Международните проучвания показаха, че учениците от ЕС не се справят добре в областта на природните науката, математиката и грамотността (PISA, TIMMS, OECD). Един от специфичните приоритети на училищната образователна програма е да се преодолява слабото постигане на основни умения чрез по-ефективни методи на преподаване и по-специално чрез проекти, които насърчават интердисциплинарните подходи и интегрирането на преподаване на основни умения като математика, наука и литература, в среда обогатени с информационни технологии. Проектът COMMIX обединява 8 партньора от 7 страни от ЕС, които смятат, че сътрудничеството в използването на интерактивни комикси в образованието може да има положително въздействие и да увеличи значително придобиването на умения в езиковите, научните и други предмети и да насочи учениците на възраст 11 -16-годишни и изложени на риск студенти. Картинното възприятие в процеса на учене е признат. Рисуването и разказването на истории са част от естествения ни процес на учене от съвсем ранна детска възраст.Проектът COMMIX има за цел да насърчи използването на интерактивни комикси в образованието. От направения обзор за използването на комиски в обучението се установи, че комикси се използват от първите години на обучение включително за университетско ниво (Larry Gonick History, Science, Narrative, and India Ink). В световен мащаб комиксите са признати за важна медия в популяризирането на грамотността и се използват в образованието. В страни като Франция, Белгия и Япония е издигнат на почит, но повече в забавление. Един от най-известните сериали за деца Семейство Симпсън представя житейски ситуации с образователен характер. Не са идентифицирани пълни методологии за използване на комикси в учебния процес. В някои от страните, участнички в проекта, се прилагат комиски в обучението, но това е по идея на учителите и училището, не е стандартизирано на национално ниво. Прилагането на комикси в обучението може да има положително въздействие и да увеличи значително придобиването на грамотност, на умения в областта науката и други предмети и да задържи вниманието на учениците на възраст 11-15 години и на рискови ученици.Използването на комикси и интерактивни технологии в училище дава възможност на учениците да са творци и участници в историите, а не пасивни потребители. Създаването на картинни истории подкрепят развиването на умения като критично мислене и медийна грамотност и удовлетворяват потребностите на учениците да съпреживеят творческия процес на картинните истории. Въздействието на проекта е насочено към: - намаляване броя на учениците с ниско ниво на грамотност;- ангажиране на рисковите ученици в езикознание и академично обучение; - осигуряване на новаторски педагогически методи; - насоки за най-добри практики и стратегии за използване на комикси, графични романи и дигитално разказване на истории в образованието- предоставяне на възможност на всички заинтересовани страни (учители, родители, ...) да използват иновативни образователни практики и ресурси, основани на ИКТ, - създаване на ръководство за използване на комикси в образованието чрез изграждане култури и общности чрез използването на технологиите Web 2.0В хода на проекта се направи:- критичен преглед на подходите за използване на комикси в обучението като фокусът бе обучение на 11-15 годишни ученици- изгради се единна методология на прилагане на жанра комикс в обучението- преглед на значими текстове представени с комикси от всяка партньорска държава- набор от примери за приложението на комиски в различни дисциплини, които могат да се използват във всяко училище и идеите за следващи разработки като дейности за повишаване на граматичните и езиковите умения. - разработките по проекта са налични в сайта на проекта http://www.commix-project.eu/ и в обучителната платформа https://commix-project.eu/elearning/login/index.php. Достъпът до учебните материали се осъществява със свободна регистрация в платформата. Учебната система е изградена в среда Moodle. - семинари във всяка една от страните за разпространение работата по проекта.

<< Background >>With more than 90% of the student population learning partially or fully from home during the last year, there is a stronger need than ever to reform schools and support teachers and students develop digital skills and competences (UNESCO, 2020). According to the 2nd Survey of Schools on ICT in Education, although one third of students in primary and secondary education attend schools that have written statements on the use of ICT for pedagogical purposes and digital technology (European Commission, 2019, p. 98), only a few European education systems refer to school development plans in their digital strategies. In European Education systems, school leadership rarely holds a prominent position in national strategies, and their training and support is even less (EC, 2019). The partners of this consortium have been working for many years together in various initiatives. With the pandemic impacting all aspects of life, they came together with a project, the DigiLEAD, that is based on a very specific need: to upskill the competences of school leadership teams to develop digital strategies. The leader initiated the process, and all 7 partners, from 5 EU countries, conducted detailed analysis of their local context, implementing a needs assessment focus group in each country to examine the challenges faced by schools. One of the key findings was the strong need to train school leaders to understand the complexities of digital transformation and how to implement digital strategies in their schools. This is also justified by the DESI (2020) data. According to the Digital Economy and Society Index (2020) data, with exception the Netherlands, all other partner countries Bulgaria, Cyprus, Portugal, and Greece, are below the EU average, with regards to the basic digital skills of all individuals aged 16-74. Greece and Portugal are also below 25% regarding effective integration of ICT in school education (OECD, 2021). In Bulgaria, the lead applicant country, the Institute for Research in Education conducted a survey, in July 2020, with 135 schools across the country, 4448 students, 5403 parents, 1885 teachers, and 135 school principals, showing that 67% of interviewed principals identify the need for additional training for teachers to develop digital skills and competencies. This highlights the important need for this project to further support digital transformation in the partner countries.As highlighted in a report by European Parliamentary Research Service (2020), modern education should shape and prepare skilled future European citizens, promoting equitable social participation of all in a digitalized age. According to the 2019 EU survey on the ICT usage in households and by individuals, the average percentage of people aged 16-74 that possess basic or above basic digital skills in Europe is only 56% (Eurostat, 2021). Similarly almost all partner countries showcase a low percentage: in Cyprus 45%, in Greece 51%, in Portugal 52%, in Bulgaria 29%. The only partner country exhibiting an above average percentage is the Netherlands, 79%. In line with the partners’ work and objectives for digital transformation and technology-enhanced education, the DigiLEAD project will support the consortium to further develop and improve their capacities to learn, collaborate, and better serve their target groups in their respective countries. Through the project’s results, specific strategies and guidelines will become available to the target groups, namely school leadership teams, teachers, learning designers, educational technologists, support staff and policy makers. Participation in this project will benefit the target groups in terms of improving their skills for strategic digital transformation. This will result in promoting learners’ digital capacities, sustaining the goal of the European Skills Agenda to develop the basic skills of people aged 16 to 74, by 2025.<< Objectives >>The specific objectives of the DigiLEAD are to: -Support School leaders and staff to develop a digital strategy-Develop school leadership teams competencies for leveraging free digital tools and resources for school improvement. -Develop a practical toolkit aligned with the DigCompEdu, with practical, step-by-step guides on how to design and deploy a strategy. -Adapt and use the SELFIE and TET-SAT tools to support the digital strategy development. -Develop the digital skills of school leadership teams and teachers.<< Implementation >>To achieve the objectives set, the implementation includes a series of overlapping phases, aligned with the results and the GANTT chart attached to this proposal:PHASE A-Project Management, Coordination, Communication, Promotion (M1-M24): an ongoing phase to address all the PM and admin aspects.-Project Initiation and Value Propositions (M1) - Following a discussion at the first partner meeting P1 and partners will outline the value propositions for strategic digital transformation, establish clear expectations, timeframes, and templates for all results.PHASE B -Result 1/Digital transformation Strategy Toolkit for School leaders (M1-7): ITD supported by CARDET will prepare the practical toolkit, with the guide and self-assessment tool with all partners' contribution. The first draft will be presented in M4 and the final draft in M8, at the online meetings.-Result 2/Training course for School Leaders on developing digital transformation strategies (M6-14): UNIC will work with partners to develop the training package. The implementation of this result includes a LTTA in M14; four representatives from each partner country will be trained, return to their countries and deliver the training program to 20 school leaders.-Result 3/eLearning platform with mobile app on leading with technology (M9-24): it will begin in M9, led by KMOP. Content for the eLearning platform/mobile app will be developed by all partners. They will consist of interactive learning materials, with gamified characteristics, relevant to the needs of the project.PHASE C -Result 4/Collection of case studies and policy recommendations (M18-24): a concrete EU policy recommendation report will be prepared, led by UNIC and ESHA, to promote the integration of strategies for digital transformation. The goal of this result is to fit the brief practical recommendation reports into policy directions.-Quality Assurance and Evaluation (M1-24): Municipality of Lousada will develop a solid plan and monitor the project, ensuring the quality of project products.Participants of all target groups in BG, CY, GR, PT, and NL will also participate at multiplier events presenting the project outcomes and discussing the relevance of the project topic.<< Results >>The consortium of the project will develop a compendium of learning resources and activities focusing on strategic skills and tools to support the development of a digital policy to be deployed by school leaders, involving school staff, teachers, learning designers, and educational technologists in the process.The expected outcomes of the DigiLEAD project are: -Improved capacity of schools and education systems for digital transformation -Improved competencies for school leadership teams, teachers and school staff to develop digital transformation strategies -Improved capacity of schools and education systems to engage in online education. -Improved understanding of parents on the factors influencing successful online learning and their role -Improved learners’ capacity to learn online The DigiLEAD material results include: -A comprehensive Toolkit for School Leaders consisting of concrete strategies for digital transformation and online education.-School leaders’ training material on developing digital transformation strategies that will be used during the LTTA and which will be made available for participants to use in their own practice with their schools-An e-learning platform where all project’s material will be uploaded and will be freely accessible, along with a mobile app on strategic digital transformation-A collection of case studies and policy recommendations for strategic digital transformation-Detailed project plan with all tasks defined by quantitative and qualitative indicators, as a guideline and monitoring instrument (approx. 20-25 pages in ENG)-Partner contracts that secure all rights and duties of the partners involved, including administrative, financial regulations and payments. (approx. 5p in ENG)-Quality management concept: the QM strategy and evaluation activities, tasks, deadlines, and responsibilities (approx. 30p in ENG).-Promotion and exploitation plan with all evaluation activities, deadlines, and responsibilities (approx. 15p in ENG).-Promotion materials in various formats (e.g., flyers, posters, promotional videos etc.)-Intellectual Property Rights: to ensure that the public has free access to all project results and to settle any kind of further developments and transfers (approx. 3-5 pages in ENG).-Promotion and exploitation reports: they document and evaluate all promotion activities throughout the project’s lifetime.-4 half-yearly reports: every six months each partner will provide a full report about all expenditure, content development and evaluation activities.-4 Peer group evaluation reports: partners will evaluate all levels of the project through four questionnaire-based evaluation reports.-Progress and final report: according to the requirements of the project as well as the documents provided by the NA, the partnership will submit progress and a final report (if appropriate).The DigiLEAD non material results include:-Partners’ active application of the project outcomes in their professional practices after the project’s completion-Promotional activities to inform the target groups, stakeholders, and policy makers about digital strategy in school education-Multiplier events in each partner country and a Final Conference in Sofia BG to coincide with the final transnational meeting (in M24), to share the project’s results with relevant stakeholders. -Increased topic-awareness of primary and secondary education school leaders and decision-makers during the project’s implementation (through active involvement in various phases) and after its completion (the results will be freely accessible through various means, to anyone interested).

Nowadays, students’ well-being in European schools has become a challenge for numerous teachers to confront, partly due to the needs of the new digital world. A gap that directly arises from this is to develop effective tools for students to have a healthy online life (JRC). There is strong research evidence, which suggests that young people do not have the appropriate skills that a person needs in the new digital world (European Commission Recommendations). Any form of misuse of the internet could jeopardise the well-being of students, as well as their success at school (OECD, 2017). In addition, according to the PIAAC survey, there is an alarming need to develop the life skills of young people in order to increase their health literacy skills and well-being. The iWell project focuses on empowering primary school students, aged 9 – 12, to lead a healthy online life and boost their social well-being. Better levels of health are pivotal in order to reach well-being and happiness, as there is scientific evidence supporting that healthier populations tend to live longer and have a better rate of development (WHO, 2015). This project focuses on empowering students to develop the necessary competences to make informed and healthy decisions with regards to the use of digital media, in order to control the determinants of their health. Significantly, all educators and school leaders should acquire the necessary skills to teach their students in order to benefit the most of this great potential that is provided to them and try to enhance their digital literacy skills and act as “active health agents” to promote their students’ health literacy skills.In this context, iWell addresses the demands of providing teachers with the necessary skills of teaching their students to enhance their life skills and digital literacy skills for their online safety and social well-being. iWell satisfies a number of ERASMUS+ objectives and aims at:- Supporting educators in becoming “active health agents” to promote the digital and social well-being of their students- Enhancing the digital and life skills (decision making, social skills and self-confidence) of primary school, paying emphasis on maintaining a healthy balance of digital media use- Facilitating the teaching process to develop health literacy and critical thinking skills of students for their online safety and to maximise their learning opportunities at school - Facilitating the process of students to maintain a healthy online life.- Providing European educators with new approaches, ICTs methodologies and research-based evidence to foster social integration and integrate new tools into teaching activities The work of the consortium will be broken down into a series of overlapping phases, incorporating research, analysis, development, testing and implementation, localisation and exploitation of project outputs. The most important outputs of the project will be the development of the iWell Curriculum for Educators, Library of Comic Strips and the iWell Gamified Environment for students, which will address, among others, the thematic areas of cyberbullying, self-image and self-identity (creative and critical thinking, addiction in Social Media, healthy relationships (communication and interpersonal skills), self-awareness and empathy, resilience, coping with emotions and coping with stress. Students will be called to make decisions based on given scenarios to experience real-life situations through the gamified environment. The intellectual outputs that will be produced during the project are the following:-IO1: Library of Health Comic Strips-IO2: Curriculum and Training Material for Educators-IO3: Health Literacy Mini Games-IO4: Teacher Professional Development MOOC-IO5: Health Literacy Toolkit with Policy & Practice RecommendationsThe consortium consists of 6 partners from 5 European countries, which bring an extensive range of experience and expertise related to the aims and scope of the iWell project. In addition, the consortium aims to have a European outreach of the project activities, which is facilitated by the partnership’s diversity, along with the exchange of good practices and learning among partners. Longer-term benefits: The project’s impact and sustainability will be enhanced by involving numerous associate partners and members of the target groups and stakeholders during all the project phases. Development of Toolkit with Policy & Practice Recommendationswill also take place in order to show-case the project’s products and results among a variety of other stakeholders. A pivotal aspect of the project’s success is the extended network of project partners, which consists of more than 5000 organisations, which will be employed to disseminate and exploit the final outcomes of the project.