In 2018, the European Year of Cultural Heritage, we want to promote and offer answers to the changes taking place within our society. Through the project `CODING EUROPE´, we will strive to enrich education through the integration of themes such as European Cultural Heritage, Robotics, and Virtual Reality or Programming. Our goal is not only to prepare our students for the future job market but also to put a stop to the high dropout rates. Furthermore, we are looking to implement new educational methodologies which will reshape the educational experience for students, teachers, and the school community as a whole. Our line of work will follow the proposals provided by the European Council (UNESCO) and carried out through strategies such as `Europe 2030´ – currently in development – or the `2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development´. With this in mind, we aspire to reach the following AIMS: 1. To develop educational methodologies that are open, motivating, and related to the 21st century. 2. To make advances in the Digital Agenda, teaching students to be competent and responsible for their own learning, with a solid grasp on how to use resources and interactive tools that are now considered the foundation blocks of future jobs. 3. To reshape our schools so that they relate to the whole educational community around us. We want them to transform into platforms for EU values. 4. To achieve the same level of cultural heritage within the EU through the use of new technology, incorporation of innovative proposals produced by the students themselves, and the production of high-quality educational content which is available to the whole community. 5. And as global aim, we are yearning to improve our schools in terms of teaching quality, so that they reach the highest efficiency and an equally rich educational value. Aware of the quality requirement goals set by the project, we have implemented a complete process of PARTNER SELECTION, including the institutions involved: Spain, Germany, Slovenia, and Italy. With each partner, we took into account their strategic profile in order to form a human team possessing great experience in the relevant areas of the project. With regards to the RECIPIENTS of the project, the same design has been followed to reach students, families, teachers, schools, and the educational community as a whole. We aim to reach more than 10,000 people directly and fulfil their NEEDS, such as: - To enhance the motivation of our students. - To fight against the lack of “European-ness” which is currently present within our school environment, as well as against social exclusion. - To foster teaching innovation by incorporating the school into present and upcoming advances within society. - To make progress in the digital and communicative competence of our students, teaching them to be individuals that are respectful; educated in social diversity; responsible for their own learning; and ready for the challenges that the Digital Age will throw at them in the future. With this in mind, the main ACTIVITIES which will be implemented are: 1. The elaboration and production of audiovisual educational content that will be recorded in a 360-degree format, compatible with Virtual Reality Goggles (VR) and ready to be played on any computer, and relative to the European Cultural Heritage. 2. Training programmes and monographs that will revolve, among others, around European Cultural Heritage, Robotics, Audiovisual Creation 3.0, Art, and Web Safety and Risks or Programming. 3. The creation of Digital Culture through reflective processes which will unite new technology with traditional resources. 4. The implementation of a Global Teaching Programme, new and cutting-edge, with the aim to transform our schools and positively affect not only teachers but also the school community as a whole. 5. The mobility and admission of student and teacher ambassadors who will promote integration, methodological renovation, and the EU. It should be highlighted that, when it comes to the METHODOLOGY APPROACH of the project, the above will also apply to its quality control, holistic analysis, careful thought about each step, as well as the analytical process based on horizontal hierarchy and democracy as stewards of efficiency and effectiveness. Finally, the IMPACT we aspire to achieve is: 1. The implementation of education which is innovative and creative on part of the teachers’ experience, and doing so through new and eclectic methodologies that will contribute to the battle against the school dropout rates. 2. A stronger sense of belonging to the European Union by fostering its values, usefulness, fortitude, and social inclusion. 3. The development of core competences, such as those of learner autonomy. To summarise, we aspire to contribute to the renovation of education. We are looking to reshape and enhance our schools, transforming them into advocates of EU values and of educational excelence.
During the period 2018-2021, born of the European Year of Cultural Heritage, the 'CODING EUROPE' project contributed to promoting and responding to the changes that society is experiencing, integrating European Cultural Heritage, Robotics, Virtual Reality or Programming, in the day-to-day teaching in a high number of educational institutions, favoring the preparation of our students for the labor market of tomorrow, as well as to reduce the high rates of School Dropout. New methodologies have been implemented, reformulating the Educational Experience, experienced by students, teachers and the school community, in line with what is proposed in many European educational policies. The project has pursued, and managed to achieve, the following OBJECTIVES: 1.- Develop educational methodologies that are open, motivating and connected to the 21st century, that "catch" the student. 2.- Advance in the Digital Agenda, training competent and responsible students for their own learning, with solid bases in the resources and interactive tools that constitute the educational foundations of the professions of tomorrow. 3.- Rebuild our educational centers, making them a reference to the entire educational community that surrounds them. Centers that become meeting places around the values of the European Union. 4.- Knowing the cultural heritage of the European Union through New Technologies, integrating an innovative proposal, created by the students themselves, and producing quality educational content open to the entire educational community. 5.- Advance in the progress of our educational centers towards quality teaching, and to the maximum usefulness of them, progressing in their educational value. Regarding the participating institutions, a group of formal and informal partners has been formed, involving entities from Spain, Germany, Slovenia and Italy, based on complementary profiles and experts. Regarding the RECIPIENTS of the project, on the other hand, it has reached students, families, teachers, educational institutions and the school community in general, reaching more than 25,000 people directly, and responding to the NEEDS detected in them, such as: - Enhancing the motivation of students. - Fighting against the weak feeling of Europeanity present in our school environment, as well as against Social Exclusion. - Encouraging innovation, making the school participate in the present and future advances of society. - Advancing in the digital and communicative competence of our students, forming respectful citizens, educated in social diversity, responsible for the construction of their learning and prepared for the future challenges posed by the Digital Agenda. Thus, the main ACTIVITIES that have been implemented are: - Elaboration and Production of audiovisual educational content recorded in 360 degrees, ready to be reproduced in Virtual Reality Glasses or on any computer, around the European Cultural Heritage: Museums, Archaeological Parks, Tourist attractions of cultural value, such as Windmills, or of industrial interest, such as silos or food factories. - Training programs and Virtual Educational Resources that deal with European Cultural Heritage, Robotics, Audiovisual Creation 3.0, or STEM, among others. - Implementation of a Global Didactic Program, novel and avant-garde, that transforms our institutions, positively affecting teachers and the school community, encompassing new technologies, resources and teaching approaches. - Transnational mobility of great strategic value and reception of ambassador students and teachers, promoting the Union, inclusion and methodological renewal. It should be emphasized that, regarding the Project Management METHODOLOGY, it has been built around quality control, holistic analysis, deep reflection on each step and an analytical process based on a valid horizontal and democratic hierarchy efficiency and effectiveness values. It should be noted that the Management and Implementation Guide of an Erasmus + Project has been prepared and made available to the European educational community, having obtained a great reception around it. In short, the IMPACT we have achieved has been: - The implementation of educational and creative innovation in teaching practice, through eclectic and novel methodologies, which contribute to fighting against school dropouts. - The greater feeling of belonging to the European Union, promoting its values, usefulness and strength, as well as Social Inclusion. - The development of key competences such as Autonomy in Learning throughout our educational community.