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4 Ireland - The Best Social Media and Web Solutions

  • Erasmus+ KA1 – Dublin, Ireland "The Best Social Media and Web Solutions for Your Classroom"

     

    Our Croatian teacher Dijana Pasarić and ICT teacher Vesna Mikulić have participated  in a structured course "The Best Social Media and Web Solutions for Your Classroom" in Dublinu from 6th to 11th May 2019. The course was organized by Europass.

     

     

     

     

    The teacher trainer was Bülent Dönmez, from Europass Teacher Academy.

     

    The course started with getting to know other participants, presenting school systems, schools, places and countries that everyone arrived from. There were 12 teachers from different EU countries (Hungary, Germany, Poland, Turkey and Greece).  During the presentations, we have presented our school and shortly explained how our school system works and how the classes are organized in our school. We have also talked about the new parts that we are really proud of - new classrooms, library, gym and new activities in the school. We have also found out about the educational situation in other countries and schools. Throughout the presentations and introductory activities we have mentioned and explained the ICT tools we already use in the lessons. We have proudly presented the activities that we do in our lessons such as Edmodo, Learning Apps, Quizizz, films.

     

    In our free time that was left we have explored the beautiful town on our own and we have used a very useful app Visit a City https://www.visitacity.com/en/dublin, that makes visiting new cities very simple.

     

     

     

     

     

    Social Media and Web Solutions 2019 - Dublin - Day 2

     

    At the beginning, we discussed the security settings and privacy on Facebook. We have adapted the settings on our profiles and checked the privacy settings for the safety of our profiles, but also for the safety of our students who use Facebook every day without thinking about the dangers if they are not protected in the right way. It is very important to raise students' awareness about those settings as well as the dangers they can face during their use of this social media page. 

     

    Another important issue is respecting copyright and how to find photos and videos that can be used and resused free of charge. Since we use videos and photos every day in our classes, this part was very useful for us. We learned how to use Google Scholar and how to browse authors, publishers and articles or texts for the classroom as well as how to cite them properly.

     

    Another issue about internet safety is that we must warn students while they create apps and ICT media at home or in school, to be careful when entering their personal data (name, surname, email address). It is safer to enter nicknames, because the predators on internet can use those data to steal identities. In the link below, there are interesting data about internet safety and protecting personal data:  

    Sigurnost osobnih podataka

     

    In the workshop, we have created Facebook groups for collaboration with the class. We already use such groups in our school, so we have extended the ways of working and using this social media which will certainly improve cooperation with students.

     

    Social Media and Web Solutions - Dan 3

     

    On the third day of the course, we were using social network Edmodo .

    Edmodo started in 2008 and is continuously developing from then. Their aim is to connect the teachers into communities and make the access and sharing of educational material easier. It enables collaboration via classes between teachers and students, but parents can join in as well. 

    Our ICT teacher Vesna has been using Edmodo for several years now in her classroom as one of the ways to communicate and share materials, but there are different possibilities this tool offers and brings new ideas.

    On the course, we have worked closely on making tasks for the students, collecting answers, making quizzes, surveys and using other people's materials.

    After the break, we had a guided tour of Dublin with a fun tour guide. The weather was not on our side, but we have managed to see the most important sights. Dublin is a beautiful and lively city and on the following link you can see its top ten sights:

    Dublin - video

     

     

    Days 4 and 5

    We have learned about the various web tools that you must try. First one was Google. 

     

    Google

    Google drive is a useful and user friendly tool that enables us to transfer our files and maps, sharing them with others, inviting others to view, edit, download or collaborate on the files of our choice. More users can collaborate simultaneously on the same document which is perfect for any type of group work and people don't have to be at the same place. 

     

    Google forms – is a tool for making various questionnaires and surveys. It can be also used for making tests and conducting research. 

     

    Google sites is a tool where we learned to make web pages, we loved that tool a lot, but even more so when we tried out WordPress.

     

    WordPress is a program for making beautiful web pages, blogs or apps. It offers amazing design, powerful options and freedom for building pages you like. At the same time it is free and priceless. We have started to make a web page for our film group which will be built upon with our students. 

     

     

     

    The last day of our course was really demanding because we were working with various tools which are interesting and useful for classroom use.

     

    Pinterest is a social network that is used to find ideas about various areas of life, and which can be used in lesson planning and in education. The network connects people of similar interests who can share and edit links, images and videos. Users can save materials on boards (similar to folders), and the materials are called Pins.

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

    You Tube is a popular web service know to everyone and it is used for sharing videos where users can upload, watch, comment and give likes for videos. Almost all the students use this network every day. In the workshop, we have made our own channel, published videos, created a playlist and learned how to share those with otheres.

     

     

     

    Two web tools that we liked the best and that we plan to use with our students are a real refreshment in ICT in education.

     

    TED Ed is a tool that enables transfer of video files from your own computer or using videos from Youtube that can be additionally edited. Video lessons can be easily trimmed and you can add a quiz or questions that students must answer after they watch a video clip. It is also possible to add a description in a textual form, attach additional text about the topic etc. This tool enables you to create a very interesting task with video materials for your students in a very short time.

     

     

    TED stands for Technology, Entertainment, Design -  a global conference that works under the slogan "ideas worth sharing". TED talks last from 3 to 18 minutes and the speakers are different people from all over the world. Some of the famous people who have participated in TED talks are Al Gore, Elon Musk, Serena Williams, Shonda Rhimes, and recently pope Francis.

    TED-Ed is another part of the big TED world made for education. Various life questions have been answered in a very accessible and simple way.

     

     

    EDpuzzle is also a free digital tool made for making interactive videos in a way that you can add questions, comments and explanations to the existing videos.

    Registration is possible with an existing Google or Edmodo user account or by entering e-mail address and password. In a few short steps you can create your own content with a chosen video. The tool enables you to browse couple of video platforms such as YouTube, National Geographic, TED Talks, Veritasium, Numberphile, Crash course and Vimeo.

    Feedback is available per single student and on a class level, so teachers can comment and assess students' work.

     

     

    Screencast-O-Matic  is a digital tool made for recording computer screen and for editing video content. It can also record audio and web camera content. Recored videos can be saved on a computer or published on YouTube and similar platforms.

     

    In the sea of different web solutions and social networks it is difficult to choose an ideal one. Some of the solutions were offered to us during this course, but there are many more to be explored. It is up to each teacher to make decisions that fit their needs and educational environment.

     

    The final day we received certificates for "The Best Social Media and Web Solutions for Your Classroom" course and additional excursion in Ireland was an extra cherry on top. We enjoyed the experience immensely.

     

     

     

    After hard working during the whole week, we enjoyed our free time in one of the famous Dublin's pubs.

     

     

    Day 6 - the excursion

     

    The excursion in Northern Ireland and Belfast and the views of beautiful green countryside was breathtaking. The scenery we enjoyed will be presented in the following photos.

     

     

     

    Belfast  is a part of the United Kingdom and the capital of Northern Ireland. 

     

     

     

    Giant's Causeway is the area of 40.000 connected pillars that appeared in a vulcano erruption in Paleogenic period 50-60 million years ago. It is places on the north-east coast of the Northern Ireland. In 1986 it became a UNESCO heritage sight in Europe and a unique example of fast cooling of lava. It is one of the most popular attractions in Northern Ireland.

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

    In the end we found a beautiful message written on a stone: The only thing that can stop you is YOU.