Miscellaneous

The EBI is regularly involved in various projects, most of which are transnational projects in the frame of the Erasmus+ program. The products and results produced in the frame of these projects require quality control or sometimes a quality improvement (enhancement) process. For many years, the EBI/EIE worked on the development of easy-to-handle but successful methods. During the last years – in context with the COVID-19 crisis, face-to-face meetings were not possible in the necessary frequency. We started to work with “Quality Control Circles” (a common means in typical project management) and called them Quality Enhancement Circles.

What is a Quality Circle Process?

Most quality circles will work through a set process with each meeting. In general, this will follow the Plan, Do, Check, Act process, which is ideal for continuous improvement projects. PDCA (plan–do–check–act or plan–do–check–adjust) is an iterative design and management method used in business for the control and continual improvement of processes and products.

The four steps are defined as¹:

Plan
Establish objectives and processes required to deliver the desired results.

Do
Carry out the objectives from the previous step.

Check
During the check phase, the data and results gathered from the do phase are evaluated. Data is compared to the expected outcomes to see any similarities and differences. The testing process is also evaluated to see if there were any changes from the original test created during the planning phase. If the data is placed in a chart, it can make it easier to see any trends if the PDCA cycle is conducted multiple times. This helps to see what changes work better than others and if said changes can be improved as well.

Act
Also called “Adjust”, this act phase is where a process is improved. Records from the “do” and “check” phases help identify issues with the process. These issues may include problems, non-conformities, opportunities for improvement, inefficiencies, and other issues that result in outcomes that are evidently less-than-optimal. Root causes of such issues are investigated, found, and eliminated by modifying the process.

The Challenge for Project Results

In the common Erasmus+ projects, we did not have a quality circle (people from one organisation meeting regularly to check, discuss and decide about the quality of products). We had people in various European countries that met in virtual meetings (often performed via ZOOM) to discuss technical issues.

We developed a kind of quality enhancement circular process, where people from all partners could be involved to check the quality and to decide finally about the acceptance of the product.

How do we work on projects?

For each product, a partner is in charge to coordinate the production of the outcome. This partner is also responsible to monitor the production process, and other partners are involved in the creation and work on the expected product.

When the product is finished, the quality check is the next step. Here is a simple depiction of the process:

The circle shows the Plan → Do → Check → Act structure, but in a linearized way. The circle was opened, and a cycle process is only leading from the check result back to the Do item. The reason is that from the planning (mostly done by Backward Design) the plan must not be adapted, corrected, or changed. This is a fixed starting point of the working process.

The “quality circle” (as a group of people) is replaced by a Virtual Team Meeting (with team members selected from all partners). These people check the expected result, compare it with the checklists (available from the milestone plan) and decide:

• If the product fits, it is forwarded to the Steering Committee (or Steering Group of the project). The steering group will approve the result (but has the right to send it back into revision if necessary).
• If the product does not fit, a description of necessary amendments is created, and the product is put into revision. The project partner in charge to develop the product can do the amendments and forward the product again to the Team VM group.

This simple process enables a minimized effort with maximum quality and enables to keep the production process of project outcomes simple.

The past decade has seen a significant shift in ethical values and attitudes, driven by a number of factors including technological advancements, social and political movements, and global events. Consequently, some significant changes in ethical values and attitudes are visible, with some developments having a negative impact on society. In particular, there has been a rise in certain unethical behaviors and attitudes, such as hate speech, racism, bullying, and similar issues, that are facilitated by technology and the internet.

The EBI has launched a case study and asked five partners from Erasmus+ projects to share their impressions about their observations, especially in relation to their learners (and – of course – to their trainers). The results are made visible in the slide show (Data for the case study: 6 organisations, 18 trainers, and heads sent back the questionnaire).

Remark: Use the errors to see all seven slides with the statistical-processed data!

Asked Questions

1. Our trainers/we as an organisation/I as a person have noted various societal problems, such as hatred on the net, lack of togetherness, discrimination, and prejudice based on race, gender, sexual orientation, and similar.
2. Our trainers/we as an organisation/I as a person have been observing an inevitable decline in values in society lately, like hatred on the net, lack of togetherness, discrimination, and prejudice based on race, gender, and sexual orientation, which worries them.
3. Our trainers have recently observed a decline in moral principles among learners, like missing respect, lack of togetherness, discrimination, and prejudice based on race, or gender.
4. Our organisation seeks to provide trainers with a uniform basic attitude toward ethics and morals.
5. Our organisation aims to positively impact learners through a unified ethical stance and thus have some influence on the positive development of society.
6. For our organisation, a uniform ethical attitude within the team is essential.
7. In the future, our organisation wants to offer training and education on moral principles in specific areas (e.g., behaviour on the net, green values).

Findings and deeper-going interpretation (Ethical Values)

The COVID-19 pandemic has brought about significant changes in many aspects of society, including ethical values. As one factor, the COVID-19 crisis has highlighted disparities and inequalities within society. The pandemic has exposed systemic issues such as income inequality, racial and ethnic discrimination, and inadequate healthcare systems. These disparities have raised ethical questions about the allocation of resources and the obligations of governments and corporations to address these issues.

Hate speech and cyberbullying

The anonymity and reach of the internet have created a platform for hate speech and cyberbullying, where individuals can attack and harass others with relative impunity. This has created a new set of ethical challenges, as people struggle to balance the right to free speech with the need to protect individuals from harm.

Racism and discrimination

The past decade has seen a resurgence of racist and discriminatory attitudes, with many people using the internet to spread hate and misinformation. This has raised ethical questions about the responsibility of tech companies and individuals to address and combat these harmful behaviors.

Online harassment and doxxing

The internet has also facilitated the rise of online harassment and doxing, where individuals use the web to threaten and intimidate others. This has led to a growing concern about the ethical implications of online behavior and the need for greater protection and accountability.

Intergenerational ethical approach

It’s not accurate to say that the intergenerational ethical approach has changed negatively in the last decade, but it can be argued that the challenges to achieving intergenerational ethics have increased. Despite increased awareness and a growing recognition of the need to prioritize intergenerational ethical considerations, many of the problems facing future generations have become more acute in recent years.

For example, climate change and environmental degradation have continued to worsen, and income inequality has increased in many parts of the world, making it more difficult to achieve a sustainable and equitable future for all. Additionally, technological advancements have brought new challenges, such as the rise of artificial intelligence and the potential for technological unemployment, that require careful consideration from an intergenerational ethical perspective.

Conclusion

In conclusion, while the past decade has seen many positive developments in ethical values, it has also brought new ethical challenges, particularly with regards to hate speech, racism, bullying, and similar issues that are facilitated by technology and the internet. Addressing these negative trends will require a collective effort to promote responsible and ethical behavior online and offline.

Digital Competences (DigComp) are crucial for citizens today and in the future. In Europe, the average level in DigComp of
well-educated citizens is approx. 56%. Several countries (Italy, Cyprus, Spain, and Greece) are below, and Austria is at the average (Source: DigComp Framework 2.0, P 19). To increase this percentage, the DigiComPass project has been brought to life.

The COVID-19 situation showed that digital competencies are a must for all people, in all generations, and in all living conditions and situations.
All involved adult education organizations are offering courses to increase the digital competencies of adults (of different ages, from 18 up to 70+, also at the university level). Consequently, all organizations agree that these digital skills are an absolute must in our society. If there is a lack of digital skills, in the worst case, people may be excluded from social or daily life. After a coherent concept for digital competencies (DigComp 2.1) existed, the project partners decided to develop a modular course offer tailored to adults using a modern training framework (Flipped Learning 3.0).

Identified needs

The project group identified general needs in digital competencies as well as the need to develop a modern course concept well-fitting to adults (of all ages). The modularity enables a selection of special content by the learners as well as to develop tailored courses.
Another need is a Europe-wide recognition method that fits modern requirements. This recognition method also corresponds to the typical learning behavior of adults, in order to cover the bandwidth from confirmation of participation to excellent participants.

To implement the worldwide accepted and proven “Flipped Learning 3.0” Framework the developer of the framework, Jon Bergman and Errol Smith from “Flipped Learning Global” are members of the consortium.

Some facts

• Applicant: UNIVERSITY OF CYPRUS
• Partners
  • Europäische Bildungsinitiative (AT)
  • BrainLog (DK)
  • Cooperativa Sociale Prometeo onlus a Mutualità Prevalente (IT)
  • INICIATIVAS DE FUTURO PARA UNA EUROPA SOCIAL COOP (ES)
  • SOCIAL YOUTH DEVELOPMENT CIVIL NONPROFIT SOCIETY (GR)
  • FL WORLDWIDE, LLC
• Project number:  2022-1-CY01-KA220-ADU-000085965
• Project start: December 1^st, 2022