School year 2016-2017
Education guide DISCOVER ALL INITIATIVES TO IMPROVE THE EDUCATIONAL SUCCESS
Innovation, a basic tool for educational success
One of the main challenges of the government team over which I preside is educational success. And although, as a local government, we do not have direct jurisdiction, we do everything we can to cooperate with the regional government to equip our schools with the best tools possible. For us, achieving maximum possible educational success is a priority that approaches obsession. We believe that quality education of children is the basis for the improvement of society, both present and future. This principle has led us to be involved in the continuous improvement of the management
Viladecans intends to go on focusing on the development of new technologies in the education field in order to adapt to changing times and new needs. of educational institutions. This includes both aspects for which we are directly responsible (building management and maintenance, school enrolment, etc.) and others with which we believe we can assist, given our focus on #exiteducatiu
We have created the Education Innovation Network (Xarxa d’Innovació Educativa - XIE) where teachers, families, business, organisations and anyone interested in education can participate. innovation and technology which we consider fundamental to the future of education. The City of Viladecans therefore continues to focus on the development of new technologies in educational institutions in accordance with the changing times and emerging needs. Local companies are also increasingly involved in the implementation of Dual Vocational Training in the city, which allows students to alternate in-class training with in-company training and work, as well as to get placed in businesses through work contracts or scholarships. We are supporting the Generalitat and educational institutions in promoting education in the city in order to improve it. And we do this through innovation, bringing the most important technological developments into schools and involving all citizen agents in this task. In this respect, we continue to deploy the ambitious Local Improvement Plan for Educational Success, with the support of the Department #exiteducatiu
of Education, to create new learning methodologies that bring us closer to true educational success. We want to be a city whose schools can be counted among the most innovative in our region. That is why we have created tools like the Educational Innovation Network (XIE, Xarxa d’Innovació Educativa), in which everyone can participate: educators, families, businesses, organizations, students and any person concerned about education. I sincerely believe that we can say with pride that we have quality schools, led by education teams dedicated to continuous improvement, innovation and educational success in Viladecans. We have such great luck not only in the distribution of educational institutions, but also the educational projects, in particular, that can be found in all of them. As a city, we take pleasure in having faculty who are more motivated than ever and enthusiastic about making improvements to educational success.
Carles Ruiz Novella Mayor @carlosruiztwitt facebook.com/carles.ruiznovella carlesruiznovella
DISCOVER THE EDUCATIONAL INNOVATION PROJECTS AND TAKE PART IN THEM! Tablet computers We have acquired 34 tablet computers to carry out learning activities and to improve learning skills, digital skills, creativity, self-learning and motivation. The tablets will stay in one school for a whole year and then move on to another after that time expires. Montserratina and Amat Targa are two schools that have already taken part in this project and it is now the turn of the Marta Mata school. Can Palmer, Doctor Trueta and Sagrada Família are other schools that are also preparing to introduce these devices into their classrooms and others are expected to progressively join this initiative. To boost this process, teachers are receiving specific training, and families can also do so with the workshops that we are continuously programming. Don’t miss out!
Tablets to carry out learning activities
Plan to promote educational innovation In Viladecans, we have a plan to improve our students’ academic success, which is partly based on promoting different educational innovation projects in all schools and at all levels. We want to turn the city into an innovative platform and we are working with the Department of Education of the Generalitat de Catalunya to provide the city’s schools with the necessary technology to achieve this. The objective is for schools to apply methodological changes in the teaching-learning process by using the devices in the classrooms and an educational platform that allows collaborative working strategies and personalised teaching, applying Personal Learning Environments. All of this and good Internet connectivity conditions (Wi-Fi in classrooms, fibre optic in schools, 1Gb of real speed) will give schools what they need to become an advanced educational territory that meets the educational requirements needed in the future.
“They are specialists” In collaboration with the Agbar Foundation, we begin the second edition of this project that aims to discover and empower the talent of youngsters between the ages of 14 and 16, a key age in which they usually define their academic and professional future. The initiative is being developed as part of the “Creative Classrooms” (Aulas Creativas) platform, directed by the artists Miguel Gallardo and Hanoch Piven, who chose Viladecans as the first city to put this pilot experience into practice. They are specialists is based on a model of educational accompaniment in which teachers facilitate the discovery of each of the students’ skills and talents, highlighting and strengthening what makes them unique in order to help them find and follow their academic and professional future. For further info on the project: WWW.XIEVILADECANS.CAT/PROJECTES
Collaboration with AGBAR Foundation for the pilot project “Creative Classrooms”
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Educational Innovation Network The Educational Innovation Network (XIE) promotes innovative projects in the city’s educational centres, always in an open and collaborative manner, among the different parties (teachers, students, PTAs, families, companies, youngsters). It helps all professionals by offering personalised training and it creates new action areas that incite motivation.
IMAILE Project Viladecans is a pioneer in a project that develops Personal Learning Environments (PLE), which will be key in the education sphere in a few years. It is being carried out in collaboration with other educational centres, administrations and companies from four different European countries and with the support of the European Union. We are working to design a technological programme that will allow to personalise each student’s learning process even further as support to maths, science and technology teachers. Teachers are helping us a lot to define their needs and we believe that we will have a prototype to try out in 2017!
PTA 2.0 The PTA is an entity that is fundamental for the proper running of the school community. For this reason, just as we do with teachers and students, we want to support them by improving their management and dynamization. This is how ‘PTA 2.0’ was created last year, a project that includes technical training and monitoring actions to make the most of the whole potential that current technological resources have. The PTA of Escola Àngela Roca was a pioneer with this project, and they have been joined by the Viladecans PTA Federation and the PTAs of Escola Dr. Trueta, Escola Germans Amat i Targa, Escola Montserratina, Escola Pau Casals, Col·legi Sant Gabriel and Col·legi Teide. As well as using social media, blogs and other digital tools, an app will soon be launched to facilitate handling from mobile devices.
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Entrepreneurial culture at school The project’s objective is to promote the students’ entrepreneurial culture and basic skills at the ages of 10 and 11. It works on values, habits and key skills linked to entrepreneurship: analysing and solving problems, self-trust, creative spirit and fomenting cooperation and teamwork. This year, the schools of Can Palmer, El Garrofer, Enxaneta and Montserratina are participating and it is planned that a new one joins in every year.
Jordi Bordas, Pastisserie World Champion 2011 at Montserratina school.
State Network of Educating Cities Viladecans is part of an educational network called ‘RECE’ (Red Estatal de Ciudades Educadoras - State Network of Educating Cities), whose objective is to promote an exchange of ideas and good practices, teamwork and collaboration between cities. It was created in 1996, within the frame of the International Association of Educating Cities. In its last mandate, Viladecans lead one of the three existing theme networks, ‘Educational Innovation to Improve Academic Success”, with the objective of improving all of the initiatives driven in the city. A new mandate is currently being initiated in which our city is already working on the leadership of a new subject related with educational innovation.
Research project co-tutoring Companies in Viladecans have joined this project to help Baccalaureate students to elaborate and evaluate their research project. The objective of this initiative, which is now in its third edition, is to give students a better understanding of real problems in the business world and achieve the participation of companies in the city’s educational system. Participating companies are: Accura, ACKStorm, Cluster d’estalvi energètic, Farmàcia Macia, Fundació Sigea, GEMAP, Group Fructus web, Hospital de Viladecans, Kinegavà, La Pinza, Mesoestetic, MotoSprint, Rubbermold, SECOT, Unilever and Viladiet.
AWI.NET Everyone teaches in Viladecans: schools, families, companies... and the youngsters as well, who in this project are in charge of introducing elderly people to the Internet and digital tools. This unprecedented initiative is now in its fifth edition and there are now many elderly people using Facebook and Skype thanks to their grandchildren or young volunteers.
IF YOU OWN A COMPANY AND WOULD LIKE TO PARTICIPATE, JOIN XIE
Dual Vocational Education
WWW.XIEVILADECANS.CAT
Promotion of technology and the scientific spirit
In Viladecans, we want to bring the world of science and technology closer to the educational centres in order to promote scientific and technologic vocation among students. With this objective in mind, we have started a series of different activities, some of them in collaboration with leading institutions on this subject, such as Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya and Citilab: the “Mart XXI” project for secondary education, which has been developing for a long time; Scratch programming language in the Marta Mata, Miquel Martí i Pol, Montserratina and Doctor Trueta schools, and robotics and videogame learning courses for teachers in the the Josep Mestres i Busquets and Sales high schools.
Viladecans began offering dual vocational education in 2014-2015 in coordination with the Department of Education of the Generalitat de Catalunya and the active support of local companies and organisations. The objective is to bring the students’ professional skills closer to the demands of the job market in order for them to get more and better opportunities. Institut Torre Roja was the first high school that began to develop it in three different learning cycles (commercial activities, care for dependent people and sales management and marketing) and it is now Institut Sales who wants to join this project to boost dual training in the health sector, more specifically on their pharmacy learning cycle.
FOR FURTHER INFO ON THE PROJECTS: www
WWW.XIEVILADECANS.CAT
facebook.com/ajuntamentdeviladecans
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