As a group, believing that 'sharing is caring', we will do our best to share what we know and experience what we don’t know. With pieces from all nations, we will create a big European legend picture, so that we can all see the harmony among different cultures. Children at our school are taught myths and legends because they are 'models for a way of life', teaching them values and virtue. Traditional myths and tales help students learn through engaging narration and stimulate creative and critical thinking. In learning about legends the students come to appreciate the values of an integral part of their heritage. Stories, storytelling and storymaking can have an incredible impact on students' growing imagination. Bringing them to life in the classroom leads to an objective look at such resources, encourage awareness of different cultures and are perfect for encouraging speech, drama, writing, creativity. We plan to produce different digital project outputs and use new teaching/learning techniques which will be supported by the use of different web 2.0 teaching tools designed to support visual literacy skills and other essential 21st century learning skills. Our project P.L.A.C.E.S. involves primary, pre-secondary and secondary schools from Central, South-East and South Europe that have met on the eTwinning platform and started a School Partnership involving 9 schools of different backgrounds. Tasks and responsibilities have been assigned to all 9 participating schools. Each school will contribute to the realisation of the project objectives with their previous knowledge, experience and uniqueness.The project activities planned will strengthen the cooperation between nine organisations with a view of establishing exchange of good teaching and learningpractices. The priorities are to develop basic and transversal skills by using innovative methods (enterpreneurship, multilinguism, ICT and digital skills), enhancing digital integration in learning, teaching, training and strengthening quality through mobility and cross-border cooperation. It will create a more modern, dynamic, committed and professional environment inside the organisation, ready to integrate good practices and new teaching and learning methods into their daily activities. It will promote enterpreneurship education, employability and new business creation in the sectors of tourism, trade, education, arts and crafts, gastronomy by supporting future learning and career paths for individuals in line with their personal and professional development. It blends short-term physical mobilities with virtual mobilities of participants involved in the project. It will deal with social, linguistic and cultural diversity with the aim of creating a modern, future-oriented, European student. Our project supports the 'inclusion/equity' principle of disabled pupils and those with economic obstacles and educational difficulties. We have designed a good evaluation and dissemination of activities and results plan at local/regional/national levels. This project will also facilitate the transition of teachers and earners through different levels and types of formal and non-formal education and training through the use of European reference tools for the recognition, validation and transparency of competences and qualifications. Our project will include a wide range of activities that will bring us to the fulfilment of our project priorities. We will implement learning/teaching/training activities organized by the partners' schools in the form of short-term exchange of groups of pupils and short-term teachers trainings. Teachers will participate in workshops, round tables, presentations, research activities, field trips. Pupils will participate in research workshops about the host country's legends, ICT laboratories to support the project methodology, field trips to experience famous landmarks and legendary scenes, in thematic quizes, contests, games, drama presentations, dancing, fashion shows with traditional costumes, cookery and public speaking workshops. We will also organize in-class learning for pupils and in-class job shadowing for the teachers. We expect the following results: -developing English language skills, - developing creativity by creating different products in handicraft and various digital forms , - developing ICT/multimedia skills and competences,, - developing the basics of partners' native languages, - developing a better understanding and respect for other countries' cultures, - exchanging and sharing pedagogical material/teaching and learning methods/good practices among schools. This project will bring positive and long-lasting effects on all the participating organisations, on the schools policy systems and on the target groups directly or indirectly involved in the organized activities.
As a group of nine European schools, representing our countries - Croatia, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Germany, Greece, Italy, Romania, Slovakia and Turkey, and believing that 'sharing is caring', we did our best to share what we know and experience what we didn’t know. Tales, myths and legends are some of the most important treasures of a nation's heritage, a culture-related souvenir. Children need to be taught myths and legends because they are models for a way of life, they teach them about national values, cultural heritage and traditions. Owing to a rapid ICT development, storytelling and reading has become less popular. Modern students do not acknowledge the past and thier traditions as they should, reading is not „in“, and they keep forgetting about their roots. To change that, we have imerged into a wonderful world of legends and decided to write a project P.L.A.C.E.S. - an acronym for Presenting Legends Across the Continent in European Schools. It is known that stories, storytelling and storymaking have an incredible impact on students' imagination and we are aware that imagination can take us to any place. Bringing them into 'life' in the classroom leads to an objective perception of such resources which are perfect for encouraging speech, drama, writing, creativity. Our common goal was to produce different digital and material project outputs by using 21st century teaching and learning skills supported by modern web tools. We agreed to choose the best digital presentations in order to design a final product – an ebook consisting of 10 chapters. We have made a big European legend picture which was then transferred into a common, interactive digital online chain book called „P.L.A.C.E.S. – a LOT in Europe“. Tasks among partner schools have been distributed equally. Each school has contributed to the realization of the project with their previous knowledge, experience and uniqueness. Our project engaged about one thousand students altogether, aged 7 -15, and about a hundred teachers. Our local communities have also been actively involved and have constantly backed us up. We had three transnational meetings and five LTT Activities in eight different countries. These activities included a variety of ICT, drama, language, cultural and arts and crafts workshops that have led us to a successful fulfilment of our project priorities. During those project weeks teachers participated in workshops, round tables, presentations, research activities, field trips. Students researched their host countries' legends, took part in different ICT laboratories to support project methodology, went on field trips to see famous landmarks and legendary scenes, joined thematic quizes, contests, games, drama presentations, dancing, fashion shows with traditional costumes, cookery and public speaking workshops. We have also organized in-class learning for students and in-class job shadowing for the teachers. Overall, participants have improved their English skills, enforced creativity by creating different products in handicraft and various digital forms, developed ICT/multimedia skills and competences, learned the basics of partners' native languages, gained a better understanding and respect for other countries' cultures, enhanced social, enterpreneural, managerial skills and teamwork and exchanged good practices among schools. We have also included and encouraged disabled pupils and those with economic obstacles and educational difficulties. We have designed and carried out a good evaluation and dissemination plan of all activities and project results, at local/regional/national levels. This project has also facilitated the transition of teachers and learners through different levels and types of formal and non-formal education and training through the use of European reference tools for the recognition, validation and transparency of competences and qualifications. To summarize, our project has brought positive and long-lasting effects on all the participating organisations, on the schools' policy systems and on target groups directly or indirectly involved. Longer term benefits were the establishing of a more modern and dynamic environment inside the organisations, ready to integrate good practices and new teaching and learning methods into their daily activities. It has promoted enterpreneurship education, employability and new business creation in the sectors of tourism, trade, education, arts, crafts and gastronomy by supporting future learning and career paths for individuals in line with their personal and professional development. It has dealt with social, linguistic and cultural diversity with the aim of creating a modern, future-oriented, European student. What matters most is that we all had fun working together, made longlasting friendships and developed a better understanding and respect for our own and our partner countries' cultures and traditions.