The Italian perspective and contributionReport from the IT experience, results and plans

Cyprus Final Event19th September 2015

Why partnering Code RED project

Initially partnered by Provincia di Parma – a second level local administration going to be cancelled by IT Government

Institutional renewal – Code RED project is being carried out since January 2015 by

AECA (www.aeca.it), the Association of 24 VET Centres in Emilia-Romagna region which leads the regional joint ventures on iVET.

Dealing with student disengagement and gaining re-engagement is its own mission!

The IT PARTNERS action / 1

• Gather all Secondary Schools and VET Centres dealing with students at risk of education disengagement (The Anti-Drop-Out Committee) in Parma

• Select 2 Schools and 2 VET Centres with the highest abandon-rate at local level to experiment the 40 hours Workshops of participated serious games designing: 8 children, 6 adults (digital and relational facilitators, guidance experts, the project leader) in 4 different venues in a scheduled 10 meetings program, plus the final presentation of The Lonely Ghost, an ARIS-platform-based game

• Hold a parallel session with teachers and trainers to share and discuss ongoing results and keep a stict observation of regular School attendance (Code RED Workshops-School input/output)

The IT PARTNERS action / 2

• Collect feedback from major stakeholders and participate to the production of all Code RED products

• Replicate the model in the Piloting session with teachers and children from FOMAL, a VET Centre in Bologna, attended by students at high risk of education abandoning, to test the methodology and the tools

• Carry on a Teachers&Trainers devoted Dissemination and Exploitation activity, to share and practise deeply with about 25 educators, all Code RED results

The lo-fi game created: a model of intervention

Il fantasma solitario

The Street game created during workshop phase19/09/2015

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The lonely ghost

… Making a co-design pilot course in which young people at risk of dropping out of school or training are an active part in the realization of a prototype educational game, developing relational and organizational skills (problem solving, mediation skills, work objectives, working in group) and acquiring ICT and digital skills.

The Code RED project goals

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The creation of a game that helps us learn

in a new way

Our mission

Our Key words

Collaboration

Positive relationships

New knowledges

New skills

Mutual aid

Responsibility

Needs

Safety

never a failure, always a lesson

Participation

Committment

Playing with thoughts

We considered 2 options:

PC games (Nottingham, UK)

Street games (University of Athens, EL)

… we conducted simulations …

The software options

and decided for … Street games

How we got our choise

What How Result/Decision

Main content Group working Castle

Main characters Brainstorming Pictures

Alex, Rose, Ghost

Game goal and structure

Small group working Follow a map to gain the exit

TextsGroup working

StoryboardDialogues

Pictures Choice of the settingMatching with original

pictures

“Placques” of the game

Journey in stages to get the exit through the reconstruction of the map.

How to get the pieces of the map.

The different environments in which the character logs.

The mode of interaction.

What we are interested in the castle? The content of the questions.

Objectives and structure of the game

The designs of the characters.

The history of the castle.

Selection of the most interesting topics.

Images of the castle and matching script.

Writing the script: texts and dialogues.

Programming on the ARIS Platform.

The creation

Game flow-chart

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The main steps1. Warming-up, crossed-presentations, what are we doing together2. Let’s know the videogames, by playing them 3. Our blog 4. How to design a videogame5. A videogame analysis. The two main options: the PC games6. The Street games. An introduction to ARIS platform7. The decision making: PC / Street game. Brainstorming over our street game8. The choise among possibile main content alternatives: Il fantasma solitario9. The tasks assignment and storyboard creation10. The gathering of pictures, knowledge, history, legends through different channels11. The game assembly on ARIS Platform12. The Platform testing 13. The English version of the game 14. The game issuing and its public presentation15. Final remarks

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Do the workshops look like School or VET? YES because they added knowledge

NO because the methods are different

There are different people who help to broaden our own experience and knowledge

It is a new experience for many

It is a place where you give space to your own experiences gained at school or in VET

We have built a metaphor about orientation and disorientation

We want go on with them: working, learning and sharing!

Final remarks …. the CHILDREN

• enhanced participation in School / VET• better self-esteem • better relation with peers (positive curiosity)• very engaging experience for adults, too how to

replicate / extend? nedd for further Dissemination Events

At the same time …• Hard and often ineffective backoffice coordination

work with class teachers and School/VET Centre main organization mainstreaming is hard!!!

Final remarks …. the TEACHERS & TRAINERS

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They provide an extensive report, containing some key messages:• Soft and ICT-digital skills were matched throughtout the 13 workshops, but a strong relational

support was provided at the very beginning and then decreased, ensuring one-to-one assistance when needed.

• ICT and digital skills entered and was expanded as the group and the individuals were ready. Sub-group working helped in specializing according to individual attitudes and capabilities. Stops-and-go and rapid change in scheduled contents were the major rule, instead of the exception. From a purely technical point of view, we had to consider the group heterogeneity, not specifically composed by ICT skilled people.

• The complexity of many technical aspects dealt with in such a short time has not allowed us to complete the necessary technical skills. Rather, it was very positive, "the engagement" that boys and girls have accepted and their genuine involvement in the activity. A subsequent beneficial recovery oriented to the technical aspects could make it even more effective experience.

• A renewed group (3 new entries) is ready to re-start with a semi-defined goal .

Could the re-engagement be contagious?

Final remarks …. the FACILITATORS

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A Researcher log reported step by step results and focussed the following items:• Reworking was a recurrent issue. It implied the risk of disengagement due to the boredom and also

affected the scheduling. On the other hand, the absence of one or more children due to several causes made it necessary to recapture the main issues and progresses. CAN BUFFERS BE INSERTED IN THE WORKSHOPS SCHEDULING ????

• Children – Adult Co-participation. It was necessary to ensure that every adult maintain a positive and proactive role towards each child. Children appreciated the engagement of adults different from parents or teachers/trainers, doing something new for everyone together with them. ICT and digital technologies are more friendly to youngsters, where they feel to be stronger than any average adult. It helps in realigning the children-adult relation toward an equal level.

• Extra-time devoted to planning & re-planning. The researcher together with the facilitators and other eventually adults participating are requested to update the planning according to the workshops situation: absences, disengagement, new emerging items, … CAN EXTRA-TIME BE INCLUDED IN THE WORKSHOPS SCHEDULING ????

• One-to-one interviews and guidance over the workshops to maximise the benefits. The relational Facilitator met each child at the beginning of our workshops and when particular events occurred. As a consequence he suggested specific activities and aggregations (sub-group composition) and active roles in group work and in the final presentation session.

Final remarks …. the RESEARCHER

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Name and Surname School/ VET Centre

Alberto De Rosa IIS Magnaghi

Angelo Spoto IIS Magnaghi

Rosa Palomba ISISS Giordani

Victoria Sofronovici ISISS Giordani

Mohamed Bouafoud Forma Futuro

Khalid Azzedine Forma Futuro

Marysol Martinez CIOFS-FP

Maria Maggiore CIOFS-FP

Gaetana Ariu Laboratorio Innovazione – Provincia PR

Raffaele Molti ISISS Giordani

Angela Pani CIOFS-FP

Francesca Tosi Servizio NOF – Provincia PR

Cristina Cagna Servizio NOF – Provincia PR

The workshop participants

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Name and Surname School / VET Centre / Provincia di Parma

Laura Pala IIS Magnaghi – Secondary School

Lorenza Bertoncini ISISS Giordani – Secondary School

Carlotta Bocconi Forma Futuro – VET Centre

Maria Grazia Vernizzi CIOFS-FP – VET Centre

Gaetana Ariu Laboratorio Innovazione – Provincia PR

Raffaele Molti ISISS Giordani – Secondary School

Angela Pani CIOFS-FP – VET Centre

Francesca Tosi Servizio NOF – Provincia PR

Cristina Cagna Servizio NOF – Provincia PR

Roberto Sartori Relational Facilitator

Cristian Iunco Digital Facilitator

The Steering group participants

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Major opportunities of change

• Spread consciousness among Teachers&Trainers of new methodology and tools ready to be used, in combination with the most traditional ones;

• Create a Teachers&Trainers Code RED Community share the local experiences, discover online Partners in CY, EL or UK;

• Promote Teachers&Trainers active collaboration on specific projects children asked for “having more teachers together working with us”;

• Contribute developping the 21st Century Skills Employers strongly ask for young people “able to collaborate on a common goal (no matter the age, gender, nationality of colleagues), deal with technologies, communicate new ideas.

An actual IT initiative: a course devoted to Teachers&Trainers

• Numbers: 4 meetings, 3 hours each, some 20 T&T• Hosted by a local Secondary School, in an ICT Lab• Topics: cooperative learning, project management,

ICT / digital tools• Methodology: theory + a lot of practice with Code

RED tools and instruments to create specific projects in different Schools and VET Centres.

JOIN US and meet online!

Thank you for your attention