I participated in a course that includes digital tools and contemporary educational approaches, which is one of my focus areas in education. It was my first time in Helsinki, Finland and it was an amazing experience in good weather conditions. I highly recommend this course and Helsinki if you're considering but not sure about taking it. The trainer, Pui Ying Law, was kind, knowledgeable, creative and with lots of experience. The training was about four main parts; Distance Learning, Flipped Classroom, Project-Based Learning and Gamification. All those topics are centered around one very important fact which is giving students the autonomy to learn. Empowering them with modern tools, technology and games. You can find some more information here:  https://sites.google.com/view/sc-mk/blog/erasmus-eportfolio . 

Interesting information about Finland;

• 9 myths about Finnish education such as "there are no tests in Finland". Read here:  https://view.genial.ly/61cc55bbde049e0ddb6c4d66
• If you want to learn about 5 weird Finnish events, follow the link:  https://view.genial.ly/61cc55c6fbdcdb0dd1b09893
• There are more saunas than cars in the country, mainly more than 3.3 million. Learn more here:  https://view.genial.ly/61cc55a7de049e0ddb6c4d62

All in all, it was very useful, full of experiences, and I gained a lot of new skills and knowledge during the week I spent in Helsinki, Finland. I am confident that I will be able to pass on most of this to my colleagues to make a difference in my school.

I look forward to the next opportunity to participate in the Erasmus + program.

Mustafa Karakas,

Budapest, Hungary.