Experiences of Științescu Timișoara
#onlinetogether #impreunaonline
In these times of lockdown due to the COVID-19 pandemic, just like in other countries, face-to-face educational functions and activities are being moved online, using apps, platforms and various tools for distance education.
In the Online together webinars, we respond to these challenges, in the most practical way possible, in the spirit of open education and free access to knowledge. Participants received an Open Badge (Open digital certificate) - Online together.
Speakers:
Simona Fit Timișoara Community Foundation
Alexandru Mihai Botescu - VR Lab
Oana Romocea - Romanian Science Festival
conf. univ. Dr. Marc Frîncu
president of the association Romanian Society for Cultural Astronomy -ArheoAstro Exploratorium
Livia Mateiaș - Digital Canvas; Pixel_Art
Adina Vanciu-Rau
INCDFP research assistant at the Timișoara Seismological Observatory, SeismoLab project coordinator
Moderator:
Dr. ing. Diana Andone
The 16th webinar in the #onlinetogether series is dedicated to educational projects in the community, especially to Științescu projects and experiences.
The presenters of the webinar - Simona Fiț - Timișoara Community Foundation, Oana Romocea, associate professor dr. Marc Frîncu - president of the association Romanian Society for Cultural Astronomy, Livia Mateiaș from Digital Canvas and Adina Vanciu-Rau - research assistant at the National Institute of Research and Development for Earth Physics (INCDFP), at the Timișoara Seismological Observatory presented the community projects from Timișoara - Romanian Science Festival, ArheoAstro Exploratorium, SeismoLab - Virtual Guide, VR Lab Remote and Pixel_ART.
Over 200 participants showed their interest about the webinar through the praise words brought to the presenters about the projects, as well as through the information requested regarding the future activities and programs that the Timișoara Community Foundation carries out.
Romanian Science Festival is an event meant to support alternative education in Romania, following the model of science fairs in the West. The 2019 edition took place in 3 cities - Timisoara, Baia Mare and Pitesti, in order to promote sciences such as mathematics, physics, astronomy, chemistry, biology and others. The festival is organized in the same format in all cities.
On the first day of the festival, mentors from abroad hold workshops in grade schools and high schools in the city. Romanian students and researchers present their university experience and talk about careers. These workshops aim to introduce the latest discoveries in certain scientific fields and inspire pupils to materialize their passion for STEM subjects in a career. The second day of the festival is dedicated to a fair of outdoor experiments where everyone between the ages of 3 and 103 is invited to discover science through interactive experiments.
ArheoAstro Exploratorium is a project proposed by the Romanian Society for Cultural Astronomy, whose general objective is to recreate some of the historical discoveries in the field of astronomy, by conducting experiments, puzzles and DIY astronomical tools, around four themes: (1) The sun and stars; (2) Earth, Moon and Planets; (3) Eclipses and Time; (4) The megaliths and the first telescope.
The series of online events will be unique in its complexity in approaching astronomy for children, and a dedicated website will contain instructions for making tools and steps, thus preparing parents and children to gather the necessary materials for online interactive events.
At least 60 children will view the sky through the Stellarium program, but also images from the astronomical telescope and microscope transmitted live or recorded, learning the main elements of the sky and will receive a digital scene with a route, through questions, using Stellarium , building models or solving puzzles.
SeismoLab – Ghid virtual is a project proposed by the SeismoLab Initiative Group whose general objective aims to create an interactive Seismic Laboratory for students in the cycle within the Timisoara Seismological Observatory, part of the National Institute of Research and Development for Earth Physics.
Seimo Lab is aimed at primary, secondary and high school pupils who want to learn more about seismology, starting with the basics and ending with the development and testing of their own models on the seismic simulator, which uses waveforms from events seismic records recorded by the seismic network of INCDFP.
The direct beneficiaries of the project will be three classes from the General School no. 22 and two classes from the Theoretical High School "Grigore Moisil", together with the teachers involved. By purchasing a horizontal educational seismometer, which will be connected to the existing seismic educational network in Romania - RoEduSeis, pupils will also actively participate in the seismic monitoring of Banat.
VR Lab Remote is a project proposed by the CoderDojo @ CDLoga Initiative Group, whose general objective is to create a multidisciplinary context of non-formal, distance education in the field of virtual and augmented reality, for approximately 40 pupils from all pre-university cycles .
Virtual classes will be created for each group and a communication system through which pupils and mentors can interact, each child receiving, in the form of a loan, a virtual reality device for the phone, for 3 weeks.
The online sessions will start with the introduction to the use of VR equipment: presentation of equipment, correct use and calibration, all supported with theoretical support from optics: image formation, lens types, visual field and geometric optics. This will be followed by online introductory sessions in virtual reality programming and modeling / simulation with specialized software for 3D graphics and applications.
Children will be encouraged to use any type of software supported by their mobile phones to develop small virtual reality applications.
Pixel_ART is a project proposed by DIGITAL: CANVAS whose general objective is to develop creative skills in digital art, for 50 pupils, through 15 creative workshops. Pupils will learn techniques for using the digital environment. It is important for initiators that children are interested in digital art and eager to experience the pixel environment in a creative and interactive way. Among their qualities must be curiosity, openness to art and experiment, the pleasure of drawing or expressing themselves visually through color or design. In addition to the practical part, the workshops will also have a theoretical introduction, with concrete examples about artistic projects and creative possibilities in digital art. The workshops will focus on 2D and 3D digital creation, graphic design and illustration, as well as VR (Virtual Reality) and AR (Augmented Reality) projects. Mentors will be available online and between classes to answer any questions from pupils and guide them. The project also includes the organization of an event to present the children's original digital creations.
The Științescu Timișoara Fund
Fondul Științescu Timișoara provides funding and support to educational projects in the fields of STE @ M (science, technology, engineering, digital arts, mathematics) in order to cultivate children's and young people's passion for science, by generating practical learning opportunities connected to current trends, in a motivating context.
The Științescu Fund is mainly constituted by attracting local financial resources and provides the right framework for involvement in education for various actors in the community: companies, organizations, schools, students,pupils, parents, teachers and passionate professionals. It is part of the Științescu national program and is managed in Timișoara by the Fundația Comunitară Timișoara.
In the current edition - Științescu Timișoara 3.0 - it finances projects that directly involve children in practical, interdisciplinary and collaborative activities, but from a distance.
10 projects - ongoing
- 14 projects
- 5,000+ children and young people involved
- 120+ mentors and volunteers
- 9 projects
- 3,400 children and young people involved
- 100 mentors and volunteers
Watch the webinar recording below:
Online Together webinars are organized in collaboration with IEEE Romania, the EDEN Association and the Politehnica University of Timișoara, every week with guests from other universities and schools in Romania.
Română 
English