Game-based learning in initial VET for Accessible Tourism Erasmus Project

Project Title

Game-based learning in initial VET for Accessible Tourism

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 : Strategic Partnerships for vocational education and training

Project Call Year

This project’s Call Year is 2019

Project Topics

This project is related with these Project Topics: Disabilities – special needs; New innovative curricula/educational methods/development of training courses; Recognition, transparency, certification

Project Summary

Games Without Barriers project aims at developing, within the initial VET on tourism, new training contents on accessible tourism and at experimenting innovative game-based approaches and digital tools for their delivery.

Context/Background
Accessible Tourism is an important sector with great economic value and a solid growth. However, the percentage of tourism operators that can benefit from this market is still low also linked to the lack of staff trained to cater for customers with access needs. There is therefore a big need for training on accessible tourism but, in this respect, the situation throughout Europe is significantly inadequate. Permanent and recognised vocational training offers are very few and mainly directed to continuing VET while training for accessible tourism services is neither part of any mainstream educational provisions nor initial VET.
In recent years the spread of new digital technologies and Internet has fostered the implementation of new teaching approaches, including those based on edutainment which, by applying gaming dynamics in educational settings and using new media (educational software, digital games, video games, etc.), encourage learning, making it more enjoyable, engaging and effective. Nevertheless, in the current formal educational context these innovative approaches are still under-represented. New forms of training based on gaming using digital technologies require new competences of the teaching staff. This creates additional challenges to the teachers who need to be creative, prepared for life-long learning and professional development in order to provide high-quality education.

Objectives and results
• to reduce the training gap within tourism VET schools with regard to accessible tourism issues, by embedding accessible tourism topics in their curricula
• to develop and experiment edutainment approaches and tools in training, by integrating game-based and experiential learning in the teaching practices and using new media and digital technologies in a creative and collaborative way
• to improve the knowledge of accessible tourism by teachers of tourism VET schools and increase their expertise and skills in the use of game-based learning approaches and digital training tools
• to increase students’ engagement and boost their participation in training activities.
• to increase students’ awareness and sensitivity towards disability and social inclusion of people with specific needs
• to provide students with new knowledge, skills and competences with regard to accessible tourism
• to increase the capacity of tourism VET schools to operate at transnational level, share and confront ideas, practices and methods

Number and profile of participants
Around 15 teachers of three tourism VET schools in Italy, Romania and Spain will participate in the project activities. All of them have been teaching subjects belonging to the domain of tourism for many years
72 students, aged between 14 and 19, attending the three tourism VET schools will participate in the experimental training activities during transnational exchanges of groups of pupils

Activities
• Organization of joint staff training events addressed to teachers of the partner schools who will be trained on accessible tourism issues and on the use of edutainment approaches to training
• Design of training modules on accessible tourism for use in mainstream tourism VET school programmes and formal recognition of their learning outcomes
• Design of training activities for the modules delivery focused on game-based learning and experiential learning, also through the use of digital technologies and tools
• Design, implementation and experimentation of a game-based web app on accessible tourism
• Experimentation of the new training modules on accessible tourism and the edutainment methods and tools during exchanges of groups of pupils

Methodology
Edutainment approaches – “game-based learning” and “gamification” – will be used in producing the game-based web app and in delivering the training activities to test the new modules on accessible tourism. In the implementation of the training activities the methodological approach of “collaborative learning” and “experiential learning” will be also adopted.

Impact and potential longer term benefits
• Improvement of the ability of mainstream initial VET to make better use of digital technology for teaching and learning
• Increase of the efficiency of mainstream initial VET to meet the needs of tourism industry that requires staff capable of correctly taking on customers with specific access needs
• Possibility for the tourism industry to exploit the high potential of accessible tourism market thanks to the availability of personnel trained to cater for customers with specific access needs
• More travel opportunities for tourists with specific access needs who will benefit from the increase of tourism services adequate to their requirements

EU Grant (Eur)

Funding of the project from EU: 287987 Eur

Project Coordinator

INCIPIT CONSULTING SOCIETA COOPERATIVA & Country: IT

Project Partners

• EUROPEAN NETWORK FOR ACCESSIBLE TOURISM ASBL
• Istituto Professionale di Stato Servizi per l’Enogastronomia e Ospitalità Alberghiera Servizi Commerciali
• WATTAJOB S.r.l.
• Colegiul Economic “Gheorghe Dragos”
• CONSORZIO ITACA SOCIETA COOPERATIVA
• FUNDACIÓ PRIVADA ESCOLA DE RESTAURACIÓ I HOSTALERIA DE BARCELONA