TEACHING-LEARNING

MULTICISCIPLINAR WORK AMONG FIVE COUNTRIES EXPLORING OUR TOWNS IN ORDER TO CREATE AN ON-LINE TOURIST GUIDE AND A REDUCED PAPER ONE.

1. Project summary

Summary:

IT IS A THREE YEAR COMENIUS PROJECT WHERE STUDENTS HAVE WORKED IN DIFFERENT SUBJECTS: HISTORY AND GEOGRAPHY, PUBLICITY WORKSHOP, ART, ICT AND ENGLISH. THE MAIN TOPICS ARE LINKED TO THE SUBJECTS.
DURING THE FIRST YEAR STUDENTS FORM 4TH ESO AND 1ST BACHILLERATO LOOKED FOR INFORMATION FOR THE DIFFERENT ASPECTS CONCERNING THE GEOGRAPHY, HISTORY, MONUMENTS, GASTRONOMY , CELEBRITIES AND LEISURE EVENTS IN ÁVILA, INCLUDING VILLAGES IN THE PROVINCE AS IT HAD BEEN PLANNED BY THE GEOGRAPHICLA DIVISIONS IN VALLEYS.
IN ORDER TO RESPECT INTELLECTUAL OWNERSHIP, TRIPS WERE DONE TO GET OUR OWN PHOTOS.
REPORTS WERE WRITTEN AND UPLOADED IN THE TWIN SPACE OF THE ETWINNING PLATFORM. STUDENTS USED ICT TOOLS TO CREATE THEIR WORKS: PHOTOSHOP, VIDEO EDITING PROGRAMMES, POWER POINT PRESENTATIONS. THEY SHARED THEIR MATERIALS WITH THE PARTNERS AND PARTICIPATED IN FORUMS ABOUT THE MOST IMPORTANT PLACES IN OUR TOWNS. THEY ALSO CREATED PHOTO GALLERIES TO SHOW. A NEWSPAPER WAS LAUNCHED AT: http://magazinefactory.edu.fi/magazines/placewelivein/
A CONTEST WAS ALSO LAUNCHED TO GET A LOGO FOR THE PROJECT, THE ROMANIAN PROPOSAL WAS THE WINNER.
DURING THE SECOND YEAR ALL THE MATERIAL WAS REVISED AND
ARTICLES WERE CHOSEN TO CREATE THE ON-LINE TOURIST GUIDE AT: _http://www.pli-europe.es/pli-europe/poster.html
THE POLISH PROPOSAL WON THE CONTEST FOR THE INITIAL POSTER IN THE GUIDE. STUDENTS ALSO CREATED A DICTIONARY WITH TOURIST TERMS IN 6 LANGUAGES: ENGLISH, SPANISH, POLISH, ROMANIAN, FRENCH AND ITALIAN.
DURING THE THIRD YEAR WE HAVE BEEN ABRIDGING THE MATERIAL IN ORDER TO PUBLISH A PAPER GUIDE.
BEING PART OF A COMENIUS PROJECT, WE HAVE BEEN ABLE TO VISIT ALL THE COUNTRIES INVOLVED TAKING STUDENTS WITH US SO THAT THEY COULD HAVE A REAL VIEW OF THE EUROPEAN DIMENSION.
THE GENERAL IDEA WAS BORN FROM CONVERSATIONS WITH THE POLISH AND ROMANIAN PARTNERS IN A DIFFERENT PROJECT: NATURE AND HUMAN ACTIVITY.
WE DECIDED TO GO ON WORKING TOGETHER IN A COMENIUS WITH MORE COUNTRIES IN ORDER TO ENRICH OUR KNOWLEDGE OF OTHER EUROPEAN TOWNS. WE THOUGHT THE BEST WAY TO GET MANY STUDETNS INVOLVED WAS CREATING A TOURIST GUIDE, AS MANY SUBJECTS WOULD HAVE TO BE WORKED ON.
THE IDEA WAS DEVELOPED BY ME AND MY SCHOOL AND I STARTED THE SEARCH FOR NEW PARTNERS.
VALENTINA CUADRADO MARCOS, FROM IES ALONSO DE MADRIGAL IN ÁVILA IS APPLYING TODAY.

2. Country (City / Region)

State:

Spain

City:

ÁVILA/CASTILLA Y LEÓN

3. Company/organization/institute presenting the project

Organization:

IES ALONSO DE MADRIGAL

4. Type of organization

Select type:

School

5. Project coordinator

Name and Surname:

VALENTINA CUADRADO

E-Mail:

vcuadrad@encina.pntic.mec.es

6. Website

The website of the project:

http://www.amadrigal.net

7. Please select the category in which you candidate your project

Youth Education Project. Select Project Users by age:

Up to 18 years

Helping youth step in the job market:

NOT Helping youth step in the job market

Creativity and Social Innovation:

Creativity and Social Innovation

8. How long has your project been running?

From:

15/11/2006

9. Targets and Elements of Innovation

Please explain the targets and the background of your project:

IT IS AIMED AT STUDENTS IN SECONDARY, BETWEEN 14 AND 19 YEARS, ALTHOUGH SOME OLDER STUDENTS HAVE PARTICIPATED IN POLAND AND FRANCE._THE TARGETS ARE THE FIVE TOWNS WHERE WE LIVE AND THE BACKGROUND OF THE PROJECT IS THE NECESSITY WE FELT FOR OUR STUDETNS TO LEARN ABOUT THEIR OWN TOWNS AND ABOUT OTHER PLACES IN EUROPE IN A COLLABORATIVE WAY

What does it try to achieve and how:

WE WANT OUR STUDENTS TO ACQUIRE KNOWLEDGE IN AN ACTIVE COLLABORATIVE WAY, SHARING DOUBTS, RESULTS. WE WANT THEM TO WORK IN TEAMS AND LEARN HOW TO SOLVE CONFLICTS IN A DEMOCRATIC WAY.
IN ORDER TO GET THESE ACHIEVEMENTS TASKS HAVE ALWAYS BEEN DONE IN GROUPS WHERE EACH MEMBER HAD A ROLE AND A SPECIFIC TASK.INTERNET SITES HAVE BEEN FACILITATED AND HELP HAS BEEN PROVIDED WITH WHENEVER WAS NEEDED. ALL THE MATERIALS HAVE BEEN ACCEPTED AND THE FINAL ELECTION OF THE PHOTOS AND MATERIAL WAS A STUDENTS' TASK.

Which opportunities/problems does it address to:

IT HAS PROVIDED PARTICIPANTS THE OPPORTUNITY TO IMPROVE THEIR LEARNING SKILLS, THEIR ICT PERFORMANCES, THEIR ENGLISH SKILLS AND THEIR SOCIAL ABILITIES TO DISCUSS AND COPE WITH PROBLEMS. IT HAS HELP THEM WITH THEIR SELF-ESTEEM BECAUSE THEY HAVE BEEN ABLE TO OCMMUNICATE IN ENGLISH WITHOUT GREAT PROBLEMS.
ON THE OTHER HAND, IT HAS GIVEN THEM THE OPPORTUNITY TO TRAVEL TO OTHER COUNTRIES, WHICH HAS BEEN VERY IMPORTANT AMONG OUR STUDENTS AS, BEING THE SCHOOL IN AN ECONOMICALLY WEAK AREA,
SOME HAD NEVER GONE ABROAD.

Please explain what is unique or special in your project:

ACCORDING TO US ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT THINGS IN OUR PROJECT HAS BEEN THE GREAT EFFORT OUR STUDETNS HAVE DONE, THE VARIATION OF TASKS THEY HAVE BEEN ABLE TO DO, THEIR INVOLVEMENT AND THEIR CAPACITY TO TO ASSESS THEIR OWN PERFORMANCES.

10. Results

Describe the results of your project as per today:

THE MAIN RESULTS ARE THE TWO GUIDES. THE ONE ON LINE AT http://www.pli-europe.es/pli-europe/poster.html
AND THE OTHER ONE ON PAPER.
THE NEWSPAPER AT: http://magazinefactory.edu.fi/magazines/placewelivein/
THE VIDEOS AND POSTERS INCLUDED IN BOTH GUIDES AND ALL THE PHOTO GALLERIES THAT BE SEEN IN THE TWIN SPACE AT: http://my.twinspace.etwinning.net/theplacewelivein

How does it fulfill the users’ needs:

FIRST, THEY HAVE LEARNT IN A DIFFERENT WAY. NOW, THE MATERIAL ALREADY MADE CAN BE USED AS REFERENCE MATERIAL FOR OTHER STUDENTS. ON THE OTHER HAND THEY CAN KEEP ON WORKING ON THE NEWSPAPER USING IT AS A TOOL TO EXPRESS THEIR FEELINGS ABOUT THEIR OWN TOWNS AND TO SHARE AND COMMUNICATE WITH THE IR PARTNERS.
THEY HAVE ALSO LEARNT TO USE COMPUTERS, PHOTO AND IVDEO CAMERAS IN A NEW DIMENSION, AS THEY HAVE INCLUDED THEM IN THEIR LEARNING EXPERIENCE.

How many users interact with your project per month and what are the preferred forms of interaction:

AT THE MOMENT THERE ARE 74 STUDENTS IN OUR SCHOOL _WORKING IN THE PROJECT. THE FAVOURITE WAY TO INTERACT IS CREATING VIDEOS, PHOTO GALLERIES, POSTERS AND OTHER MATERIALS RELATED TO VISUAL TASKS

How has it improved the quality of educational and/or training services:

IT HAS GIVEN TEACHERS THE OPPORTUNITY TO WORK IN A STUDENT BASED METHODOLOGY, SO NEW WORK STRATEGIES HAVE BEEN NECESSARY. ON THE OTHER HAND, THE USE OF ICT AS WELL AS THE USE OF ENGLISH FOR SOME TEACHERS HAVE IMPROVED.
ON THE OTHER HAND, DELEGATING RESPONSIBILITIES ON STUDENTS MEANT ALSO GREAT PRACTICE.

How has it improved the participation of professionals, children, youth and other stakeholders:

THE MAIN PARTICIPANTS HAVE BEEN TEENAGERS AND FOR THEM, THE WHOLE WORK HAS BEEN USEFUL TO IMPROVE LEARNING , SOCIAL AND COMMUNICATIVE COMPETENCES.

How does it promote the use of ICT for the educational and cultural development by professionals, children and youth:

AS EVERYTHING HAS BEEN DONE IN A VIRTUAL SETTING USING THE ETWINNING PLATFORM, THE WHOLE PROJECT IMPLIES A PROMOTION OF ICT IN EDUCATION BOTH FOR TEACHERS AND STUDENTS. IT HAS DEVELOPPED ABILITIES TO PRODUCE, UPLOAD, SAVE AND SHARE REPORTS, PHOTOS, VIDEOS, CONVERSATIONS

Describe how you measure (parameters) these results:

I HAVE MEASURED THE RESULTS BY THE DEGREE OF INVOLVEMENT IN ACTIVITIES, BY THE CREATIVE USE OF TOOLS, BY THE COLLABORATIVE _ATTITUDE IN TEAM WORK.
THE ASSESSMENT OF THE PROJECT HAS BEEN DONE USING MICE TOOLS AND ACCORDING TO BOTH STUDENTS AND TEACHERS THE FINAL PRODUCTS ARE GOOD AND USEFUL.

11. Sustainability

What is the full duration of your project:

From 1 to 3 years

What is the approximate total budget for your project (in USD):

From 10.001 to 30.000

What is the source of funding for your project:

Grants

Is your project economically self sufficient now:

Yes

Insert date:

10/15/2006

12. Transferability

Has your project been replicated/adapted elsewhere:

Yes

Specify:

OUR OWN STUDENTS HAVE BEEN USING THE GUIDE TO CREATE ON-LINE GAMES. ON THE OTHER HAND, THE SPANISH TEACHERS CREATED A TRIVIAL GAME AS A WAY TO ENCOURAGE STUDENTS TO USE IT

What lessons can others learn from your project:

FIRST, A GOOD PLANNING WITH A LIST OF OBJECTIVES, ACTIVITIES, EXPECTED RESULTS, DEADLINES AND RESPONSIBILITES FOR EVERYBODY IS NECESSARY.
SECOND, GETTING USED TO ICT TOOLS PROVIDES STUDETNS WITH MORE OPPORTUNITIES IN THEIR FUTURE WORK.
THIRD, PROMOTING TEAM WORK HELPS STUDENTS TO DEVELOP NOT ONLY LEARNING STRATEGIES BUT ALSO SOCIAL AND COMMUNICATIVE ONES.

We are available to help others starting or working on similar projects:

We are available to help others starting or working on similar projects.

13. Background information

Background:

OUR PARTNERS HAVE BEEN: ZESPOL SZKOL ZAWODOWYCH IM. ST. STASZICA (OPOLE) WITH THE COORDINATOR IZABELA KOLODZIEJCZYK. SCOALA NO.92 (BUCHAREST) WITH IRINA VASILESCU. LYCÉE LA CHATAIGNERAIE (LE MESNIL ESNARD. ROUEN) WITH CAROLE DUPONT AS COORDINATOR. ITC ANTONIO DE VITI DI MARCO (TRIGGIANO. BARI) WITH MARIANNA MERCURI.
OUR SCHOOL HAS A TEAM WITH TEACHERS: ASUNCIÓN DE ÁLVARO FROM THE GEOGRAPHY AND HISTORY DEPARTMENT, LORENZO PIERA FROM THE LANGUAGE DEPARTMENT, RICARDO GONZÁLEZ-TABLAS FORM THE MATHEMATICS DEPARTMENT, HORTENSIA GARCÍA FROM THE FRENCH DEPARTMENT, MºJESÚS TERRÓN, VALENTINA CUADRADO, JOSÉ RAMÓN LADRERO FROM THE ENGLISH DEPARTMENT AND ANTONIO MARTÍN FROM THE ART DEPARTMENT.
ALTHOUGH WE HAVE NOT HAD ANY SPONSORSHIPS, WE HAVE BEEN HELPED BY THE TOWN HALL AND OTHER LOCAL AUTHORITIES.
WE HAVE BEEN FUNDED BY A COMENIUS GRANT.

Barriers:

ACCORDING TO THE EVALUATION THE MAIN CHALLENGES IN THE PROCESS HAS BEEN GETTING A RELIABLE INTERNET CONNCETION IN SOME SCHOOLS, HAVING TO WORK EXTRA TIME AND THE LACK OF MONEY FOR SOME TEAMS. ENGLIS AS A COMMUNICATION LANGUAGE HAS ALSO BEEN A CHALLENGE FOR CERTAIN STUDENTS AND TEACHERS.

Solutions:

PROBLEMS CONCERNING A RELIABLE INTERNET CONNECTION OR THE EXTRA-TIME HAVE BEENN DIFFIUCLT TO SOLVE. IN OUR SCHOOL WE HAD ONE HOUR PER WEEK FOR EVERY GROUP AND SUBJECT IN THE COMPUTER ROOM. OUR INTERNET CONNCETION HAS BEEN RELIABLE MOST THE TIME, FOR OTHER SCHOOLS IT HAS BEEN DIFFERENT. THEY HAVE WORKED FORM THEIR OWN HOUSES, EVEN STUDENTS. CONCERNING THE USE OF ENGLISH IT HAS BEEN WORSE FOR SOME TEAHCERS, BUT WE HAVE SOLVED THE PROBLEM HAVING ALWAYS SOMEBODY SPEAKING ENGLISH TO TRANSLATE.

Future plans and wish list:

WE ARE ABOUT TO PUBLISH THE PAPER GUIDE AND WE WILL DISTRIBUTE IT IN PUBLIC LIBRARIES IN OUR TOWNS.
WE WOULD LIKE STUDENTS IN THE SCHOOLS TO HAVE IT AS A REFERENCE BOOK.
ON THE OTHER HAND, WE WOULD LIKE OUR PUBLICITY POSTERS TO BE PRINTED BY THE LOCAL TOURISM OFFICES.

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