We are eco Friendly

We are Eco Friendly

DDMN Primary school-2nd grade Teacher: Stavroula Lada School year 2017-18

2017-18

Project description "We do not inherit the Earth from our Ancestors, we borrow it from our Children" is an ancient Indian proverb that tells us about the importance of protecting our planet. With this project, we aimed to raise awareness for environmental issues and lead our pupils towards the adoption of active eco-friendly actions. The students collaborated and ran many activities, like collecting plastic caps, creating gardens, making public podcasts, eco toys, comics and having field trips. In the end of the project, the partners got more aware of ecological issues and environmental protection.

PEDAGOGICAL INNOVATION AND CREATIVITY During the project work my pupils worked in small groups according to their last name.

According to this criteria, all project partners from all different schools formed the transnational teams. We had decided that from the beginning because there was a large number of pupils, so we had to find a way to collaborate more efficiently.

The children formed these teams by communicated with their European peers by Twinmails.

There was a detailed project plan with all activities and all the deadlines. This way, the students knew exactly their tasks and by then they had to accomplish them. Most of the times, the children had to work independently with their own devices (tablets and mobiles.

My role was to foster their work and stand by their side as a mentor. They may be young, but the topic was very familiar to them.

We used brainstorming activities, analysis and synthesis methods of the topic and the inquiry-based-learning & problem-solving method, since the pupils had to solve the problem on how we can protect the environment. For example, they had to answer the question “How can we recycle effectively?�.

The students proposed the caps recycling with which Red Cross can buy a wheel chair. Another method used in this project was the peer-to-peer learning. My pupils learnt from their partners how to use their food waste, how to create vegetable gardens and how to make eco toys. Their peers was an amazing example for my young students. Finally, all our project work was enhanced by the principles of project-based-learning, since we started with the goal setting, the planning of activities, the working procedure and the evaluation of the whole work. The children were engaged during the whole collaboration because there were collaborative hands-on activities that were meaningful and intriguing.

CURRICULAR INTEGRATION Among the subjects I teach as a primary school teacher, there is the one of Environmental Studies. The goals of this project were exactly the same with a part of the learning goals of this subject of the curriculum. This was the reason why I chose to take part in this project in the first place; because my pupils needed an interesting and engaging project with hands-on activities, in collaboration with other peers from different parts of Europe.

The pupils developed various skills and competences during the work process. First of all, they improved their collaborative and communications skills, while working with their partners from different schools, like exchanging twinmails. They also enhanced their digital competences, since a big part of the project was delivered with the help of technology (like recording podcasts and creating surveys and games).

They took advantage of the BYOD. Moreover, the pupils gained environmental awareness because the whole project was based on protecting and respecting the environment. The pupils had several hands-on activities, like gathering caps, planting and recycling.

They used their creativity and made toys from recyclable materials and Christmas ornaments and trees from garbage. Apart from this, they improved their critical thinking and problem-solving skills, since they had to find ways to solve crucial problems, like sea, soil and air pollution.

Finally, the students felt self-confident in dealing with global issues, like when they made a research on the island created by garbage in the Pacific ocean, and cultivated learning how to learn competencies.

COMMUNICATION AND EXCHANGE BETWEEN PARTNER SCHOOLS

We used the Twinspace platform as our communication vehicle. Under the pages ‘About the project’ ,‘Our schools’ & ‘Exchange messages’ we had our first encounter with the other participants.

Through videos & games students initially posted their school introductions.Then, they sent ice-breaking messages to their peers,introducing themselves.

They used the twinmail. The chat room was used for simultaneous communication among teachers.A live chat room meeting took place on the 17 of March between teachers to exchange ideas on the project. th

All teachers could join the virtual room,join the conversation & those who didn’t attend the meeting had the opportunity to download the conversation through the chat history. Additionally, on the 11 of March we used the live event tool to attend a live event.The twin mail & the Teachers’ bulletin were also a way to inform all participants about tasks. th

Furthermore,our school work & the work of our partners was posted on the Project Journal sharing all information about the project on each stage.As far as the communication activities designed in order to share the work of our class on the themes of the project some of the applications we used are the following,Games, Padlets, Answer garden,Coggle,Vimeo, Videos, photos, posters & Podcasts.

My students participated in all these activities by suggesting ideas,discussing,designing, applying their ideas by using the mentioned tools & posting on the project journal their work.The work was monitored either in class or individually at home on their own time with their usernames & passwords.

Students were invited to comment on the work posted each day expressing their opinion.A lot of our school work was also posted on the school’s web page so all students of the school had the opportunity to be informed on various eco issues. In the end of the school year, we communicated our project to schools stake holders & parents, who embraced it with enthousuasm.

COLLABORATION BETWEEN PARTNER SCHOOLS. Chiara Pasquini,founder of the project,asked from me & Vicky Giannopoulou to be administrators of the project, All three discussed in the beginning about the designing of the project & the main tasks to be deliverd. In the beginning of each page a short introductory video created by the students using Toondoo, gave instructions to the students on each task.

When schedules,activities & products were agreed,a project plan was posted on twinspace ‘About the project’.All participants were able to read the schedule which was open to changes,ideas & adaptation through the school year according to our students’ suggestions & needs.

In the beginning we decided to involve our students on getting to know each other with videos & twinmails. My students usually worked in small groups.

During the process every team had to collaborate with students of the other schools to achieve the final outcome.We created Collaborative Comics, a fun & engaging way to involve students of all levels in the classroom. Students were given the freedom to express their ideas & the same time they improved their reading & writing skills. Pack a Waste Free Lunch: Students had to complete a file provided by the Spanish School about their lunch in school .

We collected the data. We shared them online &suggested solutions.We also used the Answer Garden web tool to brainstorm on river pollution.A mindmap was created with the collaboration of various countries that provided food for thought to all of us.

A number of padlets were created with the ideas of all the participants.

Students used their tablets,computers & smart phones to share their ideas.They also expressed their ideas on the creation of a school vegetable garden.We planted plants in pots.

We also created a collaborative podcast about protecting the environment.

My students part was about a “garbage� island, created in the Pacific Ocean.The children were excited to have worked in this podcast.

USE OF TECHNOLOGY In this project students came together from all over Europe to run a collaborative project using the tools of technology. The Twinspace was the main meeting point of the project.

The various activities were uploaded on the Project Diary and under the correct theme Page for easy & fast access. All of the students had their personal username & password so access was immediate even after school hours.Pupils and teachers used a variety of technological tools, such as Computers, Smart phones, Tablets, Live Chat, Live events, Web cams, email, Twin mail, Image Editing, Google Maps, Answer Garden, Pod cast, MP3s, Video Movie Maker, Vimeo, YouTube, Toondoo, Google Drive.

All technological tools facilitated the implementation of the tasks & promoted the communication between teachers & students. Pupils used different types of media to convey a message in a real life context. They presented their work on the Project Journal & received feedback from students & teachers. When students prepare material for a different audience, in this case students in another country, the task takes on a new meaning .

The task is more authentic because there is a real audience who will have to act on the information the students send, so there is willingness to invest extra effort to convey meaning in as correct a way as possible. Making presentations, posters, videos, enabled pupils to show their creative side. Working in groups also helped them to develop collaborative skills & further team tasks promoted international collaboration. Perfecting these skills will not only help improve the pupils' concentration & teach them how to learn efficiently, but will also come in handy later on in life.

RESULTS, IMPACT AND DOCUMENTATION Students acquired different skills. They acquired intercultural consciousness by interacting with other students and understand people who are different in thoughts, beliefs, words and actions.

They also met with knowledge on global environmental issues. They practiced ICT skills, used new technological applications & tools. They used their creativity & critical thinking skills throughout all project activities.

For me, this project had an huge impact because I tried different teaching methods, which I saw in other teachers. For example, the use of podcasts was one of them. Plus, I met interesting colleagues in Greece & Europe, who were open-minded, innovative & inspiring.

The impact in my school was crucial. The plants the students planted in pots, the food waste control tasks, the podcast broadcasting & the collaborative comics are some of the activities that were presented in other students & teachers in my school & had a large impact.

In our dissemination activities in school website, newspaper & parents’ presentation this was quite clear. eTwinning is always a supportive mean in my teaching & in our school community.

OTHER AWARDS This project has received a National eTwinning Quality Label by the Portugese NSS in July 2018.