EUROPIA-EUROPE TOMORROW LOOKING AT THE PRESENT FOR AN IMPROVEMENT IN THE FUTURE

INSTITUT RONDA-LLEIDA

PRESENTATION We are Vocational teachers in the training course Integració Social at Institut Públic Ronda in Lleida, Catalonia, Spain. Our students are usually between Sometimes they are older: unemployed people are forced by the financial recession to study vocational courses.

THE CLASS

Professional sectors Integradors Socials National or regional government agencies. Private institutions (profit-and non-profit- making). Social services centres. Care homes for various groups.

Primary and secondary schools. Employment and recruitment agencies. Home-care services that include prevention or social-integration programmes.

Integradors Socials can work in developing social-integration programmes. Checking that the home is properly maintained. Training users, clients o patients in the basic skills for personal and social autonomy. Applying techniques and procedures in order to evaluate the milestones reached in the employment-integration process.

How we met We found each other on the eTwinning platform. To be honest, we are beginners as teachers in eTwinning projects. We joined the eTwinning community last year.

Our topic In fact, 2013, designated as “The European Year of Citizens”, was for us a good reason to work in a project together.

All our students, 26, worked in the project Europe connected to the school subject: “Inserció Sociolaboral”. In this subject, they had to study how they could help people who have a lot of difficulties to get a job (disabled people, immigrants, women,…) and how they could help them to improve, to get a job and keep it. Basically, they have to know how to teach people about basic work skills.

Consequently, they have to study what the social resources in the EU are so that when they become professionals they are able to offer their clients tools to help them to get a job, or to be self-employed.

Working methodology After the construction of the wikispaces, we began to work: first students had to look for information about the topic of each module. Then, they had to express what they thought about it in the forum space with Greek students. Finally, they had to do the activities of the module.

We worked 1 hour/week in the project and every student was given a mark for her/his completed activity.

ASSESSMENT We really enjoyed working in this project. For us, it is a pleasure to meet another teacher from another country, who has taught us a lot of new things, specially related to new technologies, and also English.

Students' progress has been really excellent. They have improved little by little, with very good results.

Although some of them had difficulties to begin to work (they felt a little lost because of the language), they were able to overcome these obstacles and finally felt happy with the results.

NEW LEARNING/STUDENTS They learnt the content of the subject in an easy and interactive way. They were familiar with new technologies to make activities with users; these could be useful for them to prepare activities with adult people who need some support with concentration, memory, attention,..

They have brushed up their English, and now they are aware of the importance to improve this language. We usually learn when we need to do something. Motivation is very important. The more we need, the more we learn.

Thank you so much for inviting us and for your warm welcome. Thank you to Ms Laskarina Polemi and her colleagues, thank you to Ms Thalia.