Augmented Reality for STEM education Erasmus Project

Project Title

Augmented Reality for STEM education

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: Gender equality / equal opportunities; ICT – new technologies – digital competences; New innovative curricula/educational methods/development of training courses

Project Summary

BACKGROUND: The world experiences a continuous, transformative change due to globalization and fast-growing technology. Besides that, the COVID-19 pandemic requires us to develop new approaches on how to equip educational systems to face the challenges presented by the recent sudden shift to online and distance learning, including supporting teachers to develop digital competences and safeguarding the inclusive nature of learning opportunities. Nowadays, growing importance is devoted towards intelligent technologies in the education sector. STEM education has been set as one of the top European priorities. According to UNESCO World Heritage Centre data: Today, only 28% of all of the world’s researchers are women. Following this statement, the project partnership identified that the use of augmented reality as a tool in STEM education could solve a very wide range of problems, from the modernization of education to the transformation of learning experiences and gender equality.

The OBJECTIVE of the project “Augmented Reality for STEM education” is to promote Augmented Reality (AR) for teachers as an innovative and efficient digital tool to transform the traditional STEM learning process into an interactive experience and promotes gender equality in STEM.

PLANNED ACTIVITIES AND RESULTS: With the aim of tackling the challenge that teachers are facing today – to find new, attractive methods for educating students on important topics of STEM, project partners will create an 16 Interactive educational STEM materials (based on created 16 STEM learning lessons plans) with AR features using of Augmented Reality app and 1 guidebook “How to use Augmented Reality in STEM education” for teachers. All this educational materials will be used to motivate young people to raise knowledge in STEM Education.
The next challenge is understand and target the particular obstacles that keep female students away from STEM. If we have less information about female role models their achievements become ‘best-kept secrets’ and we can’t expect the female scientists of the future to look up to them. Leaving out girls and women in STEM education and careers is a loss for all. Project partners will create 1 motivational program to promote engagement of girls’ in STEM.

THE TARGET GROUP OF THIS PROJECT IS:
• teachers interested in trying new capabilities of Augmented Reality technology which may make classes more engaging, interactive and with knowledge more comprehensible;
• students and young people who are interested in using AR as a tool for combining smartphones and augmented reality in education. In various ways, AR could provide students with additional digital information on any STEM subject and make it easier to understand complex information;
• career consultants, STEM teachers and other school personnel interested in promoting STEM careers for the girls in schools.
All Intellectual Outputs of the project “Augmented Reality for STEM education” to be distributed in 200+ schools in Latvia, 200+ schools in Lithuania, 100+ schools in Slovenia, 50+ schools in Cyprus and 200+ international schools in Europe, positively will affect at least 50 000 students and 10 000 teachers in Europe in upcoming 5 years.

IMPACT AND LONG TERM BENEFITS:
• increased understanding and skills of using Augmented Reality as a digital tool and method among teachers, being internationally extended and making it a recognized tool – at least 10000 teachers by the end of the project engaged in the use of the tool in next 5 years from each partnering country;
• engagement of higher amount of students within STEM due to use of innovative tools and promotion of the ICT skills – at least 50 000 students by the end of the project engaged in STEM in next 5 years from each partnering country;
• Improved gender equality education in the STEM field, promoted girls involvement – at least 20 000 girls will be positively influenced to make a decision to choose a career in STEM.

The major impact of this project is expected to be the removal of prejudices among the countries towards gender equality in the STEM field and improvement of professional ICT competencies of both – teachers and students.

EU Grant (Eur)

Funding of the project from EU: 115600 Eur

Project Coordinator

Social Innovation Centre & Country: LV

Project Partners

• Vilnius Joachim Lelevel Engineering Gymnasium
• GoINNO Inštitut
• SYNTHESIS CENTER FOR RESEARCH AND EDUCATION LIMITED
• Saulkrastu novada vidusskola
• Liepajas Raina 6. vidusskola