CULTURE-BASED EDUCATIONAL PROJECTS

"ACTIVE AND PRODUCTIVE"

CULTURE AS A VEHICLE OF CREATIVITY

Since Europe has enormous cultural and creative assets, creative generation has a crucial role in Europe’s future.
The real challenge for Europe is to make the best of its cultural diversity, in the context of globalisation. To a large extent, Europe’s future is dependent on its ability to transcend local identities, to enhance creativity but also to ensure the presence of diverse local identities in an international context.
Europe’s diverse cultures are a chance to stimulate creativity, as a motor of economic and social innovation. This culture-based creativity is linked to the ability of people to think inventively, to challenge the conventional, and to call on the symbolic and affective to communicate.
Education in general and the learning environment particularly, play a crucial role in developing and advancing creativity: it may comfort, stimulate or “kill” personal ability.
The development of technology and the opportunities that the digital media offer, mean that children and young people have access to many more platforms, for their creativity and inventiveness than were available some years ago.

A study that has been released by the European Commission explores the still underestimated links between culture, cultural diversity, creativity and social, scientific and economic innovation. This study is part of the 2009 European Year of Creativity and Innovation.

CULTURE-BASED PROJECTS

OBJECTIVES
1) The purpose of this showcase is to illustrate the impact of culture in building a new school milieu in which teachers and students have the opportunity to be “active and productive”, contributing significantly to new expressions of creativity using art and digital technologies.
Through these projects students will have the opportunities:
· to develop skills in research and information literacy, to study their local heritage, and to raise awareness on their cultural identity,
· to boost their creativity through art and to develop aesthetic, qualitative values,
· to use technology tools, to increase productivity, and to be able to share the results of their efforts in the community,
· to practice presentation skills, teamwork skills, planning skills, and life skills,
· to cultivate entrepreneurial skills, and promote freelance jobs as a prospective of professional choice.
The implementation of local culture, art and ICT in learning and teaching process is a way to promote meaningful learning, stimulate creativity and foster innovation and entrepreneurship.
2) The aim of the blog is to:Suggest to educators, and give them practical support on how to get involved in a culture-based project, aiming to promote the intercultural exchange. The process is below mentioned:
Each school will gather information on a cultural issue, as previously agreed by partner teachers (history, architecture, traditions, legends, costumes). The work will be sent digitally to the partner school. Then each school will study the foreign culture from the material received, and will create pilot cultural products, following the concept of culture-based project, as displayed in the blog.
Finally, each school will make multimedia presentations of the cultural products, inspired by the partner’s culture, and exchange the results of relevant works, using web Sharing Tools.

MISSION... ACTIVE AND PRODUCTIVE

HYPOTHESISIf students are sensitized on local culture, through art and technologies, they could make choices, as prospective citizens, so that are able to face the homogenisation and the loss of local identity, integrating creativity into regional policies.
Moreover if children, are given the chance to maintain their curiosity, courage, experimentation and imagination, then a creative capacity is formed, which stays with them as they grow into adult men and women.
Mission... ACTIVE AND PRODUCTIVE was carried out by B-class students, receiving consulting support by the University of Aegean and the Museum of Modern Greek Art of Rhodes.
The project is a creative approach of "culture by doing".
Art and tecnology enhanced the quantity and the quality of students’ achievement.

STEP BY STEP INSTRUCTIONS TO STUDENTS
After students have been motivated to get interested by the teacher, they were given the following instructions:
1. Gather information on a local culture subject, from Museum and site visits, books, internet, photos, videos, and testimonies.
2. Study and make a presentation on the specific subject. Then share your work in class or send it to your partner school. You can make lectures, presentations, slideshows, blogs and more.
3. Select certain element from the previous study, which brings historical or aesthetic, or emotional or personal value.
4. Using creative thinking methods (think outside the box, brainstorming, idea lists, what if…) start creating your artwork, inspired by the selected element.
5. Experiment with new ideas (find creative solutions, use visual means as sketches, drawings, collage, prints, stencils…) and create your own artwork.
6. Elaborate on your own design, combine it with other classmates’ work, and make transformations, patterns, or collaborative posters.
7. Take digital photos of your final solution.
8. Edit your photos using photo editing software.
9. Select two easy to use functions-tools, which make effects.
10. Experiment by creating a plethora of new images.
11. Select your best picture as for your final design solution.
12. Select an object to transfer your picture or make models.
13. Print your design with your printer on cards or papers,
14. Print your design on proper paper and iron them on clothe of your choice.
15. Take digital photos and videos of your cultural pilot production.
16. Put your pictures and videos on the web and send them to your partner school.
17. Enjoy your pilot cultural products.
18. Spread your ideas in the local community (organizing exhibition, participating on a TV program, presenting your proposals in a municipality council …)

The result of above process is the following projects:

1. HISTORY AND ARCHITECTURE

2. SYMBOLS AND LANDMARKS

3. MODERN ART AND LEGENTS

4. LOCAL DANCES

CASE STUDY

The students of 1st Junior High School of Rhodes were asked to propose solutions for the developement of the Tourist Port of Rhodes. An educational project was designed to investigate how children see and interpret the city, what they look for in public spaces, as well as to propose real solutions.

Cultural education is a useful tool that enables students to give their opinions on urban development, facilitating citizenship participation. Based on the ideas, inspired by Colossus, they created models and they launched their ideas in the local community.

Cultural assets, creativity and digital technologies can be the vehicle of a meaningful teaching and learning.