Spirit of Europe Erasmus Project

Project Title

Spirit of Europe

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 2015

Project Topics

This project is related with these Project Topics: ICT – new technologies – digital competences; Teaching and learning of foreign languages; EU Citizenship, EU awareness and Democracy

Project Summary

The project “Spirit of Europe” focusses on the history and the development of the European Union and its image in public. If you observe the current discussion in the media, you can see that the membership in the EU seems to be only reduced to financial affairs at the moment. To continue, a lot of EU-critical parties use the European Union as scapegoat for a lot of problems and ills. They propagate the withdrawal from the EU as a solution to all the problems. Here our project comes in.
The last two years we tried to convey our pupils a detailed picture of the EU with its advantages and disadvantages. We also showed them the consequences of a EU membership in their personal lives. All this should encourage them to take a more active part in democratic processes.
With the use of an Internet-based project room the pupils gained experiences in Internet-based cooperation and so strengthen their ICT-competences. Thus we provided them an important experience for their future professional lives.
The work with this project room also provided the participating teachers an insight into a different teaching method. Therefore, at the end, the project room was tranformed into an online teaching unit. Since that teaching unit was elaborated by the participating teachers in cooperation, they got to know the different didactic and methodological approaches of the participating schools and so, they were able to extend their knowledge of methods.
In the project four European schools worked together: Gymnasium Wertingen, Wertingen, Germany; Liceo Scientifico “R.Nuzzi”, Andria, Italy; Celldomolki Berzsenyi Daniel Gimnazium es Szakkepzo Iskola, Celldömölk, Hungary and Osg Willemblaeu, Alkmaar, Netherlands.
When choosing the project partners we paid attention to the fact that the countries of those schools had a different history as far as the entry into the EU and the integration into the common currency, the euro, are concerned. Apart from that the different countries have got different experiences with the current European crisis and therefore different ideas about the European Union. So we got a differentiated and diverse picture of the EU.
Another point was the readiness to work with an Internet-based learning platform. All four schools are already experienced in the use of learning platforms and in European cooperation projects and they were very ready to expand their experiences.
To support the project work a virtual project room was installed on a learning platform. This room served for communication and cooperation among the participants and for the collection of materials worked out.
During the time of the project four major subjects were treated:
° Original intention of the European Union
° Introducion of the common currency
° The influence of the European Union on daily life
° Europe – a land of peace
In all four subjects the pupils made research in their own countries and to formulated their results. During the learning activities, when they were together, their results were presented to the other schools, were revised in transnational work groups and a final version was put up. In the course of the project a collection of materials resulted thereof. During each learning activity a discussion with a local representative from administration or politics about the effects of the European Union on the respective region was done. This served to complete the picture of the EU and to strengthen the desired effects on the young people.
Two times a cooperation concerning one subject was carried out only with Internet tools like Chat, Forum and Wiki.
The results were finally collected in a multilingual booklet which was presented to the public via the European Platfom for the results of the projects.
Another final product is an online teaching unit which the participating teachers have designed from the materials of the project room. This teaching unit is now available for other schools. The results, the booklet and the teaching unit are available via the Internet even after the end of the project. All these materials were put under Creative Commons License, so that other schools can use and modify them.
With the use of these materials in lessons we expect a more differentiated view on the European Union from the young people in the long term. Apart from that they recognize that their own research is most important in order to form a well-founded opinion and we expect that they will then get more involved into democratic processes.
As far as teachers are concerned the experiences with this project should make them want to initiate and run more projects in the future. And they will have the opportunity to use their newly-gained experiences in the development of their own online teaching units.

EU Grant (Eur)

Funding of the project from EU: 87865 Eur

Project Coordinator

Gymnasium Wertingen & Country: DE

Project Partners

• Liceo scientifico statale “R.Nuzzi” Andria
• Celldömölki Berzsenyi Dániel Gimnázium
• Osg Willemblaeu