Workshops and innovative tools to foster digital inclusion, resilience and safety among primary school students, by promoting inclusive and safe access to online learning, and actively involving teachers and families.
Context
The outbreak of Covid-19 has represented a drastic change in the way schools, students and their families approach education. Once schools shut down, teachers and school staff had to rethink teaching and start using online platforms through which online classes could be taught, homework assigned and carried out. However, most teachers did not have enough training to use digital means or were reluctant to adapt their methodologies to online learning. Children needed help from their families in order to be able to connect and carry out the required tasks, however, not all families had the knowledge and time to be able to give the needed support. Others did not have access to digital devices and the Internet. On the other hand, the situation of confinement meant lack of social interaction and participation in leisure activities, with the consequence that children spent much more time using smartphones, tablets, and computers, making more evident and urgent to address children’s digital safety and cyberbullying.
Objectives
Its objectives are to provide primary schools (teachers, families and students) with guidelines, tools, and strategies:
- To recognize and safely and critically address the risks connected to the use of the Internet, with particular attention to cyberbullying.
- To detect difficulties that students might be experiencing in terms of access and in the online learning environment and to address them adequately.
- To generate tools for teachers and families to support, accompany, and guide students during their online learning.
Activities
- “Learn to learn in safe digital environments”, a 20-hour theatre-based workshop for students in each partner country.
- “Safe and inclusive online learning for primary school students”, a 10-hour training course for teachers and educators in each partner country.
- “Safe and inclusive online learning from home”, a 10-hour training course for families in each partner country.
Resources
- Safe and inclusive online learning for primary school students: the SOPHIE handbook for schools.
- SOPHIE Card Game for families.
Impatto
Quantitative indicators:
- 416 direct participants will be trained in SOPHIE topics, of which 80 facing fewer opportunities:
– 16 partner staff trained through the Joint Staff Training (2 staff members of each partner organisation) to share and exchange their expertise to develop the SOPHIE methodology
– 80 participants to the primary school students’ pilot (20 per country)
– 80 participants to the primary school teachers’ pilot (20 per country)
– 80 participants to the parents’ pilot (20 per country)
– 90 participants to the local multipliers (30 in each country: Spain, Italy and Slovenia)
– 70 participants to the final conference (60 locals and 10 internationals) - Over 10,000 people through the online dissemination of project activities and results through the partner channels on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and web postings.
Qualitative indicators:
Primary school students
- Became more aware of the risks connected to the Internet and learn strategies to become responsible, healthy, and safe digital citizens;
- Improved skills and competences;
- Acquired innovative methodologies to promote a safer and more inclusive online learning for primary school students.
Primary school teachers
- Improved collaboration between schools and families in the detection and solution of the difficulties and risks determined by the digital environment
- Acquired competences and strategies to support and accompany children
Families
- Improved collaboration between schools and families in the detection and solution of the difficulties and risks determined by the digital environment
- Acquired competences and strategies to support and accompany children
Partners
- La Xixa (Spain, coordinator)
- Escola l’Esperança (Spain)
- CESIE (Italy)
- Istituto Comprensivo Statale Cassarà-Guida (Italy)
- Symplexis (Greece)
- Interorthodox Centre of the Church of Greece (Greece)
- INTER-KULTURO (Slovenia)
- OS RUDOLFA MAISTRA SENTILJ (Slovenia)
