Primer proyecto colaborativo eTwinning

Os dejo el enlace al proyecto. Es un proyecto multidisciplinar que toca prácticamente todas las áreas además de competencias clave y fomenta muchos otros valores. El proyecto va de nutrición, hábitos de vida saludable y la creación de un huerto escolar.
Proyecto colaborativo: Cultivando la madre tierra. Nutrición y medio ambiente

eTwinning Project idea: We Are what We Eat (WAwWE)

This is a project that pretends to analyze mathematically the diet of the students and improve it taking into account the quantity of calories one needs to eat, the nutritional value of the food one eats as well as the ecological footprint of this food. The principal aim is to raise awareness of the importance of having a healthy life (by studying their diet, link to the environment, and incorporating healthy-life habits in their day-to-day basis)

General Data:

Nombre:  We Are what We Eat
Students: 3º ESO (14-15 years old. One class, 30 students distributed in 6 groups of 5)
Subjects involved: Maths, Biology, Physical Education (PE), IT, English and culture aspects (as we are going to learn about the gastronomy of different countries) that we will work cross-curriculum.
Timing: 6 months


Objectives:

• Connecting mathematical content in the curriculum and common aspects of day-to-day life, especially related to diet, nutrition and cuisine. Developing pupils' ability to abstract thinking, to transfer mathematical knowledge to everyday life and vice-versa.

• Raising awareness of healthy life habits, specially through the diet and physical exercise as well as raising awareness of environmental issues that affects our food such as use of pesticides, genetically modified organism (GMO) or use of antibiotics or hormons in animals and intensive farming among others.

• Developing competencies among pupils: mathematical, linguistic, social and civic, artistic, digital, initiative competencies as well as learning to learn competence.

• Knowing and understanding our partners’ cultural and historical background by studying the local customs and traditions (presentation phase). Getting aware of the similarities and differences between us, developing tolerance and cooperation.

• Facilitating communication in a foreign language. Using English as a platform to access and construct knowledge related to different subjects and situations as well as a collaboration tool to communicate information, ideas, feelings.

• Improving results in the class and increasing motivation, interest and effort among the participant pupils.

• Promoting team work and developing multiple intelligences.

• Using ICT as a strategy for searching information, solving tasks, using specific programs, sharing and disseminating results and as a communication tool for both teachers and pupils.

•  Providing both pupils and teachers with diversified techniques in order to promote critical spirit.

 All these general objectives are linked to the 3º ESO subject-specific objectives involved in the project (for a more specific mapping of subjects objectives with the project, we refer to the Squeme of Work (SoW) of each subject, it would be far too long to write it here). But as a summary, it would go as follows:

• Stats in Maths

• Use of a text processor to present a report, a spreadsheet for calculations and graphs, communications tools (forums, skype, social networks) and the creation of a final product using ICT (movies, slideshows, quizzes, etc) in IT.

• Nutritition and ecology in Biology.

• Healthy-life habits, nutrition and sports in PE.

• Communication skills through all the subjects but specifically in English (and French if possible)

• Culture and gastronomy cross-curriculum (and probably History)

Working process:

• Looking for partners in other countries, presentations using eTwinning Space, creation of working groups (students) and matching groups from different countries to start collaborative work.

• Presentation of the project and activities (some examples):

• Task 1 (week 1): Calculate the average amount of calories one should eat (base in age, gender, height and weight and physical activity). This is done in PE previous explanations of how the body works, what methabolism is, calculus of basal methabolism and using a formula, calculate the recommendable amount of calories each person should eat (individual work)

• Task 2 (week 1): Using a spreadsheet input the formula and check the previous result.

• Task 3 (week 2): Take a weekly register of your actual diet (we give them a table where they have to write what they eat for breakfast, morning break, lunch, afternoon tea and dinner)

• Task 4 (week 3): Using internet, look for a calories converter calculator to change food into calories, calculate the actual daily calories input and calculate the average.

• Task 5 (week 3): Compare the actual amount of calories one eats with tha advisable amount of calories calculated in task 1. Should you modify your diet? Debate

• Task 6 (weeks 4 and 5): Calculate your BMI (Body Mass Index). Using a spreadsheet we record the height and the weight of all students (anonymously) and using formulas we calculate the BMI of each of them. Also, we calculate the average height, weight and BMI for the class. We place eac student into the different categories (ideal weight should lose weight, should put on weight, etc). Make group grahs and write conclusions.

• Task 7 (weeks 6 to 9): Individual analysis.: Do I eat too much/enough? Am I the correct weight for my height? Do I eat nourishing food? Do I know the ingredients of the food I eat? Do I know where my food come from?

• Task 8 (weeks 10 and 11): Analysing a typical dish from my partner group (groups from different countries)

• Task 9 (weeks 12 to 15): Modifying mi diet. Taking into account the previous study, each student should modify his/her diet taking acount: amount of calories, healthy/bio food, nourishing component, balanced diet (all studied and debated in Biology and PE through the project)

• Task 10 (weeks 15 to 18): Knowledge sharing. Group work. They should create a model diet for a hipotetical person taking into account all learnt through the project.

• Task 11 (week 19):  Collaborative breakfast. The feast ef eating! We'll organise an open breakfast with hand made products showing healthy ways of eating. Yummy!!

• General Task (through the project): they should comment the result of each task with their partner groups (the groups from different countries we talked before) so they can share questions, give feedback, help each other, etc.

• Task 12 (weeks 20 to 24): Produce a digital product with the conclusions (movie, presentation, slideshare, blog, etc.)

 Final results
Apart from the final product of the students, we are aiming to spread out the knowledge through the school and families, making people aware of how they eat and how the can eat better simply to feel well and avoid deseases. We can organise a 'healthy breakfast' once a term, we can broadcast the final products of our students on the hall TV or the school website, share the experience and these digital products on eTwining live and eTwinning space and social networks. We can also do a follow-up in the following years to know if these students have incorporated the kwnoledge adquired in the project to their lifes, make interviews about how they eat, how they feel, etc. We can organise gastronomical trips to eco-markets or farms, etc.
On the other hand we'll have to evaluate the project, it will be done through the process (by making interviews, feedback, etc) and at the end of the process. A co-evaluation will be done to know how the group worked together, self-evaluation as well as external evaluation of the whole project and its results.

Just to give you a taste of something we will deal with (and to make you think), here you go this short video:
The sweet potato project. The importance of organic food

Analizando un proyecto eTwinning

El proyecto que he elegido para realizar esta tarea se llama ATOM (A taste of Maths) y es un proeycto colaborativo entre España, Grecia, Italia, Países Bajos, República Checa y Rumania. Se realiza en inglés y el tema central son las matemáticas vistas desde diferentes aspectos.

El proyecto me parece interesante porque, para empezar, trata sobre matemáticas que es la asignatura que imparto, pero además, envuelve temas culturales, históricos, artísticos, comunicativos y de informática; que caza perfectamente con mi idea de proyecto expuesta en eTwinning live.

El proyecto consiste en que cada centro proponga tareas matemáticas para sus socios del otro centro, de forma que cuando se entregue la solució, el equipo que propuso la tarea debe confirmar si es correcta; además, la tarea se discutirá y se compararán soluciones tanto en clase como etre docentes. Lo interesate de este proyecto es que las tareas que se exponene como ejemplos (y las ya realizadas ya que, aunque sigue en funcionamiento, se emepezó a realizar ya hace unos años), son multidiscipliares y incluyen aspectos como las matemáticas en el día a día, la geometría, arquitectura y el arte, gastronomía, literatura y por supuesto la informática, dándole especial importancia al número pi, realizando actividades en torno a él y celebrando su día mundial que es el 14 de marzo (3.14)

Os dejo un vídeo para os hagáis una idea: https://youtu.be/YRpS3eCpO3c

Algunos ejemplos de tareas son:
• Sabores culturales: presentaciones de gastronomía, cuentos, música o tradiciones y sus vínculos con las matemáticas.
• Libro de Fibonacci: creación de poemas con la estructura de la serie de Fibonacci y el «pan» como tema común. (Escritura colaborativa en línea).
• Acertijos delimatemáticos: creación de problemas de matemáticas en torno a la nutrición y bien presentados para que los otros equipos los resuelvan.
• Un trozo del pastel de...: Resolución de problemas de matemáticas para comparar precios en cada población.
• Mates por todos lados: Presentaciones en las que se vea cómo las mates se pueden encontrar en la vida diaria (en la naturaleza, en los monumentos, en la calle).
• Día de π (Pi): inventar y elaborar actividades que se pueden presentar para el día internacional de π (páginas de Glogster, exposiciones artísticas, vídeos, tartas redondas...)
• Conferencias en línea para presentar a los centros y a los participantes, para celebrar el día de π y para finalizar el proyecto.
• El camino de migas de pan: Actividades de evaluación con encuestas en línea y análisis de resultados.

Paso a evaluar el proyecto, atendiendo a cuatro items, según la siguiente rúbrica:
0. Falta o no aplicable
1. Mejorable
2. Bien
3. Excelente

Item 1. Innovación e integración curricular Puntuación: 2 Los contenidos y objetivos se definene con concreción pero no se especifican los objetivos concretos ni la forma en que el proyecto se integra en cada asignatura implicada ni en cada uno de los niveles en los que se va a realizar el proyecto.  

Item 2. Comunicación y colaboración Puntuación: 3 Los grupos son de nacionalidad mixta, interactuan desde el inicio del proyecto y no sólo con productos finales, sino que hay feedback de cada actividad concreta que se realiza.

Item 3. Uso de la tecnología Puntuación 3 Se utilizan herramientas apropiadas a las actividades, objetivos y la edad del alumnado. Se proponen gravariedad de ellas y algunas son muy innovadoras, van más allá de las típicamente conocidas; y facilitan la creatividad y la iniciativa personal de los alumnos y alumnas.

Item 4. Resultados, impacto y difusión Puntuación 3 Los mecanismos de evaluación se describen con concreción. Asimismo, se prevee la recopilación de documentación y de productos del proyecto y su difusión dentro y fuera de la comunidad educativa.

Considero que es un proyecto muy interesante, muy gratificante para estudiantes y profesorado. Ganó el premio de proyectos eTwinning del 2012.