G-Guidance project is designed to address the need to implement integrated, comprehensive and effective career guidance services and methodologies in educational settings, identified and underlined both at European and national level in a report by the European Lifelong Guidance Policy Network (Oomen & Plant, 2015). In the report, career guidance is considered across the EU state members as a focal point for preventing the widespread problem of early school leaving, poor qualifications and disadvantage, which will have an impact on societal and economical problems (productivity, criminality, employment, health, social exclusion, etc.) across all the European state-membersG-Guidance has three main objectives: a) create, develop and implement web based, gamified platform, which will be at the centre of a comprehensive career guidance methodology for middle and high school students, with ages between 13 and 17 years old, that will enhance and broaden the reach of career guidance in schools; b) train and support school psychologists, teachers and parents/caregivers, on different levels and with different roles, on the use of the platform as a tool to actively participate and contribute to youths’ career guidance and vocational and personal development; and c) create an open source multimedia database with high quality career/vocational information, presented in the platform through gamified elements and on and offline activities to carry inside and outside school. To achieve these objectives, G-Guidance will develop a Professions Guide (IO1), a Career Guidance Method (IO2) and a Digital, Web Based and Gamified Platform (IO3), using a methodology traditionally used as a reference in the production of learning technologies, based in a 5 phases structure, Analysis, Design, Development, Implementation and Evaluation (ADDIE). After Analysis, Design and Development phases, the career guidance method and the platform will be implemented on a national level, in school setting, to a group of 300 youths, 30 teachers, 5 psychologists and 300 parents/caregivers (one per youth), across the 5 participant countries (local piloting intervention, A4), that comprises one university and one school partners per country. The implementation phase includes training Psychologists on the career guidance method, and Psychologists, Teachers, Parents and Youths on how to use the platform for career guidance. For this purpose, a training manual and a users’ manual (IO4) will also be developed and used on the local training activity of the project (A4). Finally, an Handbook of Good Practices on Technology-Based Education for Teachers and Policy Makers (IO5) which will collect and share realiable guidelines for other schools or professionals to apply or be inspired to apply in their context.We expect that G-Guidance’s gamification orientation will make career guidance more appealing, motivating and useful, since it empowers and engages youths in their self and career development, and thus with higher chances of causing positive impact in short, medium and long term. At the same time, career guidance becomes more inclusive, as these tools will allow career guidance experts and educators to reach a wider range of kids, especially those less engaged, more absent and at risk of dropping out. The fact that all career related contents will be available in multimedia format (text, images, sounds, video) also promotes interest and engagement in career guidance, and foster inclusion for students with different characteristics and/or learning disabilities. Also important is the expected positive impact on higher levels of participation and support from teachers and parents/caregivers to youths’ career guidance, which will contribute greatly to the quality and success of career guidance in schools.All the outputs (content, manuals and tools) developed in this project will be made available in english, besides in portuguese, greek, spanish, italian and bulgarian, in digital format, on the platform and on an open access format. That, together with the multiples ways by which this information can be disseminated, makes it easy to replicate G-Guidance, and the career guidance method and platform to be used in any school/educational context internationally. All aspects of the project are designed to be used beyond G-Guidance, in any educational context, thus contributing not only to enhance career guidance, but also as tools to help psychologists and teachers develop new and efficient skills, namely in terms of digital literacy, tools to assess the impact of technology in education and evaluate and monitor technology based interventions. Therefore we believe that G-Guidance will have a positive impact at various levels and in a long term.

<< Background >>Secondary school education is a significant turning point in the individual’s academic life but comes with many challenges; a considerable difficulty for the students is stress. Recent works on the subject of stress in adolescents [1] points to the main reason for stress being: disturbed family dynamics, peer pressure, inability to cope with studies, drug abuse, lack of competence. Though the reasons for stress in students can be numerous, this project focuses on the stress related to students’ school daily life.Excessive stress during this stage could result in an increased prevalence of psychological problems like depression and nervousness, which could ultimately have a negative impact on the outcome of their achievements. Stressed-out students might have a reduced ability to study and take exams, which can impact their educational performance, and studies have shown that early adolescent school-related stress negatively affected academic performance later [2]. Moreover, the National Scientific Council on the Developing Child [3] reveals that the neural circuits for dealing with stress are malleable during childhood and adolescence, and chronic stress can rewire the brain to become overly reactive or slow to shut down when faced with threats. So too much stress can disrupt normal brain development and increase the risk of diseases even into adulthood. The previous points lead to the fact that proper care should be taken to help reduce academic stress in school students.Unlike adults, who can identify, communicate and then seek help from professionals when stress adversely impacts their lives, adolescents may not recognise or even have the words to describe how they feel, let alone find ways to cope with stress. Therefore a particular need becomes apparent; students must learn to become aware of their stress to acquire the coping mechanisms necessary to manage it. The POSITIVE project's main objective is to help school students learn, first how to identify stress and second how to overcome obstacles associated with stressful situations during school life. After the consortium has already examined potential moderators of stress exposure and reviewed the nature, sources, symptoms, and treatments of stress in children and youth, with particular attention being directed to the school setting, we propose to develop a 3D Virtual World Learning Environment that will simulate real-life scenarios based on school life that are stressful to students. The focus of the environment is twofold on the one hand, to increase stress awareness, and on the other, to help students better cope with stress. The environment will incorporate gamified virtual scenarios that the student can play while simultaneously learning about stress.The POSITIVE project is also about supporting school educators since using the 3D Virtual World Learning Environment will enhance educators’ competencies and make them aware of the students’ stress issues that can otherwise hinder students’ school performance.References[1] G. Snehlata D., “Academic Stress among Higher Secondary School Students: A Review” International Journal of Advanced Research in Education & Technology (IJARET), vol. 4, Issue 1 , 2017.[2] D. S. Kaplan, R. X. Liu, and H. B. Kaplan, “School related stress in early adolescence and academic performance three years later: the conditional influence of self expectations,” Soc Psychol Educ, vol. 8, no. 1, pp. 3–17, Mar. 2005.[3] National Scientific Council on the Developing Child. “Excessive Stress Disrupts the Architecture of the Developing Brain” Working Paper No. 3. Updated Edition, 2005.<< Objectives >>In today’s highly competitive world, school students face various academic situations that cause them stress, and providing opportunities to improve young people’s intellectual stress-related coping abilities during this highly stressful, crucial period of development is a vital target [1].The main objective of the POSITIVE project is to design and develop a 3D Virtual World Learning Environment (VWLE) using the potential of a gamification-based approach in which school students will engage in activities that will help them be better prepared for various curricular activities that induce stress and ultimately help increase their stress awareness and enhance their stress coping mechanisms.The goal of this project is to incorporate into the proposed environment mechanics and tools that are familiar and engaging to students, such as gamified mechanics (that can include virtual escape rooms, awards, points, etc.), cooperative play (using the same virtual avatar), social interactions (that can include inter alia, chat, voice communication, virtual item sharing, media sharing, etc.) and avatar personalisation (an avatar is a virtual representation of yourself in the virtual world). Furthermore, the environment will comprise a visually appealing and attractive virtual environment. These aspects will make the environment engaging to students, motivating them to play more and thus enhance learning.Inside the virtual environment, school students will engage in gamified activities that usually induce stress, such as doing their homework, preparing for an exam, engaging in school social activities, doing group assignments, etc. Students will play in a safe virtual environment, scenarios that naturally occur in their daily school lives that cause them stress. Additionally, completing the activity in the virtual world will reduce the stress in real life when the actual activity occurs. Furthermore, instead of scenarios dealing with stressful situations, some scenarios can teach students relaxation exercises (e.g., abdominal breathing, muscle relaxation techniques, etc.) that specifically target alleviating stress symptoms. Students will become aware of the situations that create stress and learn to identify them, prepare for them and ultimately better cope with them.Raising students’ stress awareness can lead them to seek help (to their parents, school teachers, or professionals) and deal with their stress issues while preventing them from becoming more severe as they grow up and join the adult community. Individuals who have developed stress coping mechanisms during their school lives can also help others with their example or by transferring their knowledge to other stressed individuals making a small but essential step in improving the community’s social and emotional wellbeing. Another important side effect of reducing student stress is that it can grow the student’s family dynamics. A less stressed student will induce less stress to their parents and siblings, significantly improving the family’s wellbeing.Enhancing students’ stress coping mechanisms can potentially help students increase their educational performance. If the barriers imposed by stress on educational activities are lessened, it will help students achieve what they were always capable of, having the potential to considerably improve a student’s school achievements.If students learn to identify and cope with stress at an early age, this is something that they will carry with them for their whole life. Coping mechanisms for stress acquired during their student lives can prove detrimental to the rest of their lives towards achieving personal and career goals, personal fulfilment, and wellbeing.References[1] M. C. Pascoe, S. E. Hetrick, and A. G. Parker, “The impact of stress on students in secondary school and higher education,” International Journal of Adolescence and Youth, vol. 25, no. 1, pp. 104–112, Dec. 2020<< Implementation >>The following project activities are planned (details on the project Gantt Chart, see Annex): A01: Project Plan (ISMAI) A detailed Project Plan (first version M2, final M22) will describe the working process of the project, tasks, activities, and deadlines. It will be a living document being continuously updated throughout the project.A02: Project Quality Plan (UPatras) The Project Quality Plan (PQP) (M2, M6) will describe the internal procedures (peer review process of outputs, communication plan, risk management, internal monitoring procedures, outcomes templates, etc.) that need to be followed by all partners to ensure the fulfilment of the objectives and the scope of the project. A03: Project Promotion Plan (Arsakeio) Development of the Promotion Plan which will be a living document (first version M4, final M24) describing the sharing and promotion strategy to ensure the widest possible promotion of the project. The plan will describe the envisaged sharing and promotion activities that need to be carried out during the project, but also after its completion. A04: Online PM tools (UPatras) Online Project management (PM) tools will be deployed by UPatras (M3) to facilitate communication between partners. The PM tools will include the use of a project email list, an online project management system that will include project tasks and activities combined with a monitor mechanism, and a secure file sharing system for the storage of project documentation and files, and a virtual classroom system. A05: Project website (ISMAI)The project website (M3, continuously updated until M24) will be created by ISMAI with the contribution of all partners and it will provide information regarding the project and its goals, expected outcomes, and partnership. It will also provide access to project results. A06: Project Social Media (eMundus) Project pages in social media (e.g. Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn) will make use of Web 2.0 technologies for the promotion of the project. These media pages will be created by eMundus (M3) and will be continuously updated during the project lifetime including contributions from all partners.A07: Project Logo, and leaflets (LosPinos) The Project Logo (created by LosPinos at M2) will be used in all formal and informal communication of the project. Project leaflets will be released in two versions at M6 and M18. A08: Project newsletter and video (UPatras) During the project lifetime, 4 newsletters (M6, M14, M19, M23) will be created and communicated through project communication channels to stakeholders. A promotional video will be released (M11) in English. A new version, including features from the final version of the environment, will be available at M18. A09: Internal Evaluation Reports (UPatras) UPatras will control the internal evaluation of all major events, outcomes, and activities and will collect all responses from all the partners and will combine them into a report. This report will be delivered periodically (every 6 months) and will serve as the internal monitoring of the Quality Assurance Procedure of the project. A10: Progress Report (ISMAI) The coordinator (ISMAI) will prepare the interim progress report for the National Agency (M12). A11: Partnership Agreement (ISMAI) Partnership Agreement which will reflect the major principles ruling the cooperation among project partners and the exploitation of existing & project generated value will be created by ISMAI (first version at M2 and final version after partners comments at M6). A12: IPR Agreement (Rates) The Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) Agreement will reflect all intellectual property rights of all elements created within the project. The first version will be available on M2 and it will be agreed upon, but the final version will be signed after the final version of the system (M20). A13: Closure Report (ISMAI) Closure Project Report for the National Agency will be prepared by ISMAI (M24).<< Results >>The POSITIVE project will include the following project results:PR1: This PR will engage students from the early stages of development, allowing us to investigate their views and ideas about gamified homework. This feedback, combined with the input from the partners will shape the game scenarios and educational material.This PR includes three major tasks:1) Students’ NeedsIn this task, the goal is to identify specific stress sources and activities related to school stress the students would most likely want to encounter in a 3D Virtual World. Furthermore, students will be asked to decide what type of gamification elements they want to experience during the play sessions and which features, usually found in virtual worlds, they would like to use.2) Game scenariosThis task aims to create engaging game scenarios that students will enjoy playing in the 3D VWLE. These scenarios will be based on the students’ opinions as they have been identified in the previous task and will be tailored to the specific dynamics the environment has to offer.3) Educational materialShort educational material will be created during this task that will be available in the 3D VWLE. The aim of such material is to be offered naturally, during games, or in areas between games to the students and to be embedded in the environment in such a way that will not remind learning.PR2: The consortium intends to develop a multidisciplinary and friendly gamified 3D virtual world learning environment, allowing the technical non-expert users to deal effortlessly with the in-world gamified learning activities about stress. This PR includes three major tasks:1)Learning environment Alpha, Beta, and the Final versionThe POSITIVE project will design and develop a 3D VWLE by using an iterative process. Inside the virtual environment, school students will engage in gamified activities that usually induce stress, such as doing their homework, preparing for an exam, engaging in school social activities, doing group assignments, etc. Students will play in a safe virtual environment, scenarios that naturally occur in their daily school lives that cause them stress. Students will become aware of the situations that create stress and learn to identify them, prepare for them and ultimately better cope with them.2)User Manual The user manual, which will offer details about the games, hints for the players who need further guidance, instructions on navigating and moving into the environment and accessing the educational material.3)Demonstrative videos of the environmentTwo demonstrative videos of the environment will be produced showcasing the functionality of the environment and the gaming features.PR3: Following the development of the 3D VWLE the POSITIVE partners will start inviting students and school educators into the environment. During the implementation, we will conduct user surveys that will then be analysed and combined with the implementation results will comprise the documentation.This PR includes 3 major tasks:1) ImplementationThe implementation will begin immediately after the release of the Alpha Version of the 3D VWLE by inviting students and school educators into the environment, continue following the Beta version’s release, and conclude by an intensive implementation of the Final Version, involving school students and school educators into the final multilingual version of the environment.2) Survey Results This task is about collecting, analysing, and presenting the data from students’ surveys regarding the environment’s effectiveness in increasing students’ stress awareness and enhancing their coping mechanisms during the piloting of the 3D VWLE. 3) DocumentationThe documentation will include all the details relevant to the implementation of 3D VWLE and the detailed analysis of the survey results, which is expected to be innovative, highly influential, and will probably lead to scientific publications.

"With ""Europa en el plato"" we cook wholesome dishes for the young and older age groups. Various ingredients from the two countries merge to create a unique taste experience for all involved. The Spanish and German languages serve as the basis, both of which are taught in the partner schools. The whole thing is rounded off, if necessary, by the English language. In both countries, cooking and tasting takes place in host families and/or in the schools. The utensils used are a wooden cooking spoon, a mixing bowl as well as a computer, a tablet and a smartphone, in order to document the cooked treasures and to make them known to the wider public. The ingredients are healthy, regional and interesting. Along with improving our culinary skills, the exchange will also broaden our knowledge on Spain, Austria and Europe."