Mobile applications for effective learning

Project summary

Apps4EL project is a cross-curricular project designed to develop, test and implement innovative approaches and practices for pupils and teachers based on the pedagogical use of apps and mobile technology to respond to the needs of the participating schools and the requirements for employability for today's dynamic world of work. Mobile Technology has provided new means for education and changed the way people acquire knowledge and interact, opening up opportunities to become producers and distributers of knowledge. You can say that the society is divided into 2 groups as described by Prensky (2001): the digital natives (youth/students) and the digital immigrants (parents/ teachers). Our students use mobile technology to access social networks and use various digital apps without professional guidance and the majority of their parents and teachers with all their doubts and ignorance about this development. Young people do not always know how to use apps in safe and effective ways and the majority of their parents and teachers lack the knowledge and confidence in using them to teach.Thus apps4EL project is aimed to support the "natives" in using these new tools reasonably and sustainably for their personal and educational development and to provide the target group of teachers with the technical and pedagogical knowledge of these tools which will contribute to their acceptance of new approaches in learning methods in the field of ICT and mobile applications. Teachers as well as pupils will have the opportunity to develop the skills in digital literacy through project-based methodology, mobility events, staff training events and teaching and training assignments. For the project implementation, management, dissemination, we will all use eTwinning for the project which will allow pupils and participants to exchange their experiences and good practice and share pedagogical resources to use mobile applications to foster students’ motivation and active participation and promote effective learning in different subjects. As the project also aims to develop awareness of cultures other than their own and develop a sense of belonging to the European concept and their role within it, we have planned teachers and students’ mobilities. We strongly believe that by visiting other institutions, teachers will share their experiences and expertise concerning ways to help students to value and complete their education, develop innovative pedagogical approaches, which will support the development of students’ learning skills and make teaching more attractive. Both teachers and students will experience and get to know the organisation of schools and different ways of teaching and learning, discovering new practical solutions to didactic and educational problems including those affecting children with special educational needs. They will get to know the life of peers from other countries and will become more open to different cultures. Learning with and from students from other countries of Europe will certainly bring enrichment to the pupils’ culture and personal behaviour towards unknown foreign cultures and people during the project and later in their future. Participants will gain a positive impact on their personal and professional identity through the transnational experiences of different school systems within the mobilities which will enhance their sense of European citizenship. All in all, Apps4EL project will set the necessary conditions for teachers to become more confident and proficient in exploring how mobile applications can be used in their teaching practice to make teaching more attractive and to create learning environments in which students can take risks and experiment apps in a creative way. For that purpose we will create a handbook to implement the project and several teaching resources will be designed. Partner schools expect to see an improvement in students' academic results in the academic subjects involved, a development of digital literacy and an increase of pupils’ motivation for learning foreign languages by supporting students to build teamwork and problem-solving skills. Along the project, meeting with others will make participants: develop, implement and communicate new ideas to others effectively; be open and responsive to new and diverse cultural perspectives; incorporate group input and feedback into the work and understand that innovation is a long-term, cyclical process of small successes and frequent mistakes.