SURFING OUR ROOTS Erasmus Project

Project Title

SURFING OUR ROOTS

Project Key Action

This project related with these key action: Cooperation for innovation and the exchange of good practices

Project Action Type

This project related with this action type : School Exchange Partnerships

Project Call Year

This project’s Call Year is 2018

Project Topics

This project is related with these Project Topics: Cultural heritage/European Year of Cultural Heritage; ICT – new technologies – digital competences; Key Competences (incl. mathematics and literacy) – basic skills

Project Summary

Cultural heritage can confer an unconscious sense of unity and be belonging to a group and allows us to better understand previous generations and the history of where we come from.Not everyone feels a connection with their cultural heritage, but many people do.Globalisation, migration often cuts the roots of our young generation leading to values of our ancestors.Our learners are keen on playing with technologies more than to listen to stories or to visiting castles, or trying to learn in old approaches. We aware that our learners are to be fully functional citizens in the 21st century.Without knowing humankind roots, respecting the past, protecting heritage they won’t develop common human values to live in peace in multicultural society.The 21st century requires gaining cultural awareness competencies, and more: communication and collaboration,
social and civic responsibility, communication in a foreign language and digital literacy competencies.
All good teachers build a bridge between what students know and what they need to learn.Addictions of students making ‘selfies’ and scrolling the screen constantly we decided to turn into an interesting and useful occupation for them.We decided the favourite tools of the learners- the smartphones to use for improving digital literacy and to join those skills to exploring of heritage.We know how those devices impel to encourage to learn about what for youngsters seem dull.

The main objectives of Project “Surfing our Roots” are:
* To foster awareness of cultural heritage, emerge its uniqueness, emphasize the individuality of our countries and encourage dialogue amongst different cultures.
* To increase digital literacy competence and skills, educate the responsible IT user.
The goals:
– to explore, differ, assess, analyze and compare the diversity of local cultural heritage, UNESCO heritage objects in the motherland and in Partner countries;
– to express experience through digital products;
Secondary objectives are:
to improve problem-solving, creativity and initiative skills;
to develop communication and collaboration competencies;
to improve communication in English;
to improve learning to learn competence;

Partner schools will involve students, even with fewer opportunities, the teachers of all subjects, the staff, parents. 392 students aged from 6 to 16 from five countries and six schools will be involved.The Project will be a part of the schools’ curricula, the final point of this will be a simultaneously​ online conference. Professionals from Municipalities Heritage Departments, heritage related institutions will be asked for competent collaboration.
The project aimed to explore cultural local and UNESCO heritage as tangible as intangible and via this exploring and learning to use ICT and create different digital products: interactive maps, posters, e-books, flyers, magazines, walls, quizzes, crosswords, video presentations, short video clips, 3D, and panoramic photos.All partner schools’ will organize visits to see tangible heritage objects, to gain information about those objects in reality, to meet professionals from heritage-related departments, to differ, assess, analyze cultural heritage in various contexts. The students will learn about intangible heritage in this way too.
Five short-term exchanges of groups of pupils for 75 students, one short-term joint staff training event for 10 teachers, online meetings will be organized. Demonstrating, collaborating, researching and fundamental methodology the Project Based Learning and in applying ICT problem-oriented, application-oriented;menu-oriented and function-oriented methods will be used.
All partner schools will gain a great benefit.The outcomes – knowledge gained during the project’s activities, learning visits will broaden the students and the teachers’ mind on many levels: all schools will be satisfied with achieved goals and will have more intelligent students, with a wide and aware attitude toward different cultures, own roots, and the importance to preserve not only UNESCO but even local heritage. The level of tolerance in all schools will be raised.The students and the teacher will be able to use English more fluently.The schools will be more international. Innovative teaching approaches and different gadgets will be used in the educational process at our schools.The schools will have more students and teachers with higher developed digital literacy.In the future, all partner schools are going to increase digital tools in education more widely and this experience will be a good start point.
The result of the Project will be used during education at our and region’s schools: interactive maps of local heritage will be used in different lessons; it can be expanded according to different topics.The magazines will be used in English lessons; posters, quizzes, crosswords will be used as educational items.Videos and video presentations will be uploaded to the websites of the partner schools.

Project Website

http://www.surfingourroots.com/

EU Grant (Eur)

Funding of the project from EU: 122085,21 Eur

Project Coordinator

Raseiniu r. Girkalnio pagrindine mokykla & Country: LT

Project Partners

• Bogazkale Ortaokulu
• Agrupamento de Escolas de Ponte de Lima
• Sucikagi Pasa Karaca Ortaokulu
• 3o 12/Thesio Dimotiko Sxoleio Amaliadas
• Oostvaarderscollege