This project will develop innovative learning practices in the Digital ERA by developing new educational, learning and training methods for moving school based STEAME activities to Online and Distance STEAME activities in a hybrid approach. STEAME means Science, Technology, Education, Arts, Mathematics and Entrepreneurship. As teachers, we need to be aware and be adaptable to changes and to the needs not only of today's students but also planning and preparing our students for the future, with a collaborative and evolutionary vision. Students of the target group (age 12-18) are used in reaching to information in just one click on their phones, tablets, computers, so being in the classroom, being taught in a traditional way, using sometimes old textbooks gives them a negative feeling that the educational system is not efficient. The STEAME GOES HYBRID project is utilizing results from other EU funded projects, like STEAME and L-Cloud. *The Main Objectives of this project are to: -create hybrid STEAME teaching and learning methods through innovative and technological approaches; -provide digital environment solution with options for existing and future infrastructures with future blueprint solutions in hybrid environment; - engage teachers and students in STEAME project based activities in online and distance environment with blended learning methods; - increase the level of knowledge in digital technologies and communication; - provide quality, virtual hands-on learning opportunities for every student and especially for students working in groups online; - promote cloud computing and new technologies under European values and regulations of GDPR and cyber secutiry; * Number and profile of participants The consortium organizations are experienced in the field of teaching, learning, training and innovative tools and will contribute for the realization of this proposed project with at least 3 expert participants from each and with several additional teachers and students in the school partners. The Pedagogical University partners will involve each at least 20 teacher trainees in the process of development and testing. Blueprint guidelines developed by the project in at least 2 partner schools with at least 2 teachers and 20 students in each; Interproject Staff Training training course with at least 3 participants from each partner. The partner participants are highly educational and ICT professionals with experience in STEAME activities, education evolution, digital learning, digital platforms, pedagogy and related research. The consortium involves research institutions, schools, universities, pedagogical departments, teacher societies, education publishers, ICT enterprise. * Main Outputs and results, include: Intellectual outputs: IO1. Blueprint Guidelines for Hybrid STEAME activities IO2. Training Programme for facilitating the implementation of STEAME L&C Plans by SE teachers and Piloting the Blueprint Guidelines IO3. STEAME HYBRID Blueprint at a glance: Policy Recommendations and School Label Development Other results: staff training, multiplier events, TPMs, dissemination, QA, European Hybrid School Label. * Methodology According to the learning patterns and students' needs, the STEAME GOES HYBRID project intends to enhance the inter-play of open source tools in designing hybrid learning methodology taking school activity to online and at distance with blended learning methods. This will provide a new method and digital solutions for running ONLINE STEAME activities that will help students to work on projects with classmates through online and distance or blended communication (Hybrid) and teachers to be able to cooperate with other STEAME teachers in managing, supporting and monitoring the STEAME project work of students in hybrid or purely online methodology. * Impact -impact on the participants: Increased awareness of the importance of STEAME learning activities and how these can be done during pandemic periods with limited mobility and diverted to online and distance learning, increased knowledge of using and learning from virtual activities, increased learning and teaching methodologies with pedagogical approaches in hybrid teaching and learning covering project based STEAME activities. -impact on the participating organizations: Increased resources for using innovative methods, teacher professional development in becoming adaptable to the Digital ERA approaches. -impact at the European & International level: Hybrid STEAME session at EUROMATH & EUROSCIENCE international pupils conference. * The potential long-term benefits -STEAME awareness in hybrid teaching and learning approach in educational systems supporting school readiness; -implementation of the Hybrid STEAME Blueprint Guidelines in other curricula; -students will be better prepared for the new professions in the 21st century.
According to the learning patterns and students' needs, the STEAME GOES HYBRID project intend was to enhance the inter-play of open source tools and use them to design hybrid learning methodology going from in-school activity to online and at distance learning in blended format. This has provided a new method and digital solutions for running ONLINE STEAME activities that is supporting students to work with classmates on projects through online and distance or blended communication (Hybrid). Teachers are now able to cooperate with other STEAME teachers in managing, supporting and monitoring the STEAME project work of students in hybrid or purely online methodology. Having such a system in place the schools could now be ready to run teaching and learning activities of all types but most importantly, the cooperative learning and the project based learning. The Main Activities, Outputs and results achieved were: IO1. Blueprint Guidelines for Hybrid STEAME activities (online and distance blended project-based learning) IO2. Training Programme for facilitating the implementation of STEAME L&C Plans by SE teachers and Piloting the Blueprint Guidelines IO3. STEAME HYBRID Blueprint at a glance : Policy Recommendations and School Label Development In addition to the main outputs above several related activities were achieved such as: - an online pilot with teachers and students working on STEAME activities - A Training Course for piloting the teacher training programme - five multiplier events (Cyprus, Greece, Italy, Romania, Poland) - four physical transnational project meetings(TPM) (Cyprus, Poland, Greece, Romania), three virtual transnational project long meetings(VTPLM) and several online bilateral or project short meetings(VTPSM). - dissemination activities *Additional Results In addition to the intellectual outputs and activities listed above the project delivered the following further results: D1. Dissemination Plan and implementation Results: - Contingency Plan and Quality Assurance Evaluation report - Exploitation Plan with a webspace for continuous development , updating, support, networking and sharing - A STEAME Hybrid School Label promotion and administration. - STEAME Hybrid Symposium within the annual EUROMATH & EUROSCIENCE Pupils Conference. - STEAME Hybrid Certification Programme, promotion and administration - Inter-institutional National level: partnerships with other local or regional schools or Pedagogical Institutes, cooperating as Associate Partners in the use of the Blueprint Guidelines for hybrid STEAME Learning Activities. All the above can be found in the webspace: https://steame-hybrid.eu/outputs/ More supporting documents are available in the project reporting GD: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1cuVUGgTjncgu4Hdibwih2D5-ZF_5TvTH
Recognizing that today's education system cannot follow change and meet demands of globalized technologically driven society, it is constantly undergoing reforming education by introducing and applying innovative teaching methods, practices and tools. The educational policies of the EU states, through innovations, aim at developing and cultivating critical thinking, teamwork, knowledge building, technological literacy and basic skills that school students need in order to be able to adapt to modern developments in the Digital Era. STEAME(Science,Technology,Engineering,Arts,Mathematics,Entrepreneurship) education is considered to be a driving force for preparing students for the future. The education systems need to be grasped with innovative elements that make young people more resilient, flexible and ultimately successful as they enter the real world and start to contribute to society. The creation of STEAME schools is an important step towards the necessary educational redesign. This project created an adapted hybrid solution for the result of a previous project www.steame.eu as a solution to pandemic situations and problems in meeting face-to-face. So, the new Challenge for education, for teachers, for students and education authorities was to be able to implement STEAME Learning activities in a Hybrid format, that is to incorporate physical, online and distance learning in a blended process (hybrid). Teachers need to use and be adaptable to new technologies and environments that will allow them to be flexible and support inquiry based and project based activity by school students. For this purpose, teachers need to develop the competences needed and provided with latest technological solutions to be able to run such hybrid activities and the authorities and policy makers should be informed of what it the ideal blueprint environment needed in future schools for ideal STEAME learning environment. Teaching and learning online and at distance using digital tools during the 2020 pandelic situation has been an easy transfer and adaptation for many teachers and students and most Educational Systems in Europe were able to adapt to some extent. However, working on projects with inquiry based activities like STEAME Learning Activities, students working in groups and at distance, two or more teachers cooperating on developing and implementing STEAME Learning & Creativity Plans, the need for online or blended support of groups of students by more than one teacher at the same time, the need for interactive online monitoring of student groups, the need for student assessment through online learning, the need of supporting the special needs students, all these are very new to most Educational environments and systems in Europe and to the countries of the partners of this project proposal. The target groups were students of Grades 7-12 and their teachers. Secondary target groups include the teacher trainers, HE professors in Pedagogy and educational technology, decision makers and education authorities. Therefore, the MAIN OBJECTIVES achieved by this project were to: -create hybrid STEAME teaching and learning method through innovative and technological approach; -provide a digital environment solution that support the hybrid method; -support the engagement of teachers & students in STEAME activities in online and distance environment with blended learning methods; -support the increase of the level of knowledge in digital technologies & communication; -support the provision of quality virtual hands-on learning opportunities for students working in groups online; -promote cloud computing and new technologies.