"The documents referred to in this report are available in the document repository:-http://repository.erasmusplus.website/Actife/Final_Report/-Username: evaluator-Password: Evaluator101!The central aim of the ACTiFE project was to use coding, computational thinking and ""Internet of Things"" (IoT) related processes in the Agri-Technology and Food sector to improve the creativity, employability, and entrepreneurialism of adults and young people at risk of long-term unemployment or social exclusion. The project was run with this in mind, but also in a context of a swiftly changing economy and society. Increasingly, innovative technologies are not confined to the tech sector, even for industries seen as traditional, such as agriculture. As such, it is more important than ever that the unemployed of every stripe – but in particular the long-term unemployed – gain STEM skills in areas such as coding, computational thinking, and IoT. Significantly, however, employers and industries have expressed concerns that these skills are not ubiquitous enough for their needs. It is in this context that ACTiFE has sought to build a series of tools and deliverables that will raise both awareness of and interest in coding, computational thinking, and IoTwith a particular focus on the Agri-Technology and Food sector. The project achieved these aims mainly through the development of a serious game and its supporting documents, which deliver the knowledge in an engaging way. In order to create these deliverables, the project focused on three central intellectual outputs (IOs), each of which focused on a particular set of results. IO2 was the first, and focused on the Learning Methodologies Framework as an initial preparatory research phase before the creation of the game itself:-A1: Stakeholder mapping-A2: The current status quo in linking Coding and Computational Thinking to innovative entrepreneurial practices in Adult education-A3: Current trends in the deployment of serious games in Adult education-A4: Learning requirements for preparing adult learners to effectively adopt Computational Thinking and Coding as necessary tools to set up and successfully deliver entrepreneurial plans.-A5: Skill development requirements for Adult education instructors on deploying ICT, and specifically serious games and simulations, towards preparing students to enter the world of work-A6: A collaborative, agile learning framework for promoting ""smart"" entrepreneurial"" practices in adult education activities.The second IO was IO3, which was centred around building the game:-A1: The ACTiFE serious game design for exposing adult learners to Coding processes, IoT and ""smart entrepreneurship in the field of Food and Agriculture industry.-A2: Software development of the ACTiFE serious game for building experience with industrial processes in the field of adult education.The final IO was IO4, in which the consortium created a number of supporting documents and deliverables to the game: - A1: Collection of learning sheets targeting educators - A2 User guide on the ACTiFE serious game - A3: Good practice guidelines in multimedia form aiming at enhancing instructor capacity to deploy the proposed serious game.As can be inferred from this, the results of the project therefore took the form of:-A learning methodologies framework-A serious game-Learning sheets related to the game’s content for use by educators-A user guide to the serious game-Good practice videosUnfortunately, as funding for the project’s piloting was cut, there was minimal time or resources for the consortium to undertake this as fully as hoped, but evaluations of project results were nevertheless undertaken. Only 10 participants took part in this activity, but the multiplier events that partners undertook captured a much broader audience. The four partners that held these events managed to get 204 participants, with feedback indicating that they would recommend the game and its supporting tools to a wider audience. Partners generally tried to ensure that the project’s target audience was being captured in these activities – namely teachers and other educators, particularly where possible those involved in adult education – but also the general public and other adults in education or unemployment.When added to the project dissemination figures – an impressive 86,817 people reached – we get a sense of the project’s broader impact. The above project results have been successfully promoted to thousands of people, many in the target audience who, as our feedback from multiplier events and evaluations shows, do feel largely positive about those results, their quality, and their potential. When combined with the project website that will continue to host project information and results after the project’s closure, and the potential for the Learning Methodologies Framework as basis for a body of research, it is clear that ACTiFE has had a significant impact that may well continue after it ends."

"According to the United Nations publication, August 2020 “Relatively few countries are monitoring the effective reach and use of distance learning modalities. However, estimates indicate variable coverage: distance learning in high income countries covers about 80–85 per cent, while this drops to less than 50 per cent in low income countries. This shortfall can largely be attributed to the digital divide, with the disadvantaged having limited access to basic household services such as electricity; a lack of technology infrastructure and low levels of digital literacy among students, parents, and teachers.”This crisis demands to prioritize safety and remote learning is the most feasible solution to keep the school's community engaged in learning away from the classroom. Innovative practices that enhance students’ soft skills in a distance learning environment. Coding activities, quizzes and puzzles aiming to the development of 21st century skills (such as problem solving, time management, algorithmic thinking) combined with team building activities to enhance social skills. Priority will be given to develop materials that enable teachers to provide online classes that introduce students to innovative subjects and simultaneously focus on students’ personal development in a social distancing environment. Furthermore train the teachers to become more confident and independent in using the tools. As the COVID 19 crisis has impact to the teaching reality of every country, this includes international synergies to exchange ideas and also share good practices in order to be accessible to all countries Achievement of relevant and high quality skills and competences: supporting individuals in acquiring and developing key competences to be resilient and able to adapt to the new challenges that will arise after this crisis. The Programme will also support actions that develop or disseminate technological tools, as well as actions that apply the ""learning outcomes"" approaches in carrying out education, training and youth activities or assessing their quality and relevance.The key objective of the project is to develop a complete and concrete toolkit for the teachers to help their students acquire new skills while enhancing their social skills in a day and age of a remote reality that sometimes weakens social interactions. To meet its goals the project will have specific deliverables during the phases of implementation. Good practices already tested along with new activities designed to be held remotely will be gathered at a transnational training guide. The guide will also include training content for the teachers - methodologies and examples on how to teach coding and all the content including papers, videos etc. – that will be uploaded in an online platform. The platform will be designed by a mixed team consisting of teachers and IT staff so as to be easily used by educators. A specific coding curriculum including sessions with detailed activities that can be implemented remotely will also be provided for the teachers. There will be a specific section for the developed activities aiming at the social skills’ cultivation and also a forum to give an interactive aspect and allow users to share good practices and create networks. An app will also be designed providing students the opportunity to train independently even without internet access in remote areas. Activities – Management and Coordination– Training Content for Teachers– Tools Development (Platform and App)– Educational Content Development– Quality Control and Evaluation– Dissemination and TestingTarget Groups: The direct target groups of the project are teachers and students in the 13+ range. We will also include minor students facing social and financial difficulties. In addition, Public and Private Education Organizations and Institutions, Teachers, Trainers, Students 13+ , VET providers, Civil Society Organizations, Community Associations, Innovation Hubs, etc.Robotiikka is an NGO focusing to increase interest in and understanding of Science, Technology and robots with long experience in developing tutorial material for both teachers and pupils Eduact is an NGO also develops innovative educational projects of high quality emphasizing in the 21st skills development and collaborating with the Greek Ministry of Education for the addition of Robotics in school curriculum. Robootika is the NPO, the first to start Robotics Projects in Esthonia. UTH is a state University, having 8 schools offering undergraduate and postgraduate programs and like FYG they both have long experience in Erasmus+ programs. All of the partners have experience in Erasmus+ and most of them have already collaborated with each other in different projects.The platform is desinged fot totally remote learning, will be tested by local VET Organizations and can be also for future challenging situations."

This two-year project aims to develop a package of training materials and resources at a European level to upskill teachers in supporting students with mental health issues and building resilience in both themselves and their students. It addresses the well-being of both students and staff. The target age group is the Secondary sector, and the project brings together 6 partners from 5 countries. Partners will identify the issues relating to the well-being of both students and staff and develop a common methodology to address those issues. The project has two strands. Firstly, it will address the vulnerabilities faced by students and develop strategies to address them, and secondly it will identify the pressures facing school staff and develop training resources to help mitigate them. There are therefore two sets of target groups, both staff and students. There is ample research to show that there has been an increase in stresses and pressures on both staff and students in recent years leading to a range of undesirable outcomes, such as increased absenteeism through mental illness, reduced performance, and teacher drop-out. EU level policy recommendations include, promoting schools as a setting for health promotion and prevention of mental and behavioural disorders, early identification for all children and young people and enhanced training for all school staff on mental health. Research also points to the need to build resilience in teachers and school leaders to develop strong self-regulatory skills. The overall objectives are to:•analyse and share existing strategies and resources for identifying and addressing vulnerabilities in both staff and students •identify common areas of strength and priorities for development •undertake a study visit to Batley Girls High School in the UK to investigate the policies and practice of assessing vulnerabilities and resilience and preparing teachers to address them•use the outcomes to develop a generic tool for identifying those at risk •develop a model set of training resources and a methodology to equip teachers to identify and target vulnerable students and address their own life balance issues•test the methodology and associated resources in schools in 5 countries•produce an impact report incorporating a series of case studies and recommendations for school policy •disseminate the outcomes widely There will be 2 Intellectual Outputs and 1 training event. The training event will explore an example of best practice in the UK and then produce a framework for a set of 5 training modules which are developed in Intellectual Output 1. The training modules will be:Module 1: Understanding well-beingModule 2: Supporting the well-being of young people Module 3: Professional Development for teachers and support staff Module 4: Support for the well-being of school staffModule 5: School policyOnce these modules are produced they will be trialed in schools in 5 counties with around 50 teachers, 30 trainee teachers and 460 students. There is a need to undertake this work transnationally as the target groups in the different countries have different contexts, but the issue is an EU wide problem requiring transnational solutions. This can be achieved by sharing of best practice and expertise and by specifically creating a set of resources and methodology that is applicable and relevant for all European schools by testing them in the different contexts.

Education and training are the best investments in Europe’s future. They play a vital role in boosting growth, innovation and job creation. They also have an important role to play in creating a European identity, building on common values and cultures, help empower people to engage and participate, and shape the future of a Europe characterized by democracy, solidarity and inclusion. For this reason, Europe’s education and training systems need to give people the forward-looking knowledge, skills and competences they need to innovate and prosper. Additionally, it is proven that an early exposure to STEM and ICT has a positive impact on students' perceptions towards those subjects, and can ensure that they become more digitally competent as adults (STEM Alliance, 2017). Hence, digital education technologies enrich learning in a variety of ways and offer learning opportunities, which must be accessible to all; they open access to a wealth of information, education and training resources – but one must also have the capacity to evaluate and make efficient use of them.At the same time, during the last many months, all of humanity has come against the pandemic of COVID-19 that has affected the daily lives, work and education of us and our children in unprecedented ways; physical contact is now restricted or even forbidden in some contexts, while transportation for non-necessary activities is limited – of course for the benefit of public health. While it is true that we are in the process of a rapid and unexpected transition, and one that can be intimidating sometimes, it is not sustainable to “shut-down” all of the human activities for a long period of time and we must find alternative and innovative ways to continue our work, education and recreation. However, this transition has been proven to be a challenge both for students and for tutors alike, especially in STEM fields such as educational robotics in which the partners of project “Going the Distance” specialize in, and in which demonstration, teamwork and experimentation are key. Therefore, in accordance with the programme’s priorities, the new requirements of the VET sector and EC’s Digital Education and Action Plan (2021-2027) we have designed this project in order to:a) Identify the tutors’ specific needs during the COVID-19 periodb) Distinguish from other free relevant digital tools that are of poor qualityc) Navigate them on how to deal with the social repercussions identified mainly on youngsters because of the lack of actual contactd) Prepare a new training curriculum for tutors and develop innovative digital support materialse) Train the tutors on how to make effective use of the above, assess the educational content and receive feedbackf) Create an open distance learning platform with online courses, webinars, tutorials, evaluation based on electronic badges, etc.Through this multifaceted approach and set of activities, we believe that the results of “Going the Distance” will foster both the short-term (for dealing with the current conditions that are expected yet to last) and long-term development (equipping our target groups with digital tools and soft skills that will be valuable for their future success and employability). In this regard, our consortium includes 6 partners from different EU countries (Netherlands, Greece, Estonia, Romania, Bulgaria and Italy) with all of them representing organizations focused on STEM capacity building, mainly through educational robotics, providing them with the opportunity to cooperate, exchange best practices and create outputs that will allow them to enrich their existing VET schemes in regards to STEM learning and related technological challenges. Nevertheless, since the educational challenges are similar for all stakeholders today in this new reality, the project’s results will help tackle common gaps of deficient digital learning and online engagement of tutors and students alike, not only in the partners’ regions, but will in other countries and contexts too. For this reason, all the outputs and materials developed during “Going the Distance” will be shared freely and as widely as possible with stakeholders of various profiles on an international and country level, to encourage and facilitate their augmentation, replication, up-taking and mainstreaming.

This two-year project, develops a scheme of work and a set of teaching and training resources covering both the benefits and dangers of social media. The target age group is the Secondary sector, where there is usually an ICT curriculum which covers the technical and practical uses of ICT, but there is a shortfall in the coverage of social media. This is now a fundamental aspect of the lives of almost all teenagers, however its use can be both beneficial and destructive. There is a lack of education on the use of social media, which this project aims to address. There is ample research to show that the negative elements of social media can have a serious impact on mental health, with access to technology a major contributor. The European Commission has made promoting safer use of the internet a priority for young people and called for improvements in critical thinking, media literacy and developing the skills necessary for ‘cyber hygiene’. Schools are unlikely to have the time or expertise to develop such a methodology by themselves and this proposal aims to exploit expertise from 5 countries to provide a model that can be readily adopted across the EU. This project addresses the Horizontal Priorities of…•supporting opportunities in acquiring and developing key competences in order to foster socio-educational and personal development– in particular critical thinking and digital literacy•extending and developing the competence of educators and other personnel who support young people in schoolThis project addresses the Erasmus+ School Priority of…•strengthening the profile of the teaching profession by enhancing professional development, facilitating teacher mobility and developing innovative teaching methods The objectives of the project are to:•analyse and share existing strategies and resources for dealing with social media •identify common areas of strength and priorities for development •develop a structure for the work schemes and a set of training materials and sample lesson plans, based on needs, covering:⎫types of social media and their use by young people⎫communication benefits including language learning⎫dangers of social media ⎫social media as a news source⎫online safety and school policy•pilot, test, evaluate and refine the schemes of work and training resources in schools in 5 countries•produce a report on the outcomes, sets of case studies and recommendations for school policy including a model school policy•disseminate the outcomes widely The outputs of the project will be:•A project website hosting downloadable resources and case studies•A model scheme of work and associated resources for schools •A set of training modules for teachers and trainers working with schools supported by an online handbook•An impact report incorporating recommendations for policy•A set of case studies demonstrating the programme in action in each of the 5 countries•An impact report •A set of dissemination materials and seminars in 5 countries•An exploitation planOnce the initial framework is in place, teachers and students will come together in a teaching and learning activity to develop the resources in more detail. These will then be tested and evaluated across five countries.