DigiXpressing

Summary

A state school with 184 pupils in Laredo (Cantabria) used digital art and European mobility to transform the lives of children at risk of social exclusion. DigiXpressing took pupils who had never left their village to Athens, Vienna, and Lisbon, helping them to develop real digital, emotional and intercultural skills. 100/100 in the SEPIE final report. Impact: national media coverage, a visit from the President of Cantabria, and three schools advised on how to launch their own Erasmus+ projects. 

‘Erasmus+ wasn’t just a school project. It was the school itself. Every pupil, every family, every teacher experienced Europe from the inside. You can’t learn that from any book.’ 

Topic(s) addressed

• Applied digital skills (radio, podcasts, video, design)
• Emotional and interpersonal skills
• Active European citizenship
• Cultural heritage and identity
• Language skills in English 
• Equal opportunities 

Target group(s)

• 184 pupils (aged 2–12)
• 22 teachers
• 6 pupils from disadvantaged backgrounds 

Methodologies used

DigiXpressing integrated project-based learning, cross- year collaborative work and digital formative assessment (Kahoot!, rubrics, questionnaires) centred on three themes: art, digitalisation, and emotion. The pupils did not merely use digital tools: they mastered them as creators, producing a school radio programme (“Picasso en la Onda”), a digital newspaper (“The Picasso News”), videos and presentations using Canva, Filmora and OBS Studio. Formal learning (Language, Science, Art) was integrated with  non-formal  and  informal  experiences  during exchanges in Greece, Austria, and Portugal, where they interacted in English with their European peers. Active participants: 21 Year-6 pupils (all of them, with no selection based on merit) and 15 out of 22 teachers. Satisfaction: 100 per cent. 

Innovation environment

The Pablo Picasso Primary School is an innovative school thanks to its institutional culture: a school radio station, a robotics workshop and annual themed projects. During DigiXpressing, the school was transformed into the ‘Pablo Picasso School of Art’: all curricular and extracurricular activities centred on the project. Eighty per cent of the teaching staff took part in mobility programmes, and two round-table discussions were held to compare experiences. The project generated an external multiplier effect: the school advised three schools in Cantabria on developing their own Erasmus+ projects. There was also cooperation with a school in Lisbon with pupils from 29 different countries and a socially vulnerable community. 

Teachers’ role

The teaching staff managed the project entirely without external support organisations, a fact expressly highlighted by SEPIE as a ‘strength’. Participation was decided democratically: any teacher wishing to travel was able to do so, with priority given to temporary staff to extend the experience to other schools in Cantabria. 

Fifteen out of 22 teachers took part in mobility programmes; 100 per cent of the teaching staff were kept informed of each activity. The post-mobility round-table discussions facilitated peer learning and the transfer of teaching practices. Coordination with three European schools (in Greece, Austria, and Portugal) enhanced the teaching staff’s digital, linguistic and intercultural skills, transforming their day-to-day teaching practice. 

Impact and output

SEPIE score: 100/100 (the highest possible). Six pupils from socio-economically disadvantaged backgrounds took part in international exchanges – several had never left Laredo – with documented improvements in self- confidence, academic performance and life expectations. Impact across the whole community: cross-year-group workshops, radio, the project’s newspaper and website involved all 184 pupils. 

Unprecedented publicity for a KA122 project: *El Hormiguero* (Antena 3, prime time), RTVE, Europapress, *El Diario Montañés*, 11TV, Cadena Ser. Visit to the school by the President of Cantabria and the Regional Minister for Education. Three schools in Cantabria were advised on how to launch Erasmus+ projects. The project generated its own ‘Erasmus effect’: it inspired those around it. 

Learn more about the project

Video