Implementation of “Schools now and then” (SOI-GR-374)
Author: Elpida Semertzidou, german teacher
School/Organization: 4th Senior high school of Rhodes
Unsere Schule in2050
For the implementation of this scenario, a group of students of the first grade of high school was chosen, which is participating in an eTwinning project entitled “Unsere Schule in 2050” (Our Schools in 2050). I thought it was necessary for them to learn what schools were like in the past so as to compare them with contemporary schools and to imagine the schools of the future. The implementation of the scenario was carried out face to face, in 2 teaching hours, in the computer room. 16 children aged 15 years old, who were quite familiar with digital tools due to their involvement with eTwinning took part in the scenario. They worked using their computers and their own smartphones, following the mentality of “bringing your own device”. Both the students and the teacher had not used the Europeana platform before. Thus the script “Schools now and then” by Kristina Jelošek was the occasion for the utilization of Europeana.
Introductory activity,10 min.
Kristina Jelošek’s learning scenario was not applied literally at all stages, but it was adapted to the language level of the students, the requirements of the eTwinning project and the activity I wanted to complete, i. e. describing the school of the future from their point of view.
Students are given a link to a jamboard with all the steps to follow, the Europeana material and the hyperlinks to the web 2.0 tools.First, the students watch a video, different from the one in the scenario, concerning the 1st day of Greek students at school in the 70s. Then they verbally express their impressions and answer questions. The teacher notes their answers on a wordart cloud.
Brainstorming, 10 min.
They then take part in a poll to express their opinion on the question “What does school mean to you?”, just like in the learning scenario.
They are then divided into groups using the tool
https://pickerwheel.com/tools/random-team-generator/
Group making, 5 min.
cooperation / use of vocabulary, 20 min.
scan the QR codes of the images from the Europeana scenario
and answer the question “what school buildings were like in the past and what they look like today”. Their answers are compiled in a digital linoit table.
Watching the video, 10 min.
The students watch a video from the Europeana collection, different from the one in the scenario, as a visual stimulus for the exercise that follows.
Writing, 25 min.
Students write how they imagine the school of the future in groups in a wakelet using a specific grammatical phenomenon (Konjuktiv II) and completing their eTwinning project.
Finally, an evaluation of the whole process and the students’ work with the Europeana portal follows.
Evaluation, 10 min.
The students managed to:
a) develop their digital skills, b) work together for a common purpose, c) develop 21st century skills such as collaboration, communication, critical thinking and creativity, d) develop their independence in terms of their learning pathway, e) learn to respect copyright and use of resources, f) use grammatical phenomena and vocabulary in communicative contexts
It was a real challenge for me to use cultural elements in my course. My students and I tried a different way of learning and collaborating independent of printed material. The students learned to work on their own under the teacher’s discretionary supervision, thus enhancing their confidence. They also learned to rely on authentic material and sources while respecting the copyright of the authors. Personally, I acquired how to use Europeana resources and integrate them effectively into my teaching, creating a “living” learning community in the classroom.
Fellow teachers who would like to use Europeana resources should pay attention to the license of each resource, as well as the level (cognitive and age) of their students, in order to adapt each scenario accordingly. I kept the resources that I thought worked for the purpose I wanted, but also added other material from Europeana.
Photos from the action:https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1NWqnHlCMNeEf3lArKJYKjtp9sRDto_3P?usp=share_link
Did you find this story of implementation interesting? Why don’t you read about the related learning scenario? Schools Now and Then (LS-HR-636) created by Kristina Jelošek
Did you find this story of implementation interesting? You might also like:
- School uniforms, yes or no? (EN-CUR-203) implemented by Željka Starčević
- Education in the Middle Ages: the Birth of Modern Schooling (LS-IT-527) implemented by Emanuela Leto
- Distance Education: Cultural Heritage is ‘New’ Normal! (LS-TR-513) implemented by Dr. Arzu Kilitci Calayır
Do you want to discover more stories of implementation? Click here.
CC0 1.0: the featured image used to illustrate this article has been found on Europeana and has been provided by the Statens Museum for Kunst.