As Turkey Aegean Primary School, we had the opportunity to promote our project in a project competition attended by 300 schools and attended by approximately 800 listeners.

 In addition, we made a project presentation and sharing information and experience at the conferences that selected schools can attend at the Erasmus Days events. 

We have completed our lesson plans and videos and uploaded them to the website. In addition, each partner made translations in their own language.

We will go to Albania next month to hold the final meeting. Although we are sad that our project is coming to an end, we feel lucky and happy as the experiences we have gained, the trainings we have received, and the friendships we have established will shed light on our next projects.

The COVID-19 pandemic has caused unprecedented disruptions in the education sector globally. Schools and universities were forced to transit to online teaching in order to comply with social distance regulations, so the use of digital resources became a necessity for ensuring continued learning. 

The pandemic imposed wide usage of online teaching resources. Teachers were required to adopt digital tools, including video conferencing software, learning management systems (LMS), and digital assessment tools. Online teaching posed several challenges, including a lack of student engagement, technical glitches, and the inability to provide students with hands-on learning experiences. In addition, students from low-income families and rural areas were disproportionately affected by a lack of access to technology and the internet.

The pandemic has accelerated the adoption of digital resources in education. Even as schools and universities reopen, many teachers are continuing to use digital resources in their teaching. The use of LMS has become more prevalent, allowing teachers to create and share resources, assess students’ learning, and communicate with parents. Furthermore, the pandemic has spurred the development of new digital resources, such as virtual labs, simulations, and online learning communities.

The use of digital resources has transformed the education sector, and its impact is likely to be felt even after the pandemic. Digital resources have the potential to provide students with personalized learning experiences, access to a wider range of resources, and opportunities for collaboration with peers worldwide. However, there are concerns about the digital division and the impact of technology on social interactions and mental health. Teachers and policymakers need to work together to ensure that digital resources are accessible, equitable, and effective in enhancing learning outcomes.In conclusion, the pandemic has provided an opportunity for the education sector to rethink its approach to teaching and learning and embrace the potential of digital resources.

But on the other hand the uncontrolled and unchecked, self-initiated and independent use of digital tools can also have harmful effects on the mental health of students. With the increasing use of digital resources in education, students are spending more time on screens, which can lead to a range of mental health issues, including anxiety, depression, and sleep disturbances.

The use of social media, in particular, has been linked to negative mental health outcomes. Studies have shown that social media use can lead to social comparison, which can result in feelings of inadequacy and low self-esteem. In addition, social media can be a source of cyberbullying, which can lead to anxiety and depression.

Moreover, the constant exposure to information and stimulation can lead to cognitive overload, making it difficult for students to concentrate and process information effectively. This can result in feelings of overwhelm and burnout, which can further evoke mental health issues.

Teachers and policymakers must recognize the potential harm and misuse of digital tools. They should work to promote responsible use of technology, educate students on healthy screen time habits, and provide resources and support for students who may be struggling with mental health issues.These include:

1.Promoting responsible use of technology: Teachers and parents should educate students on healthy screen time habits, such as taking breaks, setting time limits, and avoiding technology before bedtime.

2.Encouraging digital wellness: Schools can develop policies and programs that promote digital wellness, such as mindfulness exercises, stress management techniques, and strategies for coping with digital overload.

3.Providing resources and support: Schools should provide resources and support for students who may be struggling with mental health issues related to digital technology, such as counseling services, mental health resources, and access to educational materials.

4.Incorporating digital citizenship education: Schools should incorporate digital citizenship education into the curriculum, teaching students how to use digital tools responsibly and ethically.

5.Establishing clear policies and guidelines: Schools should establish clear policies and guidelines on the use of digital tools, including guidelines for appropriate use and strategies for addressing cyberbullying and online harassment.

By doing so, schools can ensure that students can reap the benefits of digital technology and improve the well-being of all, students, teachers and parents.

Now that the pandemic is over, there is no turning back on the use of digital tools in the classroom. Students are being raised in a technological age and teachers must speak their “language” through the use of IT technologies in order to engage them in the learning process and these tools can be a great way to motivate students and foster their autonomy. But students get tired of using the same games or platforms after a while, variety is, therefore, imperative, and this can be an immense challenge for teachers who struggle to find the right tools for their students. 

Teachers need to do online research, they need to understand how the tools work and become proficient in using them and they need to prepare content, which is very time-consuming specially because of the immense variety of resources and the speed at which they are created by developers. 

A good strategy could be to create several categories for the tools according to the type of work to be developed, for example: videos, presentations, assessment, and how to organise learning and every time teachers discover a new tool, they can add them to the list and thus keep track of what they have at their disposal.

If we think about the assessment, which is always a sensitive topic for students, parents and teachers alike, there is a number of tools that can be used for assessment purposes and that will turn the process funnier and less stressful for students. They can be used in the classroom or at home, with the teacher or parents or autonomously by the students, for formal assessment moments or just for progress check, or as assessment disguised as competitions with the participation of the whole class.

Kahoot (https://kahoot.com) is probably one of the most popular tools whose simplicity of use and competition nature makes it very attractive to students and it can be used for content review purposes, for formative assessment purposes because it is easy to export results, to do surveys.

Quizlet (https://quizlet.com) is another popular tool that can be used for progress check through the use of cards that can be presented in 5 different ways.

Socrative (https://socrative.com) is a quiz design application that can be used to create tests and quizzes to get real-time feedback on the students learning. This tool can be used by students on an individual basis by letting them answering tests and quizzes at their own pace while checking their answers, and it can also be used in the classroom by groups or teams of students engaging in competitions with the use of their smartphones or tablets.

Mentimeter (https://mentimeter.com) is another digital resource that enables creating real-time interactions such as surveys, word clouds or questions. It can be used by the entire class at the same time and it makes results visible to all.

HotPotatoes (https://hotpot.uvic.ca/) comprises six different modules with different purposes, namely JCross (crosswords), JMix (word ordering), JCloze (texts with fill-in the blanks), JQuiz (multiple choice, multiple selection, true/false, short answer quizzes), JMatch (pair association or sentence ordering), and The Masher (for compilation purposes, possibility of compiling different files with exercises, creating and index page with links to the different files).

These are just a few examples of the many resources that are available nowadays and that can be very useful to make classes more dynamic, to have students more engaged in the activities and that can contribute to well-balanced teaching and learning settings.