VOLCANIC is an Erasmus+ three-year project that focuses both on the special needs of disadvantaged populations (the Bedouins in Israel and scattered populations in Morocco), as well as on the conditions that could help them acquire proper skills and knowledge to use ICT in their learning. These focal points will be adressed by training both HE staff and K6-K12 teachers to master effective pedagogies designed for these special populations, and to enhance Computational Thinking (CT) and ICT in their learning.
ABOUT THE ‘VOLCANIC’ PROJECT
Goals
The 21st century confronts higher education institutions’ (HEI) staff and social & educational policy makers with a challenge to adjust existing curricula and teaching methods, and to improve the level of competence, skills and employability prospects of their students. Tackling this challenge will help prepare and support students in becoming both active and influential members of their societies, and ‘citizens of the future’ who can communicate remotely, share knowledge, participate in group work and monitor & lead online group work through different devices.
The Volcanic project aims to tackle this challenge and to narrow this gap (both in Morocco and in Israel) by training school teachers and teachers in HEIs to master adequate pedagogy for using Computational Thinking to incorporate ICT in their teaching. As the Moroccan and Israeli HEIs participating in this project teach mainly disadvantaged populations – the Bedouins in the southern part of Israel and the scattered populations in Morocco – we will focus also on the special conditions and needs of these populations to get the proper skills and knowledge to use ICT in their learning.
Objectives
In general, the objective is to enhance HEIs teachers’ capacity by training them to design learning activities with the use of technology, and to use innovative pedagogy that supports the use of ICT while focusing on CT both remotely and in the classroom.
To achieve this, we will:
- facilitate adequate management tools for the correct implementation and dissemination of the project;
- review, collect and share EU best teaching practices to support the use of ICT while focusing on CT in HEIs courses;
- generate innovative and renewed curriculum using ICT-CT in HEIs as well as for teacher-training;
- design learning spaces to accommodate disadvantaged populations remotely located;
- enact 12 courses in HEIs, and use the learning spaces for disadvantaged population;
- exploit and disseminate new approaches of teaching and learning with digital tools in higher education, in teacher training and with K6-K12;
- exploit and disseminate new approaches of digital learning that meet the special needs of women and disadvantaged populations in remote areas in both Israel and Morocco.