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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.
Objective
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.
The specific objectives for the universal learning environment are:
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.
2. To take full advantage of broadband technologies and open source paradigms.
3. To attract educators with innovative tools and paradigms.
4. To create a learning environment that will be fun for any learner.
5. To provide motivational tools for learning thus decreasing dropout rates.
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.
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
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
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.