The E-Design course has successfully come to an end

Jul 30, 2021News

In June and July 2021, our last ICT training course has been implemented in Bagheria and in the ZEN district of Palermo, registering a large participation of young and adults.

Facing problems with creativity and critical thinking, working in teams to find innovative solutions, learning programming language by realising practical ICT projects: these were some of the competencies developed by the participants who attended the E- Design – European digital education for social inclusion and global neighbourhood training course. The project aims at strengthening the digital competences of young and adults through computer coding, electronic circuit design and 3-modelling.

In the months of June and July, two ICT Training Hotspots have been implemented in collaboration with ‘bocs’ association in Bagheria (a small town just outside Palermo), good for 1 course, and ‘Fondazione L’Albero della Vita onlus’ in the ZEN district of Palermo, where two courses were implemented. During the first part of the course, participants learnt different programming techniques (block coding and Arduino C++ coding) and built electronic circuits with microcontrollers, sensors and actuators, replicating on a small scale the functioning of different technological objects. Moreover, they have also acquired the basics of 3D modelling and printing. Using a calliper and a slicing software, participants managed to print some of three-dimensional objects they had designed.

In Bagheria, the second part of the course was dedicated to the development of personal ICT projects. Participants had the opportunity to give shapes to their ideas and to find technical solutions that meet their everyday needs and challenges. Few examples of the devices created are an alarm system with a motion sensor and flashing LED lights, and a ‘tomato-timer’ equipped with an alarm clock that use an LCD screen and a buzzer to keep track of the time; this allowed people to stay focused on their study or work.

At the course implemented at the hotspot at ZEN, participants rather did small projects, linked to the themes touched upon during class. During these classes, both children and fathers joined to increase their digital competences.

Overall, the realisation of personal projects was a good way to increase the awareness of the potential and the opportunities offered by ICT tools, as well as the importance of design thinking in solving real-life problems. In both hotspots, participants were enthusiast about the courses and topics, and hope to continue in the future with future projects!

If you want to learn more about the E-DESIGN project, visit e-designproject.eu and follow the Facebook page.

 

E-DESIGN: EUROPEAN DIGITAL EDUCATION FOR SOCIAL INCLUSION AND GLOBAL NEIGHBOURHOOD is a three-year project co-funded by the Erasmus+ programme, Key Action 3 – Social Inclusion and Common Value. The purpose of the project is to contribute to promoting social inclusion and combating social inequalities among disadvantaged groups, especially migrants and refugees, through strengthening their digital competences in order to enhance their labour market opportunities and social participation according to the objectives of the European Pillar of Social Rights and ET 2020.

 

Partners

The 6 European institutions involved in E-DESIGN are as follow:

 

For further information, write to Vidjaya Thelen: vidjaya.thelen@danilodolci.org.