SmartYou! Erasmus Project

Project Title

SmartYou!

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: New innovative curricula/educational methods/development of training courses; ICT – new technologies – digital competences; International cooperation, international relations, development cooperation

Project Summary

SmartYou! was implemented with only small changes compared to the application.

SmartYou! is a project that addresses secondary school pupils at the age of 13 to 15 years and their teachers of various subjects. Three partner schools from Germany, the Netherlands and Poland were cooperating in this project that focusses on teenagers and their use of mobile phones in a wholistic cross-subject approach (technology, natural and social sciences, languages/literature, arts and geography).

Most teenagers are every-day users of smartphones but know very little about the technology and production of these devices, their influence on communication and behaviour and the environmental effects of resource exploitation for electronics or the issues of waste disposal. SmartYou! wanted to address this shortcoming.

Mataré-Gymnasium.Europaschule in Meerbusch (Germany) teaches pupils aged 10 to 18 and is a bilingual school with a strong European profile. It broght with it experience in CLIL (content and language integrated learning) and experience with environmental issues from its strong Geography department and experience in Erasmus+ (“EcoLife: our Way”, “Reduce – Reuse – Recycle”).
Szkola Podstawow nr 85 near Gdansk (Poland) teaches pupils aged 6 to 15 and is very active in science as well as arts and languages. They put a focus on pedagogy and have used the method of gamification in Erasmus+ before.
Lentiz | VMBO Maasland (Netherlands) teaches pupils at the secondary level, too, and has a profile in vocational agricultural courses of study, including technology.
So pupils and teachers with very different backgrounds cooperated and learned from each other.

The main objectives of the project were:
A School Education: Promoting the acquisition of skills and competences
Pupils will learn about mobile phone technology, environmental impacts of electronic devices and social and psychological side effects of mobile phones.
Pupils will practice skills of using mobiles for educational purposes and increase their ICT skills through using educational software.
Pupils will raise their level of English as they will use it to cooperate in international groups and increase their cultural awareness.
B School Education: Strengthening the profile of the teaching profession
Teachers will share the innovative methods of their schools, especially gamification as a highly innovative method in education.
Teachers will develop the ability to use digital technology for educational purposes.
Teachers will raise the level of organizational skills as to European projects as well as the level of English.

The following activities were carried out in classes and extracurricular workshops:
– logo competition to inform and involve the entire school community
– presentations on mobile phone technology
– industrial design workshop: designing an app and a gadget
– creative workshop: making a stop-motion film
– presentations on sustainability of electronic devices
– consumer information about sustainability (presentation in primary school and to other younger pupils)
– general activities for social/cultural/language purposes and project dissemination (surprise boxes, Erasmus+ corner, presenting project in school magazine/on homepage)
– teachers’ training (exchange/observation of best practices, use of ICT for educational purposes)
Pupils and teachers worked together in the project meeting (one meeting for teachers only, three meetings for pupils and teachers). Between meetings, cooperation and exchange of project products took place via Twinspace and other ICT.

Apart from the ready products mentioned above that were published and can be used again (in lessons, for presentations), we envisaged these results and long-term benefits:
– increased knowledge and skills concerning mobiles – which leads to a more effective use of smartphones,
– critical reflection of smartphone use – which helps to establish a healthy pattern of phone use,
– innovation in teaching methods (including documentation of “gamified learning event” for use in the three partner schools and for publication) – which contributes to good teaching practices and supports teachers while as a result being beneficial for pupils,
– broadening horizons and a European spirit in participating individuals and the entire school community.

EU Grant (Eur)

Funding of the project from EU: 51225 Eur

Project Coordinator

Städtisches Mataré-Gymnasium. Europaschule Meerbusch & Country: DE

Project Partners

• Lentiz VMBO Maasland
• Szkola Podstawowa nr 85