CONTEXT/BACKGROUND OF THE PROJECT Our project emerged from the need of the partner schools to educate young people regarding renewable energy resources. It is a topical issue as dependence on fossil fuels and diminished natural resources is one of the biggest problems the world is facing today. As school is the basis of the future society, it must bring its contribution to solving this major issue. Today’s students are very much interested in technology but not all of them understand where the energy for their technology comes from. They don’t know the effects the production of this energy have on the environment. Some of them don’t even care about this problem. Therefore, the main goal of our project is to raise awareness, to experiment and to use various renewable energy sources in schools. Our students must learn where energy comes from, the production costs, the effects the production process has on the environment and the solutions to obtain energy with a negligible impact on the environment. OBJECTIVES OF OUR PROJECT In terms of objectives, our project will be focusing on: - examining alternative energy sources according to their return time, greenhouse gas emissions and electricity generation cost indicators - examining the share of energy sources in electricity production and energy dependency for the European Union and Turkey - promoting investments in renewable energy sources to reduce this dependency - supporting and promoting the development of renewable resources - extending the knowledge and understanding of the phenomena - developing the capacity to explore/investigate reality - developing analytical and problem-solving skills - raising interest in achievements and discoveries in sciences - increasing motivation for information and scientific documentation - developing care for one's own, others and environment - developing tolerance towards the opinions of others - cultivating responsiveness and flexibility for the application of knowledge in everyday life - raising awareness and involvement in issues of global interest - developing 21st century skills, such as creativity and innovation, critical thinking, communication and collaboration, flexibility and adaptability, initiative and autonomy, productivity and responsibility, leadership and responsibility - developing ICT and communication in foreign languages, social and trans-cultural skills NUMBER AND PROFILE OF PARTICIPANTS Our project reunites six schools from France (coordinator), Turkey, Spain, Greece and Lithuania. During our project meetings we will involve up to 65 teachers from the partner schools, especially the contact teachers and teachers of Physics, Sciences, Technologies, Languages or ITC. There will be approx. 125 students interested in the topic, aged between 11 and 16, involved. DESCRIPTION OF ACTIVITIES There will be a wide range of activities, designed in such a manner that it will lead to the achievement of project objectives: - project presentations in the various institutions - creation of logo and slogan, website, eTwinning - Facebook page - field trips - seminars/open lessons on renewable energy with experts - advertising campaigns - interviews - building a power generator powered by renewable energy sources - creation of energy conservation guide, project magazine, materials, methodological resource book, etc. - assessing the success of the project, in general, and of project activities, in particular, etc. METHODOLOGY We will provide training for students in the field of renewable energy sources through project activities, using various educational methods, involving appropriate didactic resources. In the mean time, we will provide training for teachers interested in the topic, enrolling in the continuous training process that focuses on teaching / learning / evaluation strategies in order to change opinions and attitudes of learners. During the project, the parents and the local community will be permanently involved in activities. RESULTS AND IMPACT In terms of results and impact, we are aiming at developing the skills and competencies of at least 65 teachers and 125 students in the field of renewable energy sources, of investigating/exploring the reality, critical thinking, problem solving; 21st century skills; ICT and communication skills; social and trans-cultural skills, as well as raising their interest and motivation for studying sciences and developing curiosity and respect for nature; becoming tolerant towards the opinions of others and more responsible when it comes to the application of knowledge in everyday life; becoming more involved in solving global issues. Also, the results will be measured in the number of tangible deliverable produced, such as: guides, magazines, posters, etc. POTENTIAL LONGER-TERM BENEFITS We plan to develop and implement an optional course, in order to promote and widen the knowledge of students on the topic and to lead to the use of renewable energy in everyday life.
PROJECT CONTEXT/BACKGROUND Our project was born out of the need for the partner schools to educate youth about renewable energy resources. This is a timely issue as dependence on fossil fuels and the depletion of natural resources is one of the biggest problems facing the world today. As the foundation of the future society, schools must do their part to address this major issue. Today's students are very interested in technology, but they don't all understand where the energy for their technology comes from. They don't know the effects of producing that energy on the environment. Some of them do not even care about this issue. Therefore, the main objective of our project is to raise awareness, experiment and use various renewable energy sources in schools. Our students should learn where energy comes from, the costs of production, the effects of the production process on the environment and the solutions to obtain energy with a negligible impact on the environment. OBJECTIVES OF OUR PROJECT In terms of objectives, our project will focus on the following: - examining alternative energy sources based on indicators of payback time, greenhouse gas emissions, and cost of electricity production - examining the share of energy sources in electricity production and energy dependency of the European Union and Turkey - promoting investments in renewable energy sources in order to reduce this dependence - supporting and promoting the development of renewable resources - expanding the knowledge and understanding of the phenomena - developing the ability to explore/investigate reality - develop the capacity to analyze and solve problems - to create interest in scientific achievements and discoveries - increase motivation for scientific information and documentation - develop respect for oneself, others and the environment - develop tolerance for the opinions of others - cultivate responsiveness and flexibility in applying knowledge to everyday life - raise awareness and involvement in global issues - develop 21st century skills, such as creativity and innovation, critical thinking, communication and collaboration, flexibility and adaptability, initiative and autonomy, productivity and accountability, leadership and responsibility - develop ICT and foreign language communication, social and cross-cultural skills. NUMBER AND PROFILE OF PARTICIPANTS Our project gathers five schools from France (coordinator), Turkey, Spain and Greece, (the Lithuanian partner initially candidate having withdrawn from the project). During our project meetings, we involved up to 65 teachers from the partner schools, especially contact teachers and teachers of physics, science, technology, languages or ICT. Approximately 125 interested pupils, aged 11-18, were involved. DESCRIPTION OF THE ACTIVITIES A wide range of activities were proposed, which were designed to lead to the achievement of the project objectives: - presentations of the project in the different institutions - creation of the logo and slogan, website - field trips - open seminars/courses on renewable energy with experts - advertising campaigns - interviews - construction of an electricity generator powered by renewable energy sources - creation of a project magazine METHODOLOGY We will train students in the field of renewable energy sources through project activities, using various teaching methods and appropriate teaching resources. Meanwhile, we proposed the training of teachers interested in the subject, enrolling them in continuing education that focuses on teaching / learning / evaluation strategies to change the opinions and attitudes of learners. During the project, parents and the local community were involved in the activities. RESULTS AND IMPACT In terms of results and impact, we have developed the skills and competencies of at least 65 teachers and 125 students in the area of renewable energy sources, reality investigation/exploration, critical thinking, problem solving; 21st century skills; ICT and communication skills; social and cross-cultural skills. This has increased their interest and motivation in the study of science. Their curiosity and respect for nature has grown. We hope that they are now more tolerant of the opinions of others and more responsible when it comes to the application of knowledge in everyday life, that they will become more involved in solving global problems, especially in terms of sustainable development.