“ClassLine. Online Classroom for Educationally Impaired Students ”is a Strategic Partnership that aims at to reduce school absenteeism in the partners’ countries amongst students in secondary and upper secondary levels who struggle with mental health issues or cannot attend the school due to chronic diseases (e.g. cancer) or temporary physical disabilities. To reach their aim, the partners will develop an Online Teaching Platform allowing learners with various challenges obstructing their physical participation in the classroom to continue their education. The Platform will be developed based on tools and best practices in online pedagogy as to keep the students active and engaged, additionally developing social competences by interaction with their classmates. To start with, the platform will contain the content of classes in Science and English for an entire academic year, based on the national curriculum for G level in Denmark and 7th grade (secondary schools) in Turkey. By the end of the project, the platform will have a content of 618 hours of teaching. The platform will be open to any school in Europe to adopt it in their teaching and upload their pre-made classes. A guide on effective online pedagogy will allow other schools to structure their online classes so to keep their learners engaged and create a sense of community. By the end of the project, at least 100 learners who are educationally impaired due to mental health challenges, chronic diseases or temporary physical disabilities will have continued their education through the Online Teaching Platform. Multiplier Events and Dissemination activities are foreseen within the project lifecycle as to promote the use of the Platform outside the partnership so that five years following the end of the project at least 100 schools across Europe offer online teaching through the platform to those students who from various reasons cannot attend the school.Although, the platform will be developed with learners with mental disorders in mind, it will be applicable to any learner who cannot attend school for a longer or shorter period of time, for example learners challenged with chronic diseases (e.g. cancer) or temporary physical disabilities. The platform will also be a means of providing remote education in case of such situation that require social distancing as for example COVID-19 pandemic that left out of school over 1.5 mln. learners.

The EU has committed to play a leading role in implementing Agenda 2030 by aligning it’s internal and external policies to the sustainable development goals. However, the response to Agenda 2030 is not a responsibility that sits only on the shoulders of stakeholders on a policy level. Agenda 2030 is underpinned by the principle of multi-stakeholder partnership at all levels and calls upon the participation of all segments of society.In order to address these principles, in 2018 The Danish United Nations Assocation (UNA) developed an educational board game, as a tool for global responsibility education (GRE), that was distributed to over 800 schools across Denmark. The board game offers learning through a game play around the 17 Sustainable Development Goals. The players are posed questions in relation to the SDG’s, which increases their general understanding of the goals and the global challenges they address. The game poses dilemmas to the players, which they are encouraged to debate and deliberate on, fostering their reflective understanding of global challenges, and supporting their ability to analytically reflect upon impacts of decisions on a policy and individual level.According to the feedback received from the users of the board game, 91% felt that the game was very good or fantastic. 97% said they observed that it is more motivating for students to learn through the game than through traditional educational material.The partners recognise an opportunity to distribute the game more broadly to support the mainstreaming of GRE in schools across Europe. However, in order to do so, the project partners have identified the following needs to be addressed:- In Denmark the game has been used in schools primarily for social science studies and not at all in history, geography, biology or language classes. There is a need to support the further exploitation of the game in different subjects and cross subject learning.- The game is only available in Danish language. It needs to be translated both in terms of language, and in terms of the geographical dimension of its content.- 76% of users in Denmark experienced that the game offers players an opportunity for debate and 58% felt that it gives players a better reflection upon their behaviour in relation to the SDG’s. There is a need to increase these learning elements by further developing the the reflective dialogue element of the game play.Project Aim: Support the mainstreaming of Global Responsibility Education in schools across Europe by adjusting, disseminating and exploiting the educational game ‘Global Goals at Stake’ as a best practice.Objectives:1.Adjust the game to address its identified weaknesses, 2.Explore and consolidate best practices in implementing the game into different learning contexts,3.Build the capacity of at least 180 teachers and youth workers in exploiting the game as a best practice across different learning contexts,4.Strengthen the learning impact of the game through its alignment with complimentary best practices and methods for learning reflection,5.Ensure the availability of the adjusted game as an open education recourse in 6 languages6.Distribute the adjusted game to at least 1500 schools and organisations across EuropeProject Results1) ‘Global Goals at Stake’ board game and associated mobile application adjusted and disseminated across Europe as a best practice in GRE in schools (Upon completion of the project, the game will have been distributed to over 1500 schools and organisations, used by over 1500 teachers and youth workers, and played by an estimated 18.000 students and other young people)2) A Guide for Educators will be developed and published to support the exploitation of the game as a best practice in global responsibility education in the school sector. 3) Capacity development of educational staff - Through a transnational training course and local trainings, at least 180 teachers and youth workers will develop their professional competencies. The trainings will support educational staff in exploiting the game as a best practice in global responsibility education in the school sector.Project Impact:For the international society, UN, EU and the local, regional and national authorities to succeed with the SDGs, public information and civic engagement is crucial. The most important impact on the surrounding society is that the project will engage the young generation in the SDGs. The project will give an understanding of the goals, their importance, interdependence but also of some dilemmas that decision makers are facing when trying to reach the goals. This understanding will contribute to fight the polarization between population and elite. In addition to this the project will lead to strengthened organisations, schools and civil society. This will in the long term strengthen democracy, global awareness and international qualifications among the populations of Europe.

"Project’s context and background: Contemporary education understanding, which aims to give individuals, productive and open qualities to development in the development of countries, gives importance to choosing the most suitable profession where the individual can reveal his potential to the maximum level. Services carried out in this field by the individual in the training process are covered by the ""Career Alignment"". The vocational school teachers who are supposed to support the students in this regard are not well informed. So the teachers and the directors at Vocational School should be well trained about the needs of labour market and they can guide the students effectively to their future career. By helping them they can also help to their countries' economy. In this context ECS (Early Career Support) is very important both for the educators and the students. They both need to be trained in the field of ""Career Alignment in VET"". Our projects’ initial target groups were Vet students then VET teachers, directors, guidance service teachers and of course the students’ parents. We had two LTT’s one in Denmark and one in Portugal. For the first LTT titled “Training of trainers” in Denmark; guidance teachers and VET teachers were chosen. From Denmark 5 participants, from Turkey 5 participants, from Romania and Macedonia 4 participants from each and from Portugal 3 participants attended the LTT. It was a 5 day training course who became the trainers of the teachers, students and parents. These participants gave trainings for VET teachers, VET students and their parents after they go back to their countries. Teachers were informed about the guidance systems in other countries and importance of guiding a student how to decide their job for future. Students were informed about the VET schools and job opportunities in their fields. Parents were informed about the departments at school and job opportunities those their children could have in the future. Till the pandemic situation training were held face to face and at the covid period we had online trainings. For the second LTT titled “Training of directors” in Portugal; directors, deputy directors and teachers from VET schools who are the decision makes in their schools were chosen. From Denmark 2 participants, from Turkey, Portugal, Romania and Macedonia 3 directors and two staff from Turkey attended the LTT. It was a 5 day training course about the guidance systems and job opportunities. During the LTTs the participants had chance to collaborate for other future projects. After these trainings the parent and student trainings were held in all partner countries.The LTT activities were really well organized by the host partner and they addressed to the aims and objectives of the project. Five Transnational meetings were organised in Turkey, Romania, Macedonia and Portugal. 39 staff from the partner institutions attended the meetings. Communication was really good enough not to have any mistakes. The partners formed PIC Desks-Professional Information and Counselling Desk at participating VET schools to guide the students while choosing their future careers. Vocational Education systems in partner countries according to Work Based Learning in VETriangle was presented from each partner. Different VET schools were visited during the TPMs and LTTs. It gave the teachers and directors the opportunity to observe the Vocational systems at different countries. ECS-Early Career Support was applied to VET students to know their interests and expectations from their future. With the help of CPD-Continuous Professional Development process, the students were informed about labour market.Career guidance teachers had meetings with students about CPS-Career Planning System which helped the VET students to plan their future careers. With the help of these activities there will be long term benefits for the VET students who took part in this project."

"The project is based upon a need analysis from the perspective of the following trends:VET trend - In order to effectively address the dynamic and changing needs of the labour market, vocational education in the EU is changing from focusing on learning a narrow set of skills for a pre-defined, ‘traditional’ vocation, to offering broader transversal competencies for a dynamic labour market with transversal sectoral needs.Demographic trend – It is forecast that the EU’s urban population will grow from around 70% in 2020 to over 80% by 2050. A 10% increase in 30 years could result in 45 million more people living in cities across the EU. Socio-political and cultural trends - The various dimensions of urban life – environmental, economic, social and cultural – are interwoven and success in urban development can only be achieved through an integrated approach. Permaculture can be understood as principles for working with, rather than against nature, ""Permaculture offers ways we can design human habitat, places for people to be, that work with nature."" There are increasing localised trends and grassroots movements in cities across Europe that align with the principles of permaculture such as roof top gardening, wildflower planting, urban farming and urban beekeeping. However, if mainstreamed, principles of permaculture can be translated into all human activities within Europe’s cities including occupational activity.Based on this analysis the partners have identified a need to develop and deliver an introductory VET course in urban permaculture that is transversal and cross sectoral in that it can be integrated into different vocational directions. The course will offer VET learners an introduction on how to build and maintain healthy, sustainable and harmonious urban habitats within their working environments. Project Aim: To develop an introductory course in urban permaculture as part of a wider initial vocational education for learners with fewer opportunities.Project Objectives1)Develop a 15-day course framework with lesson plans and learning objectives that address 3 thematic modules (Outdoor Permaculture, Indoor Permaculture and Urban Wildlife)2)Develop a series of suggested training methods that fulfil the learning objectives of the modules3)Test the developed course on 100 VET learners with fewer opportunities4)Publish the course in a PDF Compendium as an open recourse5)Ensure the dissemination and exploitation of the courseOn completion of the project at least 20 institutions will have expressed an intent to offer the developed course to the target group. The course will result in new learning opportunities for VET learners who face challenges in engaging in mainstream educational routes. The course will increase the target groups opportunities for acquiring innovative and transversal competencies and increase their opportunities in the labour market. The course will utilise a learning approach that considers the target groups learning challenges and takes in inspiration from the non-formal education sector. It is expected that within two years after the project’s completion circa 500 leaners will have accessed the course.The course will be published in a PDF teacher’s manual including:- A description of the course, and suggestions of its integration into broader IVET programmes or its implementation as a standalone short course- A course framework, including lesson plans, learning objectives, and suggestions for reflections and observations of learning outcomes- A series of training methods that use a non-formal learning approach to address the learning objectives of the 3 modulesProject teams within the partner organisations will work together over three years to develop the project output and results.30 labour market representatives will participate in the research phase of the project. A further 50 stakeholder representatives will be involved in the testing phase of the project ensuring that vocational education that has closer links to business and the community. The project will contribute to improving the quality and efficiency of education and training and reduce the rate of early leavers from education and training; as per the visions of ET 2020. In addition, the project will contribute to the EU’s urban development policies, promoting an integrated approach to urban development, through fostering the principles of permaculture across various urban occupational activities, and thus fostering occupational activities and environments that work with, rather than against nature.The project will contribute to addressing the stagnation of job creation and social progress, and the impact of climate change in Europe’s cities. In doing so, the project will support the achievement of the smart, sustainable, inclusive society envisaged in the EU 2020 Strategy."

<< Background >>Gaming is a fundamental learning method for the youngest generations, since we learn by playing different games in the first few years of our lives. Today different gaming methods in learning (gamification or game-based learning) are getting more and more popular, as they help young people to become more engaged therefore learn easier. In the digital era, there is even more possibilities to use games to facilitate and enhance the educational experience of young people.According to the Interactive Software Federation of Europe’s (ISFE) report, which examined the key European video game markets in 2018, 54% of the population aged 6-64 play video games, with 77% playing at least one hour a week. Nearly half of the players are female (46%) while the number of children and young people playing are the highest with 84% between the age of 11-14, 74% between the age of 15-24 and 67% between the age of 25-34. The latest is the strongest growing age group with an 8% growth in 2018. Esports are becoming so popular that in addition to players, 30% of the internet users now watch live streams of people playing video games, according to the research firm GlobalWebIndex.People enjoy playing video games not only because it is fun, but it is also challenging and there is a learning potential in it. Unfortunately, in most of the times the learning is not conscious, people do not realise and reflect upon the knowledge and skills they have learned while playing a video game. Youth workers with the appropriate tools, could help young people, who are already playing video games to learn useful skills (Hellblade deals with mental illness, Assassin’s Creed Odyssey teaches about ancient Egypt, Overcooked is all about teamwork, Warcraft teaches strategy, Minecraft is often used as an introduction to coding, English skills from most of the games etc) from video games.As everything in life, video games can be constructive or destructive, depending on how they are used. A study about the impact of video games on young people recommends, that youth workers should increase their understanding of the video game world to utilize its potentials and get to know its risks. Ensuring that youth workers are familiar with the video game world, and therefore able to connect with young people (even with the hard to reach ones) who play, youth workers can also discuss young people’s gaming habits in an open and honest way and can address occurring negative behaviours in due time.Based on the above-mentioned figures we can say that more and more people, even females are playing video games, but there is an unused learning potential in it. The purpose of the proposed project is to take on board young people's already existing interest in playing video games and transform it to planned learning, rather than trying to encourage more people to engage in playing, since this is already happening.<< Objectives >>Thus, the aim of this project is to increase the capacity of youth workers in supporting young people to develop basic competences, through utilising video games as a tool for learning.The following objectives has been identified in order to reach the aim:- To develop at least 20 non-formal methods using video games as a tool for learning- To fight against stereotypes regarding video games and help youth workers realise the potential in using them in their work with young people- To teach 155 youth workers the developed methods and how they can use video games as a tool for learningThe developed methods will be used by youth workers. During the lifetime of the project 155 youth worker will be reached; 25 during the Training of Multipliers and 130 during the Multiplier Events. Indirectly the project is targeting young people, since by using the developed methods, youth workers will help young people to develop competences while playing video games. During the lifetime of the project 150 young people will be involved, 60 in the research phase and 90 in the testing phase.<< Implementation >>The project consists of 6 transnational project meetings, the development of the intellectual output (non-formal video game methods collection), a Training of Multipliers and Multiplier Events in the partner countries. The developed methods will be used by youth workers in their daily work with young people. During the lifetime of the project 155 youth worker will be reached; 25 during the Training of Multipliers and 130 during the Multiplier Events and dissemination. Indirectly the project is targeting young people, since by using the developed methods, youth workers will help young people to develop competences while playing video games. During the lifetime of the project 150 young people will be involved, 60 in the research phase and 90 in the testing phase.<< Results >>Compendium of methods:The main outcome of the project upon its completion will be the project result, which is a compendium of non-formal methods using video games for learning. The compendium will consist of at least 20 methods from which there will be at least 2 addressing each of the 8 YouthPass competences.The methods expected to consist of:- description of the game,- explanation about its connection to the selected competence(s),-description of the activity, meaning a mission or task in the game, which develop or strengthen a competence,- reflection upon the learning.The compendium will consist of a table, similar to the one in Compass Manual for Human Rights Education with Young People, which will give youth workers an overview upon which video game can be used to develop the different competences. The partners expect that the developed methods will create a bridge between non-formal education and video games utilizing learning through gaming. It will also help youth workers to connect with young people through an activity, which young people already do in their free time and like, as well as turn that into a planned learning. By using the compendium in their local activities, youth workers will be able to help young people develop basic skills and competences in accordance with the YouthPass competences.Raised awareness upon the learning potential of playing video games:Each stakeholder the partners will reach during and after the project, be that the members of the organisations, the reached young people, the trained youth workers or external stakeholders reached by the dissemination activities, will be aware of the positive effects and learning potential of playing video games. This means that stereotypes regarding videogames will be broken in these stakeholders. Additionally, the partners consider each youth workers who incorporates the video game method in its daily work with young people as a positive result of the project.The target group of the project is youth workers. Due to the project they will see the potential for learning in video games and broke stereotypes. They will gain new competences, knowledge about the gaming world, skills in forms of the methods and changed attitude toward video games. This will enable them to understand young people better, hence connect easier with them. It is expected that they will be able to reach hard to reach young people, which will increase the amount of young people they help.The indirect target group of the project is young people. They will take part in the project during the research and the testing phase, but when youth workers start to deliver the developed methods, will the project have the real impact on them. Young people will feel more connected to youth workers, therefore they will open up easier to them. It is foreseen that they will even turn to them if they have any issues in their lives, because they will know that the youth workers understand them. By learning from the video games, which they play anyway, they will gain new basic competences, which they can utilize in their studies or later on in their work.