2014-1-UK01-KA101-002154 Generated on: Mar 14, 2017

Key Action: Learning Mobility of Individuals

Action Type: School education staff mobility

Project Title

Welcoming Europe into the Class

Good practice example

Project Coordinator

Organisation St Mary's Primary School

Address 17 Maphoner Road , BT359TP Newry , Northern Ireland , UK

Website www.stmarys.mullaghbawn.ni.sch.uk

Project Information

Identifier 2014-1-UK01-KA101-002154

Project Web Site http://dissolvingeuropeanboundaries.eu/

Start Date Nov 6, 2014

End Date Nov 5, 2016

EC Contribution 45,145 EUR

Partners Scoil Eoin Pol (IE) , BEGOAZPI IKASTOLA (ES) , Circolo Didattico
S.D.Savio - T.Fiore (IT) , Monothesio Nipiagogeio Neou Zygou (EL) ,
Harvialan koulu (FI)

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2014-1-UK01-KA101-002154 Generated on: Mar 14, 2017

Project Summary

With the evolution of technology it is now possible for us to have the whole of Europe at the touch of a button in
our classrooms. The possibilities are endless, blogging, webinairs, electronic lessons all things that we could only
imagine 5 years ago but are now embracing as part of our normal day to day teaching. What next then for us ?
The answer was simple a Virtual Learning Environment (VLE), a place to store, access from anywhere, and share
the bank of wonderful resources we had built up and were continuing to build through co-operating in projects
with our European partners.

This dream easily became a reality we had the enthusiasm and staff ready for the challenge but we needed
funding to help us achieve our goal. This funding was made available to us through a successful submission of a
KA1 application. Funding allowed us to access the expertise of people working in this field, enabling us to create
a tailored made resource which met the needs of our school. We trained staff to up load materials, e.g. slide
shows, videos, taped lessons, etc. And also to make use of built in features such as the Calendar App ensuring
that communication of important dates and deadlines were met.
Pupils were given access to age appropriate courses which were password protected allowing them to have
autonomy over their learning and to access at home so that they could share their work/activities with parents.

We worked alongside our European School partners, The Basque Country, (Spain), Republic of Ireland, Finland,
Greece, and Italy to develop resources to share for the mutual benefit of our pupils: in 2nd language acquisition ,
Eco-schools, the environment, all promoting pride in our National identity. A VLE gave us the perfect safe
environment to share, exhibit and exchange information and ideas.

We provided opportunities for our staff to travel and job shadow in other educational settings- where they had the
opportunity to not only experience school life in another setting but also the culture and traditions of that country.
They observed, discussed and evaluated the similarities and differences between the education systems, met
with staff and exchanged ideas and solutions to problems faced on a day to day basis no matter where the school
was placed.
E safety played an important part of the project as staff developed their awareness of their own personal safety
on line as well as keeping our young people safe. Job shadowing presented an ideal opportunity for staff to
observe and learn from practises in our partner countries: space in crowded playgrounds to play happily is always
an issue, problems arise: accidents, bullying etc. An area of focus was to observe and discuss with staff how play
grounds were zoned and how staff and resources were used to promote happier playgrounds. This has led to a
greater involvement for our student council, in deciding how the space is used and what resources are purchased
for playtimes.

We provided opportunities for staff to develop their own personal skills and competencies working alongside
specialists in the field of ICT in the educational setting. Staff had the opportunity to broaden their horizons through
travel, they experienced the culture and traditions of other nationalities. They had opportunities to learn and build
upon their existing language skills. Ultimately they have had time away from school to share new experiences
with other members of staff, many of whom never worked closely together because of their roles and positions
within the school. Thus ultimately it broke down barriers and promoted team work within our organisation.

Link to project card: Show project card

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