Hello, Spring!

Hello, Spring! is an educational activity in the field of natural sciences connecting outdoor studies with using modern ICT applications. It has run since 1994 and since 2001 the working environment is completely web-based. In 2014 there were about 8000 participating students from 460 educational institutions - schools and kindergartens from all over Estonia.

Goals of the activity:

• Observe and study wildlife and nature throughout the Springtime.
• Offer computer supported learning opportunities to younger students.
• Offer support and extra motivation for science teachers.

Description of activity:

Students will observe changes that take place in the Nature during Spring. They will study migratory bird and plant species - all together 35 common indicator species - and learn to identify them in nature - plants by appearance and flowering, birds by song and appearance etc. Students will also learn how to find information on nature and species in the Internet, they will listen to bird and frog songs from special web-sites and try to remember the sounds to recognize them in the Nature.

Through following these activities students will get deeper understanding of biological and climatological diversity, about influence of geographical location in progress of Spring (as well as other seasons), and about how important place the Nature has in different nations beliefs and old traditions.

There is no need for any specific software.

Age/level of participants:

Mostly primary school students, 7-14 years of age

Duration:

March - May.

Specific activities:

• Field trips to identify the species of plants and animals that indicate the arrival of Spring.
• Students, observing the indicator species in Nature, enter the date of their arrival or appearing (flowering) to the project web-based database. All results of observations will instantly appear in the web in form of animated maps and/or tables and can be followed by anyone interested.
• Students will
  • write Spring poetry.
  • draw drawings about spring.
  • participate in spring-themed quiz.
  • make spring photos.

Expected outcomes/products:

• Increased knowledge about local Nature.
• Database of observation results what can be used by all students and teachers and anyone interested.
• Collections of poetry, drawings, photos and web-pages created by participants with their project-work concentrated on project's web page.

Project language(s):

Estonian.

Curriculum area:

Biology, Science&Environment, Creative and Language Arts

Names and email of facilitator(s):

Terje Tuisk, Janika Ruusmaa, Viktor Muuli, Val Rajasaar, Tõnis Eelma - kevadorg@googlegroups.com

WWW page of project:

terekevad.ee