GÖRÖGORSZÁG - MAGYAR IBOLYA
Last Erasmus+ Meeting: Athens (18-22 April, 2016)
Undoubtedly, the last meeting in Athens was a nice summary and finale to our project ’Youth of Europe Connect to a Right Net’. With all the preparations like making huge posters of the various meetings and a sum-up video depicting all the activities we had fulfilled during the two years of our common project we contributed to the success of the final meeting. Also, our students were eager to write a scene of a play on how creatively they could use the possible sources of the world wide web. But definitely the most touching and uplifting moment was when the final performance was put on stage in Pallini, Athens by all the participating students. They did a great job!
No one will ever forget the opening ceremony presented by the students of Pallini High School, the warm welcome our students were given by the Greek families and the cooperation that was realised through workshops and work on stage.
The whole week was a kind of celebration with acting and songs, dinners and music, laughter and cries. But definitely the ones who benefited most were the students who leart to work together in teams, use a language as a common tool for communication and acquired different skills that can be useful while using the net.
As it was the last occasion to meet our friends, we must look back on those two years we started out working together.
During the meetings, our students had the opportunities to improve their skills and competences in various areas. They became familiar with applying new technologies (e.g., mobile applications or e-books) and getting to know users’ rights on the world wide web They learned to exchange ideas, knowledge and useful practices and also present their knowledge and research in oral form through Prezi and PPT presentations.
For students and teachers, this program offered so many learning opportunities and activities (research work, evaluation of results, making peer-to-peer presentations, etc) that were completed in diverse ways. Students could include their artistic and musical skills (while designing logos or drawing cartoons), creativity, imagination (when making a boardgame), and of course their positive and optimistic way of thinking so typical of their age.
Social competences could develop to a high degree by cooperative work, meeting people from various cultures and managing evolving problems while working in workshops. By these opportunities, their confidence and self-esteem were also increased, as they gradually became able to express their views in a foreign language and represent their identity and their cultural awareness. We must put an emphasis on one of the most outstanding achievements of this project that was realised through our students’ experiences in the participating countries, that is on the possibilities of any future work, education or relations in the European Union.
This Erasmus+ project had a positive outcome for teachers and school staff, too. By making preparations for the meetings, our colleagues’ organisational skills and cooperational techniques were evolved. Also, their social, cognitive, digital and cultural skills were developed during the meetings and the various work they had to do with students (e.g., making a videoclip, designing a blog).
In conclusion, we must state that these two years of strategic partnership with seven other countries contributed a lot to our institution’s development and reputation nationwide.
Magyar Ibolya