eCraft2Learn - SYNYO GmbH

eCraft2Learn: New approaches to improve digital skills and create technologies

leo — Mon, 31 Dec 2018 07:47:53 +0000

eCraft2Learn

eCraft2Learn: New approaches to improve digital skills and create technologies

Digital technology is drastically changing the way we live and work together, especially when it comes to defining the jobs of tomorrow. Education systems are oftentimes struggling to catch up with nowadays rapid speed of technological development. The now finished project eCraft2Learn was dealing with the challenges in this context – and has found new ways to enhance digital skills and technology-making.

Teachers and education authorities are doing their best to instil digital skills in their students. Internet safety, programming excursions, and circuit building are finding their way into some curricula. However, the approach is far from uniform and does not go far enough, and all too often it is only the well-funded schools that have the resources to prepare their students for what is to come.

As early as 2013, the European Commission stated that the challenge is not a lack of technology in schools, but the wide disparities in the meaningful use of technology in the classroom (European Commission, 2013, Survey of schools: ICT in education). In addition, most of the technologies used in education and training today do not support the learning skills of the 21st century. In many cases, the new technologies simply reinforce the old ways of teaching and learning in the current school environment, and very often they are introduced after a narrow notion that they are only suitable for gifted children.

Challenging the status quo in STEAM education

The EU-funded eCraft2Learn project sought to challenge the status quo and promote the recognition that the ability to craft and program technological devices fosters knowledge and skills that are valuable to every citizen. The project aimed to increase personalized learning and teaching in STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Mathematics) education and to financially support the development of 21st century skills that will enhance the inclusion and employability of young people in the EU.

In order to get a clearer idea of what is needed, the consortium developed ‘personae’, target persons, whose needs and contexts were analysed. They looked at primary and secondary school students, school leaders and teachers of different ages and subjects. Based on this initial research, the team designed, tested and validated an ecosystem based on digital fabrication and manufacturing technologies to create computer-supported artefacts.

Further development of existing platforms

The team also used and contributed to the further development of existing technical platforms such as Arduino and Raspberry Pi electronics, cloud-based 3D printer simulators and content generated by the maker community. To help educators adopt this new approach, the team also developed a space for teachers.

Students can collaborate via the digital platform. Signing up is easy: all the teacher needs to do is create a new session ID. The package of activities and lesson plans is available to teachers from all over the world, not just in the pilot countries Finland and Greece. There is also an online community support platform where anyone can register and join the community to share ideas and experiences.

eCraft2Learn also addresses the needs of businesses. They have established sustainable, cooperative networks with local industry to turn the students into project-solving, ambitious entrepreneurs. This should help to raise awareness of the need for digital manufacturing technologies in education.

Links

eCraft2Learn project website

https://project.ecraft2learn.eu/

Keywords

Maker-movement, digital fabrication, computer-aided artifcats, personalized learning & teaching, STEAM

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eCraft2Learn: Student tools for the creation of computer-supported artefacts

leo — Tue, 01 May 2018 10:33:09 +0000

eCraft2Learn

eCraft2Learn: Student tools for the creation of computer-supported artefacts

The main output of the eCraft2Learn project is the creation of a Unified User Interface including ideation, planning, creation, programming and sharing tools for students. The platform includes a large variety of tools and software that can be used for the creation of computer-supported artefacts and can be individually adapted by teachers to best fit the needs of each class.

The EU-funded project eCraft2Learn focuses on researching, developing, piloting and validating an ecosystem based on digital fabrication and making technologies for creating computer-supported artefacts. To achieve this, digital tools are required that allow students to ideate, plan, create, program and share their projects collaboratively. Therefore, eCraft2Learn created a platform that unifies a set of tools and software for learners –the Unified User Interface (UUI).

The UUI Interface

The eCraft2Learn UUI offers a selection of digital tools, organised as a series of tiles. The tiles are categorized by their respective project stages: Imagine (Ideation), Plan, Create, Program, and Share. To open a tool, the user has to click on the respective tile. Additionally, several other tools are available at the bottom of the page and teachers can find links to Education Resources.

Through the teacher interface, teachers can manage the UUI and set up a unique session ID for individual projects or groups of students, as well as choose which of the tools will be displayed for them.

Ideation tools

The Ideation section includes two tools that support students in the ideation process of their projects. The eCraft Search tool allows users to look for ideas and topics and gives an overview of related projects. The Inspiratorium is a visual search interface to browse projects published on instructables.com. The 100 most popular keywords are displayed as colourful bubbles and when clicking on them, the student gets a list of projects including the selected keywords.

Planning tools

The Planning tools of the UUI serve two purposes: 1) allowing students the analysis of problems and creation of design sketches; and 2) enabling them to split problems into smaller pieces and assign specific tasks to members of the group. The eCraft Plan is a sketching tool, allowing its users to draw different shapes and items. With eCraft TODO, students can organise different tasks, set due dates, and assign members. Trello is a similar task management tool allowing to categorize task groups into different boards.

Creating tools

The Creating tools support users with the design and creation of electronic circuits and 3D models. Tinkercad is a simple 3D CAD program where students can build designs by combining 3D shapes from a library to create their models. Beetleblocks is a graphical blocks-based programming software for 3D fabrication. In Tinkercad Circuits, students can simulate different electronic elements and microcontrollers and can thereby plan circuits prior to actually building them. The 3D modelling and slicing tool allows users to create printable web-based 3D models. The last tool in this section is the Cura Slicing Software.

Programming tools

The tools in the Programming section enable users to design, implement and test programs that run the DIY electronics. Snap! is a block-based programming language that students can use to develop a program through a drag-and-drop system. AI Programming in Snap! allows students to create artefacts that respond to voice commands, generate speech, recognise images, and more. Snap4Arduino is a program to control an Arduino interactively and generate scripts that run independently.

Sharing tools

The eCraft2Learn Sharing Tool enables users to share the work they created with tools on the UUI and offers an overview of the creations of other students. Thingiverse is an online platform for sharing 3D printing files and provides inspiration as well as a way of sharing creations.

Additional project tools

Additional tools on the eCraft2Lean UUI include a project, an achievement and a commenting tool. The Projects section includes a link for the creation of a new project as well as a list of previous ones. In the Achievements area, students can self-evaluate their work and teachers can award badges. Commenting is part of the sharing tool and enables users to give and receive feedback on their creations.

Links

Project Website:

https://project.ecraft2learn.eu/

eCraft2Learn UUI:

https://ecraft2learn.github.io/uui/

Keywords

Platform, Unified User Interface, Tools, Students, Teachers, Creation, Programming, Group work, Digital, Project, 3D Printing, Electronic circuits

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eCraft2Learn: Development of a five-stage craft- and project-based pedagogy

leo — Wed, 01 Nov 2017 07:58:57 +0000

eCraft2Learn

eCraft2Learn: Development of a five-stage craft- and project-based pedagogy

As part of the eCraft2Learn project, the consortium defined a five-stage craft- and project-based pedagogy which builds the framework for the developed Unified User Interface and the organisation of tools to support learners. The five stages of the project cycle defined by eCraft2Learn are Ideate, Plan, Create, Program, and Share.

The system developed by eCraft2Learn aims to offer technological support to pedagogical approaches in real-life scenarios. While the primary target group of the project is 13–17-year-olds, the user groups of the eCraft2Learn solution can be divided into two categories: learners and teachers/coaches.

The main aim of eCraft2Learn is to generate a positive effect on the learning process of learners. For this purpose, eCraft2Learn created a five-stage craft- and project-based pedagogy: Ideate – Plan – Create – Program – Share. These five stages make up the educational model of the project. To positively contribute to students’ learning experience, eCraft2Learn combines new and existing technologies. The five-stage pedagogy thereby acts as a framework to define the appropriate use of these tools.

Stage 1: Ideate

At the beginning stage of each project, learners need to be able to investigate their ideas in a rather free manner – similar to brainstorming. Activities at this stage should include exploratory and open-ended search processes, both inside the classroom and in other locations, and can include physical or virtual exploring of the world. After the exploring process, a specific challenge in relation to the overall educational objective will be defined. The ideation process might be guided by the teacher/coach, based on the specific requirements of the learners.

Stage 2: Plan

In the planning stage, learners start to outline the implementation of their project. After defining their specific challenge, they gather information to create a project plan. This process might also include receiving feedback from their coach and assigning roles for group members based on skills, interests and physical resource-sharing constraints. Furthermore, in this stage students should systematically gather, classify and store project material of interest.

Stage 3: Create / Stage 4: Program

Depending on the specific project, the creation stage and the programming stage either occur linearly or iteratively cycle back and forth until the design is stable and fulfils its desired functionality. This cyclic process can have great benefits and is often used to evolve and improve a design.

In this project stage, the main focus is the co-design and co-creation of the computer-supported artefact solutions through the use of DIY technologies. While important parts of the creation stage include the visualisation and simulation of the developed designs, the programming stage focuses on the development of computer programs to add functionality to the created artefacts. Furthermore, it includes software debugging and integrated SW/HW simulations.

Stage 5: Share

In the final stage of their projects, learners are encouraged to share and showcase their work and implementation ideas with an open online community or through the eCraft2Learn dissemination events. In this stage, they can gather feedback from designers, artists and engineers worldwide.

Links

Project Website:

https://project.ecraft2learn.eu/

Unified User Interface:

https://ecraft2learn.github.io/uui/

Keywords

Pedagogy, Framework, Learning, Project, Stages, Ideate, Create, Plan, Program, Share

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eCraft2Learn: Capacity building workshops for teachers

leo — Mon, 01 May 2017 07:03:36 +0000

eCraft2Learn

eCraft2Learn: Capacity building workshops for teachers

As part of the eCraft2Learn project, the consortium hosted two capacity building workshops with teachers in Greece and Finland. The workshops were carried out in two rounds and aimed to introduce teachers to the eCraft2Learn ecosystem, possible uses of the different tools implemented in the Unified User Interface, and challenges that might come up.

To familiarise teachers with the eCraft2Learn ecosystem towards computer-supported artefact creation and to raise awareness about activities that can be carried out using the implemented tools, eCraft2Learn hosted two capacity building workshops. During these workshops, teachers were approached as learners first and teachers second, ensuring a better understanding of students’ learning processes and expected intrinsic motivation, creativity and curiosity.

The workshops were carried out in two rounds with participants from Greece and Finland. The first round took place in September 2017 and followed the main aim of familiarising teachers with the eCraft2Learn methodology as well as the implemented technologies, tools and resources. It further aimed to prepare them for the implementation of the system in their classes. The second workshop round was carried out after the first pilot with students and primarily aimed to address possible challenges that emerged and update teachers about new developments in the eCraft2Learn ecosystem.

Following the capacity building workshops, evaluation measures were carried out. These included a questionnaire with open questions, semi-structured interviews and field notes from group discussions. Thereby, participants were able to give feedback on their experiences, the content of the workshops, and their methodology as well as their arrangements. Participants were encouraged to engage in open discussions at the end of each session to gather additional feedback on individual issues in specific sessions.

Capacity building workshops in Greece

The capacity building workshops in Greece took place in Athens in two rounds. The workshops included an introduction to the eCraft2Learn ecosystem as well as the five stages of the craft- and project-based methodology, an exploration of the tools that can be used for computer-supported artefact construction, and an exploration of expected outcomes. Important considerations in the implementation of the workshops were a realistic timeframe with respect to the restricted time of teachers, as well as the fact the teachers had no previous contact with the eCraft2Learn tools and therefore needed optimal support.

The first workshop round was carried out in September/October 2017 with twenty teachers and lasted twenty hours, divided into five sessions. In these sessions, teachers were introduced to the eCraft2Learn methodology as well as the different tools and electronic elements. Furthermore, the workshops included pedagogical considerations and reflections.

The second round of the capacity building workshops took place in April/May 2018 with ten participants and lasted about 16 hours, divided into five sessions. In this round, a special focus was put on teachers’ requests and recent developments in the project. Furthermore, the sessions included pedagogical considerations, familiarisation with the updated version of the Unified User Interface, practice sessions for the tools, familiarisation with the concept of learning analytics in education, and more.

Capacity building workshops in Finland

The two rounds of capacity building workshops in Finland took place in Joensuu. The first round lasted a total of twelve hours and included nine participants, the second round had a duration of 18 hours and six participants.

The first round took place in September/October 2017 and consisted of six sessions. These sessions included an introduction to the eCraft2Learn ecosystem, pedagogical ideas and the five stages of craft- and project-based methodology, as well as the technology usage within pedagogical activities. The workshop sessions were shaped similarly to the ones in Greece.

Round two of the workshops took place in March 2018 and consisted of six sessions, focussing on the familiarisation with the updated version of the eCraft2Learn Unified User Interface, the AI programming blocks and the new learning analytics teacher interface. Furthermore, teachers’ feedback was accommodated, especially the fact that more practice with the programming environment was needed.

Feedback

After each workshop round, feedback was gathered through an online questionnaire. In these surveys, participants were asked to state strong points of the workshops, weak points, recommendations, challenges, and suggestions for the implementation of the eCraft2Learn ecosystem. The evaluation of the feedback concluded in the main finding that the training sessions were a useful experience for teachers in multiple ways. The participating teachers valued the opportunity to experience physical participation in an authentic maker space that offers a broader concept of STEAM methods and tools. Furthermore, the conducted self-reflections on their experiences supported the assimilation and adoption of good practices.

During the workshops, several challenges were encountered, the main one being time – the familiarisation with the eCraft2Learn system can be rather time-consuming, which is why more time for practical skill training would have been needed.

Links

Project website:

https://project.ecraft2learn.eu/

Unified User Interface:

https://ecraft2learn.github.io/uui/

Keywords

Workshops, capacity building, training, teachers, programming, AI, feedback, ecosystem, projects, STEAM

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eCraft2Learn: Project on digital fabrication and maker movement in education kicked-off

leo — Sun, 01 Jan 2017 07:46:46 +0000

eCraft2Learn

eCraft2Learn: Project on digital fabrication and maker movement in education kicked-off

The maker movement is gaining momentum, leading to an ever-bigger amount of people following a technology-based do-it-yourself (DIY) philosophy. As novel Horizon 2020 project, eCraft2Learn aims to establish and maintain an ecosystem based on digital fabrication and making technologies for creating computer supported artefacts.

Digital technology has radically changed the way people work in industry, finance, services, media and commerce and has urged necessary corresponding changes in educational systems. However, there is a lack of progress in the education arena. Recent studies show that a high percentage of college graduates can’t find work, the dropout rate is high and new generations are moving back into their parents’ homes after school or college. Nevertheless, the digital trend indicates that today’s grade-school children will end up in jobs that haven’t been invented yet.

Digital fabrication and making technologies on the rise

Several studies assure that digital fabrication and making technologies, if coupled with proper learning methodologies such as Constructivism, can provide learning experiences that promote young people’s creativity, critical thinking, teamwork, and problem-solving skills, which are essential and necessary in the workplace of the 21st century.

However, as early as 2008, an OECD report remarked that “technology is everywhere, except in schools”. In addition to this, most uses of technologies in education and training today do not support 21st-century learning skills. In many cases, new technologies are simply reinforcing old ways of training and learning in current school settings and very often they are introduced according to a narrow perception as being suitable only for talented youth or only for Science-, Maths- or Engineering-oriented majors.

Current developments call for a move from this elitism to the recognition that fluency with making technologies represents knowledge and skills valuable for every citizen.

eCraft2Learn to reinforce personalised learning and teaching in science

The new EU-project eCraft2Learn will research, design, pilot and validate an ecosystem based on digital fabrication and making technologies for creating computer-supported artefacts. The project aims at reinforcing personalised learning and teaching in science, technology, engineering, arts and math (STEAM) education and to assist the development of 21st century skills that promote inclusion and employability for youth in the EU.

The eCraft2Learn ecosystem will support both formal and informal learning by providing the appropriate digital fabrication. It recognizes that fluency with making technologies represents knowledge and skills valuable for every citizen.

Over the course of the next two years, eCraft2Learn will work on expanding the digital fabrication and maker movement in Europe. In detail, the consortium is comprised of the University of Eastern Finland, the Mälardalen University of Sweden, the center for social innovation (Austria), University of Oxford (United Kingdom), SYNYO (Austria), Linnaeus University (Sweden), University of Padova (Italy), Edumotiva (Greece), Technopolis (Greece), Evothings (Sweden), Arduino (Sweden), Ultimaker (United Kingdom).

In total, these partners will invest a total of 24 person months into the eCraft2Learn project. As leader of the dissemination and communication work package, SYNYO will ensure the connection of eCraft2Learn with other initiatives in this area, drawing from its own network and related projects, and is also engaged in the research and technology monitoring activities. SYNYO will also carry out ICT related innovation from analyses to development.

Links

eCraft2Learn project website

https://project.ecraft2learn.eu/

Keywords

Maker-movement, digital fabrication, computer-supported artefacts, personalised learning & teaching, STEAM

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