“BLOOM Stories of implementation” competition

Since 2018, the BLOOM project enhances knowledge about bioeconomy by providing teachers with ready-to-use material, to engage young people. This year, in collaboration with the STEM Discovery Campaign 2020, BLOOM is organising the “BLOOM Stories of implementation” competition to reward the most innovative classroom implementations of these materials. Join the competition and share your story!

How can your sctudents take part in this competition?

The ‘BLOOM Stories of Implementation’ competition will reward the most innovative classroom implementations of bioeconomy using the materials included in the BLOOM School Box, in four different categories of submission:

[1] Teaching bioeconomy in primary schools (individual work);

[2] Teaching with bioeconomy in secondary schools' STEM classes (individual work);

[3] Integrating STEM teaching with bioeconomy (teams of two STEM teachers of different subjects);

[4] Integrating STEAM teaching with bioeconomy (teams of up to three teachers of different subjects, including at least one STEM teacher and at least one non-STEM teacher)

When?

Teachers can start organising their lessons starting from November 2019 and prepare their stories to be submitted between 1 February and 30 April 2020 at 23:59 Central European Time (CET)!

The winners of each category will be invited to a teacher training workshop in Brussels, with travel, accommodation and meals covered, and the 20 finalist entries will be published on the School Network page of the BLOOM project!

Steps to participate:

1) Choose which BLOOM School Box resource works well in your classroom from the BLOOM School Box collection

2) Think of how you will implement bioeconomy in your classroom and if you will work collaboratively with other colleagues or on your own.

3) Run at least one bioeconomy lesson with your students and think about what evidence you have of your students’ engagement following your lesson(s).

4) Choose the appropriate submission category, double check the competition’s terms and conditions and fill in the submission forms (available since 1 February 2020).

Whether your school decides to take part in the competition or not, the resources this project offers in several languages , English and Spanish included, are really powerful to work on Bioeconomy topics. 

Safer Internet Day 2018

Safer Internet Day (SID)   seeks to promote safer and more responsible use of online technology and mobile devices, especially among children and young people across the world.  SID 2018 will be celebrated on 6 February 2018 with the theme of "Create, connect and share respect: A better internet starts with  you".

If you visit Safer Internet Website,  you will  find a gallery of resources you can use for educational activities. All you have to do is  search by keyword, language and age  to find resources to meet your needs.

If you allow me to help you choose a very useful resource for teenage learners, have a look at  this one : it is a lesson plan on  how to make strong passwords, how to avoid malware and hacking by keeping anti-virus and software updated always, and how to detect safe web shops from online scam shops. It also  offers advice on how to take control over your digital life, and on what to and what not to share on your social media profiles. You can download the resource  ”Staying Safe Online – Youth and Digital Security” here.

(This resource is an international version of the original Danish booklet “Unge og Digital Sikkerhed”, which is used in the Danish Money Week from 2017 and beyond.  Original version was  written in corporation by a series of Danish organizations and institutions: Finance Denmark, The Danish Police, The Agency for Digitization, The e-mark, The Media Council for Children and Young People in Denmark.)

I wish to acknowledge the great help provided by the organizations and institutions above and  extend my gratitude to  the many partners that support Safer Internet Day  with awareness-raising events and educational  resources to  make the internet a safer and better place.

If you prefer to approach the topic through Music, I recommend this complete resource by the British Council  based  on " I like it", a  song which was  created three years ago  by members of GMCBeats rap workshops and Webwise Ireland to celebrate Safer Internet Day.  The resource  includes  both interactive exercises and   worksheets that can be downloaded.

Why not enjoy the rap song while you decide on the resource you like the best?

SAFETY ON THE INTERNET

Cyberbullying, sexting, grooming are  starting to get into our dictionaries because unfortunately traditional bullying has evolved into a new way of humiliating  or harassing kids and teenagers. Cyberbullying means that someone  may be harassed  by someone else hiding behind his or her cell phone or computer screen.  I reckon that our role as teachers must include setting out clear standards of behaviour when they use the Internet, social networking sites and mobile phones. 

An example of a classroom practice that can help to  make our students aware of the dangers of the net is this sequence by Pilar Torres, a Secondary English teacher from Angel de Saavedra High School in Córdoba.  In this project, students listen, speak and write in English about computers, social networks and internet safety. Regarding language, they will learn the vocabulary related to the topics mentioned before and they will be provided with  a very meaningful context to use the modal verb "should" to give advice  to their peers.

The final outcome of the project is a digital poster that includes advice on internet safety and a very useful rubric to assess both the format and the content  in the poster is suggested by Pilar.

Some other related resources may be:

Video on internet safety

Internet safety quiz

Digizen website