Quality Essential Skills for Teachers in Online Learning (QUEST)

Quality Essential Skills for Teachers in Online Learning (QUEST) is a 24 months strategic partnership project developed by RAA Foundation in partnership with Newschool, an instructional design company from Norway, Autonomous University of Barcelona, Succubus Interactive – a specialised game design company from France, Nicolae Grigorescu National College from Romania.

5 partners from 4 countries propose a project aiming at improving the competencies of mainstream teachers from primary and secondary educational levels in using digital learning in education.

The project is funded under K226 Partnerships for Digital Education Readiness program and has started on 1st April 2021.

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Erasmus +

Erasmus+ is the EU’s programme to support education, training, youth and sport in Europe. Set to last until 2020, Erasmus+ combines seven prior programmes and it has opportunities for a wide variety of individuals and organizations.

The aim of Erasmus+ is to contribute to the Europe 2020 strategy for growth, jobs, social equity and inclusion, as well as the EU’s strategic framework for education and training.

Specific issues tackled by the programme include:

• Reducing unemployment, especially among young people
• Promoting adult learning, especially for new skills and skills required by the labour market.
• Encouraging young people to take part in European democracy
• Supporting innovation, cooperation and reform
• Reducing early school leaving
• Promoting cooperation and mobility with the EU’s partner countries

The Erasmus+ programme is managed by the European Commission (the EU’s executive body), the Education, Audiovisual, and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA), a series of National Agencies in Programme countries, and a series of National Offices in some Partner countries.

For more details https://ec.europa.eu/programmes/erasmus-plus/node_en

The project has the following objectives:

O1: Development in an academic and collaborative way of 5 e-learning modules tackling essential competencies for quality online learning (online presence, interaction & dialogue, gamification, instructional design, feedback & assessment).

O2: Creation of an European network of teachers’ trainers for online learning composed of 18 teachers that participate in an advanced TOT composed of 10 training days, feedback loops with end users (students and teachers at local level) and delivery of thematic webinars.

O3: Increasing the competencies of over 2,450 teachers in order for them to deliver higher quality online classes tackling attractivity, interactivity and academic progress of students.

18 teachers will participate in an intensive TOT (Training of Trainers) consisting of 2 sessions of 5-days modules: Module 1 – “Building self-confident trainers for online communication” and Module 2 – “Gamification and instructional design for online learning processes”.

By the end of the project, 5 Intellectual Outputs will be finalized (in English and the 4 languages of the project – French, Spanish, Norwegian, Romanian) and will be disseminated in the form of freely accessible e-learning courses:

IO1 – E-learning Building Self-confidence for online communication

IO2 – E-learning Managing online interactive classrooms

IO3 – E-learning Gamifying the online classroom

IO4 – E-learning Instructional design for online learning

IO5 – E-learning Students’ evaluation & feedback in the online environment

An e-learning platform will host the 5 e-learning modules, and through the dissemination activities of the project (9 webinars, 4 national multiplier events and a complex Communication and Dissemination plan) the QUEST e-learning will reach minimum 10,000 teachers.

• Mitch Whitehead

  Mitch is a philosopher, teacher, and educational technologist who has worked as a teacher and head of faculty in schools in the UK and Italy.
• Georgeta Ion

  Georgeta does research in Educational Management, Higher Education and Evidence based practices. Currently is working on a project related to the use of research in school practices and assessment strategies for self-regulated learning
• Cristina Mercader Juan

  Cristina teaches in the UAB Department of Applied Pedagogy, participates in institutionally, nationally and internationally funded research targeting the millions of educational organizations, digital technologies for education and assessment for apprenticeships.
• Angelo Marco Luccini

  Marco builds upon 15+ years in R&D EU-funded projects and in particular on his experience on soft skills development through serious games and community platforms in corporate education.
• Adriana Popescu

  Adriana supports social and educational specialists to become better professionals and humans
• Adelaide Katerine Tarpan

  Adela has a high motivation in finding new, impactful ways of supporting teachers to improve their online teaching skills and discover the best methods and tools to use with their students.

Mitch Whitehead

Mitch is a philosopher, teacher, and educational technologist who has worked as a teacher and head of faculty in schools in the UK and Italy. Alongside his work as a teacher, he works in various roles in educational consultancy including examination, curriculum and instructional design, and education philosophy. Beyond the classroom, Mitch gives public lectures, writes and directs plays, and blogs about education, technology, philosophy, and art.

Georgeta Ion

Georgeta Ion currently works at the Department of Apllied Pedagogy, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (UAB), Spain. Georgeta does research in Educational Management, Higher Education and Evidence based practices. Currently is working on a project related to the use of research in school practices and assessment strategies for self-regulated learning

Cristina Mercader Juan

Diploma in Magisteri d’Educació Primaria, Master in Planning and Management of Education, Master in Research in Education and Doctorate in Education. Cristina teaches in the UAB Department of Applied Pedagogy, participates in institutionally, nationally and internationally funded research targeting the millions of educational organizations, digital technologies for education and assessment for apprenticeships. In addition, she is a member of various working committees focused on the implementation of the digital competence of teachers.

Angelo Marco Luccini

Learner’s Experience Designer & Hacker, who taps into Game Design, Design Thinking, and Liberating Structures principles and co-creation techniques to transform education and corporate training with bespoke blended solutions. He has also designed escape games for digital transformation and game learning awareness and is part of the development team of serios game company Succubus Interactive. Marco builds upon 15+ years in R&D EU-funded projects and in particular on his experience on soft skills development through serious games and community platforms in corporate education at INSEAD business school and at CEDEP executive education centre.

Adriana Popescu

Adriana loves to create meaningful learning experiences both for children and adults. She is passionate about experiential learning, gamification and creating educational board games, innovation and design thinking. She supports social and educational specialists to become better professionals and humans, delivering life skills development trainings for teachers, leadership trainings for social workers, and digital skills trainings for teachers and youth workers.

Adelaide Katerine Tarpan

Adela is a sociologist and the development manager in RAA. She has a high motivation in finding new, impactful ways of supporting teachers to improve their online teaching skills and discover the best methods and tools to use with their students. She specialized as Social Development Practitioner in nonformal training and consultancy for community-based organisations and vulnerable people with London Metropolitan University and she is currently an EMBA student with the University of Maastricht and Bucharest International School of Management.

Romanian Angel Appeal Foundation (RAA) is a non-governmental organization working since 1991 for improving the quality of life and averting the risk of discrimination and social exclusion of children and young people in need, affected by chronic conditions, including Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). RAA is providing direct medical and social services, influencing health, social and educational policies, conducting research and providing support in professional development for a variety of specialists such as teachers, health and social work specialists, psychologists and volunteers through training.

RAA supported over 2000 children & families facing ASD, over 1200 people in need to be treated for multi-drug resistant tuberculosis, more than 18,000 people from vulnerable groups with limited access to HIV/AIDS and TB prevention services.

RAA is one of the main training providers in the field of medical, social and educational services and one of the pioneers in using new technologies and innovation in training or non-formal education.

In 2000, RAA was the first organisation developing e-learning content for continuous medical education. RAA has developed more than 30 training packages for different professional categories (physicians, teachers, psychologists & social workers) training for over 10,000 professionals.

In 2006, RAA developed an innovative non formal educational tool for peer-educators, an online game introducing in a friendly manner health education topic to teenagers. Since 2013, RAA has been developing training programs addressing integration of children with disabilities reaching more than 1,500 professionals. A special focus was made in all projects on counselling and training parents of children with disabilities. RAA has also targeted through its project adults from vulnerable groups providing counselling, training and certification for over 2,000 women qualified as baby-sitters. RAA has launched in 2017 teachASD.com, an e-learning platform for school teachers addressing topics related to integration of children with educational needs reaching over 5,000 professionals.

Since 2006, RAA has hosted and organized international study visits for various stakeholders and specialists from the areas of HIV, tuberculosis and ASD. RAA also conducted a series of researches on ASD families service needs, quality of social services provided, perception of ASD in general population.

NewSchool – Better education for everyone.

We combine our 30+ years experience working at the intersection between education, research and business to focus on our main passion – to bring innovation into education.

Our mission is to empower educators and organisations to build future-ready teams and design student-centered learning experiences that inspire creative, innovative and transformative education for everyone.

Education & Research and Business.

We combine our expertise to serve the needs of educators through our tailor-made courses and workshops, transnational projects and education consulting.

Newschool offers in-house courses that empower educators to build teams and inspire real change within their organisation. We also offer services to design tailor-made workshops and courses to address the particular needs of your organisation.

We collaborate with organisations, government agencies, NGO’s, private companies and universities across Europe with the shared goal of improving access to meaningful education for both teachers and their students.

Newschool works to make impactful, meaningful and student-led education available to everyone. Our experience working with education in both the public and business sector has given us key insights for tailoring creative and innovative strategies to meet the needs of your organisation.

CRiEDO – Centre de Recerca i Estudis pel Desenvolupament Organitzatiu

The Center for Research and Studies for Organizational Development of the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona is an academic institution linked to the analysis and development of organizations in general, and those linked to training and education at all levels and areas in particular.

The purpose of the CRiEDO is to study, research, teach and any other action and activity related to the organizational development of training organizations. More specifically, the general objective of CRiEDO is to provide a service of the highest quality and social commitment aimed at improvement, innovation and development of organizations dedicated to training, based on processes of reflection and scientific analysis, design and implementation of actions aimed at improvement and institutional assessment and diagnosis processes.

The CRiEDO can organize and develop research, training and transfer of knowledge and culture, and offer institutional, administrative and logistical support to the development of other interdisciplinary research, training and transfer activities in any area or institutionalized context where educational practices are developed and training actions.

CRiEDO’s activities, exclusively its own or in collaboration with other entities, can be carried out both inside and outside the UAB campus.

Originally dedicated to the creation of video games, Succubus Interactive created its first serious games in 2002, becoming, unintentionally, the pioneering company of the sector in Europe.

Since then, the studio has specialized in creating serious games, business applications and Free-to-Play games. The company now employs around 15 people, supervised by veterans of the video game industry.

With more than 100 games and serious games in many sectors, Succubus Interactive has shown the expertise of its teams to adapt and deliver on time diversified and ever more ambitious products. The added value of the company lies in its mastery of graphic programming, game design, educational design and the production chain to offer its customers quality services at controlled costs.

As proof of their commitment to quality, Succubus Interactive has won a number of 11 trophies.

Nicolae Grigorescu Highschool  – from Campina, Prahova County, is a prestigious educational institution. Some of the governing values are cooperation, teamwork, mutual respect, love towards children, freedom of speech and appraisal of the teaching profession. The ambience of our educational organisation is stimulative, open minded, perfectly outlined by dynamism.

Motto: Professionalism, Involvement, Honesty.

Vision: Nicolae Grigorescu Highschool aims for excellence (/distinction) and for being an emergent cultural nucleus that shapes European citizens.

Mission: Continuously improving.

Briefly, our mission is to:

1. Shape and reinforce abilities, skills and expertise that would allow our students to be adequate workers in the European work field.
2. Assemble a context that makes teachers feel professionally fulfilled.
3. Provide students with the knowledge that they yearn for and with communication skills in modern languages.
4. Supply students with a universal level of morality and civic sense.

Educational projects

Anti-drug Program, Always Educational Project, Academic Debate, Robotics, Driving Education Courses, Protection of the Environment, Health Coaching, Artistic Activities, Sports, Volunteering, The Program Internet Hour, Aspiring Minds Program, The project Clean Campina, The project Aspire Talks, Non-formal Education Station Europe workshops, Game Changers project, Young Skills project, Manifesto for the Blue Planet project, Friends for the Soul project, Acting Festival for Students.