"BRAVE NEW WORDS is a project aimed to create innovative learning pathways that increase the quality of the work of educators and staff members dealing with students with Special Learning Disorders (SpLD), using 3D Printing and Augmentative Reality.The project will be 30 months long and include partners from Poland, Italy, Bulgaria and Spain.SpLD is a type of Neurodevelopmental Disorder that not allows the ability to learn or use specific academic skills in one or more areas of reading, writing, math, listening comprehension, and expressive language, which are the bases for other academic learning. For this reason, students with SpLD need special and inclusive learning pathways and tools for increasing their opportunities to reach proper learning outcomes. Furthermore, people often realize to have a learning disorder already in Adult age and this make more difficult to reach proper learning outcomes.The use of 3D printing and AR technology will transform how people with SpLD will learn by offering a multisensory experience to them. For the development of Multisensory methods and methodology, the new technologies (3Dprinting and AR) can be useful tools for developing new inclusive tools.In particular the 3D Printing is a technology that allow the production of prototypes, considered as anything that is not included in the market, so not possible to buy anywhere.Through a 3D printing it is possible to produce any kind of tool useful for supporting the development of specific cognitive function, especially for Tactile Teaching Methods. At the same time the augmented reality is an interactive experience of a real-world environment where the objects that reside in the real-world are ""augmented"" by computer-generated perceptual information. This technology can be useful for supporting visual and audio teaching methods.The hands-on experience with these 2 technologies will inspire students with SpLD to pay attention to details, get more creative and see the physical realization of their work.On the other side, unfortunately, the adoption of this new technologies in the learning path is often stifled due to 3D printers and AR are considered too much difficult to use, without an educational, learning and training support. However, the situation at the international level is improving as special learning and training paths are being established for the use and application of these technologies. Our project team is composed by 4 partners from 4 different European countries composed by organizations with different profiles: 3D printing and AR experts (CEIPES and Skillsdivers) close to the academic and business sector, an higher education institution (Collegium Balticum) witch play an important role on the educational market in terms of additional thematic courses for disadvantaged groups and one specialized center that deals with people with SpDL and in particular with dyslexia disorder.BRAVE NEW WORDS project aims to create innovative learning pathways that will increase the quality of the work of educators and staff members that deal with learners with Special Learning Disorders. To achieve the goals of the project, the consortium has been defined the following intellectual outputs:IO1: A guideline for teachers and trainers about the use of 3DPrinting and Augmented Reality.IO2: A set of exercises for using the 3DP and AR with people with SpLD.IO3: A pilot phase.IO4: A set of webinar to maximize the impact of the final training version.Brave New Words project is aimed to match the experience and the skills of new technology and SpLD experts for increasing the quality of the teaching process of students belonging to this target group.This aim follows the European proposal adopted for a “Council Recommendation” on high quality early childhood education and care systems, which one of the 5 key component is: “training and working conditions of staff in charge of early childhood education and care,”. At the same time this aim is following the European priorities for the education of adults for 2015-2020, especially the following: “improved quality through monitoring the impact of policies and improving the education of adult educators”."

"<< Background >>Before the outbreak of Covid-19, the field of tourism and hospitality was one of the fastest growing industries at global level. The sector did not go through major arrests during the previous crisis but, despite these positive economic trends, it was already confronted with the need of addressing its negative impacts on communities and environment. Leading entities in the field such as the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) have remarked its connections with all the goals in the 2030 Agenda, stressing that tourism can be a powerful tool for sustainable development if it engages local populations and all key stakeholders. Fostering tourism transition towards more sustainable forms of tourism development and planning remains a crucial issue to be addressed (Gössling et al., 2020), for which specific skills need to be developed and chances of encounter need to be created. In fact, despite the importance recognized by scholars to participatory tourism planning processes in fostering sustainability at different levels and creating added value for all the stakeholders involved, the currently dominant destination management models are characterized by the lack of focus on destination residents as a legitimate and salient stakeholder group (Fiall A. and Garrod B., 2005). This ouster of locals and the scanty development of participatory tourism is due to several factors. Major obstacles are the lack of adequate knowledge and competences both in the case of professionals and residents, low levels of stakeholders’ awareness, uneven distribution of power, lack of coordination, meager presence of professionals entitled to manage destinations in an inclusive and holistic manner. This project aims to concretely tackle these issues and fill these gaps. The consortium will develop an innovative training course for professionals and residents. The course will be complemented by a participatory tourism laboratory through which they will be able to put in practice the knowledge acquired and use gamified methodologies to produce a participatory tourism product. GAP will offer a high-quality course and will create innovative transferable tools and methods. Through GAP, VET will be able to develop skills and competences usually required (but hard to find) by the so-called destination manager, a highly qualified professional figure of recent boost responsible for developing multi-stakeholder and multi-thematic strategies to control the economic, socio-cultural, and environmental dimensions of a specific tourism territory. In doing so, the project contributes to adapt vocational education and training to labour market needs and it also contributes to innovation in vocational education and training.<< Objectives >>GAP aims to foster the transition towards more sustainable models of tourism by developing learning tools that will help bridging the gaps and mitigating the factors that hamper their effective spread and implementation. GAP aims to pursue the following general objectives:- Fostering innovation and sustainability in tourism- Promoting tourism as a tool for individual and community development- Fostering participatory tourism and bottom-up promotion of territoriesThe consortium will contribute to the achievement of these general objectives by focusing on the following specific objectives:- Adapting vocational education and training of tourism professionals to labour market needs- Contributing to innovation in vocational education and training for tourism professionals- Increasing tourism professionals’ knowledge in the field of sustainable tourism planning and tourism gamification- Increasing the ability of tourism professionals of implementing participatory processes in tourism development- Raising stakeholders’ awareness concerning tourism sustainability- Increasing coordination and stakeholders’ involvement in tourism planning and development- Fostering civic engagement, sense of belonging and participation of residents to tourism developmentThe project expects to directly involve the following number of stakeholders at EU level:_10 experts in the field of participatory tourism/gamification_20 managers of inspiring practices in the field of participatory tourism/gamification_75 people in the category VET and residents involved in the pilot training_5 facilitators_50 people in the category VET and residents involved in the participatory lab_375 people in the category VET and residents involved in the online consultation foreseen during the participatory labs_125 people involved in the piloting of the urban game_170 people involved in the Multiplier EventsIndirectly, GAP impacts at local, national and EU level will affect also the following target groups, namely: _tourism students and tourism professionals interested in getting a theoretical and practical training on the topics of participatory tourism and gamification;_residents, that will learn more about a sector that contemporarily embeds and ignores them, have the chance to play an active role in this system and experience alternative forms of participation;_the 5 destinations involved, and the different types of actors they involve, such as public administrations, destination management and marketing organisations (DMMOs), private actors (tourism operators, tourism cooperatives, hospitality industries, tour operators), territories and tourists who will all benefit from higher visibility, more equally spread benefits and the possibility to access to new methodologies and learn more about new forms of tourism models;_other destinations at EU and international level since the materials will be available in 5 European languages as well as English;_tourism and gamification experts, as well as scholars that will have access to all the reports developed by the project;_VET centers, teachers and trainers interested in attending or replicating the learning path of the project to enlarge their offer with innovative programs in line with the needs of the sector;_the tourism sector, not only in terms of its labor market needs (lack of highly specialised figures in the industry capable to develop innovative solutions to manage complex, cross-thematic and multi-stakeholders processes taking into account environmental, economic and social sustainability issues) but also with respect to its role in the achievement of a transition towards more sustainable practices and its ability to contribute to the development of territories, generating and spreading value among all its stakeholders.<< Implementation >>GAP brings together 5 organisations with complementary expertise who will implement the following activities.PR1 - Research on participatory tourism and gamificationDuring this first phase of the project, the consortium will carry out research aimed at identifying inspiring practices in the field of participatory tourism and tourism gamification. The research will be performed under the guidance of Accademia IRSEI and it will help the partners in identifying 20 inspiring practices and gather the advices and opinions of experts and managers that have implemented these approaches. The consortium will gather this information on a final report that will be useful to provide stakeholders with an overview on the state of the art of participatory tourism and tourism gamification. The activities foreseen are:A1_Desk research on Tourism SustainabilityA2_Desk research on gamification in tourismA3_Development of the research guidelinesA4_Desk research for the identification of inspiring practicesA5_Interviews to expertsA6_Interviews to managersA7_Preparation of the country reportsA8_Preparation of the final reportPR2 - Fill the GAPBuilding on the results of PR1, the consortium will develop an online course for stakeholders in the field of participatory tourism, heritage and gamification under the guidance of Ergasia SA. This course will enable stakeholders to enhance their knowledge of the topic and it is aimed at addressing the need of more adequate training and increased awareness with respect to sustainability and innovation in tourism. The activities foreseen are:A1_ Creation of the online learning platformA2_Development of the general learning modules on sustainable and participatory tourism, heritage and gamificationA3_Development of the country specific learning module on local heritageA4_Pilot trainingPR3 - Participation in practiceIn this stage of the project, stakeholders will be involved in a series of workshops and laboratories referred to as “participatory labs”. VET and residents will work together under the guidance of a community facilitator in order to identify common needs, discuss their collective identity and co-create an urban game that will reflect the results of these workshops. Digital consultations for broader stakeholders involvement is envisaged. The urban game will be accessible thanks to the content storage system that will be created by Skills Divers. The whole system will consist of a mobile app where the users will be able to display the augmented touristic info. Mise Hero will be responsible for creating a set of gamified tools (including a brand new game specifically developed to facilitate participatory tourism processes) and an explicative guide to be used during the participatory labs. The game will be tested during a pilot event. At the end of the PR, the consortium will create a guide to foster the implementation of participatory approaches and gamification in tourism development processes. The activities foreseen are:A1_Technical development of the urban gameA2_Creation of gamified tools to facilitate stakeholders during the participatory labsA3_Development of the urban game technical guideA4_Development of the participatory labs guideA5_Participatory labsA6_Pilot eventA7_Creation of the guide for the use of gamification and participatory approaches in tourism destinations<< Results >>GAP brings together 5 organisations with complementary expertise who will cooperate to develop the following results and produce the following outcomes:PR1 - Research on participatory tourism and gamification (IRSEI)Outcomes: 1 working paper on Tourism sustainability, 1 working paper on gamification in Tourism, 1 methodological guide, 1 catalogue of 20 inspiring practices displaying 1 long information sheet + 1 short information sheet for each inspiring practice identified, 5 country reports presenting the results of collection of inspiring practices and interviews to experts (A5) and interviews to managers (A6), final Report ""Stakeholders’ involvement and gamification for sustainability and innovation in tourism development""PR2 - Fill the GAP (Ergasia SA)Outcomes: Online learning platform + Online course on participatory tourism, heritage and gamification made up of 4 modules (including a country specific one on local heritage) + 1 pilot reportPR3 Participation in practice (Skills Divers)Outcomes: 1 digital environment (content storage system and app) for the urban game + 1 set of facilitation games with explicative guide + 1 technical guide on the urban game functioning for stakeholders + 1 monitoring, evaluation and reporting guide for facilitators + 5 Urban games + 1 pilot report + Final report “How to use gamification and participatory approaches to foster sustainable tourism development”"

<< Background >>Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a developmental disability that can cause significant social, communication and behavioral challenges. There is often nothing about how people with ASD look that sets them apart from other people, but people with ASD may communicate, interact, behave, and learn in ways that are different from most other people. The learning, thinking, and problem-solving abilities of people with ASD can range from gifted to severely challenged. Recent research indicates that autism spectrum disorder affects around 1 in 100 people.Augmented Reality (AR) is an interactive experience of a real-world environment where the objects that reside in the real-world are enhanced by computer-generated perceptual information. The Virtual Reality (VR) is a realistic three-dimensional o artificial environment that is created with a mixture of interactive hardware and software. The user accepts the artificial (or virtual) environment as real and interacts with it on the same way that he/she interacts with real (or physical) world. These technologies can be useful for supporting visual and audio teaching methods.Different studies using AR and VR with children with ASD indicate that AR/VR facilitates practicing and learning social skills improves students’ selective attention for more time, helps children to learn new things and helps children to better understand the facial expressions and emotions.The European Agency for Special Needs and Inclusive Education has released a methodology report including 12 European-level policy measures, adapted for inclusive education.Among these measures we highlight the following:•to improve the cost-effectiveness of the education system, combining efficiency, effectiveness, equity and inclusion;•to improve student-focused measures, such as mentoring, personalized learning approaches and improved guidance;•to improve the school ethos (such as the creation of supportive learning environments, adapting learning environments to specific learning needs);•to support improvement in schools with lower educational outcomes;•to improve the quality of school staff, focusing on the quality of teachers, quality in continuing professional development, developing teacher competences and reinforcing school leadership;The project directly addresses two main EU education recommendations:1)Digital Education Action Plan 2021-2027 – where raising the quality and inclusiveness of education and training systems and the provision of digital skills for all during the digital transition is of strategic importance for the EU and2) the “European skills agenda for sustainable competitiveness, social fairness and resilience” where the 1 out of the 3 conclusions is to EMPOWER PEOPLE to build up their skills by developing innovative tools, making learning pathways more flexible and accessible.<< Objectives >>BITTHESPECTRUM project is aimed to match the experience and the skills of new technology and ASD experts for increasing the quality of the teaching process of students belonging to this target group. This aim follows the European proposal adopted for a “Council Recommendation” on high quality early childhood education and care systems, which one of the 5 key components is: “training and working conditions of staff in charge of early childhood education and care”.To achieve this main goal we have defined some specific objectives: 1.To increase the quality of the educational and “caregiving” process of staff working with people with ASD2.To provide innovative and proper tools (AR/VR) to teachers, trainers and other staff members, for reaching the aim 1.3.Increase the quality of the learning process of people with ASD in terms of Literacy and Social Emotion skills4.To increase the quality of the VET inclusive education in the countries involved5.To increase the cooperation among European different entities working in field of inclusive education, and technology developmentThe project will impact on the target groups in the following way:Schools and VET Institute (teachers, supportive teachers), NGOs or associations working with people with ASD (educators, trainers, psychologists): They will be more familiar with new technologies and will consider AR/VR potential investments to carry out their daily work and as training tools for their end-users. Social Enterprises providing tools for special needs (software developers, technology experts): It is expected that they will be aware and more sensitive about ASD topic. It is important that they could consider the importance of investing in research about special educational needs, fostering the development of these businesses, asking for public support in order to perform tools with social character.End users: It is expected that the learners with ASD that will be involved during the project development, and who will receive the indirect benefit to be learners of the trained educators, will gain faster and better learning outcomes. As consequence of those improvement, they will also increase self-esteem, self-awareness, awareness about AR/VR, and the most important aspect that to have a special need does not mean always to receive lower quality education, quite the opposite that they deserve learning tools and pathways, innovative, qualitative and, why not, funny. Other impacts on those end-users that we expect will be: ✔communicating with other people more effectively✔learning to ask for things that they want clearly and specifically✔having more focus at school✔showing more interest in people around them<< Implementation >>BITTHESPECTRUM includes a very well balanced entity profiles (technical, social science and humanities and disabilities) including: The University OvGU Faculty of Humanities with experience in VR applied to TVET; 3DBear, a VR/AR tools provider focused on the education sector; SkillsDivers, a consultancy company expert in ICT training for non technical skilled people; IRSEI, a non for profit academy devoted to research & innovation in education and LOUVI, a national network of VET school for disable people including students with ASD.BITTHESPECTRUM will implement activities related to development of innovation in the field of training of students with ASD by using AR and VR tools:The project will train teachers who deal with those students, special education teachers and ICT developers. Some activities devoted to develop innovative and interactive blended training about these topics will be developed.A Human Centred Design methodology will be designed in order to allow those teachers to develop their own therapies and exercises by using AR/VR. In addition, a set of 30 exercises of AR and 5 for VR will be developed following our methodology. Those exercises will be tested in special education VET schools monitoring the impact on the students in relation with literacy and social emotion skills.The project plans to arrange different promotional activities such as one face to face multiplier event per country and one virtual event in order to reach a broader audience. We expect to reach audience from countries where AR/VR in education is risen awareness such as India or USA. Our strong links with those markets and international entities such as UNESCO-UNEVOC will ensure a strong impact of those activities. Other dissemination activities such as newsletters, social media, press releases, etc will be implemented and are described in further sections.<< Results >>The project is aimed to create innovative learning pathways that will increase the quality of the work of educators and staff members that deal with learners with Autism Spectrum Disorder. This process is composed by 5 results:R1 - The development of an Open online training related to AR and VR features for teachers of ASD students. This guideline will be an important tool for staff engaged in educational work (trainers, teachers, etc..) with people with ASD, to understand the theoretical aspects of the technology they are going to learn through Bit The Spectrum Project. The training will be very user-friendly for people who are not habit with the study of this kind of subjects, and it will give a basic knowledge about 3D virtual environments, 360º immersive experiences and Augmented Reality: theory, story, types, main use, etc... The guide will incorporate introductory aspects from the autism spectrum in order to introduce this disorder to the ones that are more related to technology or basic training rather than the disability. Part of the training will come in the form of video pills and interactive content produced by authorizing tools for e-learning (e.g. H5P). R2 -Human Centred Design methodology to create exercises using AR and VR for students with ASD. Two twin methodologies to create exercises using both technologies will be developed. Those methodologies will take into account the ASD students and their teacher’s needs during all stages of the design. The methodology will have two versions (one for AR and one for VR). For that aim, different data will be gathered, according to the properties of each technology. As a result (together with the training of R1), the teachers will be able to create brand new exercises based on immerse VR or AR.R3 - Set of 30 exercises using AR for students with ASD to cover all possible impacts of the project. Following the R2 methodology, 30 exercises of AR will be developed. The exercise will be based on 3DBear app that will leave them available for all users of the platform with no restrictions and without fee. The exercises will cover all possible impacts of the project from literacy to social emotion. R4- Set of 5 VR environments for students with ASD to cover impacts of the project related to social emotion. 5 immersive VR Environments will be created within this project and addressing real life situations that will train the social emotions of the students. Technology such 360º cameras will be used for that aim. The exercises will be displayed in VR glasses for a fully immersion and available in 3D in a website. R5- Study of the impact of the exercises in ASD students (pilot test). The 30 AR exercises and the 5 VR environments will be tested with students with different ASD levels. The VET school LOUVI will have a leading role in this result and will receive all the technical and pedagogic support from all the partners. The participation of associated local associations is foreseen. During the process, and following the indications of the R2, R3 and R4, different data will be gathered to feedback the R3 and R4 such as face and eyes recognition though the VR/AR devices. The likely progresses in literacy skills and social emotion skills will be monitored and studied.

In recent years, EU policies have given greater attention to ICT skills, and in particular to the employment of ICT specialists. The recently updated Digital Single Market strategy emphasises the need for policies designed to boost stability in European labour markets and improve the EU’s competitive position. Monitoring the employment of ICT specialists has therefore become increasingly important. This applies not only to students with ICT background, but also others coming from Social Sciences and Humanities (SSH) such as psychology, communication, business and fine arts or languages backgrounds that can find solutions to problems facing humanity, whether these can be solved by technology or not. The final aim is to upskill creative thinkers to lead digital strategies of the companies. These strategies will be implemented by ICT experts who will be able to develop tools and solutions using Internet of Things, Cloud Computing, Artificial Intelligence or Blockchain. The IoToAI project will also promote complementary skills such as: Quality, risk and safety; Management, leadership and entrepreneurial; Communication; Innovation; Emotional intelligence and the ability to consider ethical implications. This is in alignment with the report of the Executive Agency for Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (EASME) “Skills for Smart Industrial Specialisation and Digital Transformation” and with the European Vision for high-tech T-shaped skills for 2030.IoToAI project has the following specific objectives:•Analyse national VET curricula related to ICT to see how they can be updated with digital skills that are in demand (especially those related with AI, IoT, Cloud and blockchain) , by different business sectors •Analyse SSH higher education curricula that could be empowered by the knowledge of non high technical skills in AI and big data analysis.•Upskill non-technical highly qualified workers to deliver digital strategies in businesses related to their background•Upskill technical workers (especially in the field of VET) to undertake digital strategies in a broad range of business. •Provide the VET teachers with the right tools to identify the pedagogical model for the teacher trainingIoToAI comprises of 5 partners from 3 different countries (UK, Italy and Spain). The consortium is led by the biggest VET college in Northern Ireland (Belfast Metropolitan College), one higher education technical institution (UPCT), one VET provider of digital strategies for company leaders (IONOLOGY), one VET institution that focuses on delivering training related to ICT (SKILLSDIVERS) and one NGO (CEIPES) specializing in improving methodologies and technologies in the field of education, developing innovative strategies and participatory tools in the work with youth and adult. In order to achieve our objectives, three intellectual outputs will be developed: - A skills needs report to be delivered to VET authorities in order to show training gaps in ICT and SSH degrees in relation to digitization in businesses. - An academic curriculum will be designed and developed. It will include topics such as Internet of Things, Cloud Computing, Blockchain, Big Data and Artificial Intelligence at technical and business levels. - A Toolkit for teachers will also be developed for Blended Learning in VET and will incorporate IoToAI topics.To enhance the impact of the project, 4 dissemination events (three local and one international) will be organized to reach more than 180 stakeholders, including VET teachers, researchers and education authorities. With these results, we aim to develop a specific and innovative training for modernizing workers' and students' profiles. The industry will be also benefit if technicians have the opportunity to apply the knowledge acquired in the training course within their factories or sectors, as they could be working within the ICT departments that are in charge. At the same time, young employees with a completely different professional background but with high IT affinity will be attracted to be part of the relevant department. This project will contribute to a higher quality of education and training offering by developing different training paths for VET students and attracting HE graduates to an innovative VET.As a medium/long term strategy, the digital transformation cannot be ignored as it is essential to improve the competitiveness of the EU industry. In order to do so, there is utmost need to update the skills of European workers and provide recommendations at training level.

Due to COVID 19, home confinement and social distancing have forced the European VET providers to review current working practices and focus on remote delivery. Senior leaders and teachers have faced problems adapting to more blended or online only curriculum delivery models. This has also highlighted differences between students with varying social profiles, with students from disadvantaged backgrounds being more proportionally impacted.The current VET tools, including SELFIE, do not accommodate application in Work-based learning (WBL) context. Part of this project will involve bringing VET institutions and companies closer by discussing how they can embed digital technology in the education and training provided with a key focus on WBL.To solve the problems listed above, the project proposes to:1.Specific Objective 1:•Problem: Identify the needs of learners from disadvantaged backgrounds in VET, regarding remote learning. •Solution: Support teachers to provide to those students with the necessary tools and skills to undertake a remote learning. 2.Specific Objective 2: •Problem: Assessment of level of digital transformation of a representative set of VET schools in partner countries. •Solution: Update and apply the SELFIE tool, with recommendations from WBL. 3.Specific Objective 3: •Problem: Low digitalization of schools: •Solution: Training teachers about tools that support the digitalization of schools in the field of VET, including tools for creating online resources and performing Blended Learning.4.Specific Objective 4: •Problem: Lack of digital transformation leadership within organisations to allow for new / remote curriculum delivery methods•Solution: Work with VET leaders and teachers in order to allow them to reinvent teaching. 5.Specific Objective 5: •Problem: No clear indication for VET authorities about how to deal with certification and recognition in blended and online learning and Micro-credentials. •Solution: Develop guidelines and update teaching and learning strategies at national/regional level. Work with VET providers to inform them of accreditation / evaluation methods, e.g. micro-credentials.To achieve these specific objectives the Consortium will develop the following intellectual outputs and disseminate through each of the 6 partners multiplier events and relevant VET authorities and stakeholders:•IO1 – 360 Degree review of Digital Transformation VET curriculum for Work-Based Learning•IO2 – Practical toolkit for digital and inclusive education•IO3 – Digital Badge: Quality Assurance Framework for the recognition of online training / industrial skills.