In the society we live in, equal living conditions create a big problem for disadvantaged groups. In the disadvantaged group; There are the elderly, the disabled, and children. People in this group should be given more opportunities. The disadvantaged group should be treated fairly, not equally. These groups lag behind other people in terms of both their movements and opportunities. Therefore, the disadvantaged group should have privileges.
Introduction
Within the scope of our eTwinning project ‘Keys Of Life eTwinning Project’, which was carried out with the participation of 6 school teachers and students from 5 different countries; In the 2021-2022 academic year, citizenship education was given to 64 primary school students (Turkey), 17 primary school students (Slovakia), 15 primary school students (Italy), 26 primary school students (Romania), 20 primary school students (Bulgaria).
The aim of this study is to design fair STEM solutions in social life for the students participating in the project. Bringing together the concepts of Justice and Equality with STEM solutions. Students provided justice STEM solutions to the problems faced by disadvantaged groups in equal situations. https://teacherzeynepoztoprak.weebly.com/keys-of-life-etwinning-project.html
Methods
The students watched Lafounten’s Tale of the Fox and the Stork, which includes the concepts of justice and equality. They learned the concepts of equality and justice. Students researched the problems of disadvantaged groups in society. With this study, the students saw that the equality in society is a problem for the disadvantaged. They created their problem situations accordingly.
Students developed solution ideas for problem situations. The groups met and discussed their solutions. They searched for similar designs they found. Students drew their designs at the end of their work.
Results
Students saw that in social life, equality situations are not justice for disadvantaged groups.They empathized with them while making their designs. They made their designs to make the lives of disadvantaged groups easier. Students became aware of disadvantaged groups in their daily lives.
The activity took place between April 4th and April 6th and further
Author: Stella Magid-Podolsky
This activity is a long-term activity and consists of three parts:
1. An educational field trip of two hours for 7th grade students (100 students) to the “Check Point “company where they visited the control room of the “Rakia Mission” to Space a few days before Israel’s second Astronaut Eithan Stiva took off towards the International Space Station. The trip took place on April 4th. Twelve and thirteen old students participated in this activity
2. A school activity about Space Careers at School. This is a 2 hours long activity which contains two lessons. During the first lesson there was a summary of our educational Field trip and during the second lesson students had an activity about SPACE careers (with an emphasis on Jessica Meir’s Female Astronaut career) . This activity was taught by me 4 times at 4 classes of 25 students.
3. A Home activity during the Holidays-Keep Track of the Rakia Mission. The Rakia mission started on April 8th. Between April 7th and April 23rd Israeli students had their Passover Holidays, so they got a homework assignment to keep track of the Rakia Mission and report it to the teacher.
All students that took part in this activity had some previous knowledge about SPACE issues because two months prior the activity Israeli Space week was mentioned in Israel and all students had a Space activity where they played space games and solved spaced Trivia.
Educational field trip: this activity took two hours. Students were exposed to the real control room of the Rakia Mission, watched a short movie about the Israeli second astronaut Eithan Stiva , learnt about the connection between first Israeli Astronaut Ilan Ramon (who died with all his crew 19 years ago while coming back from Space to Earth on the Colombia shuttle) and Eithan Stiva. The two of them were friends and trained together. Stiva continued Ramon’s scientific experiment in Space that began 19 years ago. This experiment is about Lighting storm. Also, students were exposed to the 35 scientific experiments that Eithan Stiva was about to conduct in Space ( some of these scientific experiments were proposed by Israeli High school students and others scientific experiments which was proposed by universities and Research centers) and had an opportunity to do some experiments during their visit.
Students during their trip To Rakia Mission control roomThe experiments that Eithan Stiva did in SpaceStudents make experiments during their visit to the Check Point company
A school activity about SPACE careers and summary of the visit to Rakia Mission Control Room
After the Educational Field Trip: Collect feedback and impressions from students, it was converted to a classroom exchange activity. For example, students were invited to write down 2-3 things that they learned during the visit and share them with their peers. After that, we had an open discussion about our visit to the Check Point Company.
Before the lesson, the teacher (me) prepared a story about a certain profession (Astronaut), The main character of the story is Jessica Meir (American female astronaut). I mentioned specific information about the profession through Jessica’s story, for example: • Who am I, what are my skills? • What are my advantages and disadvantages? • Where was I educated, what have I learned / done during schooling? • Where am I employed, what do the preparation for my workday looks like? • What my workday looks like? • What does my work environment look like?
After hearing the story about Jessica ( based on the following site:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FgVDmVNB4Bg ), students are instructed to try to imagine themselves in the role of a character from the story (Jessica) that was read. They are then given a worksheet on which students use the SWOT analysis method to write impressions of the profession from the story from their perspective, for example:
• Strengths – what are my characteristics that would make me good in this profession?
• Weaknesses – are there any shortcomings to deal with this occupation that I could work on?
• Opportunities – what are my goals, what would I get if I pursued this occupation?
• Threats – what challenges would I face if I pursued this profession?
Students who wished to do so shared their analysis in front of other students
The video about Jessica MeirStudents are exposed to Jessica’s Meir story
The class was divided into groups of 2-3 students. Each group had to find one career related to SPACE, discover it and then present it to their peers. The examples of such careers are:
Space psychologist, space mission specialist, Aeronautical meteorological technician….
A home activity
During the Passover holidays students had to keep track of Rakia Mission in space and participate at least in one virtual activity for students from International Space Station that was broadcast by Eithan Stiva. For example: Learning about lack of gravity, exposing to experiment about growing Humus in Space…..
Also, students had to report about their participation in the activity to the teacher (to me).
Learning outcomes from the activity: Students were very interested both in the Rakia Mission and in SPACE Careers. During one discussion students even discussed future SPACE careers that do not exist today. They made some suggestions and were asked to assume which profession could be real and which profession would stay “the fruit of their imagination”.
My advice to other teachers planning to introduce their students in STEM career orientation: Use the resources which are provided by STEM Alliance and STE(A)M IT project and create the framework short or long-term activity according to the cultural & scientific aspects of your country
Teaching outcomes: I really enjoyed organizing this activity. I think that the Educational field trip had a great contribution and impact on student’s interest and motivation to learn about the Rakia Mission and Space Careers. It was important to me to make a connection between a very important occasion for my country (the Rakia Mission) and a very important issue for my students-exposure for STEM careers in general and Space careers in Particular. May be, one day one of my students will be one of the Astronauts in SPACE or will have SPACE related Career….I have fulfilled my role as a teacher and my students will make their choice of Career in the future and I hope they will choose a career that will make them happy…..
Digital education materials are very important. Students cannot see space and planets up close in real life.However, it is possible to travel to space with virtual reality glasses. Student can study planets as if they are in space thanks to virtual reaility glasses. For this reason, I designed a digital game for my students that can be played on smartphones and computers. Game editing and voice-overs belong to me and my students.
Project purpose: To give students a realistic experience with STEM. To create an original digital material.
Application stages: Unity Game Engine is used for this application. Unity is a three-dimensional game engine, especially suitable for digital games and simulations. Textures similar to the images of space and planets were determined.Original sound recordings in which the planets introduced themselves were created and converted into a suitable form with the ‘audio-converter’ program. The spaceship was designed with the Blender three-dimensional modeling program.With mathematical calculations, the size of the planets and the distances between them were determined. Joystick control provided. By making a selection from the selection screen prepared to go to the desired planet, movement to that planet was provided with the spaceship. Added pre-made audio recordings to planets. The application was tested by different people and corrections were made according to the feedback. Between April 25 and April 30, 6th grade students practiced. They took turns wearing virtual reality glasses. They also practiced on the digital board in the classroom.
Conclusion and evaluation: The ‘Solar System and Planets’ unit was taught to the students in a shorter time than in the lesson plan. Students learn permanently by concretizing knowledge. It’s fun because it’s game-based material. The subject of Science was discussed. Mathematical calculations have been made. Software programs are used in the field of technology. Designs were created in the field of engineering. An original STEM project has been created. This project has been used in the classroom activity.
Students’ average success before the event is 64 percent. After the event, the students’ average success is 92 percent.
Activity execution time in class: 40+ 40 minutes
Grade level: Secondary school 6th grade
Materials: Smart board in the classroom, virtual reality glasses, joystick, smartphone
This course, which is in the “Visual Communication and Formation” learning area within the scope of the 7, 8, 9 and 10th grade “Visual Arts” course in the Turkish education system, and which is suitable for the acquisition of “Uses art elements and design principles in visual art studies.” In our study, it is aimed that the students make an artistic work by using a different technique than the usual.
Glass beads, metal boat, paper and acrylic paint were used to reveal the targeted product. Our event was held face-to-face with our students in a classroom setting.
First of all, the balls we will use are placed on a metal tray with high edges by putting paper in it so that they do not roll out from the floor. Whatever type of work he wants to do on the edges of the paper in the tray, the appropriate colors are squeezed. Then, the marbles placed on the sides are moved quickly from left to right so that they hit the opposite sides of the tray to form the basis of the picture. What kind of painting the student wants to paint is determined in the second stage according to the color to be used and the direction of movement of the marbles. For example, the landscape painting is completed with the image of the reeds made by moving it up and down with black acrylic paint sprayed on the bottom of the tray on a sunset background created by moving it left and right.
Others should use this method in order to make the student comprehend that artistic works can be created out of just conventional materials and to help students develop their vision, comprehension, thinking and application capacities through artistic work, together with their aesthetic attitudes, from where they are. This method can be used to obtain abstract works by using different colors in one direction, as it will be difficult for children to move the marbles in different directions at the primary school level.
As a result, it is important that the child’s motivation, self-confidence and the contribution of the process he/she goes through to the development of the child’s motivation, self-confidence and the development of a work that they will be dealing with in a very short time, maybe for days.
The Scientix Project was conducted by our MEV College Private Büyükçekmece High School teacher Şennur HAN and MEV College Private Büyükçekmece Secondary School teacher Şensin KARATAŞ with the participation of 6 students in 4 different classes, 2 middle schools and 2 high schools, within the 7, 8, 9, AND 10 Grade Visual Arts course. It was held face to face between March 2022 and 29 April 2022.
In this context, the course work was as follows:
• Scientix project competition was introduced in Visual Arts 7,8,9 and 10th grade classes, and the roadmap to be followed was determined together with the students.
• First of all, the materials to be used are introduced to the students.
• How the work will be done and what needs to be taken into account are shown through the application.
• It is ensured that the student does the work step by step.
What results are obtained at different grade levels? Which levels enjoy or get bored with this work? In this study, which we had our middle and high school students do to analyze these, the feedback we received from both groups was that they enjoyed the application very much.
The development of technology and industry has shifted the concentration of population in urban areas, adding to the challenges for architects and designers in managing urban areas for a sustainable city and a secure future.
In this SDW22 our students will continue to investigate and to understand how important the combination of technology is in creating a healthier, more sustainable city for the planet. Students continue to raise their voice in the community and society about the importance of a friendly, green and healthy city.
We have integrated two themes: technology and architecture.
Our activities are based on the basic concepts of coding through Microbits, computer activities, as well as the importance of computer science and the introduction of new tools and approaches, such as visual programming tools, detached activities and coding for all subjects.
Learning objectives:
Creating a more sustainable city for the system, for human health, economy and sustainable world.
Increasing children’s motivation to learn STEM.
Improving ITC skills.
More mathematical knowledge.
Using online applications to demonstrate results.
Creating a good environment for STEM study within subjects, careers and other professions.
Expected results
– Know the basic concepts of coding and understand why it is important in contemporary education.
– Explain why coding and computer science are important to students.
– Learn and think in a creative way.
– Recognize innovative tools and approaches, such as visual programming tools, detached activities, robotics, and coding for all subjects.
– Develop key competencies related to the importance of the global environmental problem and improve knowledge in their areas.
– Understand how cities can be more sustainable.
– List the elements that make a city more ecological.
– How these elements, such as renewable energy, food, affect our health and environment.
– Writing and drawing materials, for ecological city plan.
– Present the theoretical information and create an ecological city carpet in a creative way.
Demonstrate integrated ICT skills in their curriculum
1. Learn to integrate simple coding in cross-curricular learning topics, such as climate change and ecological city.
2. Recognize various unplugged activities, as part of group collaboration.
3. Understand how to create a specific problem-solving task.
4. Possess cognitive skills, for what students should apply, in order to solve the problems of the environment, climate change, and topics related to the ecological city during a certain task.
5. Have a good application of digital technology learning by developing digital competencies and skills, in order to improve them through the analysis of better data education.
6.Design and implement a lesson plan using recyclable tools in building an ecological city, various ideas and digital resources.
Content description
The event guides students through technology to help them, motivate and build strong knowledge on different topics. Many coding games have been created that can be used to create and interpret computer software – at any age, without a specific background and even without a computer.
Visual programming and unplugged activities offer a wide range of choices that break down any access barrier, having educational value and activating computer programming.
Technology is evolving in our daily lives. But this technological development must be in harmony with the environment.
The purpose of our event is to promote the tourist spots of our small country in Albania by simulating a trip of the robot Edmodo. This trip starts from the Fier city after Edmodo chooses one of the A or B buttons of the microbial tool. Microbit is programmed to display a city after each button that will be Edmodo’s next destination.
But this trip is not easy for him, since to get the ticket for the next trip he has to go through the challenges that are programmed in each city. These challenges are set as QR barcodes after travel tickets.
Developing students’ understanding of the algorithm and the “(IF-THEN-ELSE)” and “(IF, IF ELSE)” commands, the Edmodo tour goes further if it overcomes the challenge or otherwise receives the penalty by going back to the previous city.
The tourist has with him a map of Albania, or uses the web that we have created, which indicates in the travel itinerary and options A and B according to the selected destinations.
If the trip is as short as possible towards the ecological city, this makes the Edmodo a winner.
The game starts from our city Fier, (an Albanian city) in the direction of the alternative ticket selected A or B. If ticket A is chosen, the destination is, for example, the city of Shkodra. Else if the ticket is B, the destination is Vlora.
Shkodra city – the game challenge is in MAZE (students can create their Maze game with different roadblocks for the different levels). At the end of the labyrinth, there is ticket A (Vlora), else if student does not choose ticket A, then the ticket choice is B (Tirana).
City of Tirana – Challenge: Internet network, find the minimum number of paving stones that need to be used so that you can get from any house to any other house. In the end, the city is written, and the destination of the movement (Ticket A – Vlora or Ticket B – Shkodra).
City of Vlora —- Challenge: The puzzle game. If the emoji comes out J the player goes to the city on the Durres, if the emoji is L student returns to the city in Start (Fier city).
Durres city — Challenge: message in bottle. A challenge awaits them in this city: to decode the message in the bottle, which will orient the player to the next destination, Tirana or Berat city.
City of Berat—- Challenge: to complete cryptographic input-output, for example with input code 001000 find the output code 001010. If the player does it correctly, then they will choose the ticket A that leads them to the Ecological City, if not, they choose ticket B, and returns to Start, at Fier city.
City of Fier. — Challenge: quizzes. If the tourist answers correctly, he will get the ticket A that will take them to Berat/County Z, if they do not answer correctly, they will get the ticket B that will take them to Tirana/Country S.
The winner is the tourist who has discovered the fewest routes and cities, to the ecological city.
While the student continues the journey, a student of the class writes on the blackboard the itinerary that the student has followed and the number of routes to the end of the journey.(Challenges can be different in each city, they can be quizzes with information on the culture and tradition of each city, or coding games.)
“Marin Barleti” University organized the ASDEF fair, the first #STEAM fair, in our country, Albania, where the students of vocational and general high schools presented their projects from different fields such as #architecture #engineering #biology #design #robotics #art ,etc. The evaluation committee announced our school project “Edmodo tourist trip to the ecological city” as one of the 10 winning projects.
This project integrated two very important issues: coding that develops in students computer thinking and environmental protection through ideas and innovation in creating an ecological city. This victory gives the opportunity to the students of our school to participate in the international fair Tekno Fest 2022 in Turkey.
In order to involve as many teachers and parents in the SDW22 campaign and to get acquainted with STEM education, Edu-ACT center in collaboration with Barleti University and Scientix ambassadors, we organized the conference, as a hybrid event with the theme: “Edtech-Parents and Teachers conference” .
My presentation focused on:
1. Understanding STEM education
2. The importance of STEM 3
3. Practical examples of STEM activities at home and in the classroom with the aim of involving parents, industry and University as collaborators.
