Interview to Yunus Emre Ortaokulu

Director: Erol Selanikli
Project: Open Air Library

1. How was this project born: from which needs? To answer which question?

Teachers work on national multiple choice exams on schools around the city. In this way, they find possibility to see other schools, surroundings, educational materials. These experiences lead to innovative thoughts.

2. What is in your opinion innovative on this project?

To plan, design, practice an educational platform -as seen an indoor activity- is different and attractive. To go out of school by students, teacher and parents with the purpose of reading and combining disciplines –ICT, literature, social sciences- by students is innovative.

3. Which are in your opinion the ICT competencies of adolescents that are important for your project? And how are they valorised through your project?

To advertise the project students design a brochure for parents and the surroundings of school. They used internet, photo designer, and word processing. These materials with their imagination contribute their creativity, responsibility, awareness.
In this project, students learned the barcode system in library. By using barcode system they organize the library and follow barrowed books.
With computer based library membership system adolescents make parents a library member.

4. What did you discover through the project that you didn’t expect or imagine?

Parents show a great attraction to this project. They bring foods prepared by them to offer readers.
To be out of school together -with students, teachers and parents- is a big experience for students.

5. What is the link between your project, media competencies and active citizenship?

At first, we have only one goal and it is to redound the reading habit of students. However, in the process students took responsibility; prepared brochures by using ICT tools. Students with the guidance of teachers play a connective role, took responsibility and presented a successful end.

EXPERIENCE REPORTING

1. What happens during activities? Which working steps are asked from the students?

First of all, when students hear the project, they get excited. I want to participate them over the project. I formed 3 groups and each group is composed by 5 students.
The first group design a school garden to readers. They determined the needs by using internet. The needs that are specified by students are mattresses, chairs, tables, lamps, tent, cups, sticky ground signs.
The second group help literature teacher for organizing library and books. They collocated books and formed a book list -brief comments about books, locations of books in library- by using word processing. They learned how to use barcode system and membership procedure in library. They are the bridge between out of school and library.
The third group thought hard about how we announce this project to others-students, teachers, parents. They designed a brochure. They talked with ICT teachers and advertise the project on school web site and social media platforms.
The project days and nights are determined by me and my students. Readers came to school garden, some of them seat on mattresses, and some of them enter under tents. Parents brought snacks form their homes to offer. We use lamps at night. We offer coffee to readers.

2. Which methodologies do you use?

I used constructivist theory. Students were in active process. They designed brochures, advertised the project, composed an order in library and formed a school garden for readers. After the project, I used surveys to observe the progress of students. I reached the results that the reading habits, self-esteems and ICT knowledge of students are increased.

3. Which tools?

Intenet, word-processing, photo designer, web site,social media platforms.

4. Which materials?

Computer, printer, barcode reader, books, tents, tables, chairs.

5. Which project choices do you consider strategic?

After adding students in project planning, they show great advancement.

6. How do you arouse curiosity in the teenagers?

To do something out of school attracted students’ attention.

7. What do they learn?

Reading habits, self-esteems and ICT knowledge of students are increased.

8. Which competences are developed and enhanced?

Students’ gained librarianship, by using ICT they advanced in searching on Internet, word processing, photo design.

9. How do you evaluate this experience? Do you evaluate it at all?

I used surveys to observe the positive change.