You propably allready know Google Earth (or Maps) as a tool to easily travel the world with satelite-imagery and loads of user-contributed photos. Maybe, you also used the great educational content that you’ll find in the Voyager-Section of Google Earth.
If you plan to embed the site into your geography lesson, however, consider taking the next step and use it to develop your own content: Google Earth / Projects
With Projects, you or your students can pick places around the world and write their own commentary to educate their future audience.
See the quick example, some of our students created during the mobility in germany: Parks Around the World
The first day was a day of arrival of the guest groups from North Macedonia and Poland. In Loxstedt the students and teachers prepared a warm welcome. Most of the students met for the first time in their life but the ice was broken very fast thanks to a very nice atmosphere and great hospitality of the Germans families.
The second day of our stay in Germany brought us many surprises. Coordinators prepared a city game in Bremen, thanks to which students could visit the city in international groups: Poland, Germany and Macedonia, as well as make friends and take photos together. After the project was finished, the groups went for lunch together.
Sunday was the day the children spent with their German families. They had the opportunity to learn about their culture and tradition. They took part in confirmation, as well as family games and spending time together. Some went to “Heide-Park” in Soltau, an amusement park or to the seaside in Cuxhaven, where they had the opportunity to observe the tide and walk on the muddy bottom.
On Monday, the students met in Bremenhaven, where they played a game in international groups. Detective trail, which consisted in finding designated places in the city using a map and decrypting the code. Thanks to this game, students could get to know the city and strengthen their friendships. Then, we went to the Climate House, where there were a lot of surprising attractions waiting for them, e.g. getting to know climatic places from around the world and representatives of the continent’s animals. The students’ task was to write down the most important information about the conditions in a given area. It was a very active and successful day.
On Tuesday, we met with students at the municipal Youth Center in Loxstedt where an app-based workshop was held on topics related to geography, history, politics and economics. Students worked in the international groups, creating a map of places in the city. There was also a speech by Loxstedt Mayor Detlef Wellbrock who thanked everyone for participating in the program. He also mentioned the difficult situation in the world and thanked that despite many adversities, we were able to come and share our knowledge.
Wednesday was the last day of the project in international groups. We went to Nesse – a sports center where children got to know each other by presenting their figure, saying what they like and what they are interested in. The students took the Quiz-Café “Europe” tests on the knowledge, origins, history and values of the European Union. After learning, there was time to talk and develop friendships while barbecuing. At the end, the coordinators thanked all students and teachers for the time spent together, learning and exchange of experiences. Everyone received a certificate of participation in the project.
On Thursday, May 12, 2022, after tender and touching farewells to wonderful families, the Macedonian and Polish groups went to the airport in Bremen, from which we flew home where longing parents waited.
Summing up, the students participating in the project experienced an amazing life adventure, gained many interesting experiences, became independent and met wonderful people who will be remembered for many years. Lots of friendships have been made that will be able to continue.
In March 2022, an online mobility for students from Germany, Poland and North Macedonia took place at the Primary School in Mysiadle as part of the “Appic Learning” project of the Erasmus+ programme. It was the first meeting in the project after the Covid-19 pandemic and although all partner schools dreamed of finally being able to meet in person, unfortunately due to the current restrictions and the war in Ukraine, students couldn’t travel to Poland.
Therefore, the team of teachers tried to do everything to ensure that a group of thirty students lived together, albeit remotely, 5 valuable days. The agenda of the meeting concerned mainly the main topic of the project, i.e. applications used for learning. Students had the opportunity to test applications such as PlantNet, HumanBody or GeoExpert, and explore blogs and channels on YouTube, where enthusiasts of natural sciences popularize knowledge via the Internet. Through a remote lesson from the Maria Skłodowskie-Curie Museum, students got to know the figure of this Polish Nobel Prize winner, and thanks to a lesson from the Copernicus Science Center on the sense of balance, they learned what seasickness is all about. Students in their home schools also interviewed science teachers to inspire themselves to develop into chemistry, physics, mathematics and computer science.
Copernicus Science Center
The participants of the mobility also got acquainted with Polish culture in the field of film, computer games, music and literature. They visited Warsaw virtually, at the same time personally enjoying chocolates from Wedel or Goplana.
The German team
Not all classes were held in front of the computer. Students explored the nature growing around each of the schools, made monuments to Warsaw using recycled materials or recorded an advertisement for Polish sweets that they received in advance by mail.
The Macedonian team
Although the students and teachers at Mysiadł regretted not being able to show their country in person, 5 days spent on remote mobility allowed to break the first ice and wheted the appetite of participants for the mobility planned in Loxstedt in May 2022.
We met several times in all four countries of our project and tried out tools and activities like Kahoot or playing tennis. That was fun – but in all this time, we also worked on a product to show off the experiences we made. That’s the guidebook.
At our last meeting in germany, we collected texts and pictures in a tool named Google Presentations and assembled a book to print. You can have a look a the PDF-Version, when you click on the button beneath.
