On Monday, October 15^th, IDIW 2018 included an online panel discussion. The four panelists represented a variety of digital inclusion activities and came from different continents:

• USA – Munirih Jester, San Antonio Housing Authority
• Australia – Kathleen Smeaton, University of Queensland Library
• UK – Nicola Dean, Starting Point Community Learning Partnership, Stockport
• Greece – Achilles Kameas, Hellenic Open University

The panel highlighted our similarities, challenges and differences, and offered the opportunity for international information exchange. Among the topics discussed by the panelists were:

• What do you see as the barriers to an individual’s full participation on the digital world?
• What is the most powerful thing you have learned that influences how you work in a practical way?
• How do you involve community members in creating programs?
• How do you know your programs are having the desired impact?
• How have you cooperated or collaborated to improve inclusion and what makes that cooperation worthwhile?
• What do you think could be done through international collaboration that could make a difference to digital inclusion?
• Share a best practice – what has worked really well?

In the context of the last topic, Achilles Kameas presented project BRIGHTS as a good practice of developing and using digital skills (specifically, Digital Storytelling) to promote Global Citizenship Education.

The discussion was attended by more than 50 online participants, who posed interesting questions on issues related to digital inclusion. The organizers aim at sustaining this dialogue at international level by organizing more similar events in the future.

The 11th annual ALL DIGITAL Summit “Digital Journey: From Inclusion to Empowerment” will take place in Brussels on 18-19 October 2018. A very interesting programme has been put together by the organizers, including:

• Four stimulating keynote lectures
• A plenary session on “How can digital storytelling boost social inclusion?”
• Five parallel interactive breakout sessions: Stops on a digital journey
• Five parallel how-to workshops
• A session on global citizenship education and media literacy and the role of digital technologies in teaching it
• Stimulating projects lightning talks

In parallel, a Project Fair will give participants the opportunity to get in touch with the AD members and be informed of their projects and activities.

The ALL DIGITAL Annual Awards ceremony will be held in Brussels on the evening of 18 October 2018. The awards recognize AD members’ excellence in the following categories:

• Best e-facilitator
• Best digital changemaker
• Best cooperation project
• Best digital resource
• BRIGHTS Awards: Best digital story on global citizenship

Watch the video, learn more and register for the Summit to join 200 other delegates working to enhance digital skills across Europe.

How to workshops

The “How To” workshops will take place on Day 1 of the Summit. They are designed to give delegates a practical understanding of how to carry out a particular activity. Our speakers have experience that could help delegates to understand the pitfalls, practicalities and lessons they may have learned.

The DAISSy research group of Hellenic Open University is organizing two workshops:

#2. How to create a mini-MOOC

Bill Vassiliadis, DAISSY Research Group of Hellenic Open University

In this workshop, participants will design, develop and publish elements of their own mini-MOOC (short duration Massive Open Online Course). You will learn about current MOOC trends, design and development challenges and distance learning quality issues.

Hands-on activities will guide you through the various steps of:

1. MOOC-Analysis: identify and describe requirements, demands and constraints
2. MOOC-Design: conceptualise and design the MOOC including the basics of instructional and pedagogical design
3. MOOC-Implementation: implement a mini-MOOC draft using an on-line platform and finalize it through testing.

This workshop is suitable for all levels of experience with e-learning, whether your organisation already uses e-learning solutions or is just interested in how that might be possible. The range of case studies introduced will help participants see ways in which mini-MOOCs can be used in a range of contexts to promote learning and knowledge dissemination.

This workshop is supported by and is based on the experience of the BRIGHTS project.

#5. How to promote STEM education and training with Mobile and Internet of Things technologies

Achilles Kameas, Theodore Panagiotakopoulos, DAISSy research group, Hellenic Open University & Computer Technology Institute & Press “Diophantus”

Mobile technologies and the Internet of Things promise to revolutionize our everyday life. But are the citizens of our society prepared to reap the benefits of these technological and scientific advances? How can we facilitate digital transformation, so as to ensure inclusion in the forthcoming digital society?

STEM education offers a holistic educational approach that facilitates understanding of scientific knowledge and leads to the development of digital and 21st century skills. E-facilitators have to become STEM educators / trainers in order to play a key role in facilitating the digital transformation.

This workshop will offer a methodology for implementing STEM educational activities using UMI (Ubiquitous, Mobile, Internet of Things) technologies, together with tools and good practices. A holistic view of UMI technologies and their potential uses in closing the next generation digital gap will be presented. The UMI-Sci-Ed methodology will be introduced, together with examples from its application in different settings. Participation in the developing Communities of Practice activities will be offered using the UMI-Sci-Ed online collaboration platform.

The workshop will conclude with a discussion on prospective future collaborations in projects that would lead to the development of STEM education / training activities tailored to the needs of different groups of citizens.

This workshop is supported by the H2020 UMI-Sci-Ed project.

The Festival hosted more than 300 participants from all levels of education, which communicated and presented programs, activities and exhibits related to Education, Training, Innovation, Science and Technology. It was a major event, during which visitors got acquainted with educational and scientific courses linking education, skills, training and lifelong learning with career, creativity, growth, entrepreneurship and, in general, production and labor market needs. More than 70 schools were hosted at the Festival and presented their activities in sciences and new technologies. In addition to the booths and stands, more than 200 workshops and seminars were held free of charge by leading scientists, institutions, universities and market executives.

The DAISSy research group of Hellenic Open University participated in the “Spoudase” Festival with its own booth, promoting its research activities and projects. Four big screens were set up, each displaying videos about the DAISSy group, the various projects that the group participates in and their products.

One of the screens was dedicated to the promotion of the MOOC on “Promoting Global Citizenship Education using Digital Storytelling” that was produced in the context of project BRIGHTS. A specially created video based on the MOOC content was playing constantly on the screen, enhanced with slides promoting BRIGHTS project outcomes. Also, Projects MuSA, WEMIN and DCDS  were promoted within a specially created short video showcasing all DAISSy projects that was being constantly played on one of the screens.

Thanks to its central location, the DAISSy booth attracted more than 500 visitors, all of whom expressed their interest in the projects.