In human history there were three civilization phases, the first phase was called the agricultural revolution , the second was industrial revolution, and the third was called information revolution or the age (Toffler, 1980). The information revolution has brought a new way of life in economic, social, cultural and political areas. Information and Communication Technologies are regarded as one of the most important factors that provide this structural transformation in the process of transition from industrial society to information society.According to a survey which was conducted by TUIK (2018) to determine the purpose of personal usage of Internet in the last 3 months in our country (Turkey), the percentage of those who use Internet in order to use social platforms/networks amounted to 86.9% for males, for females 80.7% and totally to 84.1%. Also, according to “Digital in 2018 Report” (WeAreSocial), Turkey is the first country in Europe with 2 hours 48 minutes on average of social media daily usage. A new research in 2019 conducted by Growth From Knowledge and Cereyan Medya, showed that 80% of the people in Turkey have social media account and they spend 4 hours on social media daily. In that, misuse or excessive use emerges from inadequate competencies and is therefore interpreted as usage disorder or addiction in the literature. According to these studies results, excessive use of social media cause depression, social anxiety, less life satisfaction, less self-esteem, social isolation, low academic performance, mental and physical problems, addiction and cyberbullying. Online environments have become a needed technology which is used by all age groups in almost every aspect of life.Therefore, it is necessary to assess the risks carried by the results which are generated by effects of applications that young people adapted quickly, rather than to qualify beneficial or harmful. Especially, investigating the purpose, frequency, duration and meaning of social media environments of the students in the school age according to their development periods are important on behalf of reducing risks that will be encountered. It is a fact that the individual spends an average of 4 hours a day in social media. These don’t mean that there are no benefits of social media, but as can be seen in the results of the researches, pros and cons of this issue must be examined.In this context, we defined our objectives in three main titles keeping in mind specific, measurable, achievable, relevant and time-based criteria:-To create awareness about excessive use and misuse of social media-To improve digital competences -To explore alternative ways of spending timeDeveloping the digital competences to use the social media consciously, creating awareness about the disadvantages of social media among students, teachers and parents, observing the efficiency of good practices conducted internationally and putting forward innovative suggestions. This ICT based project is organized by Muğla Şehit Ziya İlhan Dağdaş VET School. We have 5 partners from Crotia, Estonia, Poland, Latvia and Turkey. While we were choosing our partners, we mainly focused on their works, activities, knowledge, experiences, motivations and solution proposals in our subject.To reach our goals, activities will be performed by PRINCE2 methodology which includes analysis and a specific research design for examining a problem. Also, teachers should have digital competencies for the transfer of results and experiences to students. And finally, the education programs of high schools in all partners will be examined, their strengths and weaknesses will be identified and solution suggestions will be debated.It is obvious that Erasmus+ projects ensure participants to get in contact with other cultures and improve intercultural communicative skills and become more motivated for learning or improving foreign language competencies. Communication and cooperation between partners' staff will also reinforce the own organized culture among them. We will collect data which can be reused and re-edited internationally to determine teachers' and students' relevant needs. Therefore, it will provide significant contributions to the vision of the schools involved as developers in this project.Our target groups are students, teachers and parents. Sharing of teachers' and students' knowledge and experiences at schools will contribute to future generations being aware of the disadvantages of social media overuse. Being aware about it and having digital competences are directly proportionated and both make people more successful in social life. So, problems about this issue will reduce thanks to awareness and students will adapt school environment and changing society more easily. It’s obvious that ICT is irreplaceable part of 21st cent. and future, it is also important to use it in the right way to build healthy relationships and society.

The technology-driven economy and skilled workforce in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths) fields are considered the driving forces for innovation and growth in the European economy. However, a number of European studies register a declining interest in students’ interest and enthusiasm in STEM education. This declining interest in STEM, leads to low levels of entry to STEM tertiary studies and STEM careers – posing a major challenge for the future competitiveness of European countries on the world stage and calling for actions towards STEM raising interest and uptake. HOLOMAKERS aims at inspiring secondary school students (14-17 years old) in making STEM fields a career choice and continue their science education at university level by introducing them in the magic world of hologram making and virtual image processing and design. The project infuses Arts into STEM (leading to STEAM), links STEAM to real life and current laboratory practices and engages students in hologram making. Hologram making is used as a creative vehicle for bringing school community closer to the research community, familiarize students with laboratory practices in the area of STEAM, demonstrating scientific techniques through practical use of a range of technologies and tools and challenging students’ thinking on the underlying scientific concepts. The project targets also STEAM teachers/educators with the aim of helping them update their teaching skills, feel more confident in using innovative methods, digital resources and making tools in STEAM teaching, carrying out engaging and hands-on learning activities in STEAM and inspiring students towards STEAM related disciplines. The HOLOMAKERS project developed: 1) A technical reference guide that details the basics of holography, image processing and the making of holograms (https://www.dropbox.com/s/tnlqlbfh67r1ay8/HOLOMAKERS%20Technical%20Reference%20Guide.pdf?dl=0). 2) A number of portable holography kits that enable the making of holograms in the classroom, outside a specialized scientific laboratory, along with guidelines on the reproduction of the kits by the teachers for educational purposes 3) The HOLOMAKERS curriculum (https://holomakers.eu/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/O3-curriculum_final.pdf) with Open Educational Resources in STEAM for teachers and students (https://holomakers.eu/oers)4) Hands-on activities for computer generated and analog making holograms (https://holomakers.eu/activities)5) An online class that will support teachers’ training in the HOLOMAKERS learning intervention (https://holomakers.eu/online-class)6) A pilot protocol that will guide the pedagogical implementation of the learning intervention (https://holomakers.eu/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/O4-PilotProtocol-_final.pdf) 7) Final Evaluation Report (https://www.dropbox.com/s/i72umwuna2og6ud/HOLOMAKERS_Final_Evaluation_Report.docx?dl=0)The project brings together 6 organizations from 4 countries: Warsaw University of Technology (Poland), Edumotiva -European Lab for Educational Technology (Greece), FMD (Italy), AIJU (Spain) and secondary schools from Poland, Greece represented by ILO (Poland) and 6EK A PEIRAIA (Greece). All these organizations form an international team of experts and educational practitioners that complement each other towards propelling STEAM education, enhancing teachers’ professional roles, helping school students through innovative and creative hands-on activities that are interlinked to real life and scientific practices to develop positive attitudes towards STEM subjects and to acquire the skills needed in the European job market of the 21st century.

Background- poor interest in a second foreign language, low prestige at school, low motivation and poor results among students and teachers;- a methodology that does not place enough emphasis on communication and intercultural competence; exclusion of civic competence from foreign language lessons; - passivity and defeatism among youth in the face of the challenges of the modern world;- the growing heterogeneity of European societies, the refugee crisis, and thus the increase in xenophobic attitudes and chauvinism;- Euroscepticism.Objectives- prove to the school community that languages are vital and multilingualism is a priority in the context of the European community and globalization;- increase the attractiveness, usefulness and effectiveness of foreign language lessons through methodological innovations and authentic contexts;- develop the ability to communicate despite language, cultural, social and geographical barriers;- motivate youth to social activism for groups at risk of exclusion;- counteract prejudices by providing reliable knowledge;- promote the ideas and ideals of the European Union.participants- 86 participants from 4 countries took part in 97 mobilities (coordinators took part in each mobility) including people with fewer opportunities and numerous refugees; migrants (19 nationalities were represented);- 160 participants took part in blended mobilities; - over 8,000 in free access events.Actions- forum theater: adaptation of techniques to school needs and realities, correlation with CEFR, multilateral promotion;- open meetings with experts;- mass outdoor events;- book reading program in kindergarten and primary schools, United Nations Model.

The EMBRACE (European Movement to Be Responsible Active Citizens Everywhere) project was a direct response to the then happenings in Europe and sought to promote social, civic and intercultural competences. It necessitated and resulted in intercultural dialogue, the discussion of basic democratic values and fundamental rights in a forum similar to the EU Parliament, whilst giving our students a platform to debate issues such as social inclusion (tolerance vs intolerance) and non-discrimination (human rights). They were encouraged to become active citizens through the use of critical thinking skills and media literacy. The 7 participant schools (Croatia, England, Finland, Italy, Poland, Portugal and Spain) represented a European journey through democracy and each added a different dimension/perspective to the project. Through cooperative/collaborative work, the students and adults involved in the project scrutinised the main principles of a democracy: freedom of speech, political tolerance, accountability, equality, human rights, and, the vital ingredient, citizen participation. All these aims were accomplished by first establishing a ‘Student Voice’ platform (called the European Junior Parliament) in every school in the partnership, for the duration of the project. This formed the ‘umbrella’ under which the rest of the planned tasks were conducted for the LTTA, as it was a very useful tool for gauging the mind-set of our learners at a given time. During the visit in the UK, a demonstration was given of the school Pupil Parliament, to be adapted for the EJP. Then, a visit to the Houses of Parliament in London for a guided tour to experience the real arena for debate and an opportunity to see a live session. In Croatia, there was a guided visit to the Parliament in Zagreb and, in Spain, a visit to the Asamblea Regional in Cartagena. During every mobility, apart from the creative collaborative activities such as making banners, clay puzzles, logos, or writing lyrics, there were the donations for the charity “shoe box/parcel” (in keeping with the Being Kind theme) as well as the cultural exchange through the European International Lunch: each country brought samples of their national foods for everyone to taste, compare and promote them. Staying in host families the students learned first-hand about their culture, the differences and similarities in lifestyles and so developed awareness of the cultural diversity in Europe. Afterwards, they wrote a review of the visit. We also had opportunities to visit other places of interest (London (UK), Taormina (I), Cartagena (S), Zagreb (HR), Rovaniemi (F), and Miranda do Douro (P ) ) to deepen our knowledge of the country and culture. The other project activities included the Project Logo, Active Citizen Newspaper Articles (research and posters about Human Rights), Patriotism vs Nationalism (survey and debate with some historical background), A short-story about a Long Journey (research of the history of Democracy), Being Human (sharing acts of Kindness), the eTwinning project ‘Embrace Art for Humanity’ (study of films and literary texts matching the topics of the project to write collaborative alternative versions), the Human Rights Tree (posters and debate), and In Their Shoes (surveys on the impact of migration and creation of diaries of migrants). In total, approximately over 2,000 students and teachers contributed to this project. The main target groups were those at most risk of being marginalised in our schools and local communities, but we also focused on the main cohorts who are in danger of becoming xenophobic. We wanted to engage our students in the democratic process as it is through their active participation that they will evolve as the rightful citizens of a free society tomorrow. To maintain regular contact with each other - teachers as well as students – the use of ICT tools was of paramount importance and with it came the urgency to safe-guard our youngsters from the dangers of the internet. During the transnational meetings the teachers imparted and received training from each other to update our own professional portfolios, sharpen our skills and strategies as practitioners to deliver improved teaching to our students: “Google Classroom and Google Apps for Education“, “Padlet”, “How drama lessons can be useful in improving the students' performance in class”, “Project Based Learning methodologies “, “The Finnish School system”, “An electronic exam”, and “Food insecurity food charity”. As far as outcomes of the project are concerned, all its activities, training, resources, mobilities, evaluations and dissemination are visible to everyone via the project website, on e-Twinning and will be on the “Erasmus+ Project Results” platform.

The project 'Creating Competent Citizens using 4Cs' is designed as a close collaboration between schools who are keenly interested in developing the four skills (collaboration, communication, critical thinking, creativity) while working on issues that form active and responsible citizens. The project coordinator is I LO in Poland. The partnership includes 5 more general education secondary schools from different countries – Romania, Italy, Portugal, Spain and Sweden. Partners were selected considering their interest in the project topic and the fact that some of them want to incorporate the project results in their school curricula. There will be about 30 participants in each school plus 4-7 staff members working on the project. Students with fewer opportunities, as well as students' parents and other local groups will be included in the project. The project will focus on developing the most needed skills in the contemporary education, finding new ways of introducing them in the school and out-of-school work of students and teachers. Another project aim is to promote active citizenship and show how much our individual actions and decisions matter. While working on the project both students and teachers will exchange good practices, broaden their knowledge and gain new. It will allow them to learn from experience and create inventive approaches to learning and teaching. The project will be realized through a series of activities and workshops carried out in schools and in cooperation with project partners. 5 international project meetings are planned, from which the first one will be a training session for teachers, in the remaining 4 each host school will supervise the development of one particular skill. The work on each skill will include training sessions for teachers and students, workshops, games, debates, outdoor quests, international lessons and more. During each project meeting the students and teachers will create various educational materials. The results of the project will be guides for students and teachers with practical advice on developing the 4Cs and a website promoting active citizenship. They wll be publicly available and open for further use.