EcoThings: innovative environmental technology to improve learning outcomes among students at risk of social exclusion.

"<< Background >>Education systems worldwide are seen as outdated, focusing on content over skills, rigid assessment methods, and failing to nurture students’ soft-skills. Stakeholders—including parents, students, and teachers—call for a shift towards a learner-centered approach that fosters soft skills like communication, critical thinking and creativity To modernize education, it is crucial to adopt transdisciplinary methodologies, STEAM-based learning, and digital transformation.At the same time, climate change represents an urgent challenge. A lack of awareness has contributed to the crisis, and education must play a key role not only in informing students but also in equipping them with practical and technological solutions to address environmental issues.Social inequalities have also deepened, with digital access becoming a major barrier to education for marginalized communities. Ensuring equal opportunities for all students, regardless of their socioeconomic background, is now more critical than ever.Our project responds to these pressing needs by introducing an innovative pedagogical approach based on the Internet of Things (IoT), aimed at modernizing education, promoting environmental awareness, and ensuring digital inclusion<< Objectives >>The first objective is to introduce an innovative educational approach rooted in the STEAM philosophy, allowing students to engage with new materials and technologies they might have not previously encountered.The second objective is to enhance students’ soft skills—including communication, collaboration, critical thinking, assertiveness, creativity, and resilience—thereby fostering a ""learning to learn"" mindset.The third objective is to increase environmental awareness among primary and secondary school students by enabling them to design and implement pilot projects that help mitigate the impact of daily activities on climate change.The fourth objective is to experiment with advanced pedagogical methodologies by integrating Vygotsky’s Social Learning Theory with Gardner’s Theory of Multiple Intelligences.The fifth objective is to develop implementation guidelines covering both the technological and pedagogical aspects of the project, ensuring its replicability in different educational contexts.The sixth objective is to improve students’ digital competencies through accessible resources via on-line platforms, ensuring equal access to quality education.<< Implementation >>Our project aims to integrate cutting-edge technology into education through a strong pedagogical foundation, ensuring accessibility for both primary and secondary schools, as well as students from diverse socioeconomic backgrounds. To achieve this, we have designed a low-cost, innovative Internet of Things (IoT) pedagogical pack as our primary project outcome. This pack includes hardware, open-source educational software, app development tools, electronic components, implementation guidelines, MOOCs, and an e-learning platform that presents the methodology in an intuitive and user-friendly way.By incorporating the IoT approach as a transdisciplinary subject, students will enhance their skills in Mathematics, Physics, and English while also developing essential soft skills such as communication, collaboration, creativity, critical thinking, assertiveness, and resilience. To achieve this, we have applied Lev Vygotsky’s Social Learning Theory to IoT education, leveraging the Zone of Proximal Development through the Interactive Groups method.The first step was training teachers in programming, app development, and electronics in a first mobility (LTTA). Following this, eco-technology courses have been established in each partner school, allowing students to provide feedback to refine and enhance both the software—available in versions tailored for primary and secondary education—and the hardware, which incorporates 3D printing and laser-cutting technology. These improvements have informed the development of technological guidelines to support teachers in implementing PR1 and PR2 in their classrooms.In the third year of the project, during the spring of 2024, we have conducted a blended mobility program where Turkish secondary school students will mentor Spanish primary school students. This initiative is based on Vygotsky’s Social Learning Theory, organizing students into five-member Interactive Groups, with one experienced student acting as a trainer for four trainees. The insights gained from this Learning, Teaching, and Training Activity (LTTA) has enabled us to finalize pedagogical guidelines (PR3), providing educators across Europe with essential resources for effectively integrating this innovative technology into their teaching practices. These guidelines have been translated into Spanish, Romanian, Turkish, and Greek.A key focus of our project is social inclusion, ensuring participation from students of diverse backgrounds, including those from Roma communities at risk of social exclusion. To maximize the reach and impact of our results, we have developed a MOOC in English, with subtitles in Spanish, Romanian, Turkish, and Greek. The videos of the MOOC have been hosted on a dedicated YouTube channel, offering free global access and a dedicated e-learning platform at UPV servers. Additionally, all software, technological and pedagogical guidelines, and MOOC will be available for at least ten years on a specially designed e-learning platform, co-managed by both teachers and students, providing detailed insights into each phase of the project (PR4).<< Results >>The first project result (PR1) successfully provided affordable IoT educational solutions for students at risk of social exclusion. Low-cost projects using ESP32 and Raspberry Pi, with Bluetooth and WiFi connectivity, focused on ecological applications. These allowed students to build modular smart-house models with energy saving systems, fire alarms, and home automation. The modular design featured independent components like sensors and actuators (temperature, humidity, smoke, proximity, noise), enabling cost-effective, scalable learning toolkits for IoT projects.The second result (PR2) delivered two complementary software tools: one for primary and secondary schools using Arduino and ESP32, and another for secondary schools with Raspberry Pi. These tools were tested in partner schools and helped shape the pedagogical guidelines in PR3. They allowed students to engage in real-world applications such as monitoring a smart house, receiving fire alerts, controlling smart home lighting, and more. The tools were made open-source, with documentation and examples, ensuring high accessibility and transferability, through a set of video tutorials.The third result (PR3) provided technological and pedagogical implementation guidelines, helping teachers integrate the eco-technological pack into classrooms. This enabled innovative, student-centered approaches, preventing school failure and dropout by making learning more engaging and practical. This result has produced eBooks that have been set available in the project’s page and have been translated into English, Spanish, Romanian, Greek and Turkish. Spanish and English version of these eBook have been published with ISBN. The fourth result (PR4) created a dedicated e-learning platform to support the online dissemination of the project. This platform offers all necessary content, including educational resources (PDFs, tutorials, links to videos), and is based on a user-friendly WordPress architecture with easy navigation. It also features a blog for project updates and feedback, as well as an entry point for MOOC portal, including all the video tutorials and teaching materials uploaded by teachers and students. All videos have been subtitled into English, Spanish, Romanian, Greek and Turkish.These results ensure lasting impact, providing open, adaptable resources that will remain accessible for years."