The COVID-19 pandemic had a significant impact on the delivery of Education and Training all over the world: almost 1.6 billion learners from pre-primary to tertiary education, including VET, were affected (UNESCO, “COVID-19 Impact on Education”, 2020), while education and training providers have been forced to adapt to digital tools to maintain services to learners. Students’ engagement in learning has been seriously challenged and worldwide a risk of a potential hysteresis of the COVID-19 crisis in education is acknowledged (Saavedra, J., “Educational challenges and opportunities of the Coronavirus pandemic”, Worldbank Blogs, 2020), defined as a long-term learning loss due to: the erosion of students’ basic academic skills due to lack of practice; the difficulty in re-engaging with education activities; their demotivation as they fall further behind; the curbing of their educational aspirations due to the uncertainty of the learning environment (OECD, “Education and COVID-19: Focusing on the long-term impact of school closures”, 2020). The OECD highlighted the need to focus on keeping students engaged in learning to limit hysteresis, a mission that requires education and training providers not only to adopt system and technology innovations, in the context of social distance regulations and travel restrictions, but also to rethink their training strategies in digital environments. In this context, the Sparks project aims to develop a new Conceptual Framework for Game-Based e-Learning Programs and E-Learning platform to let VET providers autonomously create and manage innovative online learning experiences with the use of gamification, and boost their learners’ motivation and engagement in learning. Educators will be able to create their game-based e-learning programs, by choosing the template they prefer and providing the platform with the information and learning material they need to deliver. The following outputs will be developed through a 24-month cooperation among six Companies and NGOs from Greece, Italy, Spain, Poland, Portugal and Romania: -the transnational research report "Game-Based Learning: Best Practices & Requirements for Digital Environment" (O1), through collection and analysis of best practices and focus groups with VET teachers, trainers and learners; -a Conceptual Framework for Game-Based E-Learning Programs (O2), through the incorporation of findings from the research, additional literature review and experiential knowledge of the partners' training experts, and the validation with VET providers; -Game-Based E-Learning Programs Templates (O3), designed to be customizable, flexible and to work with any curriculum with mixed groups of VET teachers and trainers through Co-design Labs; -the Sparks.eu E-Learning Platform (O4), which will provide a system to create gamified learning programs, by choosing and filling out the desired Template (O3), to manage the program and monitor learners' progress, behavior and engagement. The platform will be tested in pilot with VET providers and learners and refined accordingly. The Platform will host also a long-term virtual transnational community composed by education and training providers interested in innovating their practices through digital game-based learning and sharing knowledge and experiences; - Guidance Material (O5) for the users of the platform: video-tutorials, e-learning modules and use cases for teachers and trainers, and an interactive user manual for learners. Min. 600 VET teachers and trainers and 1.000 VET learners will be directly involved in the production of the outputs, while min. 300 representatives of the national vocational education and training systems will be involved in Multiplier Events. The project is ultimately expected to: • increase VET educators' knowledge and skills to create, manage and monitor their own e-learning programs through innovative e-learning pedagogies; • increase VET educators' ability to incorporate digital online technology into subject-specific teaching, training and learning; • increase VET educators' confidence in their teaching/training practices in digital environments, motivation and satisfaction in their daily work; • increase VET learners' attitude and motivation to learn, digital and soft skills, and improve their vocational preparation and achievement, and aspirations for the future. • increase the attractiveness of the e-learning programs of the Education and Training providers that will endorse the Sparks digital platform and tools in their offer. The project results have the potential to be integrated by different branches of the education systems of the participating countries, such as Higher, Adult and School Education: entities active in these fields could adopt the Conceptual Framework or use the Platform to create innovative engaging e-learning experiences, thus contributing to a reinforced response of Education and Training systems to the current digital education challenges.
The consortium aimed at pursuing the following objectives: GENERAL OBJECTIVES 1. To develop innovative practices and tools for VET providers to use digital technologies for learning in a creative and collaborative way; 2. To increase VET learners, teachers and trainers ability to adapt to online learning; SPECIFIC OBJECTIVES 1. To provide VET organizations, teachers and trainers with innovative tools to enhance students’ engagement and motivation in e-learning through gamification; 2. To increase the digital competences of VET teachers and trainers; 3. To increase VET providers’ knowledge and understanding of game-play mechanics and dynamics applied to education and training practices; 4. To provide VET learners with opportunities to improve their transversal and lifelong skills.
The COVID-19 pandemic had a significant impact on the educational pathways of almost 1.6 billion learners (UNESCO, 2020), posing unprecedented challenges for education and training providers to ensure the continuity and quality of teaching and training services in the midst of profound disruption. In this context, scholars acknowledged the risk of a hysteresis of the COVID-19 crisis in education (Saavedra J., 2020), as a 'long-term learning loss' due to the erosion of learners' basic academic skills, the difficulty in re-engaging with educational activities and, consequently, their demotivation as they fall further behind and the curbing of their educational aspirations due to the uncertainty of the learning environment (OECD, 2020). The OECD highlighted the need to focus on keeping students engaged in learning to limit hysteresis, a mission that has required education and training providers not only to adopt system and technology innovations, but also to rethink their strategies in digital environments. Sparks aimed to respond to these needs through new gamification-based tools to design and deliver innovative and engaging learning experiences that leverages game elements to increase learners motivation.