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       |total_cost=€337,320  
       |total_cost=€337,320  
       |lead_partner=[[Betawerk B.V.]]
       |lead_partner=[[Betawerk B.V.]]
       |partners=[[STICHTING EURICON]]<br> [[Lancaster and Morecambe College]] <br> [[Phoenix Social Enterprise Limited]]<br> [[Cyprus Neuroscience & Technology Institute|CNTI]]<br> [[DAFNORD Association]]
       |partners=[[STICHTING EURICON]]<br> [[Lancaster and Morecambe College]] <br> [[Phoenix Social Enterprise Limited]]<br> [[Cyprus Neuroscience & Technology Institute|CNTI]]<br> [[DIKTYO MENON SYMVOULEFTIKES YPIRESIES Ltd]] <br> [[Weiterbildungskolleg Mönchengladbach]] <br> [[CYPRUS NEUROSCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY INSTITUTE|CNTI]] <br> [[CESIE]]
       |fwc_coordinator=[[Aliki Economidou]]
       |fwc_coordinator=[[Aliki Economidou]]
       |website=http://www.secondchanceeducation.eu/
       |website=http://www.secondchanceeducation.eu/
}}
}}


e-hoop is a project co-funded by the LifeLong Learning Programme of the European Union. The project is a collaboration between Cyprus, Greece, Germany, Lithuania and Helsinki. It is coordinated by the [[Cyprus Neuroscience and Technology Institute]] (CNTI), Cyprus with partners the [[FAVINOM Consultancies Ltd]] (Cyprus), [[Hellenic Open University]] (Greece), [[New Technologies and Learning in Europe]] (NTL, Germany), Youth Career and Advising Center ([[JAUNIMO KARJEROS CENTRAS]];JKC, Lithuania) and [[DAFNORD Association]] (Finland).
EPODS supports teachers/trainers in Second Chance Education in their continuous professional development. It assists these educators to set their own development goals, take courses and monitor their progress. In this way, the EPODS online professional development services enable teachers/trainers to maintain the high level of support to learners. E-learning courses and an e-learning creation tool further support the accessible and continuous learning of teachers/trainers.




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==Background and Overview==
==Background and Overview==
Despite significant progress achieved over the past decades, many educational settings still discriminate between learners, either because they come from a different cultural background (e.g. immigrants) or because they have different learning styles or face learning difficulties. Placing focus on combating poverty and social exclusion the e-Hoop project proposes a new conceptual framework of inclusion and proposes a unified way to address “differences”.  
In 2014 the DIgital Second Chance Opportunities (DISCO) Consortium was established with support funding from Erasmus+ Strategic Partnership as digital technology and education are evolving at an increasingly rapid pace, both separately and together. For example, there have been significant developments in new digital technology platforms such as mobile technologies, cloud computing, social media, open educational resources (OERs), free and open-source software (FOSS), as well as the associated hardware (e.g. mobile phones, tablets, e-readers, interactive whiteboards). Opportunities and demands of globalisation and technology are fuelling transformations of educational practices and school infrastructure quickly t. The evolution of educational systems and digital technology also provide additional challenges to framing our perspectives, including the emergence of virtual and networked schools that share courses and programmes within countries and across regions (Davis, Eickelmann & Zaka 2013).  


The aim of the project is to create a universal, dynamic and adaptable e-Learning environment which educators can use, modify and expand, achieved through the development of an open-source experimental platform capable of hosting and delivering e-Learning material in the form of Learning Objects, which meet specifications that enable and facilitate the e-Hoop concept, namely the philosophy that all people are equal and have equal opportunities in learning. The platform will evaluate learning abilities on the basis of which it will deliver content to learners in ways they can learn best (i.e. auditory, visually). In this way differences (i.e. disabilities, dyslexia) can be eliminated. Structured Dialog engaging diverse stakeholders will be used to identify obstacles that prevent this, and agree on actions to promote the e-Hoop concept. The results will be used to derive the requirements for the platform and agree on a succession scheme in the partnership agreement for further exploitation.
Utilising these technological advancements to support good-quality training and reflective professional development are fast becoming essential parts of a teacher’s professional life. Supporting teachers in their professional development leads to improved outcomes for teachers, trainers and learners alike. In former projects many good tools were developed with great enthusiasm and piloted in the area of second chance education that supported teachers to become more confident, responsible, reflective, innovative and engaged. The tools include competence cards, quality cycles, assessment software, evaluation methods, mobility practices, teaching programmes and mentor trainings alongside a number of other tools that supports the education and employability for the NEET-group  in Europe.


The application of OSS tools will facilitate further development and long-term exploitation making it freely available to educators and learners.  
In 2014 the Digital Second Chance Opportunities (DISCO) project began building the foundations of an online European infrastructure framework in second chance education. Now it is time to go a step further by moving DISCO onto the next level of development in terms of its content and service delivery.


==Objective==
The online European infrastructure in second chance education will be built on three pillars:
The e-Hoop is an online hub that promotes the advances of technology for lifelong learning. Its aim is to provide a flexible tool that can be tailored to the learner’s individual needs. Its unique adaptability allows users to insert their own learning material and use it according to their specific requirements. It is thus an innovative and practical application which fosters an inclusive learning environment by specifically targeting at socially and educationally disadvantaged groups.
1. SERVICES: under the SERVICES-umbrella existing quality tools will be made available and continuously upgraded. These quality tools are partly developed for a) quality assurance of international placements b) online community building  c) quality assurance of educational organisations and d) good practice testing.
2. RESOURCES: under the RESOURCES-umbrella existing good practices/resources will be made available. Curricula, methodologies, teaser practices, studies and other tools will be provided as a “pick-of-the-shelve”-concept.  
3. TRAININGS: under the TRAININGS-umbrella training offers and demands are connected.


The specific objectives for the universal learning environment are:
In E-PODS focus is put on the elements of resources and trainings in secondchanceeducation.eu. These two elements will be further developed for teachers/trainers working in second chance education.


<br> 1. To provide educators with an easy-to-use, open-source, dynamic, modifiable and expandable tool which they can adapt to their own learning materials and teaching requirements.
<br> 2. To take full advantage of broadband technologies and open source paradigms.
<br> 3. To attract educators with innovative tools and paradigms.
<br> 4. To create a learning environment that will be fun for any learner.
<br> 5. To provide motivational tools for learning thus decreasing dropout rates.
<br> 6. To combine diagnostic with educational tools; therefore being able to adapt learning to the specific needs, background knowledge and cultural differences of the learners.
<br> 7. To provide an educational tool that is adaptable to the learning preferences and styles of the learner exploiting contemporary research and already developed tools.


==Dissemination==
==Objective==
 
EPODS will focus on two objectives:
The e-Hoop project not only foresees the immediate exploitation and valorisation of its ideas, products and results, but it also puts in place mechanisms and process to secure that the project’s impact will continue beyond its funded life time.
 
The main dissemination channels used by the dissemination plan are:  
*World Wide Web (project website and use of participative tools such as twitter, social bookmarking tools such as delicious, as well as project databases such as ADAM and EVE)
*Internet presence integrated with the Social Bookmarking and Networking Services delivered in the Flexible Platform for Internet Services (FPFIS)
*Publications in relevant forums, blogs & journals (e.g. Journal of Interactive Marketing)
*Media coverage (newspapers, newsletters, radio stations, professional publications)
*Events (Workshops/Conferences/Exhibitions)
*Partners’ existing networks of dissemination
*Off line promotion actions (brochures/leaflets, etc.)
*Consortium internal exploitation channels
*Special interest groups of end users
*Participation to EC concentration activities


*To promote European integration of professional development of teachers/trainers in second chance education
*To set up an organic / growing database connecting tools, schools, teachers/trainers and beneficiaries


==Partners ==
Partners include:
*world-experts in instructional design leading the scientific grounding;
*experienced universities in educational ICT who will design and develop the system
*organizations who will engage educators to use the system, upload learning objects, promote the e-Hoop concept, as well as diverse stakeholders to participate in structured dialogue and trainings.


==Outputs==


EPODS will be a European wide sustainable offer for teachers/trainers in second chance education. Local/national developments and networks will be integrated on a European scale offering innovation/digitalizing in further education of trainers/teachers working with NEET. EPODS will have as output and activities:
*Development of a European professional development service:
*Vitalise the online teacher/trainer community via providing e-content for teacher/trainers and webinars.
*Development of at least 10 e-learning courses for the current professional development offers on secondeducation.eu.
*Development of a tool to create your own e-learning course




==EPODS & Europe2020==


EPODS targets three out of five objectives of the Europe2020-strategy:
*EU2020: 75% of the 20-64 year-olds to be employed (now youth unemployment over 25%): EPODS increases employment opportunities for youngsters at risk by offering e-learning tools and connecting experiences to their trainers/teachers.
*EU2020: Reducing school drop-out rates below 10% (now 15,3%) and at least 40% of 30-34–year-olds completing third level education: EPODS invests, indirectly via teachers/trainers, in a vulnerable target group, who is at the highest risk of drop out and has the lowest chances in completing third level education.
*EU2020: at least 20 million fewer people in or at risk of poverty and social exclusion: EPODS offers concrete opportunities and develops tools for teaching and training in a community and network based integrated environment to avoid exclusion and to promote chances in the European society and labour market for NEETs.


[[Category:Future Worlds Center Projects]]
[[Category:Future Worlds Center Projects]]
[[Category:NML Projects]]
[[Category:NML Projects]]

Latest revision as of 05:11, 6 July 2017

EPODS
EPODS
Contract Title OnlinE PrOfessional Development in Second chance Education
Contract Number 2016-1-NL01-KA204-022937
Funding Period 30/10/2016-30/01/2019
Funding Agency ERASMUS+ Programme Key Action 2
Total Cost €337,320
Lead Partner Betawerk B.V.
Partners STICHTING EURICON
Lancaster and Morecambe College
Phoenix Social Enterprise Limited
CNTI
DIKTYO MENON SYMVOULEFTIKES YPIRESIES Ltd
Weiterbildungskolleg Mönchengladbach
CNTI
CESIE
FWC coordinator(s) Aliki Economidou
Website http://www.secondchanceeducation.eu/



EPODS supports teachers/trainers in Second Chance Education in their continuous professional development. It assists these educators to set their own development goals, take courses and monitor their progress. In this way, the EPODS online professional development services enable teachers/trainers to maintain the high level of support to learners. E-learning courses and an e-learning creation tool further support the accessible and continuous learning of teachers/trainers.



Background and Overview

In 2014 the DIgital Second Chance Opportunities (DISCO) Consortium was established with support funding from Erasmus+ Strategic Partnership as digital technology and education are evolving at an increasingly rapid pace, both separately and together. For example, there have been significant developments in new digital technology platforms such as mobile technologies, cloud computing, social media, open educational resources (OERs), free and open-source software (FOSS), as well as the associated hardware (e.g. mobile phones, tablets, e-readers, interactive whiteboards). Opportunities and demands of globalisation and technology are fuelling transformations of educational practices and school infrastructure quickly t. The evolution of educational systems and digital technology also provide additional challenges to framing our perspectives, including the emergence of virtual and networked schools that share courses and programmes within countries and across regions (Davis, Eickelmann & Zaka 2013).

Utilising these technological advancements to support good-quality training and reflective professional development are fast becoming essential parts of a teacher’s professional life. Supporting teachers in their professional development leads to improved outcomes for teachers, trainers and learners alike. In former projects many good tools were developed with great enthusiasm and piloted in the area of second chance education that supported teachers to become more confident, responsible, reflective, innovative and engaged. The tools include competence cards, quality cycles, assessment software, evaluation methods, mobility practices, teaching programmes and mentor trainings alongside a number of other tools that supports the education and employability for the NEET-group in Europe.

In 2014 the Digital Second Chance Opportunities (DISCO) project began building the foundations of an online European infrastructure framework in second chance education. Now it is time to go a step further by moving DISCO onto the next level of development in terms of its content and service delivery.

The online European infrastructure in second chance education will be built on three pillars: 1. SERVICES: under the SERVICES-umbrella existing quality tools will be made available and continuously upgraded. These quality tools are partly developed for a) quality assurance of international placements b) online community building c) quality assurance of educational organisations and d) good practice testing. 2. RESOURCES: under the RESOURCES-umbrella existing good practices/resources will be made available. Curricula, methodologies, teaser practices, studies and other tools will be provided as a “pick-of-the-shelve”-concept. 3. TRAININGS: under the TRAININGS-umbrella training offers and demands are connected.

In E-PODS focus is put on the elements of resources and trainings in secondchanceeducation.eu. These two elements will be further developed for teachers/trainers working in second chance education.


Objective

EPODS will focus on two objectives:

  • To promote European integration of professional development of teachers/trainers in second chance education
  • To set up an organic / growing database connecting tools, schools, teachers/trainers and beneficiaries


Outputs

EPODS will be a European wide sustainable offer for teachers/trainers in second chance education. Local/national developments and networks will be integrated on a European scale offering innovation/digitalizing in further education of trainers/teachers working with NEET. EPODS will have as output and activities:

  • Development of a European professional development service:
  • Vitalise the online teacher/trainer community via providing e-content for teacher/trainers and webinars.
  • Development of at least 10 e-learning courses for the current professional development offers on secondeducation.eu.
  • Development of a tool to create your own e-learning course


EPODS & Europe2020

EPODS targets three out of five objectives of the Europe2020-strategy:

  • EU2020: 75% of the 20-64 year-olds to be employed (now youth unemployment over 25%): EPODS increases employment opportunities for youngsters at risk by offering e-learning tools and connecting experiences to their trainers/teachers.
  • EU2020: Reducing school drop-out rates below 10% (now 15,3%) and at least 40% of 30-34–year-olds completing third level education: EPODS invests, indirectly via teachers/trainers, in a vulnerable target group, who is at the highest risk of drop out and has the lowest chances in completing third level education.
  • EU2020: at least 20 million fewer people in or at risk of poverty and social exclusion: EPODS offers concrete opportunities and develops tools for teaching and training in a community and network based integrated environment to avoid exclusion and to promote chances in the European society and labour market for NEETs.