This strategic partnership for school education KA2: "Technology for learning and creativity: weaving European networks through collaborative music creation" involves seven organizations in the field of education and culture from Spain, Portugal, Italy and Romania (primary, secondary and music schools). This project emerges from institution’ vision to use arts education and especially music education to incorporate new methodologies in the classroom in order to enhance the development of skills needed for the twenty first century society such as creativity, digital literacy, cultural and linguistic competence and team work. The main objectives of this project are: 1) To develop basic and transversal skills among approximately 3000 students (6-16 years old) from different countries and socioeconomic backgrounds through interdisciplinary activities and collaborative music and video creation using new technologies. 2) To strengthen the profile of education professionals to implement new pedagogical approaches focused on the students in their classrooms. 3) To Contribute to the development, transfer and dissemination of innovative pedagogical approaches and practices in music education at European level. The activities of the project include: teacher training courses to help them to implement new pedagogical approaches; performing arts projects based on the topics of music and literature, music and fine arts, music and movement, music and nature using the software "SoundCool" with tablets, smartphones and Kinect; participation in two teaching-learning activities for 28 students from all countries in Spain and Italy to develop performative projects, video installations and concerts; creation of a collaborative Web platform to share project activities with external users; DVD recording with students artistic products generated in projects; development of a methodological guide to provide guidance to music education teachers. Project management in all its phases will be conducted by a committee of coordination with management coordinators and pedagogical coordinators of all partner organizations through periodic meetings (virtual and transnational meetings) and reports presented according to the different strategic plans (financial, communication, diffusion, etc.) Assessment tools for project outcomes include quality indicators, questionnaires, observation and comparative tables of academic performance in previous courses. In the long term it is expected to offer a quality education to ensure equal opportunities for our students in order to gain access to the European labor market and become active citizens and adults integrated in a multicultural society. At the institutional level we intend to modernize our institutions and consolidate innovative practices, strengthen relations between partner organizations in order to establish networks of European cooperation in future projects. The dissemination of knowledge, experiences and results generated by this project will be extended to the entire educational community (teachers of faculty, students and families). At local and regional level briefings and training activities will take place. We will use social networking (Facebook and Twitter) and a collaborative web platform (www.soundcool.net) to disseminate experiences and to share teaching materials generated at national and international level. To ensure continuity and sustainability of this project at long term we will include common goals in all partner’s educational management documents.
This strategic partnership for school education KA201: "Technology for learning and creativity: weaving European networks through collaborative music creation" involves seven organizations in the field of education and culture from Spain, Portugal, Italy and Romania (primary, secondary and music schools). This project emerges from institution’ vision to use arts education and especially music education to incorporate new methodologies in the classroom in order to enhance the development of skills needed for the twenty first century society such as creativity, digital literacy, cultural and linguistic competence and team work. This project has focused on achieving the following objectives: 1) To develop basic and transversal skills among approximately 3000 students (6-16 years old) from different countries and socioeconomic backgrounds through interdisciplinary activities and collaborative music and video creation using new technologies. 2) To strengthen the profile of 200 education professionals to implement new pedagogical approaches focused on the students in their classrooms. 3) To Contribute to the development, transfer and dissemination of innovative pedagogical approaches and practices in music education at European level. The activities of the project have revolved around the use of the technological tool "Soundcool", a prototype free modular software system for music education and sound creation developed by the Polytechnic University of Valencia. The system allows to use virtual instruments and sounds in different formats through tactile interfaces like tablets, smartphones and Kinect to create musical compositions and multidisciplinary artistic projects. The main activities carried out have been: teacher training courses and student participation in artistic projects of music and technology with different topics that culminated in the interpretation of a children's opera at the “Palau de les Arts” in Valencia as well as different activities during the two years duration of the project including two teaching-learning activities with mobility of 63 students to develop these performative projects, video installations and collaborative concerts in Italy and Spain in May 2016 and April 2017 . The management of the project in all its phases has been carried out by a coordination commission which, through regular meetings, transnational meetings and other virtual mobility activities, have planned all the phases of the project according to the schedules, have elaborated agreements and evaluation reports, in addition to other actions foreseen in the different strategic plans of the project. The results and impact achieved have been measured through evaluation indicators, questionnaires, interviews and comparative tables. Through this project we have been able to train more than 200 teachers through courses and seminars in the Soundcool system; has worked with more than 3000 students of different nationalities who have been able to generate different artistic products; the students have participated in the creation of an opera using the Soundcool system; bilateral agreements have been signed between several universities in the partner countries to give continuity to this project; use guides have been published with didactic proposals for the use of the Soundcool system. The long-term benefits consist of the modernization and internationalization of the partner institutions that allow to offer a quality education for the students favouring the development of competences and the equality of opportunities, the consolidation of the innovative practices developed in the project and the creation of a European collaborative network for future projects. The dissemination of the knowledge, experiences and results generated by this project has been spread at local, regional and international level. The creation of a web page and the participation in different social networks has allowed disseminate the project results, and to share the artistic products generated in the projects at national and international level. The impact has surpassed the initial expectations since it has managed to involve different institutions such as education councils, city councils, and teacher training centres, universities and other cultural organizations beyond the partners. This initiative has been awarded with the SIMO Education 2016 awards. The project's sustainability and sustainability have been guaranteed with the award of a KA1 youth project. Soundcool technology and other activities of this project are already being implemented in Mexico and the United States.