Learning Environment Applications Erasmus Project

Project Title

Learning Environment Applications

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 2020

Project Topics

This project is related with these Project Topics: New innovative curricula/educational methods/development of training courses; Cooperation between educational institutions and business; Quality Improvement Institutions and/or methods (incl. school development)

Project Summary

Currently and in the years to come more than one hundred billion euros are expected to be spent in Europe on school and educational buildings. In the German-speaking countries alone, investments of more than 67 billion Euros are currently expected by 2030. Although more and more experts are becoming aware of the important role that space plays in pedagogy, this topic has not yet been adequately and structurally addressed in any of the participating training professions (municipal administrative staff) or courses of study (architecture, administrative sciences, real estate management, specialist planning, landscape architecture, teaching professions for all types of schools). At the same time, the need and demand for experts and advisors in school construction and schoolbuilding consultants increases with every new school construction project starting. This is true for the rapidly growing cities and also in rural regions, since modern educational buildings in the 21st century are the main reason for the increasing demand for school construction and school building advisors.
At the same time, the involvement of users is becoming increasingly important in planning processes. In Germany, for example, most major cities have now established school construction guidelines that require the participation of all school stakeholders (learners, teachers and parents) (e.g. Berlin, Hamburg, Munich, Düsseldorf, Cologne).
However, participation needs to be learned, experience and the right tools are needed to deal with the needs of school stakeholders. Here, too, not only do many municipalities lack the necessary know how, but also many planning professions in the various occupational fields of modern school planning are missing the art of transprofessional professional process design. Time is also pressing in view of the current school construction wave. This is where the Erasmus+ project “LEA” comes in. It is conceived as a multi-professional pilot project that uses, creates or develops digital possibilities in a targeted manner. In aims to cover the urgently needed further training needs, quickly and efficiently, by interlinking participative digital and analogue procedures in a targeted manner.

In concrete terms, the following products are developed:
(1) a Massive Open Online Course on “How to develop Innovative Learning spaces”, also called “PHASE Zero” (Hybrid MOOC),
(2) an app that supports users in analyzing learning spaces and developing them further according to their own needs,
(3) a “PHASE Zero” game, which identifies the requirements for innovative learning spaces across age and professions and which smartly combines analogue and digital levels, (4) a process manual as a practical guide for participation processes, which is oriented towards innovative pedagogical practice (e.g. 21st Century Skills, Inclusion, Multiple Intelligences etc.) as well as modern administrative procedures and innovative, sustainable architecture.

MOOC and App will be set up as expandable digital learning spaces, available one after the other over the 36-month project duration. This allows participants to work on the content at their own pace, independent of time and location. The partnership aims at activating the modules and units “on the fly” during the project development, so that the project can grow organically and can be commented and improved by users. Essential practical experience is flexible integrated as excursions to innovative school buildings. The MOOC is a virtual meeting place for architects, representatives of municipal building management, school development experts and school decision-makers, for example, as professional, interdisciplinary learning communities. Education, business and administration combine to form a growing field of knowledge and experience resulting from practice. On the one hand, this enables cross-border learning and working and, on the other hand, an intensive interaction between the different professions, disciplines and subject-related expertise.
The MOOC will consist of different modules that are interlinked in such a way that participants from the different disciplines can first perceive (I) and appreciate (II) the perspectives of the other professions and training courses and can be certified as facilitators for learning space development (III) after completing the course.

All Intellectual Outputs will available as OER in four languages (D, I, GB & NL) for free download. LEA is a strategic partnership for both continuing vocational training by developing the various tools for professionals from public authorities, schools, school construction as well as school education, since “Space as 3rd Teacher” is a hot topic for European educational staff of all school types and real participation in practice is one of the most important pillars of democracy. It is therefore a cross-sectoral project concentrating on continuing vocational training.

Project Website

http://learning-environments.eu

EU Grant (Eur)

Funding of the project from EU: 259416 Eur

Project Coordinator

SOPHIA :: Akademie gGmbH & Country: DE

Project Partners

• LIBERA UNIVERSITA DI BOLZANO
• UNIVERSITAET INNSBRUCK
• ICSadviseurs BV