Last week, all the project partners met via Zoom for a project catchup. It was great to see everyone, and we covered a lot on the agenda.
Project: Developing Augmented Reality in Youth Offender Learning
Project Partners: All
Date: 20/10/2020
Time: 10.30am-12.00pm (UK Time)
Venue: Zoom Meeting online
TUESDAY, 20 October 2020
Agenda
Item One
Current Project
Lockdown situation/Project extension:
Richard explained the current situation and discussions with the UK National Agency regarding the lockdown period and the inability for practical face-to-face delivery to offender learners.
As mentioned, our project can claim an additional 5 months extension to our current end date (August 2021). Richard has submitted the application for the proposed extension and will circulate the finalised and agreed extension dates, etc, as soon as notified.
In the meantime, it was agreed that all partners would try and set up the iPad devices with the documentation provided from Richard, install the Zappar app and arrange for staff at each prison institution to evaluate the AR process with our resources. This will enable the project to gain some very beneficial feedback and identify any topics that would be useful to develop or be developed by prison staff for the individual pilots.
Progress
Output 5: Prison Induction Information Package:
The project has a large bank of AR resource posters, images and videos on a wide range of topics.
As discussions happen with individual prison institutions for the partner pilots, please see if any additional topics would be welcomed and if they have any video resources already created that we could adapt for use.
Output 6: Work Package for Security:
Richard discussed the problems and lack of support for the security aspects for our project work, specifically for Output 6. As a result, Richard, with assistance from Darryl, has created several resources to support and complete this output work. We now have guidance and step-by-step documentation for the following:
• A guide to setting up a new iPad from the box
• How to set up your new iPad
• A guide to installing the Zappar App on the iPad
• A guide to moving, organising and deleting Apps on an iPad
• A guide to security of implementing Augmented Reality (AR) and access to security in prison and Young Offender institutions
Output 7: Guides to Education in Prisons in Belgium:
This work has been completed by Selim and Ugur.
All project partners gave a summary of recent activities and success with their work. The feedback from BIB, EHCB and CPIP was great shows that our project, even with the current COVID pandemic is beneficial.
It was also noted that with the current project extension, it was proposed that the multiplier events originally scheduled for July ’21, would be moved to January ’22. Richard is awaiting the final decision on the extension being approved and the dates for everything being extended for the 5-month extended period.
Item Two
Dissemination
Updates on recent dissemination activities
Education and Training Foundation (ETF, UK)
Prisoner Learning Alliance (PLA, UK)
European Organisation of Prison and Correctional Services
(EuroPris) Conference
Darryl and Richard feedback on the recent dissemination activities and presentations to the above organisations. The presentation to the EuroPris conference was an important dissemination for our project and gained positive feedback.
Item Three
Phase Two Project Funding
Information of new project outputs
Start date and progression
Actions for Project Partners
Richard gave an update on the successful outcome of our Phase two project application.
Title: Supporting Prison Learners to Prepare for Life on the Outside
Project Start Date: 06/12/2021
Project Duration: 32 months
Project End Date: 05/08/20203
The project would build on the work we will complete in this current project but focus on creating resources to support learners for life on the outside and back into society. Several resource topics already identified include:
• Maths & English
• ICT
• ESOL
• Creating a CV
• Employability skills
• Awareness and good advice from ex-offenders in current employment
• Coaching and Mentoring skills
Plus, other resources pertinent to the specific prison institutions for the project pilots.
Intellectual Outputs:
Output 1 has been removed as the panel thought evaluative reporting needs to be in the first project report and didn’t realise it was a one year on evaluation.
So, we have 4 main outputs throughout the project:
Output 2: Prison Employability AR resources
A series of AR resources, including resource posters and guidance/learning cards, covering all aspects of employability skills to support offender learners to prepare for life on release.
This will give a more personal and realistic approach to support learners for life on release and re-integration back into society
Output 3: Implementation of the security process
Implementing the security process and access within the specific partner prison establishments/institutions.
This will include working through an illustrated guide to the settings of the mobile devices, hotspot needed as part of the internet access and Wi-Fi enabling.
The outcomes will be:
- Implemented security settings
- web access restrictions and tracking
- process and implementation
- quality checking the step by step instructions, guidance notes, illustrations, and amendments/revisions where necessary
Output 4: A guide to supporting offender learners using Augmented Reality to prepare for life on the outside
This output details the topics:
- how to teach and support offender learner/prisoners
- academic view for use by tutors and how to motivate offender learners
- Prison education and the benefits to prepare for release
- Strategies for encouragement of digital technology in prisons
- Using resources after release for reinforcement of learning and dealing with practical situations
A guide template will be developed and used as the output with identified sections for partners to input or develop, that can be collated for the final guidance document. This will not only be an important document for the project end but assist in the multiplier event as the project output overview and journey.
Output 5: Testing and Piloting of the resources with offender learners
Each project partner will seek to test the AR resources and guides produced and pilot with a selected number of offender learners in each specific country prison institutional setting.
The use of the guidance resources and procedures to assist in the supported training of the AR resources will be important. This will introduce, inform and support both the learners
and prison staff who work alongside the offender learners in targeted support sessions.
The testing and piloting of the resources has a huge potential for dissemination by transferring knowledge from participants to other community groups. Thus, they will promote the method at national, school and alternative levels to find new areas of applicability. The chosen support staff and teachers in each institution will become trainers in cascade. Once
established, this method can be adapted to different user groups with different levels of learning and can be used on long term and even introduced into school practice
Multiplier Event
Event Title: The Impact and education of AR on Offender learning from custody to release
A whole project dissemination event to showcase the development and use of AR resources in Offender learning, specifically to support offenders on release.
The event will:
- Give an overview of the background to Offender Learning in context from each partner perspective and nationally.
- Aims and objectives of the Erasmus+ project.
- Overview of AR and context of Offender Learners and extended benefits.
- Demonstration of the AR resources. (including an opportunity for delegates to have hands-on experience of the use of AR resources.)
- Project evaluation (key findings, sustainability, including sharing further the resources with the wider EU community.
N.B. Once the grant agreement document has been sent, Richard will circulate and send all documentation.
AOB
All Project Partners
Action:
Next project meeting to be scheduled for January 2021.
Richard will circulate some suggested dates/times to all partners.
End of Meeting:
Meeting ended at 12.00pm (UK time)
Comments