"""EDUCEO - Regional Industrial and Economic Research in Schools"" is the development of a school project that connects elementary schools and regional companies. Elementary schools usually cover the subject economics only superficially. The results of the two-year Erasmus+ project EDUCEO will be user-friendly didactic guides, free teaching materials and an online portal. The portal enables teachers to easily plan and execute the project in collaboration with regional companies. Thereby, the portal ensures that even schools and companies who did not participate in the development can carry out the project completely autonomously in the future.In elementary schools, the subject economics is usually only covered on surface-level. For elementary pupils, however, an age-appropriate and constructive introduction into the topic of business and entrepreneurship in their living environment is important. They need the basic economical knowledge in order to be able to develop ""entrepreneurial competence"" in the future. Due to being produced for a broader application, the teaching material for economics classes cannot meet the requirements of covering local information. Thus the children lack essential basic knowledge and practical experience in the field of work and production. Furthermore, teachers who want to provide an efficient and successful business education in elementary school are dependent on information from and cooperation with regional companies. EDUCEO aims to develop an information channel for schools, giving them direct access to information about regional companies and their economic fundamentals. The goals of the project are:• Development of a school project in which elementary schools and companies are networked• Teaching of economical contents for the development of entrepreneurial competence in primary schools• Ensuring the autonomous manageability of the project by teachers, made possible by:• Creation of a digital solution as a project output, allowing a free and uncomplicated dissemination and use of the final school projectThe project EDUCEO is carried out by four project-partners from Austria, Germany and Hungary. The participating organizations have expertise in the fields of pedagogy, IT and business. Their joint drive is to modernize teaching and raise awareness among students and teachers for the economy in their environment. Project participants are schools and companies. Students will gain in the school project basic economic knowledge and first insights into the world of work and the opportunities it offers. Especially in the time of shortage of skilled workers, companies can increase their level of familiarity within the region and present themselves as attractive employers.The final school project will be carried out by regional pairs of school classes and companies. In order to provide the possibility of an autonomous completion of the project by the two participating parties without aid of an external expert, EDUCEO will develop a complete didactic introductory guide for the project. It will enclose specially designed, age-appropriate teaching materials and target-group-oriented instructions for the project implementation. In a testing phase, the project will be carried out with three to five schools and companies within the region of the project partners (Obersteiermark West, Freyung-Grafenau district, Köszeg district). Most of the participating schools and companies have already been identified as associated partners in advance. The resulting feedback will contribute to an iterative conception process and the development of the online portal. Combined with a contemporary user experience that will be tailored to the needs of the target groups, a modern and simple lesson preparation and project implementation in class will be made possible.The online portal, in which schools and companies are guided through the project, will also be tested in a digital run with three to five partner schools and the user feedback will be incorporated into the portal. At the end of the project, the final portal will be freely accessible online.The intellectual outputs of the project will be available in three languages (German, English and Hungarian) in digital form. This will enable teachers not related to the project and teachers in other EU member states to carry out the school project autonomously. The dissemination of the results is supported by a large number of associated partners who are involved in EDUCEO already from the beginning of the project.EDUCEO covers several desiderata of the European Commission regarding the promotion of entrepreneurial skills as well as the use of digital technologies in teaching in a modern classroom setting."

"""AWAKE Attention, Perception, Concentration, Experience - Learning According to Neuro-Science"" is a project in the field of school education that takes on the challenge of restoring the basic attention of children to enable a natural learning process. All of this is embedded in the “Theater” learning environment, since here all neurosensory stimuli occur naturally and are continuously triggered during play. The results of the 28-month Erasmus + project AWAKE are a mixture of further training, modern teaching materials and video instructions that are freely available on a project website.Attention is the greatest force in the learning process. It makes it possible to grasp something new and unexpected. Attention is the prerequisite that the necessary information is generated in a learning process through the perception and opening of the senses. Attention is not only an integrative requirement for cognitive, sensory and motor performance, for the development of knowledge, but overall for the development of the personality.Significant motor, sensory and cognitive development problems have been observed in children in recent years and decades. The children have increasing difficulties in being curious, attentive, awake.With AWAKE, teachers are introduced to the neurosciences and a mix of materials for further training and use in class is developed for them. The goals of the project are:- Bringing together neuroscientific knowledge and pedagogy- Recognize children's problems in terms of attention, awareness, concentration, learning problems in general, social and personal problems- Preparation of an exercise pool with materials that trigger attention- Conception of an ideal learning environment in the form of classic theater, since all neuroscientific aspects are incorporated here- Creation of a digital teaching material mix, which is prepared from interactive content for learning the basics, a simple implementation of the learning environment ""theater"" in practice and teaching materials for practice with professional video instructions- Empowering teachers to rehearse a play (which can be performed in all participating schools at Christmas at the end of the project)- Creation of a curriculum for training and further education based on the project content and resultsThe target groups in the AWAKE project are primarily teachers from the compulsory schools for 6 to 14 year olds. The project deals with scenes from the classic plays ""Romeo & Juliet"", ""Midsummer Night's Dream"" and ""The Talisman"".The AWAKE project is carried out with a total of four partners from Austria, Germany and Romania. The participating organizations have specialized knowledge of education, neuroscience and theater. Their common drive is to improve the situation in which many children find themselves - the lack of attention and ability to concentrate on the part of schoolchildren, which prevent them from acquiring basic and key competences and subsequently also to be able to participate in society as a full member. Teachers learn about the neuroscientific processes that take place in learning processes in humans and are sensitized to the topic. With modernized interdisciplinary teaching, the students in the AWAKE project gain basic knowledge of how learning works, what positive emotions and experiences can be connected with it and how these can be reinforced by changes in attitudes. They also immerse themselves in the world of classical theater and get to know the drama.The project includes multiplier training in which 60 teachers from Austria and Romania are trained based on the content and results of the project. An international conference will take place in Vienna in the summer of 2022 to make the topic of neuroscience & education accessible to a wider public.The intellectual achievements of the project will be available in digital form in three languages ​​(German, English and Romanian) and also enable non-project teachers from other EU member states to carry out the theater project in their classes. The dissemination of the results is supported by a large number of associated partners who are involved from the start of the project.The project covers several desiderata from the European Commission regarding the promotion of key competences for lifelong learning, development of learning competency in the sense of ""learning to learn"", reduction of early school leaving and the use of digital technologies in teaching in modern teaching."

"SYSPELL - Systematic and Computer Assisted Written Language Acquisition is a project in the field of school education that takes on the challenge of helping every student in primary school to acquire sufficient writing skills. The project lasts for 24 months and consists of the introduction of linguistic research into practice, a freely available digital platform to assess students writing skills in an objective way, and modern teaching materials - managed and suggested by a specially developed algorithm.The project deals with a topic that is gathering more and more attention - the lack of spelling skills and, associated with this, very often poor reading skills, which prevent school children from acquiring basic and key skills. In the project, materials are developed, and primary school teachers are empowered to remedy fundamental deficits here.With SYSPELL, teachers are introduced to the linguistics, data-based lecturing, and a mix of materials for further training and use in class. The goals of the project are:• Strengthening of the students' spelling skills in a sustainable way• Data-based objectification students’ spelling performance• Creating a tool that makes teaching easier and supports the teacher in bringing students to the required writing proficiency level• Professionalisation of the teachers through the imparting of linguistic knowledge – this is also an additional effect that arises from using the tool and materials• Bootstrap effect – provide teachers the possibility for deeper examination of certain topicsTherefore, the following intellectual outputs will be produced in the project:1. Explanation of the English Orthography - based on prosodic characteristics of the language (O1)This Output covers the transfer of linguistic knowledge on the orthography from German to English. To adapt the structures that already exist for the German language to English, the phonological, prosodic, and also morphological structures of the English language must be analysed and categorized. In the systematic presentation, English and German can then be used to develop the further outputs.2. Guidebook for Teachers ""How to teach Orthography with help of Linguistics and Data"" (O2)Development of a guidebook as an accompanying work and with the most important information on linguistic background knowledge for the teachers3. Digital Tool for Teachers to Assess their Students' Spelling Skills (O3)Creation of a digital tool accessible as a website for an objective error analysis in writing acquisition in elementary schools for the languages English and German - to test the spelling performance of students in a systematic way.4. Teaching and Guidance Materials (O4)Development of materials and didactical guidance information that are suggested by an algorithm to the teacher, according to predefined requirement. The material collection will be deeply structured so that it can be used by the algorithm. The target group of the project are teachers from primary school and their students in the age of 6-10 years.In addition, the group of those teachers from focus schools will be addressed, as well as those teachers who look after children with special needs. The project is also aimed at decision-makers in the education sector and the products can also be used in higher school levels to remedy deficits.The project SYSPELL is carried out with a total of five partners from Austria, Germany and Great Britain, Hungary and Malta. The participating organizations have specialized knowledge of education, linguistics in German and English, and computer sciences. Their common drive is to improve the situation in which many children find themselves - the lack of writing skills and therefore also the development of insufficient reading skills, which hinders them to excel in their school career. In the end, the results of the project will have the greatest impact on the children themselves, as:• concrete improvements in spelling performance can be identified• curiosity and motivation in dealing with the exercise materials will be determined• the system of writing can be explained to children in an understandable wayThe project includes multiplier training in which 100 teachers and educators from five countries are trained based on the content and results of the project. The intellectual outputs of the project will be available in digital form in the languages German and English, so non-project teachers from other EU member states are also able to use the results. The dissemination of the results is supported by ELINET and other associated partners who are involved from the start of the project.The project covers several desiderata from the EC regarding the development of key competences and supporting individuals in acquiring them, reduction of early school leaving, the use of digital technologies in modern teaching and acknowledging writing as a life skill and the basis of a successful working life"

<< Background >>The partnership is applying for a grant for the project ANIWORX due to the necessity of connecting the educational sector with the creative industries to present students’ additional contemporary professions and options when planning/choosing their educational paths. The partnership consists of a balanced team of school partners and industry partners working directly in the animation film industry. The project should act as a best practice to bring such different stakeholders together.There are multiple needs the project addresses: An animation production consists of many different professions, and therefore covers a lot of different subjects. Commonly an animated film is associated with arts and creativity, but a large amount of work done is in the technical area and details about the activities conducted there are not known. The project wants to show students how all the topics they are learning school are applied in practice in an animated film production. A main goal of the project is to foster the popularity of the STEAM subject. Another need for students is to have another information source of possible career paths for planning their future. They will get detailed information of the skills, know-how and education which is needed to work in the industry. The materials resulting in the project will show teachers and students directly how theoretical topics are applied in practical examples. The European Commission’s has issued recommendations on “media literacy”. Following needs can be derived directly from there: spreading knowledge through information campaigns on how information and creative content are produced, edited, and distributed in the digital world; improve awareness of national and European audiovisual heritage and actively informing citizens of how the creative economy works. Also, the European Audiovisual Observatory found that only 20 % of the animation market of Europe consists of European productions. With the raising popularity and commercial interest on animated film – also with a focus on children’s programme – it is important to strengthen the European values in productions made in Europe. Another aspect is the application of the Digital Competence Framework, since participants – students as well as teachers – learn in the project the basic competences to produce their own animations and are enabled to utilize them for micro-learning and micro-teaching content.<< Objectives >>1. Insights into the animation industryThrough a strong partnership between industry and education, ANIWORKS creates the possibility for young people to work on topics about a medium that they really enjoy. They will learn that content from school curricula is an integral part of the daily work in the animation industry. In the specific professions, they can “look over people's shoulder”, but also see what they are learning for at school - especially natural sciences and STEAM subjects. These examples are selected by the interdisciplinary teams. Their implementation in the process of creating an animated film leads students to a fundamentally different perspective and deeper level of understanding. In particular it gives students the opportunity to test their talents in areas of which they previously had no information. They will discover the path in which their studies and careers aspirations can go.2. New innovativ Didactic with microteachingThe animations are a medium that speaks to everyone. It's fun to watch movies and animations also have a firm place in information technology. They are the medium of choice for “explaining the world”. Phenomena from technology, nature and philosophy, analyzes in daily reporting - every kind of illustration uses the products of the animation industry.In everyday educational life, animated films are standard today for illustrating complex topics. Microteaching as a short intervention to guide learning processes and to set impulses for independent learning has a high level of motivation in innovative lessons. ANIWORXS goes one step further! Students gain profound insights into the animation industry and the making of a film.The lessons refer to the essential technical, physical, biological, linguistic, artistic and digital basics of animation production.Ultimately, with the help of their teachers, the students use these skills to implement learning content in short animations themselves. They will be able to analyze the content down to its details and to link it with all its contexts. This creates the most complex and productive learning environment the human brain can find.Learning is no longer consumption, but active production. You learn to see and explain things in their complexity. Not only do they understand the lesson, but also how the medium works exactly.3. Connection of theoretical content with practiceIn order for lessons to come to life, it should be shown that theory is the basis of professional work. With this project, the students learn from concrete examples how practice depends on theory and fundamentals. The project partners choose examples from the curricula in interdisciplinary teams. They are prepared as teaching tasks for the individual subjects. Its content is theory, but the tasks are formulated in such a way that they correspond to work in animation. This creates a clear connection between the school requirements for the students and the applicability in the job. In addition, the students also acquire skills to be able to implement such small tasks in the animation area.<< Implementation >>The project ANIWORX consists of an interdisciplinary project team with three school partners and three industry partners. The activities leading to the project results are different approaches, they involve:- Design Thinking- Industry Research- Requirements Engineering- User Testing- Production of digital content (videos)- Production of a modern information platform- Career guidance- Curriculum research- Material development- Iterative testing of teaching and learning materials- Training scheme creating- Guidebook developmentThe methodology of the project team is to use modern approaches to create products that not only fit the needs of the target audience but excite them when using our outcomes.Within the project, there are four Transnational Project Meetings planned: - Project kick-off in Austria (11/2021)- 2nd meeting in France (06/2022)- 3rd meeting in Slovenia (02/2023)- Final meeting in Spain (09/2023)Also, in the 2nd project year a Learning, Teaching and Training Activity will take place in Vienna. Hosting organisation is the renowned HTL Spengergasse who will give students from school partners of Spain, France and Slovenia insights into their subjects and educational approaches. Students will learn more about animation and for teachers this activity acts as a platform to exchange about the progress made in the project. Both students and teachers will be able to identify in special workshops additional needs and topics the project results should cover. With a strong project team where every partner has a large network it will be able to disseminate the project directly to target audiences addressed.<< Results >>Within the project ANIWORX following results are produced: Result 1 - Information Portal - Website containing all other project results and more. The ANIWORX information portal is a hub for students, teachers and interested citizens to explore the scenes behind an animated film production. The goal of the website is to enable teachers and students browse through the departments of an animation film production and learn about the activities performed in there. Students and teachers will learn about the specific job profiles within the departments including the needs skillsets and educational possibilities in the project partner countries, as well as educational videos about the activities carried out in the departments and jobs.The platform consists of following parts: - Interactive journey through the departments - Information about the animation industry - Information about animation films/productions - Sections for 15 departments - Information about each department - Information about jobs/activities in each department The other results R2-R4 are also integrated natively in the information portal and are as following:Result 2 – Learning and Teaching MaterialsThe learning in teaching materials are building upon the industry information of the first project result, where topics have been identified to relate content of the regular curriculum to its application in an animated film production.There are lesson plans for about 50 topics showing students where and how the knowledge the are learning are applied in practice. Also, a collection of micro-learning exercises is provided for students, so they can sharpen their cognitive skills and create animations to explain and present certain topics.Result 3 – Discover Animation VideosThe educational videos are produced by industry professionals and not only give students and teachers a glimpse into their work, but they also communicate basic know-how about creating animations and its related topics, so students and teachers are enabled to create their own animations for micro-learning and micro-teaching.Result 4 – Teacher Training and GuidebooksThe fourth result of the project will be a teacher training scheme to train teachers who did not participate in the project in using the project materials. Every product of the other results is didactically embedded and for each category of materials a guidebook is created.All this will be accessible freely on the portal, so autodidacts are also enabled to study the contents themselves.The information platform with the other project results, which are deeply integrated in the site is a novelty since it combines insights of a creative industry, modern technologies, novel teaching and learning materials and an appealing topic – animation!