Working Group:Low Achievers in ScienceCountry:Austria, Bulgaria, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Sweden, United KingdomLanguages:Bulgarian, English, Finnish, French, German, Greek, SwedishAge of students (target group/s):13-14, 15-18Links, resources:http://www.ea.gr/ep/cosmos/
The project aimed to give students more challenging and authentic learning experiences by creating a new experimental science laboratory and expanding the existing teaching resources. Main objectives of the COSMOS project were to develop a user-friendly online repository of both scientific and educational resources by unifying some existing educational tools and on-line materials for science teaching (Discovery Space Portal, and the educational repository of the Schools Observatory Project). The COSMOS project provides materials both for secondary and university level science teaching. The COSMOS Portal contains educational material in the form of educational content (photos, videos, animations, exercises, graphs, links) and learning activities (structured lesson plans organized according to specific pedagogical models complying with the IMS Learning Design specification). The "Go Observing" section offers an opportunity to create and develop new content based on astronomical observations that could be realized through the network of the COSMOS robotic telescopes. Through the Mobile COSMOS service the COSMOS Educational Content is also available for mobile phones (see http://www.cosmosportal.eu/cosmos/node/14461).Strong points and opportunities:• COSMOS provides experimental science opportunities in areas that are fascinating for students.
• The material available is in different formats that can be useful for integrating in the classroom.
• The potential to develop new content based on observations.
• The use of mobile phones to support educational content.Limitations:Demanding time-wise; difficulty to be linked to curricula.Added value with regards to the 3 topics of the MASS project:The project offers a multitude of tools for the teachers digital library in an area that is exciting for all students in all countries and can attract the attention and facilitate the involvement of low achievers in science classes.Any prerequisites needed:PCs, internet connection, mobile phones (optional).
Working Group:Low Achievers in ScienceCountry:Austria, Bulgaria, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Sweden, United KingdomLanguages:Bulgarian, English, Finnish, French, German, Greek, SwedishAge of students (target group/s):13-14, 15-18Links, resources:http://www.ea.gr/ep/cosmos/