Greetings from Cyprus, part 2

Hello hello!

So this week has gone by quite fast, and a lot of the things we have covered here I will absolutely take as part of my future projects in school.

For example we had a workshop day on stop-motion animation, and created short movies using StopMotion Studio (a free app), and with a few final edits from iMovie. After a brief introduction to the world of animation, we began planning and creating our projects. Our animation teacher was David Hands, and he had a couple of his students (Sasha and Ivan) come in to help us when the movie making began.

Studying and notes

Story board

Materials

We had a variety of materials at our disposal, and after some cutting, drawing and planning, we were ready for the task of click-move objects-click-move objects- repeat ad infinitum (or in our case, about 300 times).

Our movie turned out quite well, and the app was easy enough to be used with students.

Planning and trying out

The process was fun and rewarding, and certainly simple enough to be used with students. As long as the cameras and light sources are steady (tripods and selfie-stick brackets come in handy), the rest is just clicks and minor adjustments of materials.

Our team hard at work

And here's the final product :)

We've also gotten to know LearningApps, a website where you can create your own games from various ready made templates, you can add your class to get sign-in details for them to monitor progress, and the games can also be embedded in various online platforms (like WikiSpaces that we are using here).

In addition to these, I've also become more familiar with Quick Response, or QR-codes, which can act as links between paper and digital forms. These could be used to create scavenger-hunts, listening exercises, extra challenges for those who finish earlier, and many more. One possible site for creating these is QRStuff.

All in all, the course and its contents have been very useful and informative, and I'll be sure to rant and rave about these programs back in school as well.

Kalimera!

In other words, greetings from Cyprus!

Usually these blog posts have been in Finnish, but since the topic of this post is about our Erasmus+ project, a more internationally accessible language seemed suitable.

Anyway, back to where I am, and why.

The captivated audience

Talking about Niittykumpu

I'm currently in Nicosia, Cyprus, and I arrived on Monday to join the Interactive media for interactive teaching and learning -course, organised by the Bios Life Long Learning Centre. The course runs for a week, and offers views and insights into various technology that can be used in teaching, as well as giving a quick glimpse of Cyprus.

So far (ie 3 days into the course) we've had a look at the use of Google Drive (Docs, Sheets, Slides, Forms, and as a sharing and storage space), Wikispaces, Quizlet, and up and coming are the use of QR-codes, and Stop Motion Studio. All of these have practical applications in education, and I'm looking forward to being able to put them into use. Tomorrow we will be practicing how to make stop-motion animations with the help of an app, that students will be able to handle as well. If our video turns out as it should, I'll share it here as well.

Our course has 24 participants from around Europe. Aside from a couple of  us Finns, there are people from Sweden, the Netherlands, Poland, Germany, Slovenia, and Romania. This international crowd of ours have had guided tours of The Home For Cooperation, Cyprus Community Media Centre, as well as the Cyprus Archaeological Museum. During this week we'll also visit schools, and have an excursion to other cities nearby (Lefkara and Larnaca).

So far Cyprus has left me with a thoroughly positive impression. People are very friendly, speak English very well (even the elderly couple who helped myself and a friend when we were looking thoroughly confused and spinning a map around..), and the food is lovely. The course has been extremely well organised, and the people running it are clearly motivated and interested.

The Cypriot Cruciform

Detail from the map of Nicosia

I've also had a chance to learn a bit about the history of Cyprus - it's inhabited roots dating back 10000 years, and up to modern times and the tension with the Turkish occupation. The Home for Cooperation is doing a lot of work in trying to build bridges between the two sides of Cyprus, divided by politics, but not necessarily by the people. They are working on providing both sides with voices and points of view, and creating educational material for schools and teachers on both sides of the border.

Passport control

A few of us crossed through a check point during one afternoon as we had our passports with us, and got a view of the occupied side. In the immediate vicinity of the border, the buildings and shops looked decidedly more worn down and in need of repair, than on the Cyprus side. And on this side the Turkish Lira was also accepted currency, alongside the Euro.

So far the course and surroundings have been very interesting and educational, and thankfully with time to roam and explore as well.

I'll be back with another update further on in the week, but for now, antio!