New technologies such as smartphones, tablets, laptops, social media like Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and WhatsApp, Wikipedia and digital working tools are all inherent features of society in the countries of the participating schools. The use of laptops and smartboards is completely normal for students today. The internet provides a myriad of possibilities to gain information. At the same time issues like cybermobbing and “fake news” may arise in this context. The focus of our project will therefore not only be laid on the technical skills to use said new technologies, but also on the development of social and cultural competences in relation to digital media. The goal here is to support self-confidence, self-responsibility and respect for others through the activities as well as developing a critical approach to new technologies. This means, for example, that students learn to assess internet sources critically and to not simply believe the first result of their Google-search because they are not moving in a safe space filtered for their needs and of dubious sources. Students will learn how their image online may lead to undesirable consequences. MOT-workshops, media guide-trainings and workshops regarding correct and effective internet research will serve to achieve these goals. Technical skills for relevant digital tools such as smartboards, flipped classroom, digital learning diaries and citation in Microsoft Word will be learned in workshops as well. Since the lingua franca in this project will be English, though German and Spanish as learned second foreign languages will be used, too, the project will help to develop the students’ language skills and encourage them to make use of the theoretical knowledge of these languages. Through visits to schools in general and classrooms specifically, the differences in the schooling systems will become clear, but the similarities will also be noticed. Learning together in lessons, workshops and other activities will enable transnational problem solving strategies and support the breaking down of inhibitions and fears of the unfamiliar. The three participating countries geographically represent Europe’s North, South and middle, whereby Norway and Spain mark the most northern and southern point of the continent and will most likely show for the most differences. The mutual visits of the home countries and the accommodation in host families will give the students insights and knowledge about the local and national traditions and ways of life, proposing an once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. The imparting of traditional music and literature (here especially the Spanish) is also part of the repertoire of activities in this project. A dance workshop with the topic “Breaking the ice” lead by the Norwegian school shall lead to a performance developed by all participating students. Social competences such as respect and tolerance will be once more strengthened. The knowledge about digital tools newly gained and deepened in the course and especially the final stage of the project will be used to publish and distribute the results of the project work and activities. The students will produce reports, articles or graphics and pictures illustrating the results on various platforms thereby automatically including their new experiences and skills. The partaking teaching staff will have the possibility to exchange their understanding and expertise of teaching with the different digital tools and organize classroom visits with colleagues who have a heightened interest in these methods. Through participation in the diverse workshops with students all teachers will furthermore make new experiences and include learned techniques in their future teaching methods and implement them in their own school.
The majority of students managed the integration and adaptation successfully in very short time. After some insecurities at the beginning, all students from all partner schools worked well hand in hand. The common knowledge and usage of English helped to get conversation and communication going and flowing even though the proficiency level varied. Early on at the first moment of contact the preferences for communication became clear. Students chose to stay in contact rather via Facebook, Snapchat or WhatsApp, some even chose email. The teachers themselves used Skype and email in the beginning but soon also switched to WhatsApp especially during the journeys and stays abroad. This proved to be quicker and more efficient for exchanging information and making decisions. The three learning activities and their relation to the three major topics (cyber mobbing, fake news and critical research of sources) were discussed and planned during the transnational meetings in Gronau and Murcia. At that time the excursions to the out-of-school learning experiences were also decided on. By staying in a host family, the students were able to gain insights in the daily life of a German/ Norwegian or Spanish family and to learn respect and tolerance for traditions in those countries. In their families as well as in their free time, the students were given the opportunity to further their language skills in both English and the respective native language. The friendly contact has led many students to keep in touch after the end of the project and to plans to visit each other in the future. Attending school and classes was a great opportunity to compare school systems and in a final group discussion the observations were discussed and evaluated. Students created a survey in order to measure the frequency of the use of new technologies both at school and at home for the partner schools to use. The collaboration of students of different nationalities in the group work furthered the discussion and problem solving approaches to the main topics mentioned above. This was once more an opportunity to practice foreign language skills and to gain insight into the varying degrees of information on the topics and how the different institutions tackled these issues. This not only promoted the social competence with regard to interaction with people from other cultural backgrounds, but also to acceptance of cultural differences between European countries. All results of the group work activities were presented to the whole group and showed progress in cooperative learning techniques. Here are some of the results which were also partly achieved through the use of new technologies: • Creation of a project logo • Text documentation of the visit • Publication of all documentation of the project on schools‘ websites • Development of a digital survey for recording individual and classroom us of new technologies at home and in school • Photo and video documentation • Reporting for local and regional print media • Poster designs Next to actual classroom work, various workshops (media guides, MOT, source research, „Breaking the ice“ dance) throughout the project helped to school the participants in the use of digital sources, social online platforms as well as the important soft skills of respect and acceptance of cultural differences. Especially the training and presentation of the dance performance asked a higher level of tolerance and discipline from all participants involved. In order to broaden the students cultural horizons various excursions were organized and led them to points of interest in the vicinity of the host schools: • While staying in Gronau, all students visited the Christmas market in Hannover and took a tour through the capital of Lower Saxony. The Christmas market is one of the most important German Christmas traditions. In contrast, the visit to the former concentration camp of Bergen-Belsen showed a defining part of German history of the 20th century. • In Murcia, the visit of the old part of town and especially the cathedral showed the Spanish culture. The trip to the historic town of Cartagena made this experience complete. • During the visit of the museum „Maihaugen“ in Lillehammer all participants gained insight into the history of Norway and the special architecture of historic houses and churches. As the city of the winter Olympics of 1994, Lillehammer offered the opportunity to learn about the importance of winter sports in Norway at the Olmypic museum. • Finally, the concert of the music and dance department at Vgs Vinstra gave the opportunity to get know the typical Norwegian folk music and ddance. During this concert the students presented the „Breaking the ice“ dance which they themselves created. At the end, all participants received their certificates.All results and experiences collected in the final evaluation meeting June 2019 will be integrated in the next project by the three partners involved.