ERASMUS+PROJECT “Skills to Catch the Future”
2022-1-RO01-KA220-SCH-000088281
Back into Future
4th-10th May, Pescia
“The past is our foundation, and the future is our inspiration. By incorporating cultural inheritance into education, we ensure that our students are equipped with the wisdom and understanding necessary to navigate the complexities of the world.” – Michelle Obama
Integrating computational skills into the topic of cultural inheritance offers a powerful combination that enhances our students’ understanding and engagement with their cultural roots.
Guided by our Italian partners, in Pescia, we followed the cultural footsteps from historical monuments to traditional literature and crossed the bridge from the past to essential skills for the future.
Here is a vivid demonstration on how computational skills can be connected to the topic of cultural inheritance in a very ingenious way:
1st Day of Mobility – 5thMay, Friday
The day started at 8 o’clock a.m. with a nice meeting at school, where foreign students introduced themselves. They were asked questions by the Italian pupils.They visited the school, being accompanied by them. At 9 o’clock there was the welcoming ceremony where the principal of the school and the mayor of the town greeted the participants.
The title of the first activity of mobility was The Adventures of Pinocchio. Pupils had to work in groups on a storytelling activity. They were given laptops to create an account on the classroom platform.There, they received a task using computational thinking: to order the sequences of the story and, finally, to write a dialogue using Scratch. They used computational thinking to understand, analyse and summerize the story.
The first day of the mobility went on with a visit to Collodi, on foot, to see Parco di Pinocchio, Giardino Garzoni and Casa delle Farfalle. The pupils had the possibility to communicate in English, to exchange cultural information, to share beautiful moments. They visited an interactive museum, Pinocchio being the main aspect. They enjoyed the beauty of “Giardino Garzoni” garden and learned about butterflies in “Casa delle Farfalle”.
2nd Day of Mobility – 6th May, Saturday
The title of the second day activity was Inside the Renaissance Art. The aim was to understand the modern painting techniques, analyzing the past works of art. The mobility participants visited Florence and the Uffizi Gallery. The day was dedicated to the European cultural exchange program. The students had to compare different artists’ techniques.
3rd Day of Mobility – 7th May,Sunday
The title of the third day activity was Discovering Pescia. It involved subjects like: Geography, History and Social Studies. The aim of the activity was to use computational thinking and digital tools to discover the town. The pupils received a map of the city. They had to follow the map in order to discover different places in town, to take photos of them, to scan a QR code and to find out information about each. It was a geocaching activity. The pupils, at the end of the tour, had to design a virtual map of the city, using Canva app, a free resource.
4th Day of Mobility – 8th May,Monday
This day started at Alberghi school with a “role play”game. The pupils were divided in four groups, they received a note with three different words, the task being to write a short drama, to share the roles and finally, to act it.
The day went on with another game The Escape Room.They received a paper with instructions that led them to the clues, one by one. The learning situations were inside and outside the school. The aim of the activity was to use computational thinking.
The town inside the walls was another activity that pupils enjoyed. The aim of the activity was to geolocate the main historical buildings in Lucca by following computational steps. It was like a treasure hunt. The pupils were divided in groups, they received maps and a first place to find. They had to find it following the map. When they found the place, there was someone that gave them a task to accomplish. After they had accomplished the task, they got the clue for the next one, and so on.
5th Day of Mobility – 9th May,Tuesday
The first activity of the fifth day of mobility was The Magic Cube. The students received coloured sheets of paper, crayons, square-shaped sheets of paper. Their task was to find out eleven ways to build a cube, using computational thinking. They used the origami technique.
The second activity of the day, Let’s celebrate the European Union and Erasmus, had the aim to find out details about the institution. Pupils used laptops to solve quizzes and computational thinking to solve them. The students enjoyed the activity. They shared information and good moments, a mix of everything.
The closing ceremony made the pupils to experience o lot of emotions, tears, happiness, tiredness, gratitude. It was an intense and amazing week, full of work, discussions, workshops.
Erasmus means a lot of things: partenerships, collaborations, projects, activities and sharing love.
by Maria Cristina Arsu and Liliana Călugăru