Young digital explorers

Project summary

CONTEXT: It may seem that young people intuitively know how to use technology and hence have no need for digital education or training. On the other hand, many teachers and educators feel overwhelmed by technology today, or would like to use it more, but don’t know how. All partners carried out research in their schools to check if the students and the teachers were equipped in digital skills and could use it in any way possible: it became clear that young people did not inherently possess the skills for safe and effective use of technologies, and skills acquired informally were likely to be incomplete and exposure to technology could not be equated with ability to use it. Research showed that not all young people were tech-savvy or had an interest to learn more. What's more, 42% said they had known strangers on internet (In 9% of the cases, online dating was followed by an offline meeting, but only 1% reported being worried or upset about these meetings, showing an underestimation of the potential risks associated with encountering strangers). Young users of digital technologies usually tend to overestimate their ICT skills. Our study indicated a wide discrepancy between young people’s self-assessment and actual knowledge of computer skills. The teachers were not sure about their digital skills, they were afraid of using new programmes, new methods, they sticked to old and well-known teaching aids or lesson plans. So, the main objective of the project was then to develop a stronger foundation in digital skills – defined as being able to use collaboration and communication tools, various computer software, as well as to understand the cloud and develop apps – as employers place greater value in these capabilities than ever before. One of the aims of the project was to provide schools with different simple ICT tools which would be fun and easily accessible for young learners and their teachers, turning playing activities into learning practice. Every country had different experience in using ICT from beginners to proficient users. Slovenian, Norwegian, and Spanish partners were the most advanced ones. The participation of ICT teachers from every single country in each mobility was the key to success. We all shared many practices, ideas, how to use ICT in the classroom more effectively so that all the students would benefit from it. School staff supported in acquiring and developing digital skills to improve e-safety in school communities; That is why the project followed two levels of activities, both for teachers and for students. During the whole project, we focused on these main objectives: OBJECTIVES: 1. To become more modern in the educational process in the schools involved in the partnership thanks to wide use of ITC. 2. To create more dynamic, and more committed and professional environments into schools, both pleasant for students and teachers. 3. To provide both teachers and young people within the tools needed for todays and future workforce. 4. To improve confidence and proficiency in the use of ICT for learners, teachers, school leaders 5. To improve the digital security of children by providing schools with methods and tools that can protect them. The target groups to be addressed were ICT teachers, as well as Sciences and Language teachers, and students at the age of 13-16 years old. The project had a final duration of 3 years (due to Covid 19). DIFFICULTIES: Not all the partners had the same grade of computerization. We early observed two different level groups with Norway, Slovenia, and Spain in one side and Macedonia, Portugal, and Italy on the other side. Instead of being discouraged, teachers started to work together and to learn the one from the others. The international working ambiance worked from the very first moment. In the same way, facilities for ICT activities were quite different in each country and teachers and students had to adapt themselves to each situation. Fortunately, student mobilities were planned to Slovenia and Spain where the facilities were more advanced, and students could take advantage from this. But we must say that the main difficulty was pandemic time. Even if teachers and students could put into practice what they had learnt before about ICT, there were uncertainty moments, some teachers changed to other schools during this period, and it was difficult to find a date to finish the project. After several online meetings, finally, three of the six partners managed to travel to Portugal. This mobility was made one year and a half from the previous one in Spain, so some teachers felt that they had lost the thread of the project. ACTIVITIES: Teachers practiced with some tools like Edmodo, Moviemaker, CamStudio, Blendspace, Plickers, Kahoot, etc. In Italy, each group of teachers prepared a masterclass to teach other Italian teachers and students how to use several of these applications in the classroom. In Slovenia, students developed their own travel blog using new ICT tools taught by Slovenian team. They also worked on Robotics as Slovenian partner had a strong experience on this field. In Norway, Norwegian students taught teachers how to create an Escape Room experience to be led by teachers or students. Teachers also worked with HoloLens: test of HoloLens in TV studio and its application in education. In Portugal, teachers received training about e-safety thanks to Portuguese e-safety Police department. Each country presented to the others their safety protocols at their own schools. In Spain, each group of students from each country prepared a presentation about most common dangers in Internet. They could share experiences from real life in the different groups created to discuss about their presentations. International students learnt from Spanish students and teachers how to use 3D-printers to create objects. They also developed Robotics skills and worked with Virtual Reality. The Spanish coordinator developed eTwinning platform project during all the mobilities, and teachers used their eTwinning kits to develop communication. RESULTS: As a transnational project, students and staff developed an international mindset and learning processes that stimulated students to act in a globalized world and established a transnational network of schools that cooperated in the implementation of useful activities to maintain the digital security of schools themselves. Using ICT opened new forms of learning and collaboration to support different styles of learning. Teachers and students experienced satisfaction, passion, and success in this educational process. Moreover, students learnt how to use ICT critically and ethically. Teachers felt encouraged to use ICT in the classroom to bring learning to life for students. They became more confident and decisive in using ICT in their everyday teaching process. They learnt also how to protect their students from network dangers thanks to training in mobilities.