TRADES OF THE FUTURE

The mobility visit to Spain was our third mobility visit in the space of two months! 

 

We arrived to a rapturous welcome at Colegio Publico Andres Garcia Soler and gathered together for a welcome and a chance to watch a film containing memories of all the trips in the project so far.

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We took part in a variety of workshops in school that allowed us to use a range of digital technologies - we programmed robots and discussed how they could be used for jobs in the future; recorded audio-books and shared how these and e-books are changing the nature of publishing and created artwork in the style of a local Spanish artist. The children very much enjoyed taking part in the workshops and having the chance to collaborate with the children from the other schools as well.

 

 

As part of our project, we were able to visit a local plant for the packing and distributing of capers and we got to see what sorts of digital technology were used in the plant. We also got to cook using local recipes and ingredients. Another interesting visit was to a mining museum. Guides took us through the vast tunnels and explained what technologies the miners had available when the mine was operating and how that changed over time. The highlight of this trip was seeing an amazing gypsum geode that had been discovered in the centre of the mine. 

 

During the week, we also had the chance to visit Aguilas where we went on a boat trip around the bay and learnt about the island that a British spy lived on during and after World War Two! We also visited Murcia where we had chance to look inside the amazing cathedral and see the theatre with its famous unsold seat and the legends that go with it.

 

Back in Lorca, we visited the Paso Blanco Museum, learning about the special parades that take place in the town each Easter and we also visited the Castle, learning about how its use and ownership has changed throughout history to the modern hotel that's on the site today!

 

Before we knew it, our trip was over and we were headed back to Alicante Airport and home, having made lots of new friends, lots of new memories and having lots to share with all our friends back at school! 

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DESCRIPTION

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The mobility, originally planned for October 2020, was rescheduled for May 2022, and the central theme of the activity was changed because it required previous contact and interactions between students and teachers that were not allowed during the pandemic. Instead of entrepreneurship, Creativity at Work was worked on, taking into account that machines and technology facilitate and even enrich some jobs and activities, but human creativity cannot always be replaced, so it is important to develop it and make room for it.

As a collaborative activity, a Virtual Library of 20 stories was created in previous months that the students created with Book Creator in their schools and that have subsequently been illustrated and recorded in English during mobility. These activities have been carried out in three workshops:
- Illustration workshop using the technique of "Violeta Monreal", a famous Spanish illustrator.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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- Podcast recording workshop in English to add them to the stories of the Virtual Library.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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- Robotics Workshop: Creation of machines that help with different tasks and programming with Lego and Scratch.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Finally, the 20 elaborated stories were gathered in the form of a Virtual library with the Genially application, sharing the link to schools and on social networks.
The methodology based on projects (ours the elaboration of the Library) collaborative and gamified.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Other activities: cooking workshops and traditional games, as well as attendance at different classes within the official curriculum of the Region of Murcia.

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Within the cultural part, a visit was made to the historical-monumental area of ​​Lorca, an afternoon in the capital, Murcia, with a visit to the Cathedral and cultural areas, as well as an excursion to the neighboring maritime town of Águilas, with a boat ride and visit the Castle.
The participants have been: 20 teachers and 50 students, integrating visitors and locals.
The results of this activity have been reflected in the improvement of the use of new technologies by the students after carrying out the workshops. The participants have learned about programming and robotics by using tools such as Lego WeDo, Scratch or MakeyMakey. They have also become familiar with digital tools such as Book Creator, Genially, Paint, email, etc. and its educational possibilities. They have also learned about how the traditional trades in Spain and how they have evolved to the present day, driven by technological advances that facilitate these arduous tasks. They have learned about the Spanish culture and, of course, they have improved their competence in the English language since it has been the language used to communicate with their classmates from the different schools. In addition, surveys carried out before and after the mobility show how this experience has improved the social skills of the students.

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BENEFITS

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The main benefits for the participants have been:

- Greater knowledge of digital tools such as Lego WeDo 2.0, Makey Makey, BookCreator, Genially...

- The participating students have developed their creativity collaboratively.

- Knowledge and familiarization with a different educational system, classes, spaces, content organization and educational approaches.
- The teachers have learned from other Spanish classmates through observing their classes, as well as sharing experiences and educational resources.

- The participants have learned about traditional trades and their evolution to the present day, from the ancient techniques of agriculture to the current packaging chains of today. -The participants have improved their Linguistic Competence in the English Language, by having to use English in real situations both of a formative nature and of daily life.
- The participants have improved their ability to adapt to different environments and situations and their open-mindedness.
- The participants have had the opportunity to visit some historical places, learn about their history, appreciate their monuments and develop their social skills.

- They have improved their curriculum because the activity has provided them with documents that accredit their participation in European programs such as Erasmus, which may also be recognized and approved by their respective educational authorities.

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