CONTEXT The project was created in response to two basic needs identified at the level of the schools involved - the need to boost students' motivation and consequently their school results and the need to promote intercultural dialogue among people from different countries and backgrounds, in a European context which is now facing great challenges. Therefore, the purpose of this project consists of two apparently distinct directions. On the one hand, we want to get students more involved in their own learning by having them use the computer in their studying, thus improving their results and performance. On the other hand, we want them to experience what it means to be European, to expose them to different ways of thinking, values and beliefs. The parnership includes 5 schools – DK, PL, IT, BG, TR. AIM: to improve students' motivation, involvement and school results and to promote intercultural dialogue OBJECTIVES The objectives we envisage are: 1. to involve students in their own learning with a view to attaining better results and becoming more motivated; (at least 40 percent from the target group will improve their school results) 2. to develop students' transversal skills - numeracy, computer literacy, critical and creative thinking, personal and social capability; (at least 30 percent of students will improve these skills) 3. to develop intercultural understanding and acceptance; (at least 60 percent of students will have better knowledge of other cultures) 4. to develop communication skills in English; (the 100 participants, students and teachers, will improve communication skills in English) 5. to promote European values and develop cohesion among European citizens. (measurable by analysing students' and teachers' attitudes to other cultures, as seen in the post-LTTA feedback) MAIN ACTIVITIES C1 - Feb 2018 - DK - Topic: Using software to create fun lessons; Customs and traditions C2 - May 2018 - PL - Topic: Using online tools to create quizzes; Maths C3 - Oct 2018 - BG - Topic: Using online tools to create booktrailers; Literature C4 - March 2019 - IT - Topic: Digital tools for artwork; Religious Studies NUMBER AND PROFILE OF PARTICIPANTS 64 students aged 13 from the 5 schools, selected from the target group of 250. The students come from very diverse backgrounds - urban and rural - and have a variety of ethnic and religious backgrounds, which makes the project even more appealing. 36 teachers of ICT, English, Maths, METHODOLOGY The project is designed to cover 5 main areas: A1. Project management – includes monitoring and evaluation, risk management, financial management, cooperation and communication strategy that will be applied throughout the project. 2 TMs are included, 1 at the beginning, and 1 at the end of the project. A2. Implementation of activities - involves selection of participants, preparatory training sessions, participation in exchanges A3. Ellaboration of ICT lessons - done prior to the exchanges by each partner institution A4. Dissemination - dissemination will be a continuous process that involves the sharing of both tangible and intangible results at local, regional, national and international levels, using a variety of channels and addressing school and non-school audiences A5. Follow-up and sustainability - each school selects a group of teachers to implement the new methods during regular class work. The success is measured comparatively against the results and level of satisfaction of students who learned the same contents without digital instruments. Then another school in each area will be supported to include digital tools during class work in the next year. RESULTS AND IMPACT Students will improve knowledge in terms of ICT tools for educational purposes, practical skills related to designing mini-lessons, storytrailers, digital projects, online quizzes, digital artwork, motivation, school results, experience another culture, increase adaptability, self-awareness and awareness of cultural differences which make Europe so diverse, and yet unitary. Teachers will have the chance to exchange good practices, teaching methods, opinions and will improve English and digital skills, organisational skills, teaching methods and tools. Schools will promote a positive self-image and become more visible in the community. They will gain project management experience and will set examples for other schools to apply for projects. They will also become more cohesive and a positive atmosphere will be created among the members.
Our Joint partnership coordinated by Denmark and consisting of five European schools from Denmark, Turkey, Poland, Italy and Bulgaria carried out the project "Be Smart at Heart". We aimed to educate our communities about the benefits of implementing IT in our daily curriculums and the early establishment of our website allowed our communities to see the project unfold. During the course of the project we managed to involve the students in their own learning and raise their level of motivation as well as their transversal skills. We managed to imbue them with a deep-rooted understanding of our diverse cultural backgrounds and over the two years their level of English skyrocketed due to intense communication among the students and teachers. Students improved knowledge in terms of ICT tools for educational purposes, practical skills related to designing mini-lessons, digital projects, online quizzes, digital artwork, motivation, school results, experience another culture, increase adaptability, self-awareness and awareness of cultural differences which make Europe so diverse, and yet unitary. Teachers exchanged good practices, teaching methods, opinions and improved English and digital skills, organizational skills, teaching methods and tools. Our partner schools promoted a positive self-image and became more visible in the community. They gained project management experience and set examples for other schools to apply for projects. This partnership held meetings and visits in each of our five schools. The highlight was always meeting and teaching students since, in our profession, children are at the heart of our work regardless of country or language.