Social media in formal education Erasmus Project

Project Title

Social media in formal education

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 2016

Project Topics

This project is related with these Project Topics: Quality Improvement Institutions and/or methods (incl. school development); ICT – new technologies – digital competences; International cooperation, international relations, development cooperation

Project Summary

The fact that teenagers spend most of their free time on social media is alarming. This project has been essential to point out all the risks of social media and networks, and on the other hand to show the possibilities how to use social media for an educational purpose, because they are no doubt the source of easily accessible information.
General objectives were improving the level of key competences and skills of young people – language competence, digital competence, social and communication competences (also those with fewer opportunities), providing such an environment and such situations where all participants had equal opportunity for intercultural and intergenerational education and lifelong learning, promoting democratic life in Europe, promoting intercultural dialogue, social inclusion and solidarity, enhancing the international dimension in education and training, promoting mobility in Europe, promoting young people´s involvement, strengthening digital integration in learning, teaching, training and youth work at various levels, being aware of the idea of the United Europe with its different customs, traditions and cultural heritage according to the countries, promoting respect, harmony, tolerance, acceptance and global understanding among people of different cultural and social backgrounds. Objecitves, related to the project idea were studying and analysing the behaviour and performance of teenagers on social networks, pointing out risky behaviour on social networks and possible negative consequences for the society in general, analysing the groups active on social networks focusing on environmental changes study and preparing social media activities based lesson plans related with this topic, analysing the groups active on social networks focusing on economic crisis and changes in the world and preparing social media activities based lesson plans related with this topic, analysing the groups active on social networks that present extreme ideas and ideologies and preparing social media activities based lesson plans related with this topic with the aim to prevent people from manipulation, analyse the hobby groups active on social networks according to the students preferences and preparing social media activities based lesson plans related with the topic of free time and hobbies, analysing the groups active on social networks that provide information about the possibilities to work or travel abroad and prepare the media activities related with this topic.
During implementation of the project the following methods have been used: discussions, interviews, analysis, peer to peer learning, learning by doing, cooperative learning, problem-based learning, brainstorming, brainwriting, observation, study and analysis of documents, critical reading and comparison. The target group of our projects were students aged 14 to 19. We chose this target group because they are the most vulnerable and easily manipulated and they need to be shown differences. During the project teenagers were learning by doing, while discovering options to use social media and networks for educational purpose.
There were five schools involved in the project, four of them being secondary level general education (form Italy, Turkey, Poland, and Slovakia) and one being vocational high school (Slovenian). During the project two questionnaires related to social media use (for teachers and students respectively) were prepared and they were filled in by 20 teachers and 100 students at each organization at the beginning and at the end of the project. Furthermore, each school was responsible for preparing social media-based lesson plans on different topics (described above). The lessons were performed during the teaching learning activities meetings with host students, observed by participating teachers as well, and discussed afterwards. The questionnaire analyses and comparison between the first and the second year has proven teachers and students to be more aware of social media being a useful educational tool.
Publishing the document with the social-media based lesson plans on website as well as sending it to other English teachers in our countries will enable other teachers to use the prepared materials, thus improving their as well as their students’ awareness of social media role in educational purpose.

EU Grant (Eur)

Funding of the project from EU: 101775 Eur

Project Coordinator

SOLSKI CENTER SLOVENJ GRADEC & Country: SI

Project Partners

• Istituto Maria Ausiliatrice Soverato
• Ahmet Kurttepeli A. Lisesi
• Liceum Ogolnoksztalcace im Powstancow Wielkopolskich w Srodzie Wielkopolskiej
• Spojena skola Kollarova 17, Secovce