From Facebook to Face2Face: Cross-Cultural Relations through Social Media and Beyond Erasmus Project

Project Title

From Facebook to Face2Face: Cross-Cultural Relations through Social Media and Beyond

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: EU Citizenship, EU awareness and Democracy; Teaching and learning of foreign languages; ICT – new technologies – digital competences

Project Summary

The context of the project and its major field is strategic partnerships. Its key action is cooperation for innovation and the exchange of good practices. Social media have changed the way people communicate. F2FCult, From Facebook to Face2Face: Cross-Cultural relations through Social Media and Beyond, is a project that incorporates social media in the learning environment, by involving the cross-cultural communication and relationship between (vocational) high-school students in Croatia and Iceland, both on-line, via Facebook and other social media, and in person, with students from each country visiting the others. Thus, social media is not solely used for the purpose of cross-cultural interaction, but also as a vital part of the teaching and learning environment, creating a new dimension in the social learning space. The project involved cross cultural communications and relationship between high school students in Croatia and Iceland both on-line and via Facebook and other social media. The Croatian school Graditeljska geodeska is a civil engineering school. It has many fields in form of architecture, civil engineering and land surveying. Menntaskolinn Kopavogur-school in Iceland is a grammar school, hospitality and culinary school and its motivation is to give best academic and vocational education. The school has been in the forefront of the use of digital technology in teaching and learning in Iceland. The Croatian students were 10 in total and attended the 1st and 2nd grade of the secondary school for civil engineering, studying to become land surveyors, architectural technicians and civil engineering technicians. The Icelandic students, 13 in total, all belonged to the international line where the learned about international relations among other subjects. Communication between partnering groups was done one line, via Facebook and other social media. Also in person were students from each country visited each other. Social media is a vital part of teaching and the whole learning environment. Assignments and project were shared in a common Facebook group between the students in Iceland and Croatia. That created a new dimension of in the social learning space. It empowers foreign language classes by improving language skills, broadening their cultural competences and overall interest in different cultures. Students get better at networking and exchanging information and personal impressions relating to their fields of interest. They got an impressive training in filming cultural city sights and events and many other thing regarding their work together on projects that increased their social and language skills.
Both groups of students enhanced their networking and collaboration skills, as well as their technological know-how by using cross cultural digital projects. The project F2FCult built a bridge of friendship between the students and gave them a better understanding of their different traditions and cultures. They learned how lives and attitudes are formed by the culture and environment we live in. Some students became friends for life with the help of social media while others have good memories of the project and will help them, as they grow older, to become a better citizen in their own country as well as seeing themselves as citizens of Europe were democracy is a strong part of their trait and tradition.

EU Grant (Eur)

Funding of the project from EU: 47005 Eur

Project Coordinator

Menntaskólinn í Kópavogi & Country: IS

Project Partners

• Graditeljsko-geodetska tehnicka skola