The project partnership involves five schools from Finland, Hungary, Italy, Slovenia and the coordinating school from Spain and we aim to prepare students for a society dominated by technology and equip them with competences and knowledge built on digital literacy and foreign language skills which can give them the opportunity to implement mobility both within European education and labour market. We want this project to teach our students to become European citizens actively involved in a digitalized society and we are convinced that by providing our students with better digital skills, they will have better job opportunities in the European market as well as a sense of responsibility in terms of technology use. We also aim to promote education for volunteering as a component of European active behaviour since students will learn how to better work in teams, develop leadership and problem-solving skills, and do volunteer work. This is not only essential for schoolwork but also for further involvement in the community. Therefore, throughout the project there will be practical volunteering activities performed by students, parents and teachers of all partner schools at local and international level. We also have a concern for disadvantaged students and underachievement, so as teachers we have a need to improve our teaching skills to develop innovative approaches and practices that contribute to the implementation of inclusive methodologies and also to a greater achievement of our students’ basic skills. We want to enhance our digital skills in order to motivate our students and address diversity with the use of innovative ICT tools. To achieve our aims all schools have agreed on the following objectives: - Develop and enhance digital literacy, skills and inclusion. - Make students aware of the need to make a safe use of new technologies and promote a responsible and respectful digital behaviour. - Increase the European civic competences and behaviour through volunteering. - Cooperate and exchange good practices and innovative methods to motivate and engage students with the help of ICT tools - Enhance language skills in first and second languages as well as intercultural competences to improve the student’s command in ICT and skills for work. - Promote digital training for students and teachers in the use of open educational resources (OER). The activities have been planned in a way that the project covers the nine elements of Digital Citizenship, namely Digital Access , Digital Commerce, Digital Communication, Digital Literacy, Digital Etiquette, Digital Law, Digital Rights and Responsibilities, Digital Health and Wellness and Digital Security. Our project includes activities involving participating and working together on tasks at national level and others with students from the five schools of the partnership collaborating and working jointly during mobilities. They will mainly be implemented in the form of non-formal learning, using tools that are the most suitable for assessing the acquired knowledge and skills. As regards the beneficiaries of the project, the target groups will go through a transparent selection process to take part in the mobilities, but project activities will also involve teachers, students’ families, volunteer students, outside partners, foundations, local authorities and communities for a better impact and dissemination. We expect tangible and intangible results. Students will have an online portfolio where they collect all the materials created – at the end of the project, based on their work and a test, a digital driver’s licence will be awarded – it will later be used for other students as well and incorporated in the curriculum. Students will take part in debate sessions on topics related to project work during student exchanges. · Teachers will learn new ways to motivate students with mobile and ICT tools. They will create a manual of their teaching practice on digital citizenship and tools for different educational purposes in different subjects. The project will have an impact on the students’ future development as the skills acquired will contribute to the improvement of their academic achievements and enter the world of work. The European dimension will be reinforced as a result of the sustainable cooperation of the five partner schools. Mobilities, methodological changes, and the internationalization of the institutions will mark a turning point at school level after the European experience and will serve as the basis for future cooperation. The project will also help create long-lasting synergies with institutions and collaborating partners in the activities at local, regional and international level. We will seek opportunities for carrying on joint activities based on our project findings and will take part in new eTwinning or another international project trying to involve as many new members as possible.
The project partnership is composed of five schools from Finland, Hungary, Italy, Slovenia plus the coordinating school from Spain and the project itself was designed to raise awareness about the topic of digital citizenship as a common need to make our schools better learning places as well as to prepare students for a world in which they have to cope with new risks and situations related to technology use. The goals of the project were developing and enhancing digital skills and inclusion, making a safe use of technology, promoting a responsible and respectful digital behaviour, increasing a sense of European citizenship, exchanging good practices and innovative methods to engage students with the help of ICT tools, improving communication skills as well as intercultural competences and promoting digital training in the use of open educational resources (OER). Through the project we provided students with competences and knowledge built on digital literacy and foreign language skills so they can become responsible European citizens actively involved in a digitalized society. We are now convinced that with the skills acquired by the students, they will have more mobility opportunities both within European higher education and in the labour market. As teachers, our involvement in the project has improved our professional skills, it has developed our knowledge and understanding of digital citizenship to a great extent and has increased our awareness of social, linguistic and cultural diversity, all of which has contributed to the achievement of our students’ basic skills and the implementation of new teaching practices and inclusive approaches. The main methods followed to achieve the set goals were working together on tasks at national level in which students carried out research through surveys and interviews, prepared presentations, presented their findings to other students, wrote scripts and tests... and the other method with the students from the five partner schools was collaborating and working jointly during mobilities. In this regard with the help of experts we implemented workshops related to elements of digital citizenship such as digital literacy, e-commerce, digital communication, digital etiquette, digital law, rights and responsibilities and digital security. Parallel to these workshops, many activities involved creating scenarios, filming short movies, designing digital posters and infographics, debating and taking part in technology-related quizzes. Consequently, the project has brought about tangible results in the form of films, posters with tips and guidelines about appropriate technology use, students’ portfolios, a handbook which includes the exchange of best teaching practices as well as tools for evaluation, innovative digital tools for the classroom, new curricular content related to digital citizenship. Additionally, a comprehensive project website with all the materials, experiences and practices have been published and made accessible as open resources available to be reused. Likewise, the students participated in peer-to-peer sessions, they took part in debates and completed tests. As a result, based on their work and tests they were awarded with a digital driver’s licence at the end of the project. The knowledge and skills acquired during the mobities were also recorded in the student’s Europass mobility document. The project has made a great impact on the students who have been directly involved since they have become more responsible digital citizens, more open-minded and independent and they are now more open to diversity and, consequently, ready for intercultural dialogue. It will also bring longer-term benefits as all the skills acquired by the students contribute to their personal development which will undoubtedly result in a better improvement of their academic achievements and better preparation for the world of work. Thanks to safe.netizens@eu project our schools are now better equipped and enhanced with different teaching practices and approaches, new curricular content has been incorporated in the schools’ curricula. The European dimension has been reinforced as a result of the sustainable cooperation of the five partner schools. Mobilities, methodological changes, and the internationalization of the institutions mark a turning point at school level after this European experience and will serve as the basis for future cooperation. The project has also helped create long-lasting synergies with institutions and collaborating partners in the activities at local, regional and international level. We are willing to carry out joint activities based on our project findings and take part in a new eTwinning or another international project trying to involve other new members.