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Project objectives

What are the most important needs and challenges your organisation is currently facing? How can your organisation be improved to benefit its learners? Please illustrate your answers with concrete examples.

Digital innovations and technology are changing how students learn and expanding their future opportunities, which has a direct impact on what digital competences and new instructional technologies are needed to maximise teacher capacity in order to engage students and bring out the best in them. Global and local efforts to deploy new instructional technologies for distance education during the covid-19 pandemic and beyond are emerging and evolving quickly. Our staff has learned to transfer to online world quickly, yet we still see enourmous space for improvement in using online apps and curricula. Therefore, we seek to expand our teachers‘ digital knowledge while integrating newly created curricula into the eductational process. Content and language integrated learning and their digital application will be amongst the key intitiatives of this project. In the current situation, where teachers were used to creating extensive content to be used in physical classrooms and their application in classes, more remote need of education needs to be applied. In order to create this blended educational platform, the individual teachers need to be empowered to adopt the digital skills in order to create an interactive educational experience. Through this initiative, we want to overcome the issues the teachers are facing when adapting their existing material to the digital world and using such in online, rather than the traditional classroom. In the process of sharing the skills learned by the different teachers participating on the ERASMUS+ mobility, inhouse workshops will be organized and new joint curricula will be created as a result of this mobility.

Please define the objectives your organisation wants to achieve by implementing this Key Action 1 mobility project. Your objectives should be concrete, realistic, and should represent a real benefit for your organisation and its learners.

Objective 1

Title:
What do you want to achieve?

SENTIA wants to enable its teaching staff to create new blended digital and online curricula with content and language integrated learning capabilities.

Explanation:
How is this objective linked with the needs and challenges you have described in the previous question?

Our teachers have access to our library to prepare their lessons but using these in digital world requires the necessary skills and different approach than in the traditinal classroom. Therefore, we need to enable the skilled teachers to use the digital platforms in order to create new joint curricula which will then help the learners adopt the language better even without the classical everyweek meetup.

Measuring success:
How are you going to evaluate if the objective has been reached?

Our school organizes regular inhouse methodology sessions where experience and good practice is shared among the staff ranging from senior teachers and methodologists to newly certified lecturers. All information gathered through the mobility will be shared in these regular meetings and new joint curricula will be created and used throughout the team. Regular inclass (or online) observations will be performed in order to help the individual staff adopt the good practice and enhance their digital skills and competences. An observation protocol will be created on each such observation with suggestions on content and language learning improvements and other technniques adopted through this mobility project.

What topics are you going to work on in your project?

Creating new, innovative or joint curricula or courses Digital skills and competences Initial and continuous training for teachers, trainers and other education staff.

Please define the expected results of the planned activities.

What benefits are the planned activities going to bring to the involved participants? What are they going to learn?

Although the benefits emanating from this project will be manifold, SENTIA is focusing on three key areas for improvement. These are Creating new, innovative or joint curricula or courses , Initial and continuous training for teachers, trainers and other education staff that emphasises creative thinking and collaborative projects within classrooms while integrating Digital skills and competences to create an energetic and interactive classroom experience.

To which project objectives will the planned activities contribute?

Objective 1 : SENTIA wants to enable its teaching staff to create new blended digital and online curricula with content and language integrated learning capabilities.

How are the planned activities going contribute to these project objectives?

Each participant will share what they had learned during their mobility in a regular inhouse methodology workshop. Actual newly created and adopted curricula will be used in these workshops and thus provided to other educational staff who can then use them in their classes. In the evaluation process, observations will be held in participant’s classes to point out the good practice of digital skills and competences and content and language integrated learning.

How will you evaluate if the expected benefits for participants and other results have been achieved?

SENTIA has established clear criteria to ensure that the selection process for participants is fair and equitable. Preference will be given to educators who already have the mind-set for change in the classroom and take initiative to enrich students experience within the classroom and facilitate their learning process through extra-curricular activities. Educators who are already assisting the school in its vision of expanding Digital skills and competences will also be given the opportunity to develop professionally and develop networks to collaborate with foreign educational institutions for the benefit of both teachers and learners.

How you are going to select the participants for planned activities? Please describe the selection process and the criteria you plan to use.

SENTIA has established clear criteria to ensure that the selection process for participants is fair and equitable. Preference will be given to educators who already have the mind-set for change in the classroom and take initiative to enrich students experience within the classroom and facilitate their learning process through extra-curricular activities. Educators who are already assisting the school in its vision of expanding Digital skills and competences will also be given the opportunity to develop professionally and develop networks to collaborate with foreign educational institutions for the benefit of both teachers and learners.

Why did you choose this method of selecting participants?

Our methodology team communucates with our teachers on daily basis and a call for candidates has been distributed via email where even different participants suggested which aims are crucial and should be targeted. Fair access to further development of the educators is the primary goal of SENTIA methodology department. We want to ensure that the ones most in need of digital development get their chance and enhance the education of their pupils further.

Quality Standards

Organisations implementing mobility activities must adhere to a common set of Erasmus quality standards. The standards exist to ensure good mobility experience and learning outcomes for all participants, and to make sure that all organisations receiving the Programme’s funding are contributing to its objectives. In a mobility consortium, Erasmus quality standards apply to activities implemented by all beneficiary organisations: the coordinator and the consortium members.

The Erasmus quality standards are part of the Erasmus+ call for Key Action 1 projects. They are also presented below so you can read and easily access them again while writing your application. Where needed, appropriate application of Erasmus quality standards in the national context will be further interpreted by the relevant National Agency.

Please carefully read the Erasmus quality standards presented below and confirm your agreement.

I. Basic principles

• Inclusion and diversity:
  The beneficiary organisations must respect the principles of inclusion and diversity in all aspects of their activities. The beneficiary organisations must ensure fair and equal conditions for all participants.
  
  Whenever possible, the beneficiary organisations should actively engage and involve participants with fewer opportunities in their activities. The beneficiary organisations should make maximum use of the tools and funding provided by the Programme for this purpose.
  
  
• Environmental sustainability and responsibility:
  The beneficiary organisations must promote environmentally sustainable and responsible behaviour among their participants. The beneficiary organisations should make maximum use of the funding provided by the Programme to support sustainable means of travel.
  
  
• Digital education – including virtual cooperation, virtual mobility and blended mobility:
  The beneficiary organisations should use digital tools and learning methods to complement their physical mobility activities, and to improve the cooperation with partner organisations. The beneficiary organisations should make maximum use of the digital tools, online platforms, and other opportunities provided by the Programme for this purpose.
  
  
• Active participation in the network of Erasmus organisations:
  One of the objectives of the Programme is to support the development of the European Education Area. Beneficiary organisations should seek to become active members of the Erasmus network, for example by hosting participants from other countries, or by taking part in exchanges of good practices and other contact activities organised by the National Agencies or other organisations. Experienced organisations should share their knowledge with other organisations that have less experience in the Programme by providing advice, mentorship or other support. Where relevant, beneficiary organisations should encourage their participants to take part in alumni activities and networks.

II. Good management of mobility activities

• Core tasks – keeping ownership of the activities:
  The beneficiary organisations must keep ownership of core implementation tasks and may not outsource these tasks to other organisations.
  
  The core tasks include financial management of the programme funds, contact with the National Agency, reporting on implemented activities, as well as all decisions that directly affect the content, quality and results of the implemented activities (such as the choice of activity type, duration, and the hosting organisation, definition and evaluation of learning outcomes, etc.)
  
  
• Supporting organisations, transparency and responsibility:
  In practical aspects of project implementation, the beneficiary organisations may receive advice, assistance or services from other organisations, as long as the beneficiary organisations keep control of the content, quality and results of the implemented activities, as described under ‘core tasks’.
  
  If beneficiary organisations use programme funds to pay other organisations for specific implementation tasks, then the obligations of such organisations must be formally defined to ensure compliance with the Erasmus quality standards and protection of the Union funds. The following elements must be included in the formal agreement between the beneficiary and the service provider: tasks to be carried out, quality control mechanisms, consequences in case of poor or failed delivery, and flexibility mechanisms in case of cancellation or rescheduling of agreed services that guarantee fair and balanced sharing of risk in case of unforeseen events. Documentation defining these obligations must be available for review by the National Agency.
  
  Organisations that assist the beneficiary with specific implementation tasks (on paid or voluntary basis) will be considered supporting organisations and must be registered in the official reporting tools. The involvement of supporting organisations must bring clear benefits for organisational development of the beneficiary organisation and for the quality of mobility activities.
  
  In all cases, the beneficiary organisation will stay responsible for the results and quality of implemented activities, regardless of the involvement of other organisations.
  
  
• Contributions paid by participants:
  As a form of co-funding, the beneficiary organisation may ask participants in mobility activities for contributions to pay for goods and services necessary for the implementation of those activities. The size of the participants’ contributions must remain proportional to the grant awarded for the implementation of the activity, must be clearly justified, collected on a non-profit basis, and may not create unfair barriers to participation (especially concerning participants with fewer opportunities). Additional fees or other participant contributions cannot be collected by supporting organisations or other service providers chosen by the beneficiary organisation.
  
  
• Integrating results of mobility activities in the organisation:
  Beneficiary organisations must integrate the results of the implemented mobility activities (e.g. knowledge gained by staff in professional development) in their regular work, in order to benefit the organisation as a whole, its staff, and learners.
  
  
• Developing capacity:
  Beneficiary organisations should use the programme funds (and organisational support in particular) in a way that gradually increases their capacity to work internationally on a sustainable, long-term basis. In a mobility consortium, all organisations should benefit in this way.
  
  
• Regular updates:
  Beneficiary organisations must regularly encode the information about planned and completed mobility activities in the tools provided for this purpose by the European Commission.
  
  
• Gathering and using participants’ feedback:
  Beneficiary organisations must ensure that participants complete the standard report about their activities, as provided by the European Commission. The beneficiary organisations should make use of the feedback provided by the participants to improve their future activities.

III. Providing quality and support to the participants

• Practical arrangements:
  The beneficiary organisations must ensure the quality of practical and logistic arrangements (travel, accommodation, visa applications, social security, etc.). If these tasks are delegated to the participant or a service provider, the beneficiary organisation will remain ultimately responsible for verifying their provision and quality.
  
  
• Health, safety and respect of applicable regulation:
  All activities must be organised with a high standard of safety and protection for involved participants and must respect all applicable regulation (for example regarding parental consent, minimum age of participants, etc.). The beneficiary organisations must ensure that their participants have appropriate insurance coverage, as defined by the general rules of the Programme and the applicable regulation.
  
  
• Selection of participants:
  Participants must be selected through a transparent, fair and inclusive selection procedure.
  
  
• Preparation:
  Participants must receive appropriate preparation in terms of practical, professional and cultural aspects of their stay in the host country. The preparation should be organised in collaboration with the hosting organisation (and the hosting families, where relevant).
  
  
• Monitoring and mentoring:
  Where relevant based on the format of the activity, the sending and hosting organisations must identify a mentor or a similar key person who will be following the participant during their stay at the hosting organisation and who will help them achieve the desired learning outcomes. Particular attention should be given to the introduction and integration of the participants at the hosting organisation, and to the monitoring of the learning process.
  
  
• Support during the activity:
  Participants must be able to request and receive support from their hosting and sending organisations at any time during their mobility. Contact persons in both organisations, means of contact, and protocols in case of exceptional circumstances must be defined before the mobility takes place. All participants must be informed about these arrangements.
  
  
• Linguistic support:
  The beneficiary organisation must ensure appropriate language training, adapted to the personal and occupational needs of the participants. Where appropriate, the beneficiary organisation should make maximum use of the specific tools and funding provided by the Programme for this purpose.
  
  
• Definition of learning outcomes:
  The expected learning outcomes of the mobility period must be agreed for each participant or group of participants. The learning outcomes must be agreed between the sending and hosting organisations, as well as the participant (in case of individual activities). The form of the agreement will depend on the type of the activity.
  
  
• Evaluation of learning outcomes:
  Learning outcomes and other benefits for the participants should be systematically evaluated. Results of the evaluation should be analysed and used to improve future activities.
  
  
• Recognition of learning outcomes:
  Formal, informal and non-formal learning outcomes and other results achieved by the participants in mobility activities must be appropriately recognised at their sending organisation. Available European and national instruments should be used for recognition whenever possible.

IV. Sharing results and knowledge about the programme

• Sharing results within the organisation:
  Beneficiary organisations should make their participation in the Programme widely known within the organisation and create opportunities for participants to share their mobility experience with their peers. In case of mobility consortia, the sharing should take place in the whole consortium.
  
  
• Sharing results with other organisations and the public:
  Beneficiary organisations should share the results of their activities with other organisations and the public.
  
  
• Publicly acknowledging European Union funding:
  Beneficiary organisations should make their participation in the Programme known in their community and in the wider public. Beneficiary organisation also must inform all participants about the source of their grant.

Follow-up

What will you do to integrate the results of implemented mobility activities in your organisation’s regular work?

In order to implement the newly adopted digital techniques and created curricula during the mobility activitty, our school will disseminate the information and organize further training activities among the staff in order to share the experience and skills learned. Regular class observations will be held by senior teachers in order to share the good practice and give further guidance to employ all the new information gathered by the participants of this mobility project.

What will your organisation do to share the results of its activities and knowledge about the Programme?

To share results within your organisation

Each participant will prepare a workshop on the skills they learned or to present a new or joint curriculum which will be then applied directly in class. To those who cannot participate personally, a recorded webinar will be uploaded to the school’s website to watch the content presented at their discretion. Regular email invites and information from the seminar will be distributed to all teachers working within the organisation.

To share results with other organisations and the public

As a certified member of the Associacion of langage schools in the Czech republic, we will share the results of this mobilitiy among its member schools and staff. The public will have access to the results of this mobility in public courses which we organize and in corporate courses we offer. Our courses will also come closer to their final recipient – the students – as we will be able to provide the same quality tutoring in the online world as we always did personally in class.

To publicly acknowledge European Union funding

In order to publicly acknowledge EU funding, we are prepared to place the EU logo and our Mission objective in this mobility activity in our classrooms and on our website as well as on any documents arising from this mobility activity. Furthermore, we will proudly announce our activity in this mobility through social media channels to inform the general public of our mission and goals.

Project Summary

Please provide short answers to the following questions to summarise the information you have provided in the rest of the application form.

Please use full sentences and clear language. In case your project is accepted, the summary you provided will be made public by the European Commission and the National Agencies.

Background: Why did you apply for this project?

The need to train our staff in digital skills and competences became imminent when transfering to purely online platforms in 2020. As much as we try to develop our own inhouse trainings, the need for searching for new approaches and sharing the results of international cooperation is driving us to pursue further in applying the current curricula and joining in creating new forms of their use in the digital and online world while not forgetting about the personal guidance in form of blended learning experience transfered from our teachers to our learners. In this project, we hope to prove that digital learning experience can become comparable to live classroom experience.

Objectives: What do you want to achieve by implementing the project?

Digital innovations and technology are changing how students learn and expanding their future opportunities, which has a direct impact on what digital competences and new instructional technologies are needed to maximise teacher capacity in order to engage students and bring out the best in them. Global and local efforts to deploy new instructional technologies for distance education during the covid-19 pandemic and beyond are emerging and evolving quickly. Our staff has learned to transfer to online world quickly, yet we still see enourmous space for improvement in using online apps and curricula. Therefore, we seek to expand our teachers‘ digital knowledge while integrating newly created curricula into the eductational process. Content and language integrated learning and their digital application will be amongst the key intitiatives of this project.

Implementation: What activities are you going to implement?

Some courses focus on new instructional technologies to motivate and facilitate instruction and teaching ideas to develop digital communication projects, including digital business games and open innovation initiatives. Other courses promote STEM education for a cohesive learning paradigm based on real-world applications, such as Industry 4.0 and enabling technologies. Still other courses teach teachers how to develop an educative online environment to introduce other (often foundational) topics such as artificial intelligence or engineering design. Web based tool exploration are another important foundation of a modern educator.

Results: What results do you expect your project to have?

Through this project, SENTIA expects that participating educators experience cutting-edge teaching practices and ;education support systems. This will lead to learning outcomes that will be directly beneficial to educators through a sounder knowledge and easier application of new and effective methodologies that encourage student participation and embrace student empowerment. Participant personnel are also expected to become mentors to colleagues in the dissemination of knowledge and good practices learned through the international experience. The school also expects that this project will facilitate an analysis of its current practices to identify strengths and weaknesses that need to be addressed. From a student perspective, SENTIA believes that this project will aid enhancing student engagement and empowering students as should be reflected in attendance rates and academic results. Students should also experience a more democratic classroom where participation is crucial.