"IntegrateME! project is focused on the role of VET Trainers/Teachers/Mentors in the promotion of Cultural Literacy of immigrants and refugees towards their smooth integration in the EU diverse society. Becoming culturally literate, immigrants and refugees will acquire the knowledge and skills to understand and participate in a given culture and be smoothly integrated in the society of EU, personally and professionally. Knowledge of divers cultures, respect of beliefs and recognition of identities, through an intercultural approach, are decisive components that encourage the integration of immigrants and refugees in European societies. Being culturally literate, could improve their everyday personal and professional reality in their ""new"" socio-cultural environment, in which they will collectively work for the economic growth and social welfare of Europe. At the same time, ICT innovation is reshaping every aspect of our life (professional, social, educational, personal, etc), and so far has shown a great potential in affecting and improving it. In this sense, one aspect of our lives that is greatly affected is the development of virtual learning environments, which are considered to have a high degree of interactivity and complexity, not only due to the need of specialized and appropriate ICT learning environments but also due to the need of innovative didactic methods and learning material in order to maximise the effectiveness and efficiency of ICT available resources, as the educational activities must be comprehensive, aiming to meet the needs of tomorrow. Having all these in mind, the purpose of IntegrateME! project is to contribute to the development of a VET Open Educational Resource on Cultural Literacy aiming at training VET Trainers/Teachers/Mentors, who in chain will train immigrants and refugees towards their smooth integration in the diverse society of EU according to the Agenda 2030 Sustainable Development focus on ""leaving no one behind"". This project aims to meet immigrants and refugees long-term need for knowledge, skills and competences acquisition regarding Cultural Literacy, in order to help their smooth integration in their ""new"" home and contribute to their personal and professional inclusion in diverse environments. IntegrateME! project is an international synergy between 6 European organisations with a transnational character, having as target groups VET Trainers/Teachers/Mentors, VET Centres and educational organisations, immigrants and refugees. They will jointly work to develop a VET Open Educational Resource, extending their scope beyond the boarders of their countries in order to define common strategies for fostering critical thinking through the use of ICT tools on Cultural Literacy. The project has the following objectives: 1.To design innovative training contents and methodologies for VET Trainers/Teachers/Mentors on Cultural Literacy embracing effective use of ICTs2.To increase the professional development (knowledge,skills, competences) of VET trainers to effectively support immigrants and refugees in integrating themselves, through Cultural Literacy, in their ""new"" home,3.Enhance pedagogical competences and skills development for effectively teaching issues related to Cultural Literacy 4. Build a creative, motivating and positive learning environment.The objectives will be accomplished through the following project's innovative products: *VET Trainer Curriculum to be used by VET Trainers/Teachers/Mentors for their professional development on Cultural Literacy, *VET Trainer Pedagogical Handbook on Cultural Literacy including in depth information, basic concepts, definitions and innovative methodological approaches regarding Cultural literacy, *Creation of a VET Open Educational Resource including an e-learning platform to be used as a training tool in the framework of Cultural Literacy, * Development of a Serious Game, which will be an on-line educational game in order to promote and motivate learning on Cultural Literacy in a playful manner."

For teachers, the COVID-19 Pandemic has become a great challenge, for which there is no preconfigured playbook that can guide appropriate responses. The crisis has, among other things, demonstrated the complexity of keeping young primary school students attentive to the online explanations of teachers, which is one of the main problems that teachers have encountered in their improvised online classes, as maintaining attention and motivation can be even more challenging when using new methodologies for blended, and distance learning, as the COVID19 breakout dictates.Additionally, when it comes to second language teaching the obstacles might be even greater, as language acquisition in all its contexts, and especially in second language acquisition, is a complex process that can only become effective if the appropriate methods for total immersion of students in the natural language environment are created. The learning process that we typically find in the classroom, either that is based on traditional translation-based methods or more interactive everyday dialogues and material, still cannot be compared to the real experience that the students can have nowadays with the use of technology. Augmented Reality(AR) can be defined as “a real-time direct or indirect view of a physical real-world environment that has been enhanced/augmented by adding virtual computer-generated information to it” [Carmigniani & Furht, 2011.]. A number of studies have uncovered its potential in language learning, as well as in increasing motivation among college students learning English (Li and Chen, 2014; Lu, Lou, Papa & Chung, 2011). Through its ability to use add-on digital assets to explore and expand scenes and locales from the real world, there is an obvious connection between AR and current theories of second language acquisition which emphasize localized, contextual learning and meaningful connections to the real world.Also, using AR through mobile technologies facilities social interactivity, enabling interaction and collaborative learning, the benefits of which for second language acquisition have long been recognised (Chapelle, 2001). However, despite the fact that Several studies published in the last four years have shown that AR enhances learning and classroom interactions, helps students maintain positive attitude to learning, enhances collaboration, and motivates students to do better, so far its use in language classrooms has been limited.In primary education, as our observation based on the needs analysis we have implemented, the majority of students are required to learn English in the vast majority of EU Member States. Indeed, learning English is mandatory both within the education curriculum in several Member States but is also a requirement in finding a job, and so a number of them have almost 100 % of pupils learning this language already in primary education (https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/statistics-explained/pdfscache/1151.pdf). With the target group being primary school teachers, and our main informants highlighting the existence of this need in our needs analysis, we propose the use of tools that help to engage students, and that have also been shown to improve learning and can be used ubiquitously through mobile devices in non-formal learning environments, outside the school. Thus, with this project we aim to train school teachers to use AR when teaching English as a foreign language to young students, who are also the final beneficiaries of the project. Objectives•To create a realistic learning environment for learners of a second language so as to motivate them to learn•Design, test and publish an innovative educational package based on AR technology for primary school teachers that will guide and support their English (or any other) as second language teaching •To provide quality training to primary school teachers on how to utilise the innovative educational package in traditional or virtual/online classroom.ResultsIO1: Desk research: A literature review comparing traditional approaches and augmented reality in language acquisitionIO2: A teacher handbook with lesson plans for language learning through ARIO3: Augmented Reality application, with which we aim to generate a methodology that makes students an active part of learning, and also allows collaborative learning2 training activities: C1 to train the VET trainers (3 training workers from each country) and C2 to train primary school teachers (5 teachers from each country), on the educational AR for EFL package developed during the project. The aim of these training activities is to maximize the impact of the project allowing them to use the application effectively and give participants the necessary training and skills.-6 national multiplier events to promote the project, its intellectual outputs, and its outcomes

<< Background >>From the educational point of view, there is a worldwide acknowledgement that our education system is quickly becoming outdated: criticisms are spreading from different society sectors, blaming it for not helping develop the natural skills that children possess, for using a content-based curriculum, for stressing the importance of quantitative assessment etc.Such criticisms are expressed by parents’ associations, companies, the children and even the teachers themselves, confined to mere content transmission and thus unable to carry out effective and innovative pedagogical practice.The educational philosophy behind the implementation of programmes such as PISA (Programme of International Student Assessment) has not helped build the student-based pedagogy that is being claimed for by all agents involved in education: it has put the emphasis on content rather than skills, on subjects rather than disciplines and on summative assessment rather than formative assessment.As a result, the modern education system’s needs are: developing students’ soft skills like communication, collaboration, critical thinking, assertivity, creativity and resilience; setting up the “learning lo learn” pedagogy, in which students explore their own learning skills and preferences; fostering trans-disciplinary methodologies; implementing the STEAM philosophy; digitalising education, also considering the effects that COVID pandemic has generated; building national and international network which will improve the educational outputs and speed up the modernising process.From the environmental point of view, there is no doubt that we are living in a critical era: climate change is an undeniable reality and we are literally getting past the point of no return. Most of the reasons behind the actual dramatic situation rely on ignorance: a part of the society did not know or did not want to know where we were heading. Now that science has cleared the path from all sorts of doubts surrounding climate change, it is the education system's responsibility to pass this knowledge on to students. Its mission, nonetheless, is not limited to raising awareness of the problems, but also to offer possible solutions, both in technological and practical terms.From the social point of view, COVID pandemic has deepened the differences between mainstream society and groups at risk of social exclusion: the access to digital technology has revealed itself as the hinge around which online education spins. Now more than ever it is fundamental to grant access to digital education to all social groups, no matter their socio economic status. By submitting our project we aim to provide an innovative pedagogical solution based on the Internet of Things approach that addresses all three needs described above: modernising education, increasing environmental awareness and ensuring access to digital education for pupils and students at risk of social exclusion.<< Objectives >>The first objective is providing an innovative educational approach based on the STEAM philosophy that will grant pupils and students the chance to work with materials and technology they have never used so far.The second objective is improving the target students’ soft skills: communication, collaboration, critical thinking, assertivity, creativity and resilience, thus creating the conditions to implement the “learning to learn” practice.The third objective is raising the environmental awareness of secondary and primary school students, giving them the possibility to design and implement pilot projects aimed at reducing the impact of our daily lives on climate change.The fourth objective is to test cutting-edge pedagogical approaches by merging Vygotsky’s Theory of Social Learning with Gardner’s Multiple Intelligences’ Theory.The fifth objective is providing implementation guidelines that will include both the technological and pedagogical aspects of the project, in order to ensure replicability.The sixth objective is improving the digital skills of the students involved, by utilising video editing and website back-end usage.The seventh objective is making all of the above available to students belonging to families at serious risks of social exclusion.<< Implementation >>Our project's main goal is Implementing cutting-edge technology through a solid pedagogical basis, making it available to every type of school (primary and secondary) and social background (mainstream and low-income). That is why we chose to develop as the main Project Result a low-cost innovative Internet of Things pedagogical pack, which includes hardware, open source educational software, app design, electronic hardware, implementation guidelines, MOOCs and an e-learning platform where all the methodology will be presented in a user-friendly way.We aim to use the Internet of Things approach in the classroom as a trans-disciplinary subject that will enable students to improve their Mathematics, Physics and English skills, but also soft skills like communication, collaboration, creativity, critical thinking, assertivity and resilience.In order to reach that goal we will apply Lev Vygotsky's Social Learning Theory to Internet of Things teaching: we will create the conditions to appropriately use the Zone of Proximal Development through the implementation of the Interactive Groups method.We will first train the involved teachers in programming, app design and electronics, then we will set up eco-technology courses at each partner school. These courses will provide effective feedback to modify and improve the software (available in two versions: primary and secondary school) and the hardware (which will include 3D printing and laser cut technology with recyclable materials, in order to have eco-friendly outputs), thus enabling us to design technological guidelines to help teachers use PR1 and PR2 in their classes.During the third year of the project, in spring 2024, we will carry out the blended mobility of students, during which the Turkish secondary school students will teach the Spanish primary school students. It will be executed using Vygotsky’s Social Learning Theory: the more experienced students will teach the others, organised in groups of five members: one trainer and four trainees (Interactive Groups method).Upon the LTTA completion we will be able to deliver also pedagogical guidelines, that will provide teachers from all over Europe with relevant information about how to effectively use the innovative technology we propose (PR3).It is important to highlight the social inclusion component in our project: we will select pupils and children coming from very different social backgrounds, some of which belong to Roma families at risk of social exclusion.In order to disseminate the project results effectively, we will create MOOCs in Spanish and English, with subtitles in Romanian, Turkish and Greek, and gather them on a specific YouTube channel, available online for free all over the world.The software, the technological and pedagogical guidelines and the MOOCs will be available for at least ten years on a specially-designed e-learning platform, edited by both the teachers and students involved, with detailed information about all project stages (PR4).<< Results >>In the first project result (PR1), we aim to provide solutions that can be affordable to students at risk of social exclusion, therefore we are seeking low-cost IoT educational solutions. The type of project we propose will use affordable electronic projects based on ESP32 and Raspberry Pi that can include either Bluetooth or WiFi. In particular, we will focus on IoT solutions for ecological projects, involving a set of sensors and actuators that will allow us to reproduce, in a mock-up, a complete smart-house project, including transversal elements of innovation such as energy saving, water saving, fire-alarm, domotics, etc. The idea is to produce a modular solution so that energy saving, water saving and fire-alarm and domotics are separate modules that could cost separately very few euros individually and thus will be affordable to everyone, including students at a risk of social exclusion. Among the sensors and actuators we consider are: temperature, humidity, smoke, proximity, and noise sensors and thermostats, locks, valves and servos to actuate in the environment.Obviously, modules can be combined to produce more complex solutions, designed to be a complete educational start-up toolkit for educational IoT projects.The second project result (PR2) includes two complementary software tools, one specialised in primary school, using Arduino and ESP32 electronics and another one specialised in secondary school, using ESP32 and Raspberry PI. Indeed, both tools will be used and tested by all school partners P1 and P4 and the pedagogical guidelines in PR3 will indeed depend on their experience gained in this PR.The potential of these tools will allow students, for instance, to observe how temperature or humidity varies over the time in a greenhouse and publish them in a Google sheet to perform statistical analysis; to send notifications (via e-mail or App notifications) to prevent a fire in a smart house by monitoring the presence smoke and inflatable gases and evenmore to set the smart house in a safe mode when the risk of fire is present (i.e.: by closing the windows); to control the lights of a smart house using a voice assistance (i.e.: Alexa amazon echo) or to remotely control a device using an external App or web-page. All these previous examples are highly innovative experiences that can be included in school activities including learners from at early stages to more mature learners at the edge of University studies.The tools to be developed, will be published in open-access/open-source, with appropriate written documentation on each instruction and a few examples provided, if possible. This ensures that the impact and transferability potential of this PR will be high.The third project result (PR3) consists of technological and pedagogical implementation guidelines which aim at enabling teachers to master the technical and pedagogical skills necessary for using the eco-technological pack in order to enrich their teaching and learning activities in classrooms and to develop their own technological activities with innovative, student-centered and constructivist pedagogical approaches and with a focus on preventing school failure and early school leaving.The e-learning platform (PR4) represents the backbone of our online dissemination strategy. It will include all needed contents to allow teachers, students and users in general to put in practice the technological and methodological solutions we will elaborate and to allocate and produce educational resources such as PDF, PPT, tutorials, videos, etc…Its architecture will be WordPress-based (or similar), with a wide variety of user-friendly plugins to ensure that all content will be quickly available. It will include a blog, to share the latest project news with our web users and obtain relevant feedback through the blog comments. It will also be a MOOC portal, where all videos created by teachers and students, as well as the teaching material will be posted.

"In recent years, migration has been a topic of intense public attention in the EU. In 2015, the so-called “refugee crisis” culminated in Europe and ever since then migration flows across Europe continue, with immigrants searching for a better future in the economic prosperity and political stability of the EU. According to Eurostats (2017), the immigrants' rates in the project's partner countries were: in Portugal 3,6 per 1000 inhabitants, inCyprus 24,8 per 1000 inhabitants, in Spain 11,4 per 1000 inhabitants, in Greece 10,4 per 1000 and in Italy 5,7 per 1000 inhabitants. These European countries in proportion to their population received great numbers of refugees, and organised efforts have been made through the years to smoothly integrate them in an environment characterised by tolerance and respect, which contributes to social cohesion. Building relationships with migrant communities and minority groups through intercultural communication and dialogue, as well as empathetic, tolerant and inclusive interaction, could fight prejudice and negative cultural stereotypes that exist in today's diversified European societies and enforce efforts towards an inclusive society of 'leaving no one behind"".People often talk that learning the language of the ‘host’ country is imperative for migrants to their “new” homes, both for personal and career development as well as for a good standard of life. It is the path to understanding other ways of living, which in turn opens up the space for intercultural tolerance. Learning the language facilitates working and studying in the ‘host’ country and allows true intercultural communication. In other words, multilingualism contributes a great deal to the key European values of democracy, equality, transparency, and competitiveness(https://ec.europa.eu/commfrontoffice/publicopinion/archives/ebs/ebs_243_en.pdf).Unfortunately, with the several millions of people seeking refuge in Europe, one of the most serious challenges faced by civil society is to offer refugees the possibility to learn the language of the ‘host’ country, practice, improve their language skills and feel the confidence to use it for communication purposes, therefore minimizing the communication gap and make their inclusion in the European society easier. Therefore, in the EU context, educational systems are increasingly challenged to realign goals to prepare linguistically diverse populations. Across these dynamic educational contexts, the why, the what, and the how of language education has been approached in different ways recently, exploring variations in teaching approaches and methodologies.Contemporary theatre approaches could prove to be effective means for adult educators to teach a Second Language (SL) to people of minority groups, in a fun, motivating and stimulating way and help them overcome their insecurities of using the language of the 'host' country to communicate. The use of theatre in the teaching of foreign languages is not a new approach—it can be traced back to the 19th century (Schewe, 2007), but in modern times, contemporary, alternative and creative approaches have been generated in European and international level that gives theatre and its contribution to language learning a new dimension, with creative approaches, lending meaning to language structures by letting learners experience the language in concrete situations (Giebert, 2014).In this context, an international synergy between 6 European organizations, each one having specific expertise in theatre approaches, language teaching/learning, migrants and refugees, will be developed with the same need: the exchange of best practices on teaching SL through contemporary theatre approaches for the social inclusion of minority groups in Europe of leaving no one behind. The organisations will work together, learn from each other, share best practices, having as target groups adult educators, SL educators, trainers/mentors/professionals involved with immigrants and refugees, we propose a project having the following objectives:1. To increase the professional development of the target groups through European collaboration, non-formal and intercultural learning involving contemporary theatre approaches for teaching SL by means of 6 Short-term joint staff training events for the exchange of good practices.2. To strengthen the networking among partners and bring together the best contemporary theatre practices to facilitate teaching SL towards the social inclusion of minority groups in European societies."

Põlva School is the county's biggest school formed in 2016 by uniting three previous local municipality schools. The school has started international communication but there are few working international networks considering the size of the school. The grater part of teachers´ passiveness in international communication is caused by insufficient foreign language skills. The aim of the current project is to improve school's personnel's foreign language skills and achieve more advanced professional skills on one's speciality. Better foreign language and professional skills are effective for creating larger and stronger teams for international communication. Põlva School values sustainable development in education and more efficient opportunities in learning and teaching of foreign languages. To fulfil the goals of the project 11 teachers will be sent to the international mobilities. The number of mobilities is in concordance with the school's international cooperation plan. The majority of teachers participating the mobilities have a little or no experience in the field of international relations. An essential activity supporting the main goal of the project is to use the gained knowledge and relevant practices in lessons and after-class work, also promoting these ideas among the colleagues and community as well as starting and participating in new international projects. As a result of the project teachers' foreign language skills and quality of the lessons improve, and there will be more international relations which in turn enriches the students' and teachers' foreign language skills and world view. The results of the project will be disseminated in the organization, in local and national media, and in social media. In the long term, thanks to the project, the school has more professional and motivated personnel, more efficient teaching and training, and a lot of good international relations.