Audioguides: Map meets Microphone - Handlungsorientierte Medienarbeit (2013)
The acronym COMAPP (Community Media Applications and Participation) embraces Community, Apps and Maps. COMAPP is a train the trainers course, which explores how innovative uses of mobile telephone technology apps may help create multimedia guides. These guides may include photos, audio, web interactivity and geocaching and when used with the COMAPP map generator facilitate the easy production of multimedia web maps. Examples of maps produced by this course are included under ‘maps’ and ‘links’ (same maps –with description).
This website provides the course curriculum, teaching and learning materials and questionnaires suitable for a train the trainers course that implements intergenerational and intercultural communication in different settings of adult education. This material is available under ‘materials’ for free download in 6 languages and includes the following content:
- Sensitisation of acoustic perception
techniques of conducting interviews, digital recording and editing of images and sounds, production of an audio guide. - Multimedia and public space
production of a virtual tour on the internet using OpenStreetMap: publication on the internet, construction of a basic website, Geocaching. - Action-oriented intergenerational and intercultural a teaching and learning approach
which promotes dialogue and participation between generations and cultures, evaluation strategies for educational projects.
Adult Trainers, social workers, volunteers in social and media areas, school teachers and anyone else who is interested are welcome to make use of COMAPP materials in courses for media education.
Download: Project Report (pdf)
Download: Evaluation Report (pdf)
Examples of web maps and projects using the COMAPP-Generator
"Impressions of Algodonales" Spain (English): In June 2013 the overall international pilot course of the COMAPP-project took part in the Algodonales/Andalusia. The participants produced this map to introduce people to this beautiful village whilst they themselves got to know the place better. With their smart phones they recorded the soundscapes (e.g. in a Flamenco workshop), interviews, a performance by a local choir.
"Music Map of Algodonales" Spain (Spanish): The Musical Map of Algodonales shows you how music is a very important part of our lives: People in Algodonales are always in contact with music: In school, during local festivals, in church, at home… We have a choir, a band, groups that play different styles of music, a prestigious factory of flamenco and classical guitars… You can see and listen to all of them on our map. Produced by COMAPP-partner AlgoDoSol.
"History of the river Wear in Sunderland" England (English): Participants of the COMAPP test course produced this map, showing some of the hidden sights and sounds along the River Wear near the University of Sunderland’s St Peter's Campus.
"River Sounds of Turku" Finland (Finnish): The shipbuilding history of the river Aura in Turku, Finland can easily be sensed even on a short stroll by the riverside. You'll find how the old and the new environment go hand-in-hand. The riverside lives and breathes. Presented by Radio Robin Hood 91.5 Turku.
"Around the Campus" Germany (German): Once a village, Littenweiler is now a district in the city of Freiburg. Participants at a seminar found some interesting infrastructure and some amusing ‘hotspots’ during a short walk, which started from the University of Education in Freiburg-Littenweiler.
"Historical Places of Budapest" Hungary (Hungarian): This map of Budapest shows well known public places, historical buildings, squares and streets of Budapest. The stories evoke the past since each place is presented by the Civil Radio's 60+ radio team.
"Visiting a urban park in Lodz" Poland (Polish): This map of the sounds in the Źródliska Park was produced as a result of the workshop for the local community carried out in September 2012 by the trainers of the COMAPP project.
Maps produced in courses that used the COMAPP generator:
"Tell your (hi)story" Germany (English): Family memories of the participants attending the training course. Each story is connected to an item of remembrance. The map was produced as part of a European project at Community Radio Dreyeckland in Freiburg, Germany.
"On the trail of Ekkehard" Germany (German): Project „Auf den Spuren des Ekkehard“ ("On the trail of Ekkehard"). This is an audio-guide produced by students of class 5 at Ekkehard-School in Singen, Germany, led by Florian Andrä, a student at the University of Education Freiburg, Germany. The students interview citizens of their home town about the author Joseph Victor von Scheffel and his novel "Ekkehard“. Although the author was not well known to the respondents he nonetheless had much to do with their town and the whole area of South Baden. Website: "Auf den Spuren des Ekkehard"
"My district - an audio walk through Weingarten" Germany (German): How do the residents of the district Weingarten in Freiburg, Germany experience their neighborhood?
The Course
COMAPP includes five topics that can build on one another either as a 5-day training course or as separate courses:
- Techniques for journalistic interviews, including a Soundwalk: Recording of interviews, sounds and photos.
- Creating an interactive hotspot: Digital editing of sound and photos, composition of online text.
- Webspace and creating interactive online maps with the COMAPP generator.
- Creating individual websites, geocaching.
- Teaching and Learning Skills and, Evaluation methods.
As COMAPP was designed for the target group of adult trainers, there is a dual role approach: Participants think of themselves as teachers and learners at the same time. The course sections contain time slots and teaching and learning materials for exchange and for performing activities as future trainers of COMAPP subjects. School teachers, social workers who work with children, young people or adults, and volunteers who train people in non-profit organizations are welcome to make use of the COMAPP curriculum and materials.
COMAPP was developed to train adult educators to use new technologies (mobile learning, using apps with smartphones) to increase participation in lifelong learning by marginalized groups – e.g. seniors citizens or migrants – whose traditions or circumstances may not have brought them into contact with formal learning or IT skills. This train the trainers course reaches these groups through professionals trained to bring into their regular work an intergenerational and intercultural approach and media competences. The outcome of this personal transformation is increased involvement in the public sphere and an improved chance to enter the labour market – an important contribution to social cohesion.
Course Material
- download English (teaching and learning materials / free download)
- download Finnish (Suomi) (Oppimateriaali / Oppimateriaalit)
- download German (Deutsch) (Lehr- und Lernmaterialien zum kostenfreien Download)
- download Hungarian (Magyar) (Tanítási és tanulási anyagok)
- download Polish (Polski) (Materiały do nauczania i uczenia się)
- download Spanish (Español) (Enseñanza y Aprendizaje - Materiales)
If you want to teach the production of web maps you may use the curriculum (especially days 1-3 for map production) and materials that may be found under "materials" on this website.
to produce audios for your map:
- Audacity (free software for audio editing)
- And what about video? This was not included in COMAPP but here is an example using some HTML.
to create your map:
- Generating internet-maps using the COMAPP generator.
- Reader COMAPP generator (English version, for other languages please visit "materials")
background information Open Street Map (OSM):
- to compare Google and OSM see e.g. Algodonales in Google-Maps and OpenStreetMap. The differences: Political background (see OSMF) and Terms of Service (Google)
- Different kinds of usage: OSM in Polish language, for navigation, "wheelmap", OpenCycleMap, Wintersports, as a smartphone app for offline-usage or for navigation (online).
- Collaboration of users via Website or free Software JOSM
The roots of the word: Greek. γη, geo "earth" and French cache.
History: 1854 in Dartmoor,UK: "Letterboxing" ; 1980 near Helsinki: the first geocache was a hidden box that could be found by searching its coordinates; May 2000: Dave Ulmer (USA) initiated on Usenet a GPS-based game with the idea "Get some Stuff, Leave some Stuff", by burying a black bucket (Video) near Portland, Oregon. Between 2000 and 2013 the number of caches listed at geocaching.com, exceeded 2 million. (1.2 m active; FDR 170.000 active)
Reader Geocaching (English version, for other languages please visit "materials")
Partners
The COMAPP course and materials were developed by 7 partners in 6 countries including community media practitioners, adult education specialists and university researchers. We represent a combination of experience in education, training, broadcasting, research, project management and publication on community radio.
The Project ran from Dec. 2011 - Nov. 2013. COMAPP was supported by the EU-"Lifelong Learning" programme and was continuously monitored and evaluated with the aid of an action research strategy in cooperation with external evaluator Dr. Peter Lewis from London Metropolitan University, UK. Evaluation included course participants evaluating the courses they took part in.
Much the same team worked together on previous projects (Digital Dialogues / META-Europe / Crosstalk) funded under the Grundtvig programme.
The coordinating institution "University of Education Freiburg" in Germany is a university specializing in the subject of education and pedagogy, and is charged with research and educational activities at the highest academic levels. It has substantial experience of adult education, teaching media and media research. Various departments are involved in international research networks.
