"The project ""Motivational Meditation Techniques for Favouring Memory and Attention of Students with Visual Impairment"" is designed to support memory, attention, resilience and motivation of students with visual impairment during the Covid-19 era. The Study ""Visual impairment and blindness in Europe and their prevention"" (Kocur, Resniko) estimated that in Europe there are 72000 blind children, childhood blindness is calculated prevalence 0.1 and 0.41 per 1000 children. Eurostat statistics shows that students with difficulty prevalence of basic activities related to seeing is a risk factor that increases early school leavers, achieving dramatical levels in participating countries (DE = 14.8%, EE = 23,2%, GR = 44,6%, SP = 26,7%, IT = 45,9%, NL = 25,8%, TK = 41,5%). Our project will provide digital tools for support the motivation of students with visive impairment to study, improve their psychological status and resilience during Covid-19 era, basing on the following factors of the needs analysis:1. Covid-19 determined the biggest outbreak of educational systems. 2. Distance learning makes more difficult the participation of lectures for students with visive impairment3. Policies for supporting students with visive impairment during the Covid-19 are lacking4. Covid-19 impacted also psychologically on students. A study performed by IIAPHS on February-May 2020 on 4471 tests demonstrated increased levels of anxiety, anger and sleep disorders. A study commissioned by the Italian Order of Psychologists and operated by Istituto Piepoli showed that the population highlighted the importance of more presence of psychologists in the school system (73%)5. Meditation techniques are valid supplement for supporting motivation, self-esteem and resilience of school students. Memory and attention can be increased through meditation. 6. Classical meditation include concepts associated with sight: Techniques of visual imagery, the use of focused sight on a physical points and imagination of visual stimuli cannot be performed properly by students with visual impairment. We will create new techniques adapted for the needs of people with visive impairment, focusing exclusively on other senses.7. Meditation classes are often performed in presence, without any adaptation for people with disability or visual impairment8. Decreased motivation can discourage students with disability to complete the studies and favour early school leaving9. Distance learning gives additional tasks, workload and distress to family members which will require to assist the student with more effort. Following the lectures at the screen lead to rapid eye fatigue, headache and other disturbance.The goal will achieved through the production of 3 intellectual outputs translated into 9 languages (EN, IT, NL, SP, MK, TK, GR, EE, DE).O1. Motivational Meditation Techniques for Students with visual impairment: a 100 pages manual designed for school teachers and students teaching how to perform and teach meditation techniques adapted for students with visive impairmentO2. The Web App for Meditation and Motivation Training for Students with Visive Impairment: a digital tool based on the needs of students with visive impairment including 20 meditation exercises designed to increase memory, attention, resilience and motivation of students with visual impairment. The exercises are organised in levels of increasing difficulties and targeted to students of ages 6-18 in order to be widely exploitable in the school education system. Piloting is performed on 500 students, including 100 students with visive impairment.O3. Policy Recommendation for the Support of Students with Visive Impairment. It is a document of at least 100 pages including a SWOT analysis of existing policies for supporting students with visive impairment, transnational comparisons and recommendation for policy makers active in the field of support to disabled students.The target group of this project are:School students with visive impairment (6-18 years) School teachers, special education teachers Policy Makers and authorities in the field of School Education, Disability, Equal Opportunities School directorsSchool PsychologistsFamily members of students with visive impairmentThe project envisage the participation of 500 school students (100 with visive impairment) for the intellectual output 2, Policy recommendation will be sent to 200 policy makers and 100 school directors. The Motivational Meditation Techniques for Students with visual impairment will be disseminated among 1000 participants among school students and school teachers. The project includes 1 international Multiplier event with 20 local and 20 foreign participants. The Impact study will be produced and used for promoting the project's content and its application after EU funding."

"Project Title:""Professional support for the teachers of visually impaired pupils in a mainstream schools""""Veljko Ramadanovic"" School of Visually Impaired Students, Belgrade has one hundred years of experience working with blind and visually impaired pupils.We recognized the necessity to provide training to teachers in an inclusive setting for using assistive technology, various tiflodidactic tools and Braille.We are building collaboration with the following partner organizations in order to exchange experiences and strengthen knowledge in this field:1. Center IRIS- Center za izobrazevanje, rehabilitacijo, inkluzijo in svetovanje za slepe in slabovidne, Slovenia;2. ISTITUTO REGIONALE RITTMEYER PER I CIECHI DI TRIESTE, Italy;3. Drzavno uciliste za deca i mladi so osteten vid ,,Dimitar Vlahov“, The Republic of North Macedonia.Goals:Our goals:- To strengthen the professional competencies of teachers in working with blind and visually impaired pupils in inclusive education settings- To encourage social inclusion of pupils with visual impairment in mainstream schools- To improve the teaching quality by using assistive technologies in inclusive education.Activities:1. Provide a professional training course for the subject teachers (two-day training course)2. Design a handbook for teachers in inclusive education as a practical guide for working with blind and partially sighted students;3. Exchange of good practices at the meetings, via Skype, Viber and a Web Site formed during the duration of the Erasmus + project.Results: - A new, published Manual as a practical guide to teachers in inclusive education, which provides information on the use of assistive technologies, and on Braille notation in subjects of natural sciences (math, physics, chemistry); - A training program of teachers in working with blind and visually impaired pupils in inclusive education settings; - Website - created during the duration of the Erasmus + project will serve as a platform for the exchange of good practices between partners and teachers in mainstream schools.The project activities will include about 40 teachers from the mainstream schools (per participating organizations). The project will greatly contribute to increasing the competencies of teachers engaged in the education of pupils with visual impairment."

FRAME:In today's world without using digital tools, in teaching subject specific field is impossible since our students use digital tools more and more at all. Regarding this, integrating digital devices, school administration software, and applications into the classroom serve to improve learning and boost good study habits. Bearing this in mind, innovating the teaching is become imperative due to emerging corona outbreak, schools across the EU turned into online teaching to ensure safety of the kids. During the rise of online classes, teachers have tried to explore new ways of encouraging students to self-direct their learning. In this regard, academic lessons, such as Science, Maths, Language, History, etc are relatively taught through the use of digital tools. However, the social interaction required lessons, such as PE have not been taught effectively since lack of adequate, appropriate, effective and inclusive digital tools to teach PE online. Bearing this in mind, according to our desk research, conducted on 300 PE teachers, 5.000 students and 98 schools (across the partner countries) showed that during the covid outbreak the PE did not go well because:- The current PE curriculum was designed in person and/or face to face education, which does not address the needs,- The inadequacy of physical education teachers who are not familiar with teaching PE online,- Lack of digital tools for physical education designed for online PE,- Lack of motivation kids taking part in PE lessons online,Thus, the covid outbreak showed us to rethink, reshape and redesign the current PE education, find new methods, adjust our teaching methods and/or techniques to address the needs of the teachers and students. In line with these, the following objectives are identified:OBJECTIVES:- To design a need based online PE education curriculum, which addresses the current situation and future of PE, - To strengthen PE teachers' profiles and ease how to teach PE online through the use of digital tools,- To produce a digital education package, which addressees the needs of PE teachers, schools and kids. - To increase the motivation of the kids participating the PE online.- To cooperate and network with associations representing schools, NFE centres and NGOs to create a more modern, dynamic, commitment and technology based PE education. - To promote virtual training virtual trainings for PE teachers. - To incorporate digital online technology into PE-specific teaching, training and learning,- To pilot PE digital educational resources with non-formal methodological approach The project aims to address the challenges identified above by providing PE teachers skills and competencies and young kids motivation the attitudes and skills needed to participating PE lessons through online. STOP+ will achieve these goals through:OI: Curriculum on teaching PE online.O2: Web-platform, eLearning modules and tutorial videosO3 Tooll-kit for PE teachersO4: Webinars and seminars promoting how to teach PE online. BENEFICIARIES:- PE teachers.- ICT teachers.- Students aged 10-17. - Schools at primary and/or secondary level in VET and general level.- Sport staffs/NGOs.METHODOLOGY:The project foresees to implement blended learning approach with blended/hybrid materials.Regarding this, we first of all develop the current PE curriculum, namely we blend the PE to online tools.Then, we develop a web-platform, comprising eLearning modules and tutorial videos to ensure distance learning and self-learning. Then, we produce a tool-kit as a pondered and improved collection of the educational tools employed in the local and international phase of Piloting.This toolkit is a guideline and comprise a series of lesson plans, tools, tips to teach PE in the new normal and online. We arrange virtual trainings for PE teachers, students, educators, educators and parents of the students. To educate the PE teachers and test the effectiveness of the education package, we organize staff training. To arrange milestones of the proejct, we organize 4 face to face transnational meetings. To reach out wider teachers, students and education communities, we use eTwinning and SEG, namely our cooperation mainly keeps up virtually. DEVELOPMENT(s):As outcomes from the implementation of this project the PE teachers, students and participated organizations will be able to:From PE teacher perspective, they will straighten their profiles and will learn how to use digital tools teaching PE online. From students perspective, they will be motivated taking part in PE online From schools' perspective, they will have a more, modern, dynamic, inclusive, need-based, digital and commitment PE resources.This transnational cooperation will contribute to the solution of problems we face and create a more long lasting impact in the areas we want to record improvement by sharing ideas and methods while operating and networking at transnational level.

"The ""Empowering Kids with Interactive Digital Library"" is an innovative project which focuses on integrating literacy, reading, analytical thinking and creative skills at school education level on a multi-lingual digital distance-learning platform using transfer effects between these competencies besides artistic, cultural effects and elements. The project is coordinated by University if Malaga within the partnership of University of Crete, Tashkent State Pedagogical University, I.V. college and D.V. school.The main objectives of the project are:- equipping education and training systems to face the challenges presented by the recent sudden shift to online and distance learning by creating free digital-educational resources with a creative commons license,- strengthening the strategic/structured cooperation across the EU education institutions and digital technology providers and experts in educational technologies to develop high-quality digital resources/tools,- supporting teachers to develop digital competences and safeguarding the inclusive nature of learning opportunities,- enabling students to acquire reading and creative skills through innovative digital content,- taking advantage of the increasing convergence of communications media and institutional roles to create and disseminate digital content,- adapting to digital changes in education at the organizational level,- maintaining effective partnerships for cooperation in developing tailor-made solutions adapted to local challenges and realities.TARGET GROUPThe project targets the involvement of more than 500 teachers, 5000 students at the primary and secondary school level in innovative activities promoting the use of digital resources for increasing young learners' literacy, reading, analytical thinking, and creative skills. In the long term, we target all teachers, parents, students at the primary and secondary school level as well as the Language and Literature Departments of universities, education faculties, researchers and policymakers, and all related stakeholders. ACTIVITIESThere will be three Transnational Project Meetings(TPMs), the Kick-off meeting, an interim meeting for evaluation and corrections, and the final meeting for preparing the report, finalizing the outputs, dissemination and sustainability of the project. Three participants from each partner institution will participate in each TPMs. The project involves one short-term joint-staff training event(LTT) for joint work to set up a tailor-made framework for creating digital stories targeting the students between the age of 10-15.The mobility, “Digital Story Writing Workshop”, will be organized by UOC. The event will take place for 5 days in September 2021 with the involvement of 30 participants. It'll cover training and activities about the fundamental steps of the digital story creation process.OUTPUTSThe project ""Empowering Kids with Interactive Digital Library"" aims to create two intellectual outputs that lead us to achieve project goals. The Digital Storybooks enriched with interactive pre/while/post-reading activities supported by 6 languages and a digital library web platform where approximately 600 digital storybooks in different languages and other tangible materials.It has been planned to reach 260 people from educational environments with two multiplier events, which will be held at an international level in Uzbekistan and Spain.IMPACTThe project will adapt the fundamental changes in the traditional education concepts according to the requirements of this digital era, contribute to solving lots of flows and shortcomings of educational systems during the extraordinary time we are passing through, and make essential transformation at local, national and international level. The target group of students is expected to develop literacy, reading, analytical thinking and creative skills through literature from a lifelong learning perspective. The target group of teachers is expected to use the digital library, rich in high-quality content, accessible from anywhere and anytime for free, and can practically be embedded in educational curriculums at school education level. The participants will develop their skills in digital story writing for the target group of readers, which is a transferable key impact for further projects at the organizational, national or international level. In the long term, we expect more academicians, researchers, curricula developers and policymakers will be interested in the establishment of interactive digital libraries or transform existing libraries into a digital format by adding innovative ideas for the use of society. By the end of the project, 30 participants will have been involved in LTT events, 260 participants in multiplier events. More than 500 teachers and 5000 students will have got the benefit of the project activities. We expect to reach about 10000 beneficiaries from stakeholders."

<< Background >>The project STEAM in the secondary school with no barriers for blind and visually impaired pupils, has been created to generate in Spanish schools, including the partner university, inclusive classrooms with a diversity of students with different profiles, especially students with visual impairments. The school partnership includes three schools specialized in this student profile, the collaboration and exchange of practices will serve to generate experiential classrooms within technical subjects such as science, technology, engineering, mathematics and arts (STEAM), subjects that have often been cited as difficult for students with visual impairments.The centers specialized in students with visual impairments, the partner university, the Canary Islands high school with students with various disabilities, including severe disability profiles, and the coordinating center in Burgos will generate classrooms of full integration, with students of diverse profiles, working in STEAM subjects in a cooperative system and seeking a full integration of all students, working on equal opportunities without differentiating students by abilities, religion, sexual identity or gender.Within the specific needs for STEAM material for visually impaired students, the project will address the following needs;1.- Generation of material with technical notation in audio and Braille format and to be able to include it in conventional schools.Access to visual resources. To develop online and public formats accessible to visually impaired students in STEAM subjects in an alternative format to the usual one.3.- Development of oral explanations for the understanding of visual concepts.Experimenting without vision: some aspects of participation in classroom activities, inclusive experiments among students with and without disabilities.5.- Creating teaching methods for STEAM subjects and being able to develop activities in integrated classrooms. 6.- Real experimentation in integrated classrooms and generation of teaching strategies, highlighting in this the need for teacher training to equip teachers to overcome these problems.There is also a need to generate a specialized training for undergraduate and master students in teaching within the profile of students with visual impairments, this project addresses this training through specialized partners and the O.N.C.E., collaborating entity.<< Objectives >>1.- Diseñar aulas inclusivas incluyendo todo tipo de perfiles. Aulas inclusivas que muestren el desarrollo de asignaturas STEAM y talleres entre alumnos de diferentes perfiles integrados y trabajando en sistema cooperativo.2.- Adaptar aulas , recursos, medios y métodos en colegios societarios para poder diseñar proyectos educativos de aula inclusivos.3.- Formar a alumnos de grado y master en metodologías para alumnos con discapacidad visual mediante la experiencia desarrollada en el proyecto en los colegios societarios.4.- Difundir el proyecto entre profesionales del entorno a través de los centros de formación de profesorado de Burgos y Lanzarote, a través de sisones internacionales generadas por la Universidad de Burgos y a través de los foros en etwinning y el twinspace entre profesionales educativos europeos para poder crear sinergis futuras entre ellos y de esta forma mejorar el desarrollo de una educación diversificada.5.- Generar material audiovisual entre los socios que pueda servir como fuente de recursos para poder mejorar y diseñar talleres específicos en cada centro.6.- Evaluar la aplicación desde una perspectiva experiencial a materias STEAM en aulas inclusivas.7.- Reforzar la red erasmus entre centros escolares para los socios participantes.8.- Reforzar el trabajo en red de los profesores y alumnos participantes y motivar esta forma de trabajo entre alumnado con discapacidad visual y discapacidades diversas.<< Implementation >>The schools will design STEAM activities for students of different profiles and abilities, obviously Lanzarote IES and specialised schools will focus on the profile of their students. The schools will publish STEAM activities and subject development through the project twinspace, and these publications will serve to generate learning and exchange of good practices in the schools. The activities will be designed so that students, regardless of their abilities, can acquire key competences in STEAM subjects, generate inclusive classrooms for all types of students and design activities for cooperative work between students.The project designs three LTTs between students in order to develop in an experiential way all this shared online experience, these three LTTs will be used to evaluate the shared online activities, to evaluate the real effectiveness of these activities and to correct and improve their application, being absolutely necessary these experiences in order to evaluate in a real way an inclusive classroom formed by European students, globalizing in this way the education in Europe, both by nationalities and by abilities.The whole experience will be public, open to comments, trying to make European teachers aware of the need for training and adaptation of the classroom to an inclusive system.In the LTTs for teachers, the aim is to train teachers from the partner centres, but also to disseminate and have an impact on the professionals in the surrounding area through training sessions held at the Faculty of Education in Burgos and the teacher training centres in both Burgos and Lanzarote.<< Results >>1.- Document good practice guidance on converting technical information into accessible formats and, where such guidance is already available, ensure that it is widely publicised and used.2.- Document good practice related to the creation of visual resources for learners with visual impairments. 3.- Document good practice related to cooperative work in classrooms with diverse learner profiles. 4.- To investigate in a practical way the effectiveness of tactile materials and whether students are equipped with the appropriate knowledge for the effective development of workshops designed to use them efficiently.5.- To generate dissemination through etwinning among European education professionals about the possibility of creating classrooms with the participation of students with visual impairments in practical lessons such as experiments and observations, integrated classrooms among students with different abilities.6.- Identify or offer guidance on teaching methods to optimise the experience of students with visual impairment in the classroom.Develop training to increase the confidence of teachers/lecturers in teaching technical subjects to students with visual impairment. The design of this training through the creation of networks of teachers, getting them to share ideas and good practice, workshops or online courses and sessions between undergraduate and masters students, professionals from specialist schools and the O.N.C.E team led by D. Jaime Muñoz in the two LTTs in Burgos and Lanzarote. 7.- Improve communication between students and teachers so that teachers are aware of the needs of students with visual impairment.To carry out and publish the effective interventions in the teaching of STEAM subjects to students with visual impairment and integrated classrooms carried out in the LTTs among students.