THE VIRTUAL UNIVERSE WE WANT
The project addresses students aged between 12 and 17, whose generations were born and have been raised in the age of digital technologies. The problem of internet security has become a global issue, regarding the entire civilized world. The aim of the project is to educate students, raising their awareness regarding the risks they assume when surfing the Internet, thus becoming more secure and responsible when using the online technology. There will be involved 8 schools and more than 800 teachers and students, but the there will be 5000 students, teachers, parents who will benefit from the project. The innovative character of the project is to approach from three perspectives of the problem (school-student-parent), by developing the digital pupils’ skills required for the European citizen who will live in a borderless space and facilitate student-student learning.
The objectives are:
- To identify risks in surfing the Internet and their impact by analysing the opinion of more than 20% of the students in each partner school, until the end of the project;
- To encourage students to learn the rules of good behaviour when using the virtual environment and personal data, by disseminating best practices in using the virtual space to at least 20% of the number of students in each partner school, until the end of the project;
- To make known the rules of using personal data by setting a Regulation of good behaviour on the Internet, developed by 20% of the students in each partner school, until the end of the project;
- To develop documentary autonomy for 20% of the number of students in each partner school through research activities and documentation on the Internet, (includes supporting synergies between education, research and innovation activities, the digitisation of quality learning content and promoting the use of ICT)until the end of the project;
- To decrease the number of virtual bullying instances (cyberbullying), by implementing an optional course in each partner school for at least 20% of the number of students in each partner school, until the end of the project.
Implementation:
The activities and expected results are: teachers’ and students ‘selection for the project team; meetings in each school, with the project team; logo contest; making PPT of each school and town and project web site; creating Erasmus+ Corner and the lesson plans for teachers about cyberbullying; researching and making comparative studies about cyber bullying in all partners countries and about the laws; making leaflets about safe rules on internet; organising workshops with students, lessons in classes about cyber bulling; students’ miniprojects on the eTwinning platform; writing articles about the project and newsletters; creating a video conference with all partners; creating written stories, essays and videos which illustrated the consequences of cyber bulling; visits to cyberbulling specialized institutes; writing a comparative glossary of acronyms used in virtual world, a guide for students with rules about safe in the virtual world, a guide for parents, a curricula for some elective courses about safe navigation on Internet and cyber bulling. There will be 3 transnational learning/teaching activities with students and teachers. At the end of the project the learning materials will be made public. There will be 3 project meetings.
Impact:
- The impact on teachers consists in: developing project management competences, by writing some Erasmus KA2 project drafts used to be able to participate in project reunions with the purpose of finding potential future partners; raising European educational scope, by initiating ulterior projects with project-participating organizations; improving interrelation-related competences; developing management and financial management competences.
- The impact on students means: knowing the common-sense internet rules; developing English communication competences and European citizen’s civic competences; cultivation of a responsible behaviour regarding internet surfing; raising interest and motivation for studying through participation in digital technology related classes.
- The impact on schools consist in: introduction of an optional course meant to watch over internet surfing safety; making management control and monitoring more effective through the expertise the project management team is to gain; developing European partnership relation; awareness of the role the school plays in promoting intercultural values.
- Adjacent schools will benefit from the project results, as well as the workshops initiated by the students. Parents will have free access to the good practice guide, also, their intensive involvement in the school life being expected, as well as their accountability regarding the supervision and controlling their children’s internet activity. The prestige of each partner school will be raised inside the local community.