SMETOOL SME’S TOOL TO PREVENT BURNOUT, IO4 Toolkit for managers. Circle of Influence

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Diversity in a group of people causes challenges in terms of cooperation and communication, and all changes have consequences for the daily workload. This can have a positive or negative impact on people’s stress level and on the perception of one’s workload. When you are dealing with long-term stress, it is important to look at which stress factors you can rule out to reduce tension. Energy guzzlers or things that you are constantly worried about can really control your (working) life. Here, proactivity is key. Being and thinking more proactively will raise resilience whereas focusing on things you can’t influence and acting reactively will reduce resilience by an increase in your stress levels.

Toolkit for Resilience webinar focuses on health and wellbeing. It forms part of SMEs toolkit.

5 Toolkits for managers presented are different ways to raise resilience designed for SME managers to help prevent burnout at work. The content will help the user spot any warning signs at an early stage and ultimately improve your employees’ happiness in the workplace. The toolkit is linked to the self-assessment that can be used on identifying reduced resilience of employees.

5 toolkits are: Circle of Influence, Core Quadrants of Ofman, GROW Model, Progression Feedback, Social Styles.

The 5 Digital Competences Assessment Tool

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This tool has been specifically designed to help teachers in testing their knowledge on the 5 Digital Competences (i.e Information processing, Communication, Content creation, Safety, Problem solving).

The Fiction project has the aim the aim of enhancing teachers’ knowledge to teach students to use digital tools for their own understanding of science. This tool has been specifically designed to help teachers in testing their knowledge on the 5 Digital Competences (i.e Information processing, Communication, Content creation, Safety, Problem solving).

Assessment of 5 Digital Competences

Inclusive digital practice and digital wellbeing

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Learner populations are increasingly diverse with significantly differing objectives, needs and preferences. All learners should be able to participate fully in their courses in order to have an equal chance to be successful. Going forward, inclusive digital delivery will be a key factor in successfully meeting their diverse needs. More online delivery could inadvertently add to problems unless it is designed to be inclusive at the outset. Designing for diversity as a default will avoid the need for higher levels of support or adaptation to ensure access. It will minimise additional costs, risks and unnecessary stress for both staff and students/learners.

Inclusive use of technology offers greater flexibility, and choice. Giving everyone options that work for them. Technology facilitates better inclusive pedagogy and practice and that helps address stress, anxiety and isolation and impacts positively on wellbeing.

Reading, Critical Thinking.

Assessment and Documentation of Students’ Learning

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This material will provide a guidance on how students should be assessed in how knowledge and skills are used to solve lifelong problems rather than traditional ways of testing. It aims to gather the experiences from the variety of learning methods and infrastructure tested out in courses with students and lecturers from several universities, with a focus towards institutions and decision makers.

This material covers the following topics:
1. General considerations regarding assessments of students.
2. A full process for the assessment that was developed and tested for the EPIC project. This includes for the students to define their background, role and contributions, milestones, and questions for peer assessment.
3. A presentation of the MECEPIC tool, which was developed as part of the project (available as an open-source tool).
4. An introduction to intercultural communication, which is included since it supports the students in working through the assessment process.
5. In the end, we have also included all documents and templates used to support the processes.

The goals of this course are to help teachers:
1. to better prepare students for both national and international labor markets in a globalized world
2. to promote the integration of active and problem-based learning into the curricula in order to increase the students learning outcome
3. to increase the labor market relevance of higher education programmes through closer collaboration between academia and industry
4. to foster closer collaboration between higher education and industry

Design and integration of Open Badges

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This report shows the work done so far for the O4.2 Design and integration of Open Badges. It covers the work performed from October 2019 to January 2020 on badges for the DigiCulture MOOC (Massive Open Online Courses)

This document for the DigiCulture partners who will have designs and definitions available of how Open Badges will work in the DigiCulture MOOC. Secondly, researchers who work in the field of gamification and education, can make use of this document to understand the scientific underpinnings of badges. Finally, the creative industry sector who work wish to create online training platforms can benefit from this document through an understanding how open badges and stickers can be used to gamify course content.

The document addresses the following topics:
● Definition of Open Badges
● What does Open Badges represent when rewarded to adult learners.
● Differentiating Open Badges from Stickers.
● Methodological Approach to designing Open Badges.
● Next Steps for Integration and development of Open Badges.

Digital Skills E-Assessment and Open Digital Badges for Adult Education

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The Digital Skills E-Assessment covers different forms of digital self-/assessment including digital evidence (such as testimonials, digital assets, e-portfolios, audience building) applied as elements of open credentials. By using this tool, both individuals and organisations will be able to assess and analyse the digital skills required for culture and heritage and will be able to identify solutions for developing those skills. We do not intend to fully develop a self-assessment tool as this would be beyond the scope of the project, but we intend to have an enhanced approach which will include different modes of assessment for digital skills and provide assessment opportunities for our cultural target groups.

“The e-assessment tool will be produced using agile development methods and user centred-design, by the direct involvement of end-users represented in the project by the cultural associations.  Based on the design brief, from O1, a simple mock-up of the e-assessment tool will be produced and tested with cultural stakeholders. The tool will be peer reviewed within the partnership before final adaptations and validation, and then integration in O2 VLH.

The milestones are:

O4.1.1: Design of the e-assessment tool. Test and validate.

O4.1.2: Produce content for the tool

O4.1.3: Technical development of the tool

O4.1.4: Integration of the tool in VLH

O4.1.5: Peer review and validation of the
e-assessment tool

Based on the conceptual guidelines from O1, the structural framework of the 21 digital competencies as defined in DigComp 2.0, Open Badges will be designed following the design thinking approach which will be used to consider issues and resolve current problems around creating credentials for digital skills in the specific target group of the cultural and heritage sector. A number of design tools such as Badge Design Canvas and Visual Design Templates will be used to support the design process. Open Badges will be integrated into the VLH in O2. The resulting Open Badges will include a digital secure code which can be linked and included in existing online professional networks or into the stakeholders organisation or personal site or blog.

The milestones are:

O4.2.1: Definition and design of the open badges for digital skills

O4.2.2: Set of Open Badges for Digital Skills

O4.2.3: User-Testing and report”

Digital Skills E-Assessment Tool

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This report shows the work done for the O4.1 Digital Skills E-Assessment Tool. It covers work from May 2019 to August 2021 on e-validation of digital skills for the DigiCulture MOOC (Massive Open Online Courses).

This document is for the DigiCulture partners who will have to implement and integrate the e-assessment tool into their own courses in the DigiCulture VLH. Secondly, researchers who work in the field of education, can make use of this document to understand how examination in an online context can be utilized for assessment of digital skill. Finally, the creative industry sector who wish to create online training platforms can benefit from this document through an understanding of how to validate learning amongst trainees and online course participants.

The document addresses the following topics:
● E-assessment tool goals and scope.
● Method for designing the e-assessment tool.
● The current e-assessment guidelines include Preliminary Survey, Peer Assessment and Examination.
● Integration and development of e-assessment in partner courses.

Micro Learning Programmes

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6 Open-Educational Resources (OER) in the form of micro-learning programmes to help you develop the skills you need.

Courses are under development at the moment. Register your interest to stay informed of our course development, user-testing and course launch dates.

Through 6 models this course will:
1. define digital identity and help you understand what it is, while providing ways you can better manage your digital identity.
2. help you define what data security is, providing the legislation which underpins data security. You will also learn preventive measures to keep your data safe.
3. help you create or optimise learning content which incorporates the use of technologies that enable alternative environments. You will also find out how to identify the differences between alternative environment technologies and their impacts?
4. help you identify learner needs and evaluate the most appropriate digital pedagogy to satisfy these needs using technology.
5. help you identify learner needs and then help you find ways to use technology for; Lecturing, Demonstration, Collaboration and Assessment.
6. help you identify the differences between different formats of media rich content and support you to optimise existing or create new learning content incorporating media rich content.

Self Assessment Tool

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The VET-TEDD project has developed a free to use, accessible resource for teachers and tutors to assess their skills in identifying, designing, configuring and implementing technological and/or digital content in your learning. Learn how and why to use the self-assesment tool by watching a short video.

The tool has been developed based on the key competences required by teachers and tutors to maximise the use of digital tools and the results of your assessment can be exported and used to shape your professional development plans, training plans or even just to see where you need to improve.

Elaboration of Assessment Standards for Quality Assurance

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This document presents the final version of the assessment standards that has been produced in collaboration between ISIS CIuffelli and EGInA and tested with the implementation of short courses carried out at national level due to the COVID-19 Pandemic. The assessment standards represent the third milestone of the project and have been piloted in the VET centres which has offered the work-based learning of students.

The EU Quality Assurance in vocational education and training is a tool based on the 2009 Recommendation of the European Parliament and Council. The Recommendation invites Member States to use a series of indicative descriptors and indicators to support and develop their VET systems. The tool provides guidance on how to develop a quality assurance system and contains examples of different approaches used by Member States. Currently VET providers are using many different approaches to quality assurance. Some of these are in line with existing national or international quality assurance systems. Others have been designed to meet the VET provider’s own circumstances. EQAVET is an approach to quality assurance or a reference framework for VET which has been agreed by Member States.

EQAVET offers VET providers a straightforward way to monitor and improve the quality of their provision. It is based on the four-stage cycle of planning, implementation, evaluation and review which is at the heart of many other quality assurance approaches. Introducing quality assurance frameworks in work-based learning (WBL)2 has become a priority in recent years. Countries at the early stages of developing their quality assurance practices can learn from the experiences of others who have already implemented comparable quality approaches for WBL.

“The EQAVET network has identified a series of common themes, called building blocks, which have been used to establish and strengthen quality assurance processes in WBL, in
line with EQAVET (the European Quality Assurance Reference Framework or EQAVET Framework for short). The building blocks present an early analysis of approaches to quality assurance for WBL. The building blocks are designed to be useful and appropriate for the three main models of WBL:
-Apprenticeship schemes which combine training in companies and VET schools or
other education/training institutions;
– On-the-job training in companies which typically cover internships, work placements or traineeships which are a compulsory or optional element of VET programs leading to formal qualifications;
– Integration into a school-based program through on-site laboratories, workshops, kitchens, restaurants, junior or practice firms, simulations or real business/industry projects and assignments.

These six building blocks support and complement each other and build on the EQAVET indicative descriptors and indicators
1) Design work-based learning
2) Improve the quality
3) Respond to learners’ needs
4) Communicate
5) Train the staff
6) Assess the learners”