Once upon a time there was a fish called codfish…

Once upon a time there was a fish called codfish…

In Portugal, cod fishing is an important activity in the supply of a product with a high protein content, as an alternative to meat consumption. The salted and dried cod was a cheap product, available and easily preserved, and has therefore entered the consumption habits of the Portuguese population until today. Contrary to what happened in other countries, whose eating habits started mainly to include frozen fish, Portugal did not abandon the consumption of salted and dried cod, being today the biggest consumer of this product.

Currently, Atlantic cod is on the list of endangered species by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature.  Considering this problematic and the need to develop innovative educational practices, this project aims to contribute to the investigation and adoption of innovative learning strategies, strongly supported by current digital technologies, through the creation and didactic exploration of digital learning objects, and their testing in a school context, with the aim of understanding their impact on science teaching and learning.

Project activities include:

• Compilation of the main institutions, entities and people, related to cod fishing in Portugal and collection of audio-visual material, including interviews with selected stakeholders, collection of photographs and identification of objects.
• Creation of a digital educational resource, which involves a set of memories, related to cod fishing, and its dissemination to schools, researchers, and the general society.
• Creation of a didactic guide for the exploration of this educational resource, aimed at the scholar public, that promotes the discussion of fishing related issues, such as climate change and its effects on the Ocean, and the conservation of marine species.