Minerva Project

FYR Project(2004-2007)

Summary of the project “Free your river”/FYR aims at promoting eLearning within teaching and learning about ecologically sound rivers and local decision making. FYR provide a broad selection of different, webbased IT tools embedded in an eLearning environment. The tools will support the implementation of projects on ecologically sound rivers. The tools will be developed in close cooperation with and tested by schools of Alpine and non Alpine countries concerning their usability. The project will build on and integrate considerable existing European know how, experiences, resources, projects outcomes and methodologies related to IT, water and natural rivers from a variety of educational institutions, projects and actors from countries situated mainly in the Alpine area, but also from flat regions. FYR will link in an innovative way eLearning, formal learning in schools and outside - school activities. The pedagogical approach will thus promote and combine scientific-like learning by collecting data in nature, eLearning by analysing, processing and displaying these data with the help of IT and social learning by presenting the processed data for lobbying on a local level. Individual, autonomous learning and learning in groups will enhance responsive attitudes towards water and the capacity to take action. Participatory and constructive learning will be given special attention.The direct target groups are the teachers of Secondary and Primary schools, lower level (age range: 10-12 years) and upper level (age range: 15-17 years) and indirect targets groups are pupils of 10-12 years/15-17 years, the local population and decision makers on a local level.FYR will organize a final event where schools which participated in the FYR project together with other schools from mountainous as well as from flat regions will be invited to take part. This event will contribute to the dissemination of the results of FYR. Dissemination will be facilitated by the professional PR-background contributed by the WWF.FYR will lead to a better visibility of natural rivers and their river basins and to a greater awareness for the need to to take action for their preservation. FYR will highlight the possible contribution of the Internet and new media in promoting participatory learning, ecological citizenship attitudes and democracy.

The partners