Following the development of the PR2, the Virtual Reality Platform, came the Pilot Application with the implementation of youth activities by participants themselves (youth workers). During the 1st PR, participants (youth workers) followed the MOOC courses, which concern Digital Youth Work and Digital Training. After completing said trainings and the development of the VR Youth Center, participants will become active in this PR, as they will be called to implement their digital youth activities in this virtual environment.
Selected Youth Workers had to follow 4 webinars (preparatory meetings) aiming to get trained on digital youth work and their aspects and engage into online meetings for the Pilot Application, of the material developed under PR1, PR2 and PR3 up to this point.
The activities contributing this Project Result included:
- Phase 1: Attend 4 Webinars (preparatory meetings), 3 hours total duration each, to help the youth workers’ smooth introduction to the project and understanding of its objectives and aims as well as the Project Result’s 3, which they will participate to.
During these, the youth workers were introduced to the CEREBRUM.gr Platform for attending the MOOC Courses (Project Result 1) and the VR Application (Project Result 2) which will be the “implementation site” for their activities. - Phase 2: Participate at the Pilot Application 3 online sessions, 4 hours total duration each, in a 1-month duration. Youth Workers were divided in 3 international groups and were called to develop their own digital youth activities, based on what they learnt in the MOOCs, to be implemented in the VR Game developed by BOLT Virtual.
The results produced during the 2 phases of this Result, were gathered, and were reflected in the Report, serving as the main deliverable of the Project Result 3.
Webinar #1
On the 27th of January, the youth workers joined the first Webinar of the process in order to get introduced to the topic and the course of action for this Project Result development. The facilitators presented the project and its timeline, as well as the developed material so far. Additionally, a presentation of the CEREBRUM.gr Platform took place, where the youth workers would train on the necessary material.
Webinar #2
On the 2nd of February, the second Webinar took place and the youth workers delved deeper into the topic of Digital Youth Work. Through presentations, open debates, and some extra audiovisual material, the youth workers received a full background on the topic, and also got the opportunity to exchange their experience on the field, their opinion and knowledge further on. Seeing how we had participants from large geographical coverage of Europe, the interactions were rather interesting and beneficial to all members. Since the majority of the participating youth workers had experience with the field from the COVID-19 pandemic as well, it was also interesting to address how they got introduced to the field of digital youth work and how they explored the different opportunities.
On the second part of this Webinar, the youth workers took part in a set of two small activities which aimed to enhance their cooperation and make them feel more comfortable with each other, as a setting the ground for their designing the activities later on.
Finally, the youth workers were also provided with some additional learning material as well as opportunities for further delving into.
CEREBRUM Session
Following the predesigned flow of activities, they would have a period to attend the MOOC Course on CEREBRUM.gr where they would receive a more proper, spherical and inclusive learning experience on the topic. Naturally, the digital element of the platform also reinforced the importance of the topic, as the youth workers themselves got the chance to train in a different digital platform and explore the options that exist for e-learning.
For more information about the CEREBRUM.gr Platform and the MOOC visit this page.
Webinar #3 & 4
After the MOOC Training on CEREBRUM.gr the youth workers had the chance to meet in 2 webinar sessions and reflect on the material they received. Based on this freshly acquired theoretical background, they were called to pass into the practical implementation phase and design their own digital activities.
Webinar #3, on the 20th of February, started with a short introduction in the activities’ designing. Seeing how most of the youth workers were experience on this part, the goal was to set a background on how a digital activity was to be properly designed in order to ensure its efficiency and the maximization of its impact in the target group. Naturally, we also took into consideration the importance of creating a clear background for the process not only for the youth workers to gain knowledge and expertise, but also to safeguard that the designed activities later on would be easily understood and applicable for implementation by other youth workers.
After identifying and clarifying all the necessary information an activity should include as well as the steps of designing an activity while also trying to safeguard its success, the youth workers split into teams and began identifying their ideas of activities, the digital aspects thereof and the general concept. In assistance of this process, and to help them focus on the process of designing the activity, the facilitators offered a set of topics and target groups for teams to choose from and from that point on start their process, as well as a Template for the youth workers to develop their ideas and ensure that they add all the necessary information.
This process was followed in the fourth webinar as well, on the 24th of February where the youth workers received feedback on their original ideas, and guidance for the facilitators to lead into a more complete and spherical result. The groups were also encouraged to meet and exchange opinions aside from the time of the Webinars, if they felt they needed extra time to further structure and enrich their ideas.
Finally, the youth workers gathered on an online meeting, to implement these activities among each other and evaluate them. Overall 30 participants were engaged, from which around 20 actively participated in the training and designing and implementing process of the Project Result.
Find the Final Report of the Project Result 3 here.