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Created: 05 May 2021

Last Updated: 06 May 2021

• service learning

Academic year 2020-2021

Projects’ goals and partners

Project 1: Mein freund: micro:bit

The project was implemented in cooperation with city libraries (Marin Držić Children's Library and Savica Library) as recognizable information and cultural centers, which needed to promote the new library materials available for young users (micro: bit and micro: Maqueen robots). This project proved to elementary school students (5th and 6th grade), i.e. members of the Savica Library and the Children's Library Marin Držić, that a foreign language can be learned in an interesting and interactive way and it intrigued them to further learn a foreign language and robotics.

Due to the pandemic, the entire project took place through the Google Meets platform as an e-service learning project. Croatia was also hit by an earthquake, which is why everything took place under difficult circumstances. The workshops were created with the aim of encouraging the development of skills of logical thinking and reasoning, problem solving and communication in school children.

The topic of the workshop was learning the German language such as greetings, counting and self-presentation, and the learning itself took place through the basics of programming with micro: bit. One of the biggest problems is that robotics itself is not incorporated into the regular school curriculum and not all children have an insight into the basics of robotics, which cannot even arouse their interest in programming and robotics. Therefore, the workshop itself had to be as creative and interesting as possible in order to attract as many participants as possible. The primary benefit for the target group (children aged 11 and 12) was that they learned the basics of the German language, as well as basics of programming using micro: bit. With such innovative use of the micro: bit, the goal was to stimulate the interest of the target group towards robotics itself.

Link to Google site: https://sites.google.com/view/mein-freund-microbit/o-projektu

Link to ePortfolio: https://prezi.com/view/W7oLXSqvn9IMkhNcPlHh/

Project 2:  Learning through fun: micro: bit workshops

The goals of this project were to offer primary school children in grades 5^th to 8^th (11 to 14 years old) an innovative educational content during the school winter holidays. In order to be considered as service learning, the project was implemented through collaboration with city libraries (Marin Držić Children's Library; Savica Library) as recognizable information and cultural centers which have a need to motivate more users to borrow new library material (i.e. micro: bit and micro: Maqueen robots).

The students of information sciences offered to library users - schoolchildren, education about micro: bit computer and micro: Maqueen robots. Through the implementation of the project, the participants (children) developed their logical skills and made their first steps in the world of programming.

The project was conceived as a series of four interactive workshops for upper elementary school pupils culminating in a Hackathon. The workshops offered pupils work with micro: bit computers, starting from the lowest possible level of knowledge, i.e. no knowledge about micro: bit, all the way to including a micro: bit computer in work with a micro: Maqueen robot. Through the project, school children have mastered the basic logical concepts in the world of programming, and implemented them with student supervision through various tasks. In cooperation with partner libraries, a maximum number of six participants has been agreed on, so that participants can work in a quality and individual way, taking into account that the workshops were held online (e-service learning) due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The students of information, in turn, gained an invaluable experience of teaching schoolchildren in emerging technology use.

Link to Google site: https://sites.google.com/view/ucenjekrozzabavu/po%C4%8Detna?fbclid=IwAR2yOtwmNrFsWEPRnCdOTt7YN5Xh0posCyPhpkm3CaN_rQoxfUEPHKlHhk4

Link to ePortfolio: https://prezi.com/view/MKzNoaGXGcS2mRndJu2l/?fbclid=IwAR1yIe8QoKoK45DbH7hwDdncVx-vFAoAtDLDveILtesMecrLgivgbWSfe44

 Project 3:  Acquisition of knowledge about cultural heritage through Minecraft Education Edition

 The project was established as a perfect opportunity to demonstrate transdisciplinary and interdisciplinary skills and knowledge acquired by students during two-major studies at the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences in Zagreb. The idea of ​​this project was to combine a topic that is already familiar and fun for children - video games - with the topic of learning and merging these two topics into an alternative technique of learning that is not present in regular schooling. Thus, the school children were provided with a new learning experience, as well as the use of student potential to agree on an appropriate plan for the implementation of workshops in which skills from information and communication technology and cultural heritage to pedagogy and methodology intersect.

When carrying out the project, the key was to choose a partner from the community with whom the students wanted to collaborate and carry out the project. It was an NGO for gifted "DAR" in Zagreb, whose role is to support gifted pupils in the Republic of Croatia and beyond.

The experience of learning through the video game "Minecraft Education Edition" allowed school pupils to step out of the common learning framework and experience alternative methods of learning about cultural heritage. In addition to the material covered through video games, pupils had the opportunity to learn about non-European cultural heritage through math assignments and board games that are specific to the Asian and African cultures. This was an attempt to subvert the present material in Croatian education, which is primarily West-centric and Eurocentric in nature (except for a small part of the material that is covered in subjects such as geography and history), as well as expanding students' awareness of different cultures.

Link to ePortfolio: https://prezi.com/view/pS1g8iRphGTr8x7aVjgh/

Link to Google site: https://sites.google.com/view/dku-projekt

Project 4:  Minecraft and Glagolitic script

The plan of this project was to encourage primary school pupils (3rd and 6th grade) to learn about the history of the Croatian language, more precisely about the Glagolitic script and the heritage that rests in this Old Slavonic language. The project was implemented in the form of workshops on the Minecraft Education Edition platform under the supervision of students from the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences and librarians from the Marin Držić Children's Library and the Savica Library via the Google Meet application. Glagolitic script has deep roots in Croatian literature and history and is considered the oldest Croatian script. That is why the goal of this project was to present and introduce students to the Glagolitic script in order to recognize its importance for Croatian heritage. So the students learned what the Glagolitic scripts is, how it was created and why, the alphabet in the Glagolitic script and what all its symbols represent. Also, one of the goals was to make learning as fun as possible, and the students decided to achieve this through the Minecraft Education Edition platform. In today's world where the younger generation does not attach any special importance to the heritage of their country, this project was an ideal opportunity to raise pupils’ interest through introduction to the Glagolitic script and Glagolitic heritage because it is the main source for understanding Croatian literary, cultural and national identity and that is why this letter is especially important for education. Pupils were given the opportunity to learn about their Croatian language and culture in Croatia and to become "promoters" and "guardians" of its heritage. These workshops benefited school pupils so that they will now be able to recognize Glagolitic heritage, transmit knowledge about Glagolitic script, recognize the most important monuments, books and manuscripts in Glagolitic script in Croatia and other interesting things, and there is a new skill they adopted - writing and reading in Glagolitic script. In addition to this, pupils also learned how to navigate the Minecraft Education Edition platform, which contributed to the improvement of their IT skills.

Link to ePortfolio: https://prezi.com/view/Am9VxthlbVdcs6qm7d7F/

Link to Google site: https://sites.google.com/view/minecraft-glagoljica/naslovna?authuser=1

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Created: 05 May 2021

Last Updated: 05 May 2021

• service learning

Academic year 2019-2020

Projects’ goals and partners

Project 1: Micro: bit radio communication

The project was realized in cooperation with the following community partners: IRIM (Institute for Youth Development and Innovation) and Elementary School Jure Kaštelan (Prof. Maljković).

The main theme of the Micro: bit radio communication service-learning project is the need to bring the STEM area closer to the target group (primary school children) and to make them interested in STEM. The benefits for the target group have been shown to be many and varied. First, children were given the opportunity to learn how to work with micro: bit. Second, children were able to learn something about how communication works between people, how emotions can be expressed, and what rules of polite behavior must be followed when exchanging messages and information. Third, having university students as acting school teachers, children experienced a change in the way of teaching from what they were accustomed to, they had the opportunity to actively participate in the learning process by giving their comments and suggestions while writing the program code. They were allowed creativity in expression.

Link to final presentation: https://prezi.com/view/azGzuOFTXbupRCv2kL3D/

Project 2: Basics of robotics: mBot

The project was realized in cooperation with the following community partners: IRIM (Institute for Youth Development and Innovation) and Elementary School Jure Kaštelana (Prof. Maljković).

The current informatics curriculum in primary schools is not in line with the changes that are taking place on a daily basis in the field of technology, children and teachers are not provided with the devices needed for digital transformation of education, depriving them of equality in learning opportunities. The project STEM revolution in the community, initiated by the Institute for Innovation and Youth Development, was created to contribute to the development of service learning methodology at STEM faculties. To implement it, the platform of another IRIM project - the Croatian Makers League - was used, which made it possible for university students to develop and boost STEM competencies of children in ​​4 Croatian counties and the City of Zagreb.

In the project Basics of robotics: mBot, students joined the STEM revolution by participating in the implementation of independent workshops related to robotics with primary school children. All members of the project team were graduate students of information sciences and this project was an ideal opportunity to implement what was learned in theory into real practice (learning by doing) while encouraging young generations to think logically and find new approaches to problem solving by introducing them to new, more interesting methods of learning programming and robotics, which were designed precisely for the purpose of bringing the STEM area closer to school children.

Link to final presentation: https://prezi.com/view/PD07Z9MROK26M1xpgDPH/

Link to the project E-portfolio: https://sites.google.com/view/projekt-dku/po%C4%8Detna-stranica?authuser=0

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Created: 07 November 2019

Last Updated: 07 November 2019

• service learning

Academic year 2017-2018

Projects’ goals and partners

Project 1: Cruiseum – Equal Through Museums

The project was realized in cooperation with: XI. Gymnasium (Professor of Fine Arts: Nataša Babić Bogdanic), Museum of Typhology (Director: Željka Bosnar Salihagić), Museum of the City of Zagreb (Mrs. Vesna Leiner), Archaeological Museum (Mr. Ozren Domiter), Croatian School Museum (Director Štefka Batinić) and Ethnographic Museum the museum (Mrs. Željka Jelavić).

The main theme of the project is equality. The project started in XI. Gymnasium where university students conducted a survey to discover if the high school students were familiar with and interested in the museums. Furthermore, the university students organized professional tours through museums for highschool students, they also designed and moderated five workshops. They started with the Ethnographic Museum in Zagreb, where the topic was "Aborigines", and university students organized a fine arts workshop where high school pupils had to draw what the word "equality" means for them by using the pointing technique. The next museum on the tour was the Croatian School Museum in which the theme was school uniforms, and the workshop was designed as a debate with the thesis “School uniforms erase differences between students”, and the class was divided into 2 teams (for and against). Furthermore, the workshops were organized at the Museum of the City of Zagreb and at the Typhlological Museum (where highschool students had the opportunity to go through a part of the permanent display with blindfolds to become aware of the world of blind and partially sighted people). At the Typhlological Museum, professional guidance encompassed the topics of education, writing and artistic expression of the blind and visually impaired, and during the workshop highschool students were divided into 3 groups, each was given a picture that they had to describe in detail (for example, a person who had never seen before). The last stop was the Archaeological Museum with the topic "Roman Empire: Religion and Cult". The workshop was designed as a roundtable, and highschool students could discuss religions, respect and tolerance on an equal and open basis. In the final phase, back at the classroom of the XI. Gymnasium, a final evaluation was conducted to determine whether and to what extent the project affected the change in highschool students' attitudes regarding museums, and whether they had a desire to visit museums and other heritage institutions more frequently.

Link to final presentation: https://prezi.com/view/OnPABRTwbqgYBhRHdRyB/

Link to ePortfolio: https://sites.google.com/view/kruzej-krozmuzejejednaki

Project 2: Information literacy workshops for elementary students

The project of information literacy workshops for elementary school students is a continuation of the successful service-learning collaboration between the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences and the Children Library Marin Držić, involving other partner institutions: Grigor Vitez Elementary School, Rapska Primary School and Marin Držić Primary School.

Three workshops were conducted: How to be safe on the internet, Electronic information resources and Rules of conduct on the internet. The workshops with fourth grade elementary school students focused on helping them to realize the importance of using the internet properly and in a useful way through interactive activities, especially as these are still areas to which school teachers do not devote enough time, due to the strict school curriculum.

At the workshops, surveys were also conducted among the elementary school students that provided insight into the behavior of 4th grade students on the Internet.

Link to final presentation: https://prezi.com/view/KftJwLSjodJOtD6VmuMH/

Link to ePortfolio: https://sites.google.com/site/radioniceinfpismenosti/home

Project 3: Internet etiquette: rules of conduct on the Internet

The partner institution was the Dugave Library and the Dugave Primary School.

There are a number of dangers on the Internet such as stalking, insulting, impersonation, peer violence and pedophilia. Children, as the youngest and most inexperienced, are particularly at risk. Therefore, there is a need to make them aware of the consequences and dangers of the Internet and the social networks they use. As the Internet is not only a network of computers, but also a large informal community with its own code of conduct, it is of great importance to teach children that the same rules of conduct apply to the Internet as in real life (Internet etiquette). By adopting the rules of conduct on the Internet early, they can develop into future digital professionals and computer literate individuals who can contribute to the community through proper and beautiful behavior on the Internet.

Through a series of workshops, university students taught 6th and 7th grade elementary school students and their parents about the potential dangers of careless and misbehavior on the Internet and social networks that could endanger their child's safety.

Link to final presentation: https://prezi.com/p/nj5oz9ei9xfj/

Link to ePortfolio: https://sites.google.com/view/internetski-bonton-portfolio/naslovnica

Project 4: INFour - development of an info-brochure for non-formal education lecturers

The partner institution with which the project was implemented was the Association Zamisli -  Association for promoting quality education of young people with disabilities.

The project "Creating an Info Brochure for Lecturers in Non-Formal Education" was created to provide concrete suggestions on how to prepare lectures and exercises on the development of communication skills in which people with disabilities participate. The project is intended for people who serve as lecturers in formal and non-formal educational settings, for students who have to make presentations and lectures as part of their education, for academic staff who are not sufficiently aware of this issue. The project is intended to sensitize lecturers who do not have rehabilitation and other qualifications to work with people with disabilities. The brochure defines what disability is, who solves the problem of disability, and provides specific tips for improving presentational skills.

The brochure can be downloaded in pdf format or browsed online through the link: https://issuu.com/katarinabetak/docs/info_bro__ura_za_predava___ice_u_ne

Link to final presentation: https://prezi.com/p/-jkh6jov3qew/

Link to ePortfolio: https://sites.google.com/site/infourdku/home/brosura

Project 5: Designing an application and school of programming for the Dar Association

The partner institution was the DAR Association - association for the gifted children.

As part of the project, university students have created a mobile application for DAR association members and DAR administrators to facilitate communication between members and administrators. The second part of the project involved four workshops for gifted children of primary school age (upper elementary schools) and high school where they were taught to develop mobile applications (the basics of mobile app design and the creation of a simple app with several views). The technologies used by the students included standard web technologies (HTML, CSS, JavaScript, PHP, jQuery).

Link to final presentation: https://prezi.com/p/kw5rg61nuscm/

Link to ePortfolio:https://sites.google.com/view/e-portfoliodku

Project 6: Computer and information literacy of teachers of XI. Gymnasium

The partner institution was XI.Gymnasium in Zagreb.

The main objective of the project was to inform high school teachers about the use of information technologies and tools through IT workshops on four different topics (Kahoot, MSMovie Maker, Excel and Quizlet). The first was a Kahoot tool workshop, followed by a short video making workshop that was also the most complicated for users. This was followed by an MS Excel workshop, in which university students taught high school teachers about the basic functions and actions in Excel. During this workshop students had to improvise to help professors solve a specific problem - designing an annual school curriculum. Improvisation was carried out successfully to the satisfaction of both parties. Finally, the last workshop had a topic of test development in Quizlet.

Link to final presentation: https://prezi.com/p/txhm8utztu4x

Link to ePortfolio: https://sites.google.com/site/projektxigimnazija/welcome

Project 7: Workshops for elementary school students "Popularity of chat applications among children, problems and dangers of internet / Internet safety".

The partner institution was Jure Kaštelan Elementary School, also known as "Savica Primary School".

The project was aimed at the elementary school sixth grade students. This target group was chosen because during this period of life they start to actively use mobile phones and computers, and it is important to teach them some principles and rules of using the Internet. As the topics of behavior on the Internet, its dangers and protections are not addressed in the existing school curriculum, students held workshops in which they instructed children on the problems of cyberbulling, phishing, trolling, e-mail traps, password security, etc.

Link to final presentation: https://prezi.com/02-jffzl892l/project-students-filosophy-faculty/

Link to ePortfolio: https://sites.google.com/view/dkuprojekt

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Created: 28 April 2017

Last Updated: 28 April 2017

• service learning

Academic year 2016-2017

Projects’ goals and partners

Project 1: Information workshops for elementary school students

The aim  of the project was to encourage elementary school students to search the Internet and use social media in a responsible and careful way and to teach them to work in ISSUE Digital Publishing platform.

The link to the Prezi presentation: https://prezi.com/adl5fgwyggti/informacijska-radionica/

The link to the video: https://youtu.be/ZNgls_6ZFvM

Project 2: Digital imaging for primary school children

The first objective of this project was to point out to the elementary school children that pictures on the covers of magazines are not a real measure of beauty and that the photographs of celebrities are being edited by a whole range of experts and that this "artificial beauty" is not realistic. In this way, the students wanted to boost the self-confidence and self-esteem of children in higher grades of primary schools, who are, being in the adolescent age group, very sensitive to their external appearance and are constantly exposed to media pressure and photographs of the "perfect" men and women that impose a sense of inferiority. Another aim of the project was to present the "light" side of the Photoshop through practical workshops for children where they were designing various invitations and flyers, receiving skills that can come in handy during their future education.

The link to the video: https://youtu.be/xabbkgpZTN0

The link to the Prezi presentation: https://prezi.com/p0qxoopftap1/dku/?utm_campaign=share&utm_medium=copy

Project 3: Safe friend is always a trend!

Since the informatics curriculum for primary schools does not include topics on safety and child security on the Internet, students have recognized the community need to convey the most important information on the protection and self-presentation on the Internet to children through a series of workshops.

The link to the video: https://youtu.be/RMvFwezEHaI

The link to the Prezi presentation: https://prezi.com/ilrh0jbajsc_/siguran-frend-uvijek-je-trend/

Project 4: TOOROOM-VIRTUAL TOUR of the Velika Gorica Youth Club

The results of the survey adminstered by group Mladi and members of the Velika Gorica alternative scene showed that young people in town Velika Gorica (15 -29 years of age) lack the alternative places to go, they lack free educational workshops and debate club, cultural, sporting and social events and are in need of new contents. In order to meet the needs of these young people, the city mayor has encouraged the opening of the Youth Club.

In this projects, students created the applications TOOROOM that promotes and encourages young people in Velika Gorica to visit their Youth Club. Students aimed to help the city and the local community in raising awareness of the existence of such a useful place in as many young people as possible.

The link to the video: https://youtu.be/alYf1qAR5sE

The link to the Prezi presentation: https://prezi.com/doq35psc1l8s/vr-tooroom/?utm_campaign=share&utm_medium=copy

Project 5: Information literacy as a key attribute for lifelong learning

The aim of the project was to conduct workshops of information literacy to elementary school pupils in the age of 10-12 years, more specifically, to teach them how to search for and evaluate information, to present the acquired knowledge, and to protect themselves on the Internet.

The link to the video: https://youtu.be/ITk-U7CGnWk

The link to the Prezi presentation: https://prezi.com/1dqsovkmnpjb/drustveno-korisno-ucenje-radionice-informacijske-pismenosti-20162017/

Project 6: Cronauts

Specific project objectives were to determine the level of knowledge of online interactive tools in elementary school pupils and to replace traditional tools which children previously used (such as PowerPoint presentations and posters) with online tools that enable greater interactivity in transmitting multimedia messages (eg. Prezi, SMoR and Mindomo).

The link to the video: https://youtu.be/RuLKr0LyfN0

The link to the Prezi presentation: https://prezi.com/gcmuad_il2ff/projekt-cronauti-klub-iz-i-i-radionice-multimedijskog-opismenjavanja/?utm_campaign=share&utm_medium=copy

Project 7: Social inclusion of elderly at risk of social isolation

The project plan was to design and implement workshops of information literacy in the home for the elderly, aiming to help the elderly at risk of social exclusion.

Residents at homes for the elderly belong to a group of elderly people who are at risk of social exclusion due to lack of knowledge and inability to use ICT. The project enabled students to develop competencies and skills applying already acquired knowledge and has helped the residents at one institution (homes for the elderly) to gain ICT skills to a certain extent.

Students have concluded that older people shy away from new technology for several reasons:

a) physical disability (loss of vision, poor cognitive function, tremors ...)

b) mental "fence" (discomfort due to ignorance)

c) lack of knowledge and experience in use of the new technologies

After the workshop, however, their interest in the use of information technology grew for these reasons:

a) the ability to do what they were pleased (quizzes, online games ...)

b) better and more frequent contact with the families

c) knowledge about current events

d) recall of the past through viewing digital photos

e) socializing and quality free time

The link to the video: https://youtu.be/8Jm0TIiaJ6I

The link to the Prezi presentation: http://prezi.com/lquzjgtrr3qh/?utm_campaign=share&utm_medium=copy 

Project 8: Information literacy education for women asylum seekers

The aim of the project was to conduct workshops of information literacy to women asylum seekers in Zagreb (Croatia), to help them fight the social exclusion. Getting to know the cultures of women asylum seekers which are very different from their own, students managed to get rid of prejudices that they had at the beginning of the project, they reported that they became more tolerant and more aware of social problems.

The link to the video: https://youtu.be/mrlP9XIhFo8

The link to the Prezi presentation: https://prezi.com/s8a06a62wdyq/rad-sa-zenama-iz-prihvatilista-za-trazitelje-azila-porin/?utm_campaign=share&utm_medium=copy

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Created: 27 October 2015

Last Updated: 28 April 2017

• service learning

Academic year 2014-2015

Projects’ goals and partners

The first project entitled Improvement and Promotion of Services in the Small Library was realized in cooperation with the public library of Gracac. Since it is a small library with only 2 staff members (Assistant Librarian and Director) as well as small number of users (about 200), the first aim of the project was to investigate the perception of the Library among existing and potential users through a survey that was conducted in the library and in a local primary school, since the majority of users are school children. Furthermore, university students have developed and implemented a new identity of the Gracac public library (they have designed a logo, membership cards and a trademark), in order for the Gracac library to become recognized in both the local and regional community. Students have also raised awareness of the importance of libraries as a source of knowledge and information through the promotion of this library on the Facebook social network and through printed brochures that were distribued to locals.
The project is described on the Google page https://sites.google.com/site/kicgracac/ and in Prezi: https://prezi.com/mcevrv9mfgeb/knjiznica-i-citaonica-gracac/
 
Another project called Students for children aimed to raise awareness on the importance of education for children in the Home for Orphans Antun Gustav Matos in Zagreb. The Home has 2 departments (department of children up to 18 years and department of children up to 14 years). University students wanted to encourage these children to learn, but also to teach them how to get the necessary information and how to use various sources of knowledge. Since the target population was a very sensitive group with special problems regarding motivation and concentration, students have tried to raise the awareness on the importance of literacy through various creative workshops (making greeting cards, posters, bookmarks for books, etc. with children). Students have tried to present many creative ways of expression that can help children in their learning and/or while looking for the desired job.
The project is described in Prez: https://prezi.com/-b4pwzep4ygn/studenti-za-djecu/

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Created: 09 October 2014

Last Updated: 27 October 2015

Academic year 2013-2014

Projects’ goals and partners

The first project named Children and heritage has been realized in collaboration with the Elementary school “Davorin Trstenjak” and the Ethnographic Museum in Zagreb. As part of the classrooms lectures, children were taught on heritage and folklore and made familiar with basic concepts of folklore as well as tangible and intangible heritage. Through various workshops children were presented with traditional children’s games, children’s traditions at Christmas and Croatian traditional songs and instruments. The practical parts of workshops were completed at the Ethnographic Museum where children learned about the heritage conservation. The main objective of the project was to teach the younger generation about preservation of their heritage and to encourage similar classes with teachers and mentors. The project is described in Prezi: http://prezi.com/ojcmfm7zjksl/untitled-prezi/

The second project named Reader’s club for children was conceived as a meeting point for children, students and professional librarians. The aim was to offer creative workshops within which the participants were encouraged to express themselves in writing, drawing and acting; to gather children that love books and writings and to provide them with the quality content. Those who weren’t fans of books were encouraged to socialize, play and participate in informal learning. As a result of the project, students held several workshops with the partner institution – Children’s Library “Marin Drzic”, designed a poster and promotional video material and conducted surveys about reading habits of the school children, as well as the final evaluation of the workshops.

The project is described in YouTube video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KToWEsGnvSA

Prezi: http://prezi.com/pe7nlmyfxfui/projekt-drustveno-korisnog-ucenja-/?utm_campaign=share&utm_medium=copy

and Google site: https://sites.google.com/site/citateljskikulub/

The spin-off of this project was Bibliocycling (Bibliocikliranje), a new project where the idea of the Reader’s club was connected to bicycles, and the process involved the Faculty of Philosophy Zagreb, Reader’s Club of the Children’s Library “Marin Drzic” and 7 other libraries on the route Zagreb – Split, as well as the orphanage Maestral in Split.

The third project named Info-tea party aimed to provide the basic knowledge on using computers to middle-aged to elderly people who were active members of the partner organization - Croatian Stroke Prevention Association. During the workshops participants were made familiar with the following content: using Windows OS environment, basics of MS Word, fundamentals of information searcing and retrieval, learning how to use Internet to communicate (e-mailing, using Skype) and how to access entertainment content (YouTube, Facebook, Google Maps, different portals).

The project is documented in YouTube video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VXTPtY1YN4w Prezi: http://prezi.com/uyr9iwkpercx/studentice-i-hrvatsko-drustvo-za-prevenciju-mozdanog-udara/ and Google site: https://sites.google.com/site/infocajanka1/

The fourth project named Our hearts for little hearts was realized in cooperation with the association „Veliko srce malom srcu“ with the aim to encourage the global recognition of the association and to connect it with other similar associations over the world, in order to help parents and children – members of the Association to communicate about their desease with other doctors, to show the importance of museums as sources of knowledge and the subject of (in)formal education, as well as to to enlighten the public about the problems of children with congenital heart defects. The final products of the project are: a brochure with basic information about the Association and its activities, translation of the Association website into English, personal health passport for children with heart defects, and a visit to the museum for children – members of the Association and their parents.

The project is documented in the website of the partner (association Veliko srce malom srcu): http://velikosrce-malomsrcu.hr/Vijesti/Osobna-zdravstvena-putovnica-za-djecu-sa-srcanim-b.aspx

Prezi: http://prezi.com/8hesm_cqkrgw/nasa-srca-za-mala-srca/ and Google site: https://sites.google.com/site/nasasrcazamalasrca/

The last project in this academic year Two-week hybrid e-course on basics of 3D digitization was held at the partner institution – School of Applied Arts and Design. The course was hybrid because it was performed both online and on site, enabling school pupils to adopt the basic concepts, principles and methods of 3D digitization as well as practice with software for converting 3D objects into 3D models. Pupils adopted the appropriate knowledge in their field of profession: photography, sculpting, architecture and modeling.

The project is documented in Google site:

https://sites.google.com/site/o3dprojekt/home

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Created: 09 October 2014

Last Updated: 09 October 2014

Academic year 2012-2013

Projects’ goals and partners

The first project named TiM: Ti i Muzej (Team: You and Museum) emerged through collaboration between Information and Communication Sciences students with the elementary school Cvjetno Naselje and Museum of Arts and Crafts in Zagreb. Students worked with the museum pedagogue leading elementary school pupils (fifth, sixth, seventh and eighth graders) through the Museum of Arts and Crafts and took part in the organization of creative workshops prepared in regards to the pupils’ age and grade. One group of pupils has made antique furniture out of corrugated cardboard, others drew their bodies on large format paper, while the last group was given a smooth paper coated with a mixture of black ink and egg yolk, which they scraped with wooden chopsticks. Students have documented all the activities as video-journal, interviewing pupils who visited the exhibition and who participated in the creative workshops. The second part of the project was carried out both in school and at home, where children could visit the web page created by students and read museum news, browse through the gallery of pictures showing their recent visit to the Museum and take part in the quiz that tests their knowledge about Museum of Arts and Crafts and its artifacts. It is described in Prezi: http://prezi.com/-4xr0fkc0ind/tim-ti-i-muzej/

Google site: https://sites.google.com/site/projekttimtiimuzej/home

The project is also described in the following paper: Miličić, Dolores; Đuričić, Petra; Mikelić Preradović, Nives. TiM: Ti i Muzej (Team: You and Museum). // Recent Advances in Information Science. 13 (2013); 216-221

The second project Facebook: The Good, the Bad or the Ugly? has addressed a specific community need (violence on social networks) through successful collaboration of students and three community partners: the elementary school Julije Klović, Child Protection Center Zagreb and the Brave phone. It was carried out in two 5^th grades and one 7^th grade during informatics class at the elementary school Julije Klović in Zagreb and warned 5^th and 7^th graders about possible danger of using social networks, introducing them to various ways of protection. It has also taught them about the positive use of social networks and encouraged them to participate in the design of posters and small projects.

Students in this project have revealed an emergent issue in the elementary school curriculum: pupils do not learn about the Internet until they become 7 ^th graders, but they begin to use the Internet much earlier, without necessary skills, knowledge and the quality supervision. The project brought many long-term contributions to society: it increased public awareness about issues of cyberbullying and about adequate usage of social networks; it promoted the Internet culture and its benefits to pupils, while the school community witnessed a unique approach to one of the important and contemporary issues in the elementary school. It is described in Prezi: http://prezi.com/qzpfo1yxjzve/dku_projekt/

Google site: https://sites.google.com/site/facebookdobarlosilizao/

The project is also described in the following paper: Bingula, Mihaela; Matić, Andrea; Varga, Vanesa; Mikelić Preradović, Nives. Facebook: The Good, the Bad or the Ugly?. // INFuture2013: Information Governance. 4 (2013) ; 105-115

The results of the third project was Europass educational workshop, which aimed to educate students, the unemployed youth and anyone interested in raising his/her chances on the job market how to market their knowledge and skills. Beside the instructions on writing CV and the Language Passport, participants received information about other necessary certificates, mobility, the Diploma Supplement and how to write a job application in Croatian and a foreign language of their choice (focusing on English and German language). The project partners were Institute for the Development of Education and National Europass Centre Croatia in Agency for Mobility and EU Programmes. The project is described in Google site: https://sites.google.com/site/europassproject2012/home

The mission of the fourth project Basic ICT Education for the Elderlywas to teach the elderly citizens the basic ICT skills through interactive collaboration between Tin Ujević public library, Trešnjevka retirement home and Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences in Zagreb. The education for the elderly, a social group that is least connected with the rest of the today's society through information technology, represents a very important issue for their social inclusion and staying in life's mainstream. The students taught the end beneficiaries the basics of information technology with the emphasis on social networks (Facebook and Skype). Out of 15 participants, the first level (basic computer skills) was successfully completed by 13 participants. The second level was completed by 9 participants, while 6 participants were able to complete the third level (creating and managing the Facebook account). The last level (creating and managing the Skype account) was successfully completed by only two participants. The project is described in Prezi: http://prezi.com/o5cjvopjvztx/studenti-za-umirovljenike/

The project is also described in the following paper: Lenić, Marija; Kustura, Anita; Jurković, Ida; Mikelić Preradović, Nives. Students for Seniors: Basic ICT Education for the Elderly. // INFuture2013: Information Governance. 4 (2013) ; 249-256

The fifth project Information literacy for the 7^th graders aimed to teach 7th grade elementary school pupils (13 years old) all about information literacy through the series of workshops. The project partners were the public library Medveščak and the elementary school dr. Ivan Merz. Pupils were taught the relevant information retrieval skills, they were instructed about the types of library catalog and interlibrary loan and, at the end, taken to the library Medveščak to get a hands-on practice in information retrieval.

The project is described in Google site https://sites.google.com/site/portfoliodku/o-projektu

The last project in this academic year aimed to create e-Latin, interactive application for learning the Latin language, in order to help students master the Latin language curricula as taught in grammar schools. The project partners were Fifth Grammar School in Zagreb and teachers of the course Computer Assisted Teaching at the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences. The application covers the most important grammar rules which are linked with the relevant exercises, vocabulary hints that describe the words used in the exercises, contain questions about Latin civilization and Latin proverbs exercises.

The application is available here: http://mod.srce.hr/arhiva/file.php/30/Aplikacija_za_ucenej_lat._jezika/Naslovni_frame.swf

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Created: 09 October 2014

Last Updated: 09 October 2014

Academic year 2011-2012

Projects’ goals and partners

The first project named DicDucFac (idea-leadership-project) was planned as a workshop that dealt with the application of modern social media (Facebook, YouTube, Gmail) for the purpose of self-promotion, free advertising via social networks, job search, job enrichment, and successful career transitioning.. The workshop was organized for highly-skilled computer literate unemployed youth to increase their chances for employment and self-employment. The project covered both the educational aspect of the human resource development (development of transferable knowledge and different skills) and socio-economic issues in fighting unemployment. It was realized with the local NGO – Croatian Slavic Society. It is described in Prezi:http://prezi.com/hisyj6jhjijz/dicducfac-ideja-vodstvo-produkt/ Moodle sitehttps://moodle.srce.hr/eportfolio/view/view.php?id=7632 and Google site: https://sites.google.com/site/dicducfac2357/home

The aim of the second project named Facebook workshop 65+ was to introduce information technology to older people through computer tutoring and workshops. Students in the project helped older people to gain access to, and learn about, how they can get the best out of digital technology. Through the workshop sessions older people increased their confidence of using technology and felt more connected. The project is described in Facebook site https://www.facebook.com/pages/Besplatna-Radionica-Tin-Ujevi%C4%87/248732571846546

and Google site: https://sites.google.com/site/facebookradionicatinujevic/

The last project in this academic year aimed to create a Handbook for facilitating and improving communication between librarians and people with hearing impairments. It was conducted to raise awareness of librarians on user needs of deaf and hard of hearing people, to distinguish the terminology problems between terms such as deaf, hard of hearing, hearing impaired and deaf-mute, to adopt the terminology, such as persons with disabilities and children with special needs and to establish a sign dictionaries for terms closely related to library management and usage.

It is described in Prezi: http://prezi.com/vdomimo5pjtb/prirucnik-za-olaksavanje-i-poboljsanje-komunikacije-knjiznicara-sa-gluhim-i-nagluhim-osobama/

and Google site: https://sites.google.com/site/prirucnikzaknjiznicare/home/o-projektu

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Created: 09 October 2014

Last Updated: 09 October 2014

Academic year 2009-2010

Service learning projects

Projects’ goals and partners

The aim of the first project was to create an interactive application for learning English language (including study materials for self-assessment as a preparation for the State Graduation Exam) for the girls’ grammar school „Sisters of Mercy“. Students also created a CD to promote the institution among graduating primary school pupils and for foreign schools interested in the exchange student programs. The CD was part of the monograph issued in honor of the school’s 15th.

The aim of the second projects was to create the visual identity for the dance association A&M through design of their logo, memo, brochure with appealing design, business cards and web site, as well as database of all members and associates.

The aim of the third project was to design a warm, cheerful website for the Puturama student association that organizes low-cost travel for students ( http://www.puturama.org/)

The last project in this academic year named Kvisko aimed to develop the educational corner for the website of the elementary school Retkovec that would help the school and its teachers to attract more pupils to visit the web page and learn something new or possibly affirm their knowledge on a familiar topic while browsing through the content and enjoyable educational activities. Our students were given numerous handwritten materials made by the school’s pupils during their school year that consisted of anagrams, mental maps, games of logic, quizzes on general knowledge, Croatian language and literature, history etc. Although it took a lot of time and effort to convert these handwritten materials into useful e-activities, students used it as a means to attract pupils. Their basic hypothesis was that e-activities would look more friendly, interesting and engaging to pupils, if their own ideas and materials were implemented in the e-environment. The educational corner was also intended to motivate the elementary schools’ teachers to realize the importance of communication with their pupils in an online environment, and to encourage them to put their educational materials online in order to establish better communication and interaction with their pupils. Many teachers embraced this application, while school pupils were excited to find that their handwritten materials were used for something creative and useful.

Details

Created: 09 October 2014

Last Updated: 09 October 2014

Academic years 2006-2007 & 2007-2008

Service learning projects

Visual identity of the social community

Projects’ goals:

The aim of the projects was to produce video materials and promotional CDs (as part of the sports against drugs initiative), to design e-brochure with appealing design for all students who want to discover the world of museums in Zagreb (guide through museums in Zagreb), to create graphic solution for the museum exhibition ("Light of the gods" exhibition) and to design flyers, posters and other promotional materials, such as business cards and logos.

Partners

1. Association of extreme sports, Slavonski Brod

2. Zagreb City Museum, Archaeological Museum, Croatian History Museum, Croatian Natural History Museum, Croatian School Museum, Ethnographic Museum, Museum of Arts and Crafts, Technical Museum

3. Alternative- cultural center "Yuma" – for youths in Imotski

4. Flight Centre CROATIA - Parachute Section

5. Association of Martial Arts Krav-Maga

6. Thai Boxing Club "Mustang"

Information and computer literacy for the population with special needs

Projects’ goals:

The aim of the project “Web for the Blind“ was to develop the small textbook "Accessing the Internet if You Are Blind or Visually Impaired", that will serve as a guide through installation process and use of the Mozilla Firefox web browser. Mozilla web browser has screen readers that read aloud all available information in applications and documents or show the information on a Braille display, enabling blind and visually impaired users to use equivalent software functionality as their sighted peers. Also, students in the project taught the blind and visually impaired students how to use the keyboard shortcuts, they recorded the audio version of the textbook "Accessing the Internet if You Are Blind or Visually Impaired" and, finally, they produced a CD with the installation files and the textbook in the written and audio format. The project is described in the following paper: Basrak, Bojan; Matić, Sanja; Mikelić Preradović, Nives. Service learning in Information Science : Web for the blind // "The Future of Information Sciences : INFuture2007 – Digital Information and Heritage" / Seljan, Sanja ; Stančić, Hrvoje (ur.). Zagreb : Odsjek za informacijske znanosti, Filozofski fakultet, Sveučilište u Zagrebu, 2007. Str. 501-507

Partners

1. The Alliance of blind and visually impaired students "BAT" (Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, University of Zagreb)

Multimedia educational software

Projects’ goals:

In the first project, students created multimedia application to prepare pupils for the State Graduation Exam covering the complete information and computer science curriculum of the state grammar schools. This project contributed to pupils' preparedness for the state graduation exam in elective subject informatics and offered them an insight into new ways of knowledge acquisition and evaluation (such as e-learning and online exams). The project is described in the following paper: Mandić, Ana; Bakarić, Ana; Mikelić Preradović, Nives. Service e-Learning Project: State Graduation Online Demo Exam // The Future of Information Sciences: INFuture2011 - Information Sciences and e-society / Billinness, Clive ; Hemera, A. ; Meateljan, V. ; Banek Zorica, M. ; Stančić, H. ; Seljan, S (ur.). Zagreb : Department of Information Sciences, Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, 2011. Str. 235-243.

The result of the second project was educational quiz (Fun and Games) for computer assisted teaching in lower elementary school classes (1st to 4th). Quizzes were prepared for teachers in collaboration with school pupils who contributed with their paper quiz activities that were converted to computer activities.

Partners

1. High School "Velika Gorica" & National Centre for External Evaluation of Education

2. Elementary School "Braća Ribar" in Sisak

Educational workshops for the broader population

Projects’ goals:

The result of the project in Zagreb City Library - Children's Section was the English Language Workshop for Children. The other project (realized in Fourth Grammar School, Zagreb) resulted in workshops for secondary school students on information retrieval and cryptology, aiming to ease graduates their search for information on their future study and to promote the study of Information and Communication Sciences among future freshmen. Another project group, which consisted of Museology graduate students and students of Information Sciences with teacher orientation, designed a workbook for elementary school pupils to complete during a visit to Zagreb City Museum as well as art workshops to help children acquire knowledge in a museum. Both the pupils and the museum staff rated the workbook as an interesting and useful tool for children, which they can keep as a souvenir from their visit to the museum. Finally, the last project aimed to create workshops for school children to teach them about everyday life of blind and visually impaired people in a hands-on way, through the close collaboration with the Typhlological museum in Zagreb.

Partners

1. Zagreb City Museum

2. Zagreb City Library - Children's Section

3. Fourth Grammar School, Zagreb

4. Typhlological museum

Interactive databases (with multimedia content)

Projects’ goals:

The result of the project with the association Friends of Animals was the database of the vegetarian products available in stores and a CD with multimedia content that encourages citizens to a healthier lifestyle using vegetarian recipes and information about healthy food in an interesting way (via an interactive database and multimedia applications on a CD-ROM). The product of collaboration with the elementary school "Vukovina" was a database of students with disabilities as well as hands-on training for the teaching staff in using the database. In collaboration with the scout association Bota, students developed a database of scout activities to help the members plan their spring, summer, autumn and winter activities. The project realized with the NGO that provides rehabilitation-educational and psycho-social pedagogical help through programs and activities of informal education resulted in the development of the monthly calendar for the staff and the database of all the volunteers in the association "Play".

In the other project students develops a database of all association members and teach the staff of Scout Association of Zagreb how to maintain that database. The European Youth Parliament (EYP) in Croatia received a database of all association members, as well as the HVIDRA association and the “Extreme Wireless“ association.

Partners

1. The association Friends of Animals ZegeVege project

2. Elementary School "Vukovina" in Velika Gorica

3. Scout Association "Bota"

4. Udruga “Igra” (Association "Play")

5. Savez izviđača Zagreba (Scout Association of Zagreb)

6. Europski parlament mladih Hrvatske (European Youth Parliament in Croatia)

7. HVIDRA (The association of Croatian homeland war invalids)

8. Wireless Users Association “Extreme Wireless“

School website

Projects’ goals:

The result of the project in the public primary school "Medvedgrad“ was a truly educational website, where school children were involved in the design process. The same service learning activities were performed in other elementary schools that were our partners.

Partners

1. Public primary school "Medvedgrad“, Zagreb

2. Public primary School "Zdenko Turković", Kutjevo

3. Public primary School "Ljudevit Modec", Križevci

4. Public primary School "Josip Juraj Strossmayer", Đurđenovac

5. Public primary School "Žuti Brijeg", Zagreb

6. Public primary School "Petar Zrinski", Jalžabet 

Faculty website

Projects’ goals:

The goal of these projects was to collect and digitize the data, to apply the students’ knowledge of data processing, to create functional Web sites and to train the Faculty staff in site maintenance.

Partners

1. Section for Sinology, Department of Indology and Far-Eastern Studies, Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences in Zagreb

2. Department of Hungarian, Turkish and Jewish language and literature, Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences in Zagreb

Web for teachers

Projects’ goals:

Two projects were realized with the teachers of the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, University of Zagreb: in the first one students collected and digitized data for the teacher’s personal web page, created his website and trained him in site maintenance, while in the second project students digitized teaching materials for the specific course and integrated them into online course in the open-source learning platform in order to make them available for all fellow students.

Partners

1. Teachers of the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, University of Zagreb

Web for students

Projects’ goals:

The main aim of these projects was to design news websites with member database and promotional materials for the club (KSIZ), to design the website and train members of the student association in site maintenance ("Domaći" and Pinocchio"), to collect and digitize data, to create association Web site and translate it to English (HUSB) and to create the website that meets the needs of the blind and visually impaired students ("BAT").

Partners

1. Information Science Students’ Club "KSIZ" (Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, University of Zagreb)

2. Italian language and literature Students’ Club "Pinocchio"(Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, University of Zagreb)

3. Ethnology Students' Club "Domaći" (Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, University of Zagreb)

4. The Alliance of blind and visually impaired students "BAT" (Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, University of Zagreb)

5. HUSB Association of Students in the Faculty of Engineering and Shipbuilding, University of Zagreb.

Website for the school library

Project goal:

The school library’s website design which will provide school students with an insight into the library fund and facilitate the purchase of the preferred literature and also inform them about the activities and working hours of the library. The site contains the links to the library fund, the activities, reading lists, etc.

Partner :

1. Elementary School "Medvedgrad", Zagreb

Web for the broader social community

Projects’ goals:

The main aim of these projects was to collect the documents and digitize the data, to apply the students’ knowledge of data processing, to create organizational Web site and to train the local staff in site maintenance. One of the projects developed the bibliography database that covers publications related to human rights and integrated it into already existing website (Human Rights Center project).

Partners :

1. Društvo invalida cerebralne i dječje paralize (Cerebral Palsy and Children Paralysis Association)

2. Centar za ljudska prava (Human Rights Center)

3. Udruga “Joga u svakodnevnom životu” (The Association "Yoga in Everyday Life")

4. Klapa „Dišpet” (Vocal Ensemble "Dišpet)

5. Klub izviđača - istraživača “Plava Planina" (Scouts and explorers’ club "Blue Mountain")

6. Udruga „Na drugi način“, škola za posvojitelje (The Association "In other way", school for adoptive parents)

7. HDIO - Hrvatsko društvo za internističku onkologiju Hrvatskog liječničkog zbora ( Croatian Society for Internist Oncology of the Croatian Medical Association)

8. A capella Božićni ulični pjevači (A capella Christmas street singers association)

9. Europski parlament mladih Hrvatske (European Youth Parliament in Croatia)

10. HVIDRA (Association of Croatian Homeland War Invalids)

11. DITS - Društvo inženjera i tehničara grada Samobora (Society of Engineers and Technicians in Samobor)

12. Center for rehabilitation "Zagreb“

Details

Created: 09 October 2014

Last Updated: 05 May 2021

• service learning

Students Service Learning Projects in Information and Communication Sciences

Service learning (SL) is a teaching strategy that integrates meaningful community service with academic learning. Through service learning students learn not only how to connect course theory and practice, but also how to help others, give of themselves, and enter into caring relationships with others in their community. The goal of service learning is to assist students to see the relevance of their new knowledge in the real world.

Service learning was introduced in the final year of graduate study in the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, the largest faculty of the University of Zagreb (Croatia), in 2006-07.

Up to that point, students of information sciences learned the theoretical concepts and applied them to imaginary or simulated circumstances, but rarely managed to apply the acquired knowledge to the real world. The service learning projects provided them with structured time to rethink and implement ideas that they had during their 5-year study, but never had an opportunity to transform them into “hands-on” experiences and observe the results.

In the first two years, about 50 SL projects in the IT field were completed and evaluated. After the successful project outcomes in the test phase, service learning was introduced into the final year of undergraduate study as well, as a part of a new curriculum in the Academic Year 2007-2008.

As of 2008-09, a stand-alone elective course “Service learning” (led by Nives Mikelic Preradovic, full professor) has been offered to all students in the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences at the University of Zagreb.

In 2009 SL was added as a regulation of the Croatian National Youth program 2009-2013 approved by the Government.

Below is the list and description of the service learning projects that were directly related to a community need.

Academic year 2020-2021

Academic year 2019-2020

Academic year 2017-2018

Academic year 2016-2017

Academic year 2014-2015

Academic year 2013-2014

Academic year 2012-2013

Academic year 2011-2012

Academic year 2009-2010

Academic years 2006-2007 & 2007-2008