School 21, Digitally and Socially Yours Erasmus Project

Project Title

School 21, Digitally and Socially Yours

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 2017

Project Topics

This project is related with these Project Topics: International cooperation, international relations, development cooperation; ICT – new technologies – digital competences; Social dialogue

Project Summary

School 21, Digitally and Socially Yours was a project among five secondary schools from five countries, the Czech Republic, Germany, Hungary, Poland and Romania. Our students were between 15 and 18. We had 2 teachers and 4 – 16 students from each school at each training event. Altogether the project involved 40 teacher mobilities and 155 student mobilities in all training events. Furthermore, whole classes or project clubs worked together in order to maintain continuous cooperation in the project life cycle. The activities were coordinated by project teams of teachers and other professionals as well.
At the beginning of the 21 century it is highly inevitable to own versatile digital skills in all walks of life. They are known as 4 Cs´ or “super skills” (communication, collaboration, critical thinking and creativity) and are applicable in various academic subjects and extracurricular activites such community service or volunteering. Our primary objectives were to enable students to learn basic digital skills within the frame of practical tasks in an international environment of Central and Eastern Europe and to encourage them to become active citizens, being aware of and taking part in the community service. The objectives were divided into 3 categories: didactical (developing critical thinking, flexibility, interest in Europe, exchange of diverse cultural knowledge), methodical (use of modern technology, developing tasks through team work) and social (long-term interest in community service activities, learning about cultural differences, sharing opinions).
During the two years of the project students created different products (questionnaires, presentations, quizzes, digital stories, videos, a magazine, project newsletters) and took part in online and onsite activities (lessons/tasks based on learning 21 century skills in an international environment prepared by teachers from all partner countries, workshops with experts and schools lecturers, meetings with people from different NGOs and companies) in order to learn new digital skills and promote community service.
Teachers created learning scenarios based on 21 century skills, assessment rubrics and digital badges recognizing completed tasks, the main products are a project website TwinSpace, an online project newsletter brochure, an online volunteering magazine and a School 21 brochure including all online student work and teaching material. All material is publicly available under the CC licence: Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International. Social and emotional learning activities were part of community service practices.
Five training events and two project meetings were held during the project life cycle, online activities were carried out continuously on eTwinning TwinSpace.
Community service was a kind of activity free from financial interest, practised individually or as part of a group, aimed at social or environmental issues to serve students’ local community. The original idea of dealing with community service and volunteering was initiated by the Hungarian school. The partner schools, which had maintained various professional relationships with each other, agreed to study the topic as community service is an issue of high significance in our education systems. However, there were different requirements and expectations. We studied, compared, analysed and shared good practices of the participant schools.
Dealing with community services had several important pedagogical profit impacts on the age group, e.g. experimental education dismantling school barriers, social sensitization, transformation of the relationship among teachers-students-parents, motivating in respect of choosing a profession, establishment of cooperation and understanding among generations, raising students’ openness to difficult situations, active citizenship, raising social sensitivity or spreading the culture of volunteering.
During the training events students and teachers got an insight in the relevant volunteering activities in the partner countries, e.g. visiting various NGOs, charity organisations, educational institutions, studying in addition to active participation of community service.
The project results were disseminated inside the partnership in the form of seminars/workshops or presentations created by direct participants, teachers and students, for other teachers and students of partner schools, parents at parental meetings and potential students on Open Days. Outside the partnership, the project was disseminated at teacher training seminars. In schools there are noticeboards showing project activities and outputs, school websites contain information and reports from training events together with the link to the public TwinSpace, a videoconference was held on eTwinning Live for all interested eTwinning teachers. The project was also promoted via social media of partner schools. The project outputs could serve as a good practice to all interested parties.

EU Grant (Eur)

Funding of the project from EU: 120950 Eur

Project Coordinator

Obchodni akademie a Vyssi odborna skola ekonomicka, Tabor, Jiraskova 1615 & Country: CZ

Project Partners

• Hebel-Gymnasium Schwetzingen
• Zespol Szkol Ogolnoksztalcacych Nr 2 im. F.D. Kniaznina w Pulawach
• Türr István Gimnázium és Kollégium
• Liceul Teoretic Coriolan Brediceanu