School in the Cloud Erasmus Project

Project Title

School in the Cloud

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: ICT – new technologies – digital competences; New innovative curricula/educational methods/development of training courses; Open and distance learning

Project Summary

School in the Cloud (SiC)
 
ICT has become an inherent part of our everyday lives, in particular for young people who cannot imagine living without computers, smartphones or a 24-hour access to the Internet. However, the implementation of ICT devices at school or in the schools’ curricula has not kept pace with this development. This is partly due to the rapid speed of the technological progress as well as the teachers’ lack of knowledge and experience to implement the latest devices. In the light of both this problem and the fact that most European countries are striving to move closer together the project School in the Cloud offers an opportunity to work on both issues.

Thus, the main objective of this project is to create a virtual classroom in which six different subjects will be taught by teachers from different nations. The participating teachers and students from all partner countries will attend the virtual school and both learn and contribute new ideas. School in the Cloud pursues the goal to increase the students’ motivation for learning, and improve their performance at school as well as their ICT skills and their foreign language skills. In addition, the project will promote both communication and intercultural competence. The teachers involved will also improve their ICT skills, gain experience in project management activities and in teaching in a virtual classroom. They will also promote their communication and intercultural competence.

The project is implemented by six partners. The Belgian, German and Norwegian schools are vocational/technical colleges, the Italian school is a secondary business school and the Slovenian and Spanish ones primary level schools. The intended age group of the students is from about 14 to 19 years of age. All schools will choose suitable classes/schools levels to participate in the project.

All partners except Norway will develop a basic course in their mothertongue (Belgium will do French). The Norwegians will develop a course on the literature of all participating countries (short stories, fairy tales, legends, poems). During the first phase of the project two partners will exchange their courses. In the second phase a second course will be added and in the third phase all schools have access to all courses. The achievement of the goals will be assessed by evaluation forms, questionaires and tests at the beginning of the project, after about one year and at the end.

The courses will be done using Microsoft virtual classroom. All schools participating in the project will be taught how to use it and will be equipped with the latest version of it. The lessons will be given following the principle of Flipped Classroom. The teachers will supply all the materials and documents to the students so that they can follow the 45-minute lessons. There will be set times for students-teachers chats. Out of the set times students can also communicate with each other and the teachers via eTwinning or social media. All important documents and information will also be published on the project’s website.
The classroom activities will be complemented by four Short Term Exchanges of Group of Pupils. During these meetings the students will have the chance to get to know each other. They will also attend workshops on different cultural aspects of the hosting country.

Apart from the concrete results (website, project diary and an ebook on the complete implementation of the project) the project will increase the students‘ motivation to learn. Away from following ‘ordinary’ lessons, they can profit from virtual lessons as the courses are accessible twenty-four hours seven days a week. This gives every student the opportunity to study at times that not only are most convenient to them but also when their individual performance curve is at a peak. In addition, they can study at their personal speed and revise or repeat the lessons as often and as fast as they want. This is beneficiary for quick learners as well as for slow learners.
Communicating with students from different European schools and taking part in mobilities will improve the students’ foreign language skills, both in the English language and in the foreign language/s they are learning in the courses. The encounter with people from different European countries will promote their intercultural competence.
All partner schools will acquire innovative practices and ICT-knowledge which will contribute to the implementation of a more modern and open way of teaching and learning. This can be a means to tackle early school leaving as motivated students show a better perfomance and are more successful at school.
Students will be encouraged to develop their lifelong learning skills, in particular foreign languages and digital skills, in order to prepare them for their lives after school.
The results of the project will be used to implement virtual classrooms for more different subjects and school levels.

EU Grant (Eur)

Funding of the project from EU: 341,66 Eur

Project Coordinator

Philipp-Holzmann-Schule & Country: DE

Project Partners

• Osnovna sola XIV. divizije Senovo
• Ulstein vidaregåande skule
• Colegio Pureza de María
• Broeders Hiëronymieten3
• Cooperativa Maria Consolatrice – SCUOLA REGINA MUNDI