This thematic model has been carried out with the collaboration of numerous students, all of them with vocational training.
The characteristics and level of the students who have collaborated and participated in the module are different. There are groups of students from different countries who are pursuing different studies. Some of the activities have been carried out by students studying more advanced subjects such as web programming, but many others, perhaps the majority, have already been carried out by students who are in the first years of professional training cycles.
At all times there have been cooperation mechanisms between classes and students of the different nationalities of the project. We have used the Slack tool to communicate with each other and the result obtained from this communication has been enriching. Not only has it served the students to exchange ideas or data on common projects, but also to get to know each other better, learn about their culture, learn about their studies and have a broader vision of the European space.
During the execution of the project we have taken into account the dissemination of European values such as solidarity, common work, belonging to a Western European community, mutual trust, etc.
One characteristic that can define this thematic module is its ability to be combined with the others. It can be combined with history, with art, etc.
It has been very enriching for the students to be able to collaborate with other students from other countries and from other disciplines. These types of activities imply a greater motivation of the students which affects the class environment and the professional objectives of the student.
We believe that the participation of students in this type of project improves their employability, which is the ultimate goal of vocational training.
IT and System test module contains 3 units:
➡ UNIT1: LEARN2PROGRAM.
➡ UNIT 2. ADVANCED PROGRAMMING
➡ UNIT 3. ANDROID MINESWEEPER GAME
In this unit, a game that consists of deactivating mines in a minefield will be developed step by step.
For this, the students will have to know the basics of object-oriented programming and during a series of lessons they will not only learn the programming of android devices, but also develop the game at the same time.
Objectives of this thematic module
The objective of the Learn2program unit is for students to learn to program in a simple and playful way. Everyone knows that learning concepts through games is an effective and enjoyable way of learning. When we started with this module we used a game in text mode (using the blackboard) but later we used an interpreter (game) that automated the programming and could execute the commands that the students coded.
The result obtained in this unit has been amazing. We have found that students learned to program the basic statements in less than a week. This first module has served us as a connection to carry out more complex tasks such as programming in Arduino.
The success we have achieved has been such that our system has been extended to other groups of students from our school who are beginning to learn the concepts of programming.
The unit Advanced programming deals with algorithms and structures of advanced programming. In this unit the basics of Android programming are established to make applications for smartphones with this operating system. In this unit the concepts of array and strings will be treated in depth
Finally, in the unit Android minesweeper game, the objective is to create a game that consists of deactivating mines in a minefield will be developed step by step.
For this, the students will have to know the basics of object-oriented programming and during a series of lessons they will not only learn the programming of android devices, but also develop the game at the same time.
Teachers and collaborators of the thematic module
To create this module a number of teachers from the partner organisations have contributed with lesson design, testing, documentation and evaluation of the activities. The participants involved are teaching a variety of subjects such as: Technology, Programming, Logical thinking, Networking, etc. The participants have communicated through the project communication channel, on project meetings and online meetings, to divide tasks and to make sure that the thematic module is of good quality, comprehensive and that it contains units relevant to the theme.
More exact information on participation in the different activities can be found in each unit.