This two-year project, develops a scheme of work and a set of teaching and training resources covering both the benefits and dangers of social media. The target age group is the Secondary sector, where there is usually an ICT curriculum which covers the technical and practical uses of ICT, but there is a shortfall in the coverage of social media. This is now a fundamental aspect of the lives of almost all teenagers, however its use can be both beneficial and destructive. There is a lack of education on the use of social media, which this project aims to address. There is ample research to show that the negative elements of social media can have a serious impact on mental health, with access to technology a major contributor. The European Commission has made promoting safer use of the internet a priority for young people and called for improvements in critical thinking, media literacy and developing the skills necessary for ‘cyber hygiene’. Schools are unlikely to have the time or expertise to develop such a methodology by themselves and this proposal aims to exploit expertise from 5 countries to provide a model that can be readily adopted across the EU. This project addresses the Horizontal Priorities of… • supporting opportunities in acquiring and developing key competences in order to foster socio-educational and personal development– in particular critical thinking and digital literacy • extending and developing the competence of educators and other personnel who support young people in school This project addresses the Erasmus+ School Priority of… • strengthening the profile of the teaching profession by enhancing professional development, facilitating teacher mobility and developing innovative teaching methods The objectives of the project are to: • analyse and share existing strategies and resources for dealing with social media • identify common areas of strength and priorities for development • develop a structure for the work schemes and a set of training materials and sample lesson plans, based on needs, covering: ⎫ types of social media and their use by young people ⎫ communication benefits including language learning ⎫ dangers of social media ⎫ social media as a news source ⎫ online safety and school policy • pilot, test, evaluate and refine the schemes of work and training resources in schools in 5 countries • produce a report on the outcomes, sets of case studies and recommendations for school policy including a model school policy • disseminate the outcomes widely The outputs of the project will be: • A project website hosting downloadable resources and case studies • A model scheme of work and associated resources for schools • A set of training modules for teachers and trainers working with schools supported by an online handbook • An impact report incorporating recommendations for policy • A set of case studies demonstrating the programme in action in each of the 5 countries • An impact report • A set of dissemination materials and seminars in 5 countries • An exploitation plan Once the initial framework is in place, teachers and students will come together in a teaching and learning activity to develop the resources in more detail. These will then be tested and evaluated across five countries.
The focus of this Strategic Partnership was to support the exchange of good practices with the aim of developing and testing a model scheme of work and a methodology to improve the teaching and learning of using social media. The objectives were: • analyse and share existing strategies and resources for dealing with social media • identify common areas of strength and priorities for development • develop a structure for the work schemes and a set of training materials and sample lesson plans, based on needs, covering 5 modules • pilot, test, evaluate and refine the schemes of work and training resources in schools in 5 countries • produce a report on the outcomes, sets of case studies and recommendations for school policy • disseminate the outcomes widely
Social media is a fundamental aspect of the lives of almost all teenagers, however there is a lack of education on the use of social media, which this project aimed to address. The ICT curriculum in schools usually covers the technical and practical uses of ICT, but there is a shortfall in the coverage of social media. Although there are undoubted benefits to using social media, the misuse of social media can lead to mental health problems. The WHO estimated increased access to and use of technology contributed to mental health issues in young people and other research found that the number of children and young people reporting “a long-standing mental health condition” has soared among a generation brought up with the internet. However, there are also benefits to the use of social media with positives, such as access to information, support, community building, developing identify and building relationships with the negatives including self-image, cyberbullying, addiction to social media and anxiety and depression. Schools are unlikely to have the time or expertise to develop such a methodology by themselves. This proposal aimed to provide a model of how to best use Social Media that can be readily adopted across the EU.