The STRS Comenius Project


Presponsible use of new technologies

Comenius Partners:

IES Reyes Católicos, Ejea de los Caballeros, Spain and Institut Cardijn Lorraine, Belgium

In the summer of 2009 Sir Thomas Rich’s was invited to join schools in Spain and Belgium in a Comenius project which was to research the impact which the new technologies are having on our pupils. The team was fortunate to be working under the guidance of Dr Mariano Chóliz, Professor of Psychology at the University of Valencia and I considered myself very fortunate to have the help and support from the Spanish speaking  Head of Psychology, Mr Steven Crumblehulme.

Under scrutiny was the addiction of young people to the internet, video-games and mobile phones, an issue which is of concern to both parents and staff. Pupils from across the school participated in completing questionnaires, recording their usage and endeavouring to restrict it.  In ICT lessons pupils from year 9 designed posters which alerted to the dangers of addiction and in drama they produced sketches to further bring home their message in a visual and creative way. It was not members of staff who delivered the programme but our Psychology students who received training from Mr Crumblehulme. . These students also designed questionnaires, discussed and recorded their views on social-networking sites and took part in an experiment to monitor the rate of heart beat when playing video-games.

The project afforded the opportunity for some students to travel to Spain and Belgium, enabling them to improve language skills and gain some first –hand experience of life in that country. E-mail correspondence was arranged with Spain and the most commonly used text messages in the 3 languages were exchanged between schools and used in language lessons.

Results of the project are being analysed by the University of Valencia which is collecting data from schools throughout Europe. They will eventually be published in a book by Professor Chóliz who is researching the phenonomen.  Results from our school can be found using the following link:

The advantages of participating in a Comenius project are many. High on the list, however, must be the forging of friendships between schools, the insight gained into another culture and education system and the motivation arising from collaborative work.

Mrs  J.  Hewett

International Co-ordinator

Sir Thomas Rich’s