Keep on shining: a project on lighthouses Erasmus Project

Project Title

Keep on shining: a project on lighthouses

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 : Strategic Partnerships for Schools Only

Project Call Year

This project’s Call Year is 2016

Project Topics

This project is related with these Project Topics: Energy and resources; ICT – new technologies – digital competences; Creativity and culture

Project Summary

“Keep on shining: a project on lighthouses” focuses on the research of lighthouses both as historical and cultural symbol and as nautical technology. Students aged 14-15 from 5 EU countries will carry out the research from 5 different fields: 1. historical – literary; 2. Artistic; 3. scientific-technological; 4. social y cívico; 5. digital. Students have worked together with the teacher’s guidance and support with the aim of using and learning different competence based methods and research techniques.

The project has been founded on a new relationship between 5 schools in Italy, Finland, Greece, Germany and Spain who have begun their cooperation using Twinspace.
The project aimed to examine the role of lighthouses from antiquity to present and which adaptations will they need in order to keep maintaining their role in the future. Over the course of 24 months the project activities has provided students and teachers a platform to gain a deeper understanding of the role of lighthouses and also a whole new bunch of learning strategies and skills based on ICT resources.
Students have been encouraged to project their innovative personalities on to the project activities at all stages with the goal of developing their social entrepreneurship skills in this transnational multilingual cooperation using ICT methods and 2.0 web communications tools. Thus, videoblogs, glogsters, digital diaries or time-lines have been set up.
The project have tried to provide an educationally innovative and supportive foundation for students to work and learn together while studying lighthouses. Teachers have also had the chance of acquiring innovative methods which they will be able to share with their fellow teachers in their schools. Innovative use of ICT resources among teachers has been also encouraged.
A major element of the project has been the inclusion of a website which is the container of the activities, results, evaluation procedures and different media dissemination of the project. This website has become the communication channel among the project’s participants with directs link to the project’s moodle and to the social media profiles and communication tools.
The 5 stages of the project have been related to the exchanges planned during the project. Italy has organized the historical-literary exchange; Greece has organized the artistic exchange; Finland has organized the scientific-technological; Germany has organized the environmental exchange; Spain has organized the digital and final exchange.
We have had 16 mobilities of students (Aged 14-15) and 2 teachers per country over the course of the 24 months.
Students has produced different results from the different activities planned. From the field Historical –literary:1 on-line and paper edition of the compilation of literary texts related to presence and working of the local lighthouses, 5 Glogsters and Prezis about the history of local lighthouses and 5 video interviews with the current lighthouse-keeper.
From the Artistic field : 5 scale models of the local lighthouse building, 1 Exposition of the photographs taken by students for the Photo Contest. From the Scientific-technological field : 5 Lego recreation of the lighthouse’s rotatory mechanism, 5 Video recordings of the explanations made by students of the lightning mechanism. From the Environmental research field : 5 Working lighthouses models using alternative energy.
Besides, as a result of the exchanges, we have obtained the following results: compilation and publishing on the project site of the researched findings in every stage; Website; Twitter profile; Youtube channel; Local authorities and lighthouses´ administration involvement; Collection and dissemination of material.

All of these results have been recorded, photographed or digitalized and set up into the project’s site with the aim of shaping a repository of materials, innovative practices and experiences to be used by other teachers. Educational sequences and activities using ICT resources have been also included in order to be put into the classroom curriculum.
Every stage of the project has been evaluated. Assessment has implied participant students, families and teachers and non-participant students and teachers. Local institutions and lighthouse administrator have been also required for the evaluation procedure.
In addition, the project has intended to carry out an integral research of lighthouses, using different methodologies and learning strategies which have helped students to acquire and develop basic and transversal skills.

EU Grant (Eur)

Funding of the project from EU: 108740 Eur

Project Coordinator

IES JAROSO & Country: ES

Project Partners

• LICEO GINNASIO GB VICO
• 13th Gymnasium of Heraklion
• Europaschule Gymnasium Westerstede
• Merenojan koulu