License: CC BY-SA 2.0