St. Ana Kindergarten from Craiova is currently implementing its second Erasmus+ project ”D.A.Re for an Early Education” with the reference number 2023-1-RO01-KA122-SCH000129406. The main purpose of appling for this project was represented by the necessity for developing the digital knowledge and skills of our teachers and, thus, to enhance the entire learning process from our kindergarten and to orient it towards the nowadays needs of pre-school children who are more and more attracted by the digital instruments of our world. Considering that kindergarten gives the „start for the future”, being the first step in education towards tomorrow’s society, we believe it is urgently necessary to continuously reinvent preschool education, in order to provide children with the most useful information in a captivating way. For this, we need and wish to know how to efficiently use the resources that modern technology offers us.
Following the evaluations conducted by the teaching staff, psychologist, and school counselor, we have found that the children are facing emotional and speech disorders, concentration problems and aggressive behavior. In classroom activities, these issues affect the educational process; the children lack interest and can no longer be motivated solely through traditional teaching materials, as these are increasingly outdated compared to the constantly updated information available in the digital environment.
In addition to participating in training activities for better mastering the use of digital tools, three of our teachers were also involved in a job-shadowing activity at CEIP Cervantes School (and nursery) from Riba-roja de Túria, Valencia, Spain.
Thus, we aimed at increasing the degree of internationalization of our kindergarten by achieving goals such as:
- the exchange of information and experiences through direct observation of the integration of modern technologies and digital tools in the educational process.
- enhancing the ability of the teaching staff to work in an international format.
- broadening the cultural and social horizons of the teaching staff towards the European space by learning about the values and traditions of Spanish people.
CEIP Cervantes School and Nursery has a broad experience in implementing Erasmus+ projects as well as in using digital tools and applications starting from the first days in kindergarten. All classrooms are equipped with smart boards and the necessary software to use them. The mobility program was established in collaboration with the representatives of the host kindergarten, following an analysis of our institution’s needs.
Monday – Presentation of St. Ana Kindergarten and the project “D.A.Re for an Early Education”/Tour of the host kindergarten / Attendance at activities
Tuesday – Attendance at activities/Methods of integrating the smart board in working with preschoolers/Discussions with teachers regarding methods of assessing children’s progress
Wednesday – Observation of the use of digital tools in activities/Digital stories and their impact on the integration of children with special educational needs and disadvantaged children
Thursday – Attendance at activities/ Methods of conducting morning meetings using personalized digital applications / Participation in a workshop with parents on the topic – “Cyberbullying – effective strategies for combating It” / Feedback
Friday – Attendance at activities/Establishing future Erasmus+ collaborations with the host institution/ Initiating an eTwinning project – “Tell Me a Digital Story”/Certification – participation diploma and Europass.