With the implementation of this project we intended to: - develop teachers' professional skills in the implementation of innovative pedagogical methodologies; - increase the literacy levels of the students; - stimulate interest for cinema and audiovisual production; - build an online platform for sharing digital tools and pedagogical resources (multimedia products, and short films produced in AEMGA) ; - create contact networks aiming at sharing good practices and methodologies, through participation in training courses and, in particular, through learning activities with European peers; - create a culture of participation based on Information, Discussion and Sharing of Opinions, fostering a critical and creative spirit; - foster the linguistic proficiency of both students and teachers; - endowe students with the skills that enable them to interact at a European level in the linguistic, scientific and cultural fields, in order to respect cultural diversity and to foster in each student a European and global citizen; - reduce school failure and the risk of dropping-out.
Despite the quality and acknowledged merit of the two Erasmus KA2 projects implemented in Agrupamento de Escolas Dr. Manuel Gomes de Almeida (AEMGA), at the date of the application, and the clear added value and benefits of this programme, the number of teachers involved was very small; therefore, one of the objectives of our application was to increase the number of participants in Erasmus projects, as well as those involved in actions of the National Cinema Plan and in the promotion of Media literacy, providing them with more knowledge, skills and competences in these areas. We also intended to promote the vertical articulation in AEMGA school cluster, involving teachers of different subjects, from the several teaching levels of the 5 schools, and to stimulate innovation, as well as the internationalization of AEMGA, one of the goals included in its Educational Project. However, the main reason for the application was the need to overcome the students' weaknesses in different areas of literacy, particularly media and cinema ones.