Accelerating aCAdemia´s DIGItal readiness for online and blended Augmented teaching Erasmus Project

Project Title

Accelerating aCAdemia´s DIGItal readiness for online and blended Augmented teaching

Project Key Action

This project related with these key action: Cooperation for innovation and the exchange of good practices

Project Action Type

This project related with this action type : Partnerships for Digital Education Readiness

Project Call Year

This project’s Call Year is 2020

Project Topics

This project is related with these Project Topics: Open and distance learning; New innovative curricula/educational methods/development of training courses; ICT – new technologies – digital competences

Project Summary

The ACADIGIA project is a 24months initiative fostering synergies in 6 countries (Portugal, Spain, Italy, Greece, Romania and Ireland) aiming to accelerate the digital readiness of Polytechnic higher education institutions towards the sustainable adoption of more online and blended approaches in education. ACADIGIA project, was conceptualized within the joint interest of the institutions involved to develop an acceleration model for enabling Polytechnics to embrace the digital transformation of the education and is founded mainly upon the 1st Strategic priority of the DIGITAL EDUCATION ACTION PLAN – Fostering the development of a high performing digital education ecosystem. This comes as a necessary capacity at individual, organizational, and institutional levels to withstand emergencies like the Covid19 (C19). Under this endeavour, the project will deepen in the role of the New Academia and the necessary adoption of innovative blended approaches, and target the transformation of the institutional staff into mentors who will animate and support peer2peer assisted groups of practitioners. These ACADIGIA groups will be intra-institutional teams that will be trained by the mentors towards new profiles of educators that keep in front of the evolution and mix their in-field competencies with pedagogical values adopting blended modes of teaching. The thorough implementation will allow to confidently tailor a dedicated fail-proof acceleration model and policy lines for the HEIs to make the methods reproducible, and add this last piece in the transnational scenery to complete the European puzzle of: #Frameworks of operation -> #Evaluation models -> and now the added “Acceleration model” related to Online and Blended education.
The project encloses 3 IOs, starting with the IO1 – COMPENDIUM OF AUGMENTED BLENDED TEACHING. This IO will develop guiding materials that enable a fast introduction and the usage of tools for blended methods in the Polytechnic HEIs. As a direct result, it is expected that a kit will be in place allowing HEIs to reinvent/rethink their role according to the flagship EU frameworks, do a fast diagnostic and grasp the basic use of the most recent open pedagogic tools. Then is the IO2 – TRAINING THE MENTORS. This IO will deliver detailed materials, guides and training that will be used to capacitate Mentors of the ACADIGIA. As a direct result, it is expected that a complete training kit and methodology will be created and the mentors are deployed and recognized. This will also be connected to a transnational training activity towards the destined mentors. Finally the IO3 – BRINGING ACADIGIA TO LIFE. This IO will dive into team formation and capacity building actions delivered directly to the teaching staff of the Polytechnics, and let the ACADIGIA methodology flourish and root within the institutions’ strategic policy lines. As a direct result, it is expected that the Polytechnic HEIs will have in place a team of mentored educators-ambassadors of the blended approaches, operating in peer-support groups that constantly develop, follow-up the latest cutting-edge technological tools and use them with pedagogical added value. Moreover, it will strengthen the strategic lines of the Polytechnic HEIs to respond to emergencies like C19, with the operational adoption of new formats that can be in line with contingency measures (ie Blended approaches to education).

Project Website

https://acadigia.eu

EU Grant (Eur)

Funding of the project from EU: 274610 Eur

Project Coordinator

INSTITUTO POLITECNICO DO PORTO & Country: PT

Project Partners

• THE PROVOST, FELLOWS, FOUNDATION SCHOLARS & THE OTHER MEMBERS OF BOARD OF THE COLLEGE OF THE HOLY & UNDIVIDED TRINITY OF QUEEN ELIZABETH NEAR DUBLIN
• UNIVERSITA POLITECNICA DELLE MARCHE
• INOVA+ – INNOVATION SERVICES, SA
• UNIVERSIDAD POLITECNICA DE MADRID
• NATIONAL TECHNICAL UNIVERSITY OF ATHENS – NTUA
• UNIVERSITATEA POLITEHNICA TIMISOARA