In relation to the group of children, a motivation for this project is based on their great interest in all the activities that require techology, particularly robots, showing great curiosity for them that are so familiar with the stories This situation shared in the forums allowed the creation of a partnership motivated by the desire to change the situation of the resident individuals, being conditioned by the rural or semi-rural situation in the students of the majority of the partners, and where they do not have access to the pedagogical methods innovative technologies such as the robot. They all share the absence of a curriculum of technological approach at this age The objectives of this partnership in this project are: -Improve the quality of the Preschool service in its institutions; -To allow students access to a new technology, integrating them in the spirit of Europe. The European Parliament's guidelines and the various references of the European Parliament confirm the intentional and objective use of programming and robotics in the didactic and pedagogical practice of younger students as one of the challenges of 21st cent. society -Professional development of teachers in the use of technological tools with their students through various activities All partners belonging to 6 schools, 2 Portuguese, 1 from Hungary, Italy, Turkey and Slovenia, have the professional qualification to conceptualize and implement this project, being able to contribute in more specific areas according to their specializations.Thus, AETSM will share its experience in Erasmus projects, thus responding to the motivation of schools that will participate in this type of projects for the first time. All schools will contribute their ITC staff for teacher training and practical application of activities. The methodology used will be: 1-Exploration of the robot with the introduction to the basic programming concepts for this age group: right, left, forward, backward, counting and sequences 2-Application of activities with specific and cross-cutting objectives in all areas of the Content Areas (Personal and Social Training, Communication and Expression, which includes Mathematics and Language, Knowledge of the World) agglutinated in a theme: the traditions of the partner countries and the environment. 3-Teacher education and training 4-Event sharing experiences for students in different schools 5-Training events for teachers in all schools Expected results: -Acquisition of competences in an integrated and transversal way with the use of the robot in a ludic context, namely those related to logical-mathematical reasoning, communication, and social formation; -Acquisition of skills extended by teachers for the development of innovative pedagogical practices; -creation of broader ties and horizons; -Awakening and encouraging the learning of foreign languages; -To better understand the environment and how to preserve it through knowledge of local traditions and the creation of ties with its own culture and respect for the culture of others -Inclusion in the European spirit; Some students, although very young, will participate in short events, according to transparent selection criteria (eg social inclusion, socio-economic difficulties, autonomy) that guarantee the safety and quality of the events. The language will not be a barrier, because besides being supported by their companions, the children have a capacity of communication in which the common language is called play With these results achieved and disseminated through its own channels such as eTwinning, project website, local workshops, media, and social networks, the impact will be reflected in the number of teachers who will also use this tool in the schools of the partnership, in the number of website views, comments on social networks, pre-tests / post-tests; tutorials and planned classes; in satisfaction surveys, etc The sustainability of the project is implicit in the motivation of the partnership: that its students have access to the same resources as the other students of so many schools in Europe and in the World, so after they start they will not stop because the children demand and the teachers are already enabled The Portuguese National Agency defines as one of the main priorities(that's why we have 2 Portuguese schools) for Portugal to develop services and access to Pre-School Education, in line with the objectives of the Strategic Framework for Education 2020 This project will be the opportunity for the students of these schools to be included in these objectives of European and National character With this project, the students will also initiate their integration into European citizenship at an early age. In developing this project, children also understand the importance of working with people from different countries and cultures, gaining basic skills of cooperation, developing friendships, educating themselves to their affections, and for a humanized technol
The idea of the project is based on the great interest among children in all activities that require technology. The goal of our project was for children in kindergarten (age group 3-7) to get to know robots and learn how to use them. In this way, the children's key competences in the fields of mathematics and their mother tongue develop, and they get to know the culture of the partner countries. The partner institutions also work to overcome the differences so that learning is accessible to everyone. We also consider it important that children from different family backgrounds have the same opportunity to gain knowledge and experience during the most interesting learning process. Robotics is based on algorithmic thinking: we use a lot of algorithms in everyday life without even knowing it. We already encounter these in early childhood: following a daily schedule, the process of getting dressed, tying shoelaces, baking and cooking together, etc. Therefore, it is important to develop this ability for children already in kindergarten. Because of the Covid 19 pandemic, we were forced to change the original plan of the project, as we could only hold online meetings during that period, so the real implementation started one academic year later. The daily educational activities were built in accordance with the themes of the Erasmus+ project and in time with the progress of the project. The sessions were planned in such a way that the activities related to the project topic were highlighted on a daily basis in the participating groups. The results of the project were continuously incorporated into the daily work of the teachers. With the implementation of our project, we set the following goals with our partners: - Improving the quality of preschool education in all institutions; - Giving children access to new technologies and robots, integrating them into the spirit of Europe and teaching them to program robots, because this is one of the challenges of the 21st century society; -Professional development of teachers in the use of technological tools through various activities with children. The technological competences of all the teachers participating in the project have improved a lot, especially in robot programming; The Portuguese Agrupamento de Escolas Trigal de Santa Maria, Agrupamento de Escolas de Oliveira de Frades and the Hungarian Rákosmenti Csicsergő Óvoda are institutions with previous experience in the use of robots in kindergartens, so they successfully helped and guided partners with less experience so that both the children and we achieve the expected results for teachers. But the less experienced partners could also add important value to the project in this regard - they expanded the others' knowledge by introducing new methods and tools. During the implementation, we used various methods: - Introducing robots by presenting the basic programming concepts, which are suitable for the preschool age group: right, left, forward, backward and related to counting and seriality - Extensive knowledge of each other's culture, which includes geographical, linguistic, educational, cultural, gastronomic, etc. areas as well - Sharing knowledge and experience between institutions - Training events for kindergarten workers in all institutions, organized by the coordinators As a result of the implemented project, the competencies related to logical-mathematical thinking, communication, and social formation learned with the help of the robot have been incorporated. In order to develop innovative pedagogical practices, it was necessary to encourage learning foreign languages, by which we also promoted the development of teachers' language skills. The participants of our project also increased the feeling of inclusion in the European spirit - the children's social competences developed through pedagogical activities and meeting the partners. We disseminated the activities and results of our project among the employees of our institutions, the responsible administrative bodies of the respective institutions, the parents, as well as published in local and preschool education-themed media. The sustainability of the project is considered important by the partnership: our children should have access to the same resources as the students of many institutions in Europe and the world, so we cannot stop teaching robotics after the implementation, because the children demand it and the teachers have also embraced the usefulness of this field and its importance. We will use our acquired knowledge and experience in the following academic years as well. This project created an opportunity for the children of the partner schools to get involved in European and national objectives. With this project, children could begin their integration into European citizenship already at preschool age. During the realization of the project, children experienced the importance of cooperation with people from different countries and cultures, learning the basic skills of cooperation, building friendships, and the importance of technology.