The first steps in STEM, Robotics and Programming

The project consortium applied for this initiative to address the need for free online education in STEM, robotics, and programming among youth. It emerged from both the organization's needs and the challenges educational institutions faced in online teaching. Parents are often hesitant about their children’s use of technology, so the project aimed to promote positive technology consumption, helping young people acquire 21st-century skills and develop future careers. The rapid evolution of technology highlighted the growing demand for digital skills to meet labor market requirements. Through STEM education, the project sought to foster creativity, productivity, and innovation, benefiting both youth and their communities. A needs analysis identified the demand for mass digitalization, broader access to educational content, and stronger support systems during crises. Partners also recognized a lack of accessible, structured robotics and programming education in their local communities. They applied for the project to bridge this critical gap in beginner-friendly STEM education. As a result, the project provided free online digital resources, e-courses and an e-game, boosting youth interest in STEM, robotics, and programming.

Based on the identified needs, the project successfully achieved and exceeded the following objectives: 1. Developing basic competencies of 100 youngsters in the fields of programming and robotics in a period of 36 months; 2. Developing basic competencies of 100 youngsters in the fields of STEM education in a period of 36 months; 3. Exercising the competencies of 200 young people entering the world of programming through an online e-game in a period of 36 months; 4. Increase the capacity of working with programming, robotics and STEM of at least 30 members of a club of practitioners, for the benefits of young people, throughout the project.

To ensure general project management activities, the project was structured into 12 work packages, leveraging partners' experience in similar initiatives: 1. Detailed planning: included key elements and tools for management activities such as the Codex of the project, a starting kit containing standard and specific instructions related to project implementation, tools to be used, templates, financial unit, dissemination/visibility requirements, risk unit, bibliography unit, partner descriptions unit, communication area, transnational meetings, project principles, monitoring strategy, methods/approaches, internal budget control, backup strategy, and follow-up strategy. This starting kit also included the following Starting Units: Work Breakdown Structure, Gantt Chart, Project Planner, Monthly Reports, Monitoring Template File, Intermediary Report Template File, Final Report Template File, Knowledge Starting Unit, Case Study Unit, Dictionary Unit, Do’s and Don’ts Unit, Lessons Learned Unit, Project Archiving Unit, Financial Report, and Backup Systems. 2. Project management: included coordination activities outlined in the Work Breakdown Structure, Gantt Chart, and Project Planner. It also allocated funds for general project activities and unforeseen costs. 3. Partnership coordination: managed virtual collaboration, monthly reports, knowledge-sharing units, and project archiving. 4. Financial administration: covered financial monitoring and periodic updates. 5. Platform management: featuring the development of a multi-functional online platform for dissemination, e-learning, and communication, managed by Predict CSD Consulting. 6. Team management: focused on staff meetings, training, monitoring, and safety measures. 7. Visibility: ensured compliance with Erasmus+ visibility rules through promotional materials such as flyers, posters, roll-ups, and a mascot. 8. Regular evaluation: conducted monthly progress reports. 9. Risk Strategies: covered potential risks and risk management strategies outlined in the Risk Unit. 10. Monitoring: regularly assessed project progress through a structured monitoring file. 11. Dissemination: included social media campaigns, ROBO Caravan events, branding, practitioner club activities, and printed materials. 12. Follow-up & Sustainability: addressed near the end of the project to ensure the long-term impact and sustainability of the developed products. All these elements are described in detail in other sections of this final report, along with explanations of how they were used throughout the project to produce the concrete IOs and achieve the project’s objectives. Besides these general activities, the consortium was also involved in activities directly linked to the production of IOs and transversal project activities, such as the Transnational Project Meetings, the dissemination and exploitation of results activities: the ROBO Caravan developed in RO, Multiplier Events, and Info Sessions organized in all partner countries. These activities are detailed in their respective sections within this final report.

The concrete results of the project are: - Basic Robotics and Programming Online Training Course (IO1) - Basics of STEM Education Online Training Course (IO2) - The Robot’s Journey e-Game: SirKwitz (IO3) All these tangible outputs are hosted on the www.stemtrainings.eu educational platform and are available in 6 languages: EN, RO, IT, LT, FI and RU. The courses can be accessed in all these languages via the direct link: https://stemtrainings.eu/mod/page/view.php?id=6. The additional results of the project include various materials and components developed for the e-courses and e-game, namely: - Curriculum for IO1 featuring 12 topics: 1. Orientation; 2. Logics; 3. Data/Counting; 4. Variables; 5. Constants; 6. Sequences; 7. Conditions; 8. Loops; 9. Algorithms; 10. Functions; 11. Structures, and 12. Basics of Robotics. - Curriculum for IO2 featuring 12 projects: 1. Turning on an LED; 2. Traffic Light; 3. A pulsating LED; 4. Three LEDs controlled by a button; 5. Multicolor LED (RGB LED); 6. LED Illumination with a Potentiometer; 7. Photoresistor (LDR); 8. LED with photoresistor; 9. Temperature sensor; 10. Buzzer; 11. Buzzer with button, and 12. Alarm (Passive Buzzer with LED and Photoresistor). - 25 lesson plans developed for IO1, covering approximately 30-35 hours of e-learning; - 25 lesson plans developed for IO2, covering approximately 30-35 hours of e-learning; - 1 Treasure Hunt activity, 1 Points system, 1 Progress bar, 1 Leaderboard, and 1 support system (including messages, hints, etc.) for IO1; - 1 Treasure Hunt activity, 1 Points system, 1 Progress bar, 1 Leaderboard, and 1 support system (including messages, hints, etc.) for IO2 - 1 certificate model for IO1; - 1 certificate model for IO2; - 6 badges created for IO1; - 5 badges created for IO2; - 1 ROBO Handbook translated into EN, RO, IT, LT, FI. IO1 content Learning materials: - 12 e-books; - 1 Glossary of terms; - 11 interactive presentations (over 100 slides); - 11 audio summaries; - 22 video presentations/tutorials; - 11 practical assignments; - 18 infographics/diagrams; - 7 interactive tasks; - 10 supplementary resources/bibliography sections; - 12 quizzes/assessments; - 5 homework assignments; - 10 case studies; - 6 robotics-related practical activities; General evaluation components: - 1 Quiz – Initial Assessment; - 1 Quiz – Final Assessment; - 1 Individual Evaluation & Feedback. IO2 content Learning materials: - 12 e-books; - 2 glossaries of terms (Circuit Elements & Sensors, and Functions); - 12 infographics; - 12 circuit diagrams; - 10 videos/short films; - 2 interactive videos; - 12 interactive practical exercises (writing the program); - 12 interactive tasks (test your knowledge); - 12 quizzes/assessments; - 2 secret zones; - 12 homework assignments; General evaluation components: - 1 Quiz – Initial Assessment; - 1 Mid-Term Practical Evaluation Task (featuring online small simulations) - 1 Final Practical Evaluation Task (featuring online small simulations); - 1 Quiz – Final Assessment; - 1 Individual Evaluation & Feedback. IO3 content - 1 GamePlay Trailer; - 1 storyline for the e-game; - 1 game environment; - 1 general script, multiple scenarios, and game camera; - 1 control system for the e-game; - 1 Core Mechanics Pack, including conditions for winning/losing the game; - 1 sound system; - 1 feedback system for the e-game; - 1 in-game points system; - 1 Graphic Pack; - 1 Help section; - 1 animated character for the e-game: SirKwitz (with multiple animations); - 1 UI (User Interface) and 1 UX (User Experience); - 4 main levels, each with 7 sub-sequenced levels covering the following programming concepts: Orientation and Logics, Simple Sequences, Complex Sequences, Loops, and Debugging; - level rules and characteristics; - over 20 tests of the e-game and 5 patches developed. In addition, we organized various dissemination and exploitation events and meetings, which are also considered results of our project: - 8 Multiplier Events organized in RO, IT, and LT with a total of 162 face-to-face participants and 6 participants joining online; - the ROBO Caravan organized in RO with over 350 participants from 5 local communities in Arad and Timiș counties; 114 of these participants were young people with fewer opportunities; - 50 Info-Sessions organized in the partner countries with over 1000 young people to present the project’s results and encourage them to make use of them. Transversal results of our project: - 1 logo of the project; - 1 e-learning Moodle platform: https://stemtrainings.eu/; - 1 logo of the e-learning platform: stemtrainings; - 4 TPMs organized (1 online and 3 face-to-face); - over 20 partnership agreements signed with associated partners from all partner countries involved; - 1 Facebook page of the project with currently over 1000 likes and over 1300 followers; 88 posts so far; (https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100087876828412) - 1 Instagram page of the project with currently over 200 followers and 43 posts so far; (https://www.instagram.com/stem_trainings.eu/) - 1 YouTube channel with 2 official project playlists including 46 videos with over 3650 views (as of now) from the 2 e-courses produced (including closed captions in EN, RO, IT, LT, FI, and RU) - https://www.youtube.com/@ZURYAssociation/playlists; - the e-game is hosted on 3 gaming platforms: STEAM, itch.io, and Google Play; it can be downloaded and played from each platform free of charge: https://store.steampowered.com/app/2776550/SirKwitz/, https://predictcsd.itch.io/sirkwitz and https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.PredictEdumedia.SirKwitz&hl=en. - 1 project mascot: SirKwitz, created in 4 exemplars; - 1 roll-up design, 1 flyer design, and 1 poster design (4 roll-ups printed, 1000 flyers, and 300 posters printed and distributed); - a Club of Practitioners with 50 members from 11 countries (as of this moment).