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Will you throw it away or will you pick it up? It depends on you where the can ends up: in the bin or in your hands. Join the Alu-GO club! When your masterpiece is ready, show it to everyone so you can become the best. Don’t forget: success is in your hands!
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For educatorsAn alternative educational method. Dear Educator!
The aim of the Alu-GO pedagogical method and instruments is to offer an accessible, environmentally conscious and easy-to-master educational method to institutions that often suffer from a lack of resources.
The Alu-GO method is student-centred, simple, and easy to implement. Most of its operations revolve around the reutilisation of aluminium drink cans. During the activity the students experience the nowadays still unusual sensation of a piece of „garbage” becoming the raw material for a toy created by them. This way, in the field of education, the reutilisation of aluminium drink cans, the selective refuse collection and recycling strengthen the students’ environmental consciousness at the level of the curriculum, as well.
Alu-GO can:
The method’s main advantage is that with its help a significant part of the basic curriculum can be realised even if there is no central workshop in the vicinity, if the school lacks a classroom workshop, tools or materials. The equipment required for the operations is minimal, while at the same time the space necessary for it does not exceed the normal classroom conditions.
Collect refuse selectively! Raw material The raw material is the thin aluminium sheet which can be obtained from aluminium drinking cans. Aluminium has become a popular packaging material due to the metal’s special qualities. Thanks to its excellent ability to act as a ”barrier”, it offers optimal protection against the light, UV rays, oxygen and microorganisms. It preserves the freshness of the packaged product and its flavour, thereby guaranteeing its longevity. For reasons of technology and food safety the sheet is coated with plastic on both sides. As a result, it can be painted on, while at the same time the aluminium does not smudge the hands of the child. Cans are not fragile, and so within a short period they have become a ”trendy” everyday packaging material, and thereby also easily obtainable and accessible. Given the cost-effectiveness of the acquisition of the raw material, the costs of the otherwise rather expensive technical education are minimized. As a result, the financial and logistic difficulties associated with the supply of raw materials can also be solved more easily. Easy to learn, Application The application of this method engrosses even those students whom it seems impossible to engage with other methods. Our method stimulates the creativity of out students: having finished their classroom tasks they often request an opportunity to realise their own projects, as well. Therein lies the real creativity of Alu-GO, since once the method is learnt, the user can easily step out of the boundaries of the designs offered by the system, providing an opportunity to realise unique creations. (I should point out here that many educational packs advertised as ”creative” are, in reality, ”re-creative”, since by fitting together the basic units the user repeats the engineering activity of the educational pack’s designer, sometimes doing so in a mechanical fashion. This is true even if the description of the given educational pack does not feature the toy or model about to be created, since prefabricated basic units do not make it possible to go beyond the limits set by the architectural activity!) The Alu-GO method can be accommodated well into to presently expanding system of selective refuse collection and recycling. The aluminium drinking cans which are its raw material can be obtained anywhere, and through their use we can bring a serious environmental problem to the children’s attention. The selective collection of aluminium drinking cans can become – in a positive sense – an inner compulsion, similarly to washing one’s face and brushing one’s teeth in the morning are in the case of basic hygiene.
The aluminium sheet does not remain sharp after the cut! Preventing accidents In the beginning we assumed – and were very worried– that the use of these sheets could lead to accidents. Today we can safely say that our fears were unfounded. We can recommend the sheet that can be obtained from the aluminium drinking cans as a modelling material to all our fellow educators! Due to its special composition the aluminium sheet which is used can be cut by better quality scissors in a way that leaves the cut edges blunt. The reason for this is that the side of the scissors’ cutting surface virtually files off the edge of the sheet. Since there are no ”burrs”, even the most original ideas can be realised safely. Public design collection, Support The Alu-GO method aids both educators and institutions in a unique way. The basis of this support is provided by the following pillars:
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