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Version: HK Schools

Hong Kong-EU School e-Learning Project

Green Living and Sustainability in the Community
2 2 Dec ember 2 01 4

PROJECT OUTLINE
The pilot e-project will connect school classes from different European cities with school
classes in Hong Kong on the topic of Green living and sustainability in the community.
This project is conducted in English and is free of charge. Students of the selected
schools will:
Familiarize themselves with Hong Kong and European initiatives on green living
and sustainability
Evaluate their own communities and exchange ideas in terms of sustainability
Collaborate with each other and with European students on environmental projects
and actions
Present their green living community project to an international audience
Compete to be the EUs Best Sustainability Ambassadors

PROJECT PARTNERS
The project is supported by:

The European Union Academic Programme, Hong Kong

The European Studies Programme Hong Kong Baptist University
The Institute of English Studies, Leuphana University, Lneburg, Germany
The ConsulatesGeneral of participating countries in Hong Kong

THEMES
The participants will learn about and work on the following topics:
What is sustainability?
How does the EU support sustainable living?
How does your own city/government support sustainable living?
What can you do to support sustainable living in your community?
ACTIVITIES
The project will provide a variety of audio-visual and reading resources in English
language relating to the above themes on BLACKBOARD, which is an online learning
management system. Students will be able to share and exchange their ideas on the
platform using discussion forums and blogs.
QUESTIONS
1. How will it work exactly?
The project will have three phases:
I. Gathering Knowledge: Learning about sustainability
Teachers and students will use the resources on BLACKBOARD to understand the
concept of sustainability and sustainable living. They will be introduced to best practices
from HK and European cities on sustainable and green living. Teachers will guide and help
students to complete the tasks in this phase. Student will also establish their first contact
with students in Hong Kong by creating personal blogs.
II. Research Task: How green is my community?
Tasks:
Each group of students will choose one of the four topics on the BLACKBOARD
platform and organize themselves in working units to learn more about the challenges
to sustainable living in their own communities.
They will conduct small research tasks such as:
Answering simple questions through discussions on forums
Reading comprehensions
News & articles summaries

Short pieces of writing allowing them to explore their independent ideas

Reflection and observation of the habits of neighbours, friends and family
Teachers:
Teachers will play an advisory role in helping and making sure students work to the
schedule and submit tasks according to the times set out in the programme.
They will not need to know the individual topics in advance and in-depth as we have
created content that will carefully guide the students forwards throughout the tasks.
Should coordinate with the EUAP team if there are any issues/questions/feedback
III. Independent Project: Towards sustainable living in the community
The planning stage:
Students will gather their findings and knowledge from the previous two weeks to
obtain ideas and initiatives that they can discuss for this project. Teachers will use a
set of guiding questions to assist students in narrowing down and deciding on their
topic.
Next, students need to communicate and organise with teammates in Europe, and
agree on a common task area which they can engage in.
Students need to make a proposal, set up goals/targets, a working timetable and
divide roles, which they should place in a document and upload onto Blackboard.
The implementation stage:
Students will observe habits/patterns of sustainability in their community and take
action in attempt to bring change to behaviour. They will submit an interim report.
The evaluation stage:
Students will assess the successes, limitations and results of their own project at
three levels: the individual, the community and the city
Make comparisons of findings with European teammates
Consider whether they could implement ideas on a wider and higher level
Analyse what lessons can be learnt and what improvements can be made, based on
evaluation of their own city and findings from their European teammates
Documentation and presentation:
Students will document their project in the form of a blog and put their multimedia
presentation onto BlackBoard, as well as (co-)presenting it at the final stage.

Students will have a few weeks to finalise and submit their project, while teachers are
expected to continue supporting students during this time.

Awards and results:

The most successful project in terms of idea and implementation would be awarded an
EU-Certificate as the Best Sustainability Ambassador and will be invited to present their
project on Europe Day 9th May 2015 at the EU-Mission of their city in front of delegates of
the EU and the member states. Additional prizes will be announced at a later stage.

2. How long will the project last?

The first teacher training workshop will take place on Thursday 18 December 2014, 17:3019:30. It will be decided if subsequent workshops will be held.
The three phases of the project will be completed in 8 weeks of the spring term from
mid Feb* / Early March to May 2015. (*due to Chinese New Year holiday)
Phase I: 3 weeks
Phase II: 2 weeks
Phase III: 3 weeks
The Best Sustainability Ambassadors will be announced at the beginning of May.
3. What will we do for you (teachers)?
Prepare the learning materials
Provide you with all the help and support you need BEFORE and DURING all
phases of the programme, in order to facilitate the smooth running of the tasks
Hold workshop(s) for teachers on using the materials and resources on the
BLACKBOARD platform
Provide assessment methods if you decide to integrate the project in your
assessment for the subject
Read and reply to your feedback at least weekly
Continuously monitor and support the BLACKBOARD platform, answering any
questions or difficulties experienced by participating teachers and/or students

BLACKBOARD PREVIEW:

4. What do you (teachers) need to do?

Find a group of 4-8 students per school (we expect a total of around 3-4 schools
from each side) and 1 Teacher-Mentor per group: 1 local school group will be
paired up with 1 European school group. Each school group will then be divided
into smaller working units of ideally 2-3 HK and 2-3 European students, for the
purpose of simultaneous projects and online coordination
Prepare one session of 90 minutes every week for 8 weeks (allocation of working
hours is flexible). We will provide suggested teaching plans within the 90 minutes.
As we aim for teachers to learn alongside with students, we do not expect teachers
to prepare each session in length. In the 2nd phase of the programme, teachers
will play a role in helping students address the writing and reflections in the
research tasks; while in the 3rd phase teachers may wish to coach students
research work towards the project.

Mentor students and guide them through the online materials

Prepare computers/ iPads with internet connection for each participating students
N.B. Little prior knowledge will be needed for teachers to carry out the project.
During the class, teachers will be facilitating discussion and guiding students
through the tasks, with materials and guidelines provided by us
Send us a short weekly feedback of the class for us to keep track of progress
5. Who can participate in Hong Kong?
14-18 years old secondary school students
Students with sufficient English proficiency (who will be able to express themselves
in conversation, writing, and understand main ideas of complex text)
Students who are interested in the topics, open-minded, creative, self-motivated
and willing to take up challenges
6. What can the students gain?
Self-directed learning; learning at their own pace through self-regulated learning
Communication skills, intercultural experiences, collaborative learning and coconstruction of knowledge by interacting with European students
All-rounded understanding, higher order of thinking, practical knowledge and
heightened awareness on sustainability issues
Experience in developing independent and innovative ideas
Better English language skills
Observation and reflective skills through research in the community
Technical skills of using online tools for learning
7. What are the ideal subjects to integrate this project into?
Liberal Studies (especially in Globalisation, Energy, technology and environment)
Personal, Social and Humanities Education (PSHE), especially Geography
Moral and Civic Education
Integrated Humanities / Social Studies / Life and Society
English