Wyloguj swój mózg!/ Logge dein Gehirn aus! Log off your brain!

<< Background >>The first need addressed by the project was the decline in mental abilities in terms of learning, social relations and psychophysical condition among students aged 15-19 due to the constant use of mobile Internet.In order for young people who cannot imagine life without a smartphone to use digital tools responsibly, without harming their health, they need to be prepared for this, stimulated to think and inspired to act appropriately. It has therefore become necessary to develop preventive and remedial measures that would help teachers foster healthy digital habits among students. International cooperation between schools increased the chances of finding more universal and effective solutions.In addition to clear gaps in digital skills, we noticed a low level of intercultural competence among students, coupled with a high level of interest in the European education and labour market. In order to provide students with professional education tailored to the globalized and digital world, it is necessary to increase the number of teachers who understand the need to develop digital habits and intercultural competences at school and have some experience in this area.<< Objectives >>The aim of the partnership between five secondary schools from Poland, Germany, Italy, Hungary, and Austria was to develop correct digital habits in students aged 15-19 that are conducive to teaching, learning, direct interaction, mental and physical wellbeing, thereby strengthening their mental abilities and direct relationships with other students, and developing effective teaching and educational activities in this area. Proper digital habits are an essential element of the responsible use of information and communication technologies, and are therefore part of the digital competences that, along with other key competences, we aimed to develop in students at the European level, so that they would be provided with a strong foundation for international engagement.Through the project, we also wanted to recruit and train new teachers to provide as many students as possible with high-level key competences and professional instruction in the field of practical intercultural education. We also wanted to draw parents' attention to the seriousness of the problem and encourage them to address it at home. It was crucial to promote the idea of teaching correct digital habits and intercultural competences at school.<< Implementation >>The intercultural dialogue built during the school year in our intercultural online school through mini online projects in international groups and discussions on forums in TwinSpace was intensified by two international online meetings and five weekly international student meetings organized consecutively in partner schools, during which students and teachers in an intercultural classroom learned together, worked on teaching and educational packages for the campaign or conducted jointly developed experiments and other research in the classrooms of the host school, they explored the area and spent their free time together.The culmination of the student projects (level 1) were two educational campaigns, with which we joined in as part of World Information Society Day. During these campaigns, students conducted lessons and lectures at their schools based on scenarios developed at international meetings.Level 2 of the project included two online conferences and five week-long training programmes for teachers, organized consecutively in partner schools. Teachers worked on the ‘Concept of Digital Hygiene in School’. Parents were also invited to participate in some of the activities.<< Results >>Articles, products of online mini projects developed in international groups and comments on them, reports on experiments and campaigns, and other materials collected on TwinSpace discussion forums formed the basis for subsequent issues of the international school magazine Miteinander 9 and 10. Teaching and educational packages developed in international groups, campaign reports, tips for students, parents, and teachers were collected in the guide ‘How to take care of the student's brain?’. The script for the lecture ‘Log off your brain!’ is a summary of the project. The product developed by teachers is the ‘Concept of Digital Hygiene in School’, which constitutes Chapter 7 of the ‘Global School’ Curriculum. The educational campaigns ‘Take care of your brain!’ and ‘Live in the world, not on the Internet!’ were not only project and promotional activities; they also constitute an important outcome. The soft results are: students aware of the need to change negative digital habits and encouraged to take action, teachers inspired to work with students in this area and provided with teaching and educational materials, each of them equipped with a good starting point for international action, as well as parents interested in the issue.