The idea of „Forgotten jobs and crafts – a video blog project” was created as a reply to students’ needs concerning their future vision of life and career. Schools should not only teach facts and theories but also help young generations to cope with every day life. It is observed that people look at traditional products with nostalgia and homemade, original creations have regained popularity. Creative and enterprising people start their businesses online dealing in products of their own work. The project showing jobs and crafts that seem to have vanished can broaden children’s perspective of possible careers and lead to revival of former practices in a modern way. The form of the video blog, on the other hand, can teach participants nuances of the Internet and improve their computer literacy. Moreover, digital technology in wider sense will also be utilised as students and teachers will have to use videocameras, photocameras, printers, etc. The project is based on the exchange between generations – the older one being the expert of traditional crafts and professions and the younger one being usually better technologically oriented. In this way the project is beneficial for both sides. “Forgotten jobs and crafts “ project requires cooperation of foreign countries as different cultures and traditions led to different ideas, crafts and professions. All participating schools will benefit from the project. Teachers, due to exchange of ideas, teaching methods and techniques, can improve their working potential and be motivated more as the project can refresh their enthusiasm for the profession. Some of the outcomes of the project will be a creation of lesson plans booklet with crafts and vanishing professions in the background, flashcards with vanishing jobs and tools and videos with instructions how things have been made that can be used by others not necessarily involved in the project. Students, on the other hand, can broaden their knowledge of various disciplines , for instance history, IT, maths, science – all elements necessary to understand how things were created and why. The synergy of sciences is vital to the project as no craft can be possible without basic knowledge of them. Cooperation with other nations can teach them tolerance and understanding of other cultures, traditions and religions, which hopefully, can help to build peaceful and open-minded European society. Finally, the cooperation between partner countries can give all participants a chance to use English language in authentic situations and improve their skills of language that they can use for private reasons as well as in future jobs. The project is planned for 2 years and includes 4 cooperating schools: Poland, the coordinator, Romania, Italy and Bulgaria. The partners will share their ideas and concepts via emails, Facebook site and Skype videoconferences. In order to realize the objectives all sides will systematically work together sharing responsibilities equally. All outcomes will be recorded and distributed on the video blog, created together by teachers and students. The final products (for example brochure with spots devoted to vanishing jobs and crafts, calendar with places celebrating traditional crafts and professions, lesson plan booklet, flashcards etc.) will be designed so that they could be used by others after the end of the project. The mobilities necessary for proper realization will involve teachers and students. Throughout the project implementation it is planned to evaluate the work with the aid of questionnaires filled in by teachers, students and parents. At the end of the project both teachers and students will fill in surveys to check if the objectives were met and to evaluate the outcomes, which can be used as a vital lesson for future projects planning.
The project "Forgotten jobs and crafts - a video blog" addressed the issue of unemployment and one of its main goals was to show to students that vanishing jobs and crafts can be renewed and serve as an inspiration for future careers. The participants could talk with enthusistic professionals who dealt with e.g. pottery, woodwork, fabrics and see alternative ways of making a living. The students had also a chance to try their skills in workshops where they could make their own works of art. Creating handmade items is something to be desired nowadays when people want to possess unusual products made with passion. It is believed that the know-how gained during the project implementation phase will stay with them afterwards and be of use in their future enterprises. The international cooperation within the project helped students to perceive how crafts and jobs differ in various cultural backgrounds. The works of art presented by craftsmen from Romania, Italy, Poland and Bulgaria proved to be unique of the regions. The project allowed all participants to appreciate the diverisity of cultural expression and broadened their understanding of the world. The form of the video blog and the digital skills (necessary to prepare the outputs), taught all participants, both the students and the teachers, the nuances of the Internet and improved their computer literacy. Moreover, digital technology in wider sense was utilised as students and teachers had to use videocameras, photocameras, printers, etc. The project emphasized the exchange between generations – the older one being the expert of crafts and the younger one being usually better technologically oriented. It was especially visible during cookery workshops when parents and grandparents showed typical dishes made in a traditional way. The project was extremely beneficial to the teachers who could share their experiences and teaching ideas and worked together to prepare visits and engage the students to work on the project's objectives. The cooperation led to the creation of the Lesson Plans Book with ready made materials inspired by the theme of the project. It can be used by any teacher interested as it was uploaded on Erasmus+ Project Results Platform and school websites, as well as printed and archived in school libraries. The possibility to meet representatives of teaching professions from other countries boosted enthusism and motivated the staff to work. The teachers, the studnets and the host families as well as local communities were encouraged to learn languages, especially English which was a main means of communication. They improved their language skills and tried them in authentic language situations. The students, supervised by the teachers and parents, created a number of outputs (available on Erasmus + Project Results Platform, school websites and Facebook project site): a Recipe Book with instructions how to make typical, traditional dishes equipped with photos taken during cookery workshops, a number of videos showing how things are made, a brochure with photos and some information about places devoted to vanishing professions that the students visited during mobilities, flashcards with vanishing jobs, crafts and equipment ,a calendar for 2022 in two versions with photos taken during the visits. In order to finish the final results the students had to gain necessary knowledge of various disciplines e.g. history, IT, maths, science and of course English. The project was planned for 2 years and included 4 schools: Poland, the coordinator, Romania, Italy and Bulgaria. However, due to the pandemic situation in the world, the project was prolonged by one year. There were four mobilities organised involving students and accompanying teachers. The last visit in Italy was conducted virtually due to the pandemic. The schedule of activities was altered to suit the form of a virtual meeting. In order to implement the project productively all vital issues were discussed by the coordinators via emails, Facebook, Messenger, What's Up application and during virtual meetings on Zoom platform. The Polish coordinator controlled the timetable and helped with the Mobility Tool. The Bulgarian partner equipped their school with the kitchenette that can be used by future generations and the Polish school built Crafts Classroom that has been used for lessons and will serve its role also after the project ends. In order to assess the realization of the project there were 3 questionnaires carried out which helped to improve the project organisation. There were also debates, discussions and various competitions organised involving the participants to check if the objectives were met. The memoirs created by children helped to see how the project is perceived by the younger generation. Engaging the local media in all participating countries helped to promote the project to wider audience and encouraged other schools to take part in Erasmus + projects.