Category Archives: CURRENT PROJECTS

VR-VOLL Project

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VR-VOLL – “Virtual Reality for Vocationally Oriented Language Learning” – explores the potential of an emerging digital technology, Virtual Reality, in the context of vocationally-oriented language learning. VET learners are the group of learners with specific language needs which will address their future language needs for the labour market. It aims to address the problem that, in most of the VET schools or centers there is a general language curriculum or the needs of the target group are not identified exactly. As a result, the appropriate approaches or methodologies cannot be applied for the teaching of language in these classes. After the learners graduate, they cannot achieve the desired language level for the jobs and unemployment becomes a serious problem for the individuals. The integration of VR technology in VET classes will increase the motivation of learners when they are exposed to real life situations, and learning and teaching of English for Specific Purposes (ESP) will not be such a great problem in VET schools or centers . Learners will be able to learn the language in real contexts, and teachers will be able to integrate these new technology in their teaching. Six experienced partners will come together in the scope of this project and address the language needs of the VET learners, organise activities for pre and in-service English teachers and increase the efficiency of the language teaching in VET schools and centers. In this way, more qualified individuals will graduate and their integration to the labour market will be easier.

Partners

Co-Ordinator: Hochschule Flensburg, Germany 

University of Cukurova, Turkey 

Universidade de Evora, Portugal 

Adiyaman Milli Egitim Mudurlugu,Turkey 

Vilniaus Gediminotechnikos Universitetas, Lithuania 

Arcola Research PT, Portugal 

TEACHER PLUS Project

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Teachers engage most with three groups of people: students, the students’ parents/guardians, and the general school staff (headmaster, colleagues, technical personnel). Teachers must manage how they communicate according to the characteristics and expectations of each of these three groups. It is for this reason that the problems teachers face concerning communication and relationships reflect the complexity of school life .

According to a research on teachers’ training needs carried out in the project partner countries, soft skills are considered essential for complementing a teacher’s profile. Teachers are aware they need training in these skills and would like to receive training that is delivered in a flexible way so as to harmonise training time with their didactic and extra-didactic commitments. Teacher+ aims to develop the skills of school teachers in collaboration, leadership and conflict management using a training programme that combines e-learning, microlearning and gaming.

Partners

Co-ordinator: ICS Pier Ceroni, Italy

Arcola Research, UK

Ellinogermaniki Agogi, Greece

Smart Bananas, Italy

Spherical Pixel, Spain

Talentix, Spain

This project has been financed under the Erasmus+ Programme of the European Commission, Key Action 2, project No. 2019-1-IT02-KA201-063288

Click here to visit the TEACHER + PROJECT website

Seven Dials Evening and Night-time Economy Area Profile and Licensed Properties Charter

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This project expands Arcola’s portfolio of work in the Evening and Night Time Economy (ENTE) area. Arcola Research, in collaboration with Dr Phil Hadfield, have been commissioned by Shaftesbury to support their response to Camden Council’s public consultation on its review of Licensing Policy and Cumulative Impact Assessment. Drawing on previous work for The Crown Estate we looked at the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and how this has influenced the methodological approach adopted by Camden in making their assessments and designing their proposed licensing policies. We considered how the pandemic has impacted on the Evening and Night-time Economy (ENTE) of Central London and the ‘Seven Dials’ area specifically and show how the area has fared worse, economically, than other parts of the UK. 

The research methodology applied combines documentation analysis – covering a ‘rapid evidence assessment’ (RAE) and policy review; statistical analysis of the quantity, quality and core functionality of evening and night-time economy venues across Shaftesbury’s estate, together with analysis of consumer patterns in the estate and adjacent location, and primary data collection, including observational analysis of behaviour within the estate together with an audit of premises within the area with an assessment of their core trading ‘functions’ and the observed demographics of their patrons.

MYSTIC Project

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MYSTIC – “Mobilising Youth and Youth Service Talent through Immersive Co-design” – is a tale of two tribes – youth organisations and disadvantaged youth. The first has been eviscerated by decades of funding cuts. It no longer has the skills, the know-how, the capacity or the innovation to keep pace with the increasingly complex issues and challenges faced by the second. Both tribes seldom meet. They stay in their own bubbles. They don’t really know what each other thinks. The first tribe finds the second tribe too challenging. The second tribe doesn’t trust the first. This situation is taking place against a backdrop of intractable and increasingly pressing ‘wicked problems’ that threaten the whole European project, epitomised by unsustainable economic systems, an existential environmental crisis, post-pandemic recovery challenges, increasing inequalities, a growing disenchantment with European institutions and values and increasing pressures on borders driven by unstable geopolitics, as evidenced by the current situation in Ukraine. Young people are not immune to these wicked problems. In fact – and this is particularly the case for those with fewer opportunities – young people have been more adversely affected by them and, more importantly, it is their future that is most at stake. These problems can only be solved with a contribution from young people. But those with fewer opportunities face formidable barriers to getting their voices heard. They need help from youth organisations.

What would happen if we created spaces for the two tribes to come together, explore each others thinking, work together to help create solutions to the wicked problems?

This is what MYSTIC does. It sees the need for two new roles to burst the bubbles. One role is for Community Mediators – youth workers and volunteers, trained in the skills needed to collaborate better with young people with fewer opportunities. One role is for Community Leaders – young people from left behind communities who have the potential and desire to become role models for their peers. MYSTIC provides an online development and training programme. Its purpose is to ‘prep’ youth workers and young people with fewer opportunities for these roles. Then it sets up two spaces in which the two tribes can come together. First in a training hub that provides an environment for the tribes to work together to reinforce their online learning through practical activities. Then later, Community Labs in which the two tribes come together to solve the wicked problems.

Partners:

Co-ordinator: Associação Godinhela, Portugal

Arcola Research, UK

Spherical Pixel, Spain

Kethea, Greece

One Terrene International (OTI), Cyprus

Centrul Pentru Promovarea Invatarii Permanente Timisoara Asociatia (CPIP), Romania

Tiber Umbria Comett Education Programme (Tucep), Italy

Fundacao Adfp – Assistencia, Desenvolvimento E Formacao

Profissional (Fundação ADFP), Portugal

This project has been financed under the Erasmus+ Programme of the European Commission, Key Action 3, project No. 101089601

MIC-MAC Project

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COVID-19 accelerated the penetration of the digital into all aspects of modern life – shopping; supply chains; banking; work; health and education and training. This amplified ‘dual exclusion’ – a process whereby poor access to digital technologies, limited digital skills and poor quality of digital life are both caused by AND exacerbate social inclusion. Meanwhile the pandemic spotlighted a lack of trust in covid-19 official information and a growing ‘infodemically vulnerable’ population with not enough of the media and information literacy skills needed to distinguish between reliable and unreliable and information. This vulnerability has been linked to structural social inequalities around age, gender, education and income and highlights a broader set of issues around how citizens – particularly those from ‘vulnerable groups’ – distinguish online fact from fiction, what gaps exist in their media and information literacy skills and how these gaps can effectively be addressed. To help address these gaps MIC-MAC – “Using micro-learning to train educators – a cascade approach to media and information literacy” – takes a ‘train the trainers’ approach – supporting educators who work with vulnerable groups to acquire the media and information literacy competences needed to work more effectively in teaching and learning situations, so as to in turn improve the media and information literacy competences of these groups.

MIC-MAC combines two overarching methodologies: design thinking’, focusing on the user perspective and involving users as co-producers of learning content and ‘theory of change’, focusing on identifying the ‘mechanisms’ that are expected to lead to successful outcomes. Within this overall framework, the project uses ‘situational knowledge-based’ learning and a combination of micro-learning, blogging and an interactive game to deliver its training programme.

Partners:

Co-ordinator: Associação Godinhela, Portugal

Arcola Research, UK

University of Salamanca, Spain

Spherical Pixel, Spain

Smart Bananas soc. Coop, Italy

Hogskolan I Skovde, Sweden

This project is funded by the European Media and Information Fund (EMIF), grant agreement: 268745

MEDICI Project

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The MEDICI project supports the exchange and replication of good practices among stakeholders involved in the digital inclusion ecosystem. Its key aim is to contribute to bridging the ‘digital divide’ affecting in particular vulnerable groups in society, including older people, people with disabilities, ‘left behind’ youth and adults and migrants. Digital exclusion is shown to be closely linked to social exclusion generally. Limited access to digital tools, low digital skills and poor quality of engagement in the digital society all contribute to ‘dual exclusion’, where digital exclusion exacerbates, rather than reduces, social inequalities. The COVID-19 pandemic has in turn amplified ‘dual exclusion’. People with limited access to digital technologies, or without the skills to use them, were hit harder by the effects of the pandemic, leading to what might now be called a situation of ‘triple exclusion’.

Against this background, MEDICI sets out to develop and disseminate an interactive catalogue of good practices within an online platform. Each practice is mapped geographically, and thematically, within the platform. This platform summarises the existing good practices that take place at local, regional or national level to better integrate vulnerable/disadvantaged groups in the digital society across the EU Member States and also identifies areas where no initiatives exist to tackle digital exclusion and where vulnerable people are therefore more at risk of exclusion. Each practice within the MEDIC ‘Catalogue’ is evaluated and scored according to its ‘evidence effectiveness’ and ‘replication potential’. The Catalogue is supported by an online ‘Knowledge Community’ that enables stakeholders working in the field of digital inclusion to upload their own examples of good practices, which are then rated by the Community.

Partners

Co-ordinator: Universidad Internacional De La Rioja, Spain

Tavistock Institute of Human Relations and Arcola Research, UK

Lifelong Learning Platform, Belgium

Kethea, Greece

Catholic University of Portugal, Portugal

Smart Bananas, Italy

Regione Basilicata, Italy

This project has been funded with support from the European Commission, project No. LC-00943537

Click here to visit the MEDICI PROJECT website

LSP-TEOC Project

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The objective of “LSP Teacher Education Online Course for Professional Development” is to provide students and teachers of Languages for Specific Purposes (LSP) with a multilingual online course which allows them to acquire the competences needed for a successful implementation of teaching languages in a specific context. The developed online course targets future and early career teachers who may not have received sufficient education in LSP teaching given the prevalent gaps in LSP teacher training in the European Higher Education Area (EHEA). The aim is to develop an online course which will be made available to the LSP community as an Open Educational Resource (OER). The OER solution will be implemented as self-directed course content on a learning management system (LMS). The LMS will allow interested parties to self-enroll and study the course content in its entirety or those sections which are deemed of special interest. The course content will be available in all languages of the strategic partnership consortium, namely in Croatian, English, French, German, Italian, Polish, Spanish, Slovenian and Turkish. It will be available online but can also be downloaded and integrated into existing institutional LMS systems.

Partners
Co-ordinator: Jade Hochschule Wilhelmshaven, Germany
Universite De Bordeaux, France
Univerza V Ljubljani, Slovenia
Universita’ Degli Studi Di Bergamo, Italy
Arcola Research, UK
Universidad De Cadiz, Spain
Uniwersytet Im. Adama Mickiewicza W Poznaniu, Poland
Sveuciliste U Zagrebu, Croatia
University Of Cukurova, Turkey
This project has been financed under the Erasmus+ Programme of the European Commission, Key Action 2, project No. 2020-1-DE01-KA203-005687

Click here to visit the LSP-TEOC Project website

LIVE-IT Project

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LIVE IT – “Living Labs and Open Toolkit for the co-design of accessible IT systems and tools” – aims to support the accessibility of people with cognitive disabilities and engagement with digital technologies in their everyday ‘lifeworld.
One of the key barriers to inclusive web accessibility is the stereotyping of people with cognitive disabilities as “the problem”. Technology is then framed as an intervention imposed from above that will fix the problem. In this situation, the needs of people with cognitive impairments are often only superficially taken into account. There is a significant body of evidence to show that technology designers and developers have little or no knowledge of the challenges people with cognitive disabilities face when using technologies. This is related to the lack of scientific evidence on the relation between cognitive disability and technology, which is in turn linked to the fact that people with cognitive disabilities very rarely participate in research, design or development. Another related issue is that people with cognitive impairments are frequently bundled together as a homogenous group, so that designers and developers impose a “one size fits all” solution not only on a diverse spectrum of people whose digital challenges and needs stem from varied and often complex origins but on people who present with a wide spectrum – and intensity – of impairment, from very mild to very severe.
Against this background, LIVE-IT’s main objective is to develop tools supporting independent and inclusive access to online content and services, including consumer transactions, for people with cognitive disabilities. It does this by designing and running four ‘co-design Labs’ in four cities – Coimbra, Galway, London and Thessaloniki. These Co-Labs provide spaces for teams of people with cognitive disabilities working in collaboration with experts and designers to explore and build on available platforms and tools to re-frame and reconfigure them to their needs. The co-Labs are supported by an online ‘Makerspace’ in which people with cognitive disabilities can experiment with promising digital tools in a real-time virtual laboratory that can identify what works and what doesn’t.
The two key outputs produced by the Co-Labs are an Open Toolkit and Meta Environment that integrate and synthesise the learning from experimentation that takes place in the Co-Labs to provide design tools, templates and guidelines to support future exploratory actions and programmes in the field of digital inclusion for people with cognitive disabilities.
Partners
Co-ordinator: Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Greece
Arcola Research, UK
Catholic University of Portugal, Portugal
ADFP, Portugal
National University of Ireland Galway, Ireland

Click here to visit the LIVE-IT Project website

FUND-YOU Project

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Fund You -“Fundraising and Innovation intelligence capacity for youth organisations and youth involved young people” – aims at supporting youth organisations (including informal youth groups) to acquire a set of skills that allow them to use fundraising and innovation intelligence to participate more widely in society, contributing to community development and social cohesion. 

Youth organisations report that they lack the skills needed to be able to effectively raise the funds they need. In recent years we have seen a significant reduction in funding to the youth charity sector from national and local government. This adds up to an acute need for more support for smaller non profit youth organisations including: more and easier to access grant funding from all sources; support to build fundraising and other skills and capacity; a smarter, more agile and more sustainable longer-term approach to fund-raising. 

Building on extensive EU-wide research on fundraising and organisational innovation good practices, FUND-YOU is developing two main outputs: a set of practical tools to implement innovation processes within youth organisations, including Fundraising, and a ‘blended (online and offline) ‘coaching set’ – matched to the Toolkit – to enable youth organisations, their staff, volunteers and young people working with them to acquire the skills needed for smarter fundraising and organisational innovation.

Partners

Co-ordinator: Alphabet Formation, Belgium

Arcola Research, UK

Appis, Portugal

Gide, France

I-fund, Italy

Xano Channel, Spain

Monomyths, Romania

This project has been financed under the Erasmus+ Programme of the European Commission, Key Action 2, project No. 2019-3-BE04-KA205-002640

Click here to visit the FUND-YOU Project website

FLEXICOMP Project

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The COVID-19 pandemic took virtually everyone by surprise. In the face of unprecedented disruption to work, life and well-being, one of the key features of the response to COVID-19 disruption was the rapid acceleration of digital technologies into all aspects of human activity – from shopping through education to medical consultations. Many people were left behind as a result of this shift – from families on low income with no means to afford the digital tools needed for home schooling to older people who did not know how to access health services online. In this context, there is a need for education and training systems to become more flexible and resilient so as to deliver high quality and inclusive learning particularly for those affected by ‘dual exclusion’ – the process through which structural inequalities are exacerbated by lack of access to digital technologies and digital skills. This process of re-adjustment needs to start with educators. European educators need to acquire the digital and pedagogical competences needed to deliver more flexible, adaptive and resilient solutions to meet future new challenges and realities – particularly the competences needed to work effectively with people who suffer ‘dual exclusion’, and who need support to transition into a rapidly evolving digital economy.

FLEXICOMP – “Digital Competences for adaptive, flexible and inclusive vocational education and training” – uses ‘design thinking’ to deliver these new competences to capture the needs, lived experience and ‘critical incidents’ faced by people who are digitally left behind; co-design methods to develop the pedagogy for the training programme and a combination of micro-learning, blogging and an interactive game to deliver it.

Partners

Co-ordinator: Arcola Research, UKUn

University of Salamanca, Spain

Spherical Pixel, Spain

Smart Bananas soc. Coop, Italy

EVBB, Germany

Hogskolan I Skovde, Sweden

Funded by the Erasmus+ programme of the European Union, Project 2020-1-UK01-KA226-VET-094538

Click here to visit the FLEXI-COMP Project website