Project No: LLP-LdV-ToI-09-CY-167919 Skevos EvripidouProject Coordinator

Organized by:

www.seiling.euwww.thejobgame.eu

Disclaimer

This project has been funded with support from theEuropean Commission. This report reflects the views only

of the author, and the Commission cannot be held responsiblefor any use which may be made of the information

contained therein

Agenda

Project & Consortium introduction

Aim and objectives

Transfer of Innovation

WorkPlan

Scenarios Definition

User Requirements

Technology Framework & Platform Architecture

Agenda (cont.)

Platform Build & Features List

Platform Demo

Users Evaluation

Dissemination/Exploitation

Conclusions

Questions & Discussion

Introduction

•SEILING: SEIze LIfe through gamiNGAcronym

•Co-funded by Cyprus Lifelong Learning Program (IDEP)Funding

•Leonardo Da Vinci – TOIProgram•1/10/2009Starting Date

•24 monthsDuration

•€ 299,360.10Budget:

•Prof. Paraskevas Evripidou – University of CyprusCoordinator:

Consortium

One (1) University

Two (2) experts in IT field

Two (2) vocational training centres

Two (2) consultant firms

This in not an Academic exercise!

Aim

Provide an alternative way of training and lifelong learning,

Give special emphasis to the less-qualified workers category,

Combine alternative interactive content adapted to specific training programs

Objectives

• Create an on-line citizens service center especially addressed to low profile and less qualified workers.

• Train based on interactive content with active participation using intelligent simulation “games” and active procedure representation which can improve learning and attract low profile and less qualified people to begin their training process.

• Use a suitable learning format and recognition of individuals’ own characteristics (self-concept, skill acquisition methods) to allow for games personalization.

• Offer information about employment issues and possibilities for educational training to our target group.

• Exchange and share information and ideas with other users.

• Provide a user-friendly, simple, highly interactive and functional system.

Transfer of Innovation

Type of Transfer• Import

Country of Transfer• Italy

Project to be Transferred• eGov (I/04/B/P/PP/154121))

Concepts to be transferred:• based on e-Piazza, an information board and guide to the world of e-government, as

well as a virtual meeting point for identifying and spreading good practices of e-government

• Sei.li.nG project is to transfer the idea of e-Piazza to the world of less qualified workers and enrich it with several other ideas and concepts

e-Piazza

Workplan

User Requirements

Scenarios Definition

Technology Framework

Platform Implementation

Internal Evaluation

Users Evaluation (workshop)

Users Evaluation (online)

Architecture and Final Design

Dissemination & Exploitation Activities

x 3

x 10

x 200

Project Management & Evaluation

1

2

3

4 4

4

User Requirements (collection)

•Users were expressing personal interest

•Team has sufficient expertise and knowledge about users to develop the scenarios Users

contributed indirectly to the development of

the learning scenarios

•Trainers & Educators•Training & Recruiting Centres•VET institutions

Revised User Requirements target group

Methodology

User Requirements

Questionnaires

Interviews

Round Table Discussions

Instruments Used

User Requirements (conclusions)Functional• eTraining has gained popularity even for less

qualified workers Vs manuals and in-class training• Web is the preferential format for training

material• Training centres are well equipped for delivering

our approach to training• Recruiting centres offering online services would

be very interested in our platform and would complement very well their existing services

• Emphasis on evaluation and collaboration tools

Non-Functional• Simple game scenarios – Limited user

options• Enhanced user interactivity – Engage user

at all times• Rewarding – Users need “carrots” to keep

going• Multilanguage support• Expandability – enrich platform with new

training material

Scenarios Definition (1)

Definition of scenarios absorbed most of our efforts after platform development and took more than 1 year to finalize them

It took another 3 months to translate and localize and adapt them on the platform

Experts (through interviews and round-table discussions) outside the consortium were involved in the preparation and optimization of the scenarios

Decision was for a more generic series of courses instead of specialized courses

Prevailing economic conditions and unemployment lead us to focus into assisting our target group the finding a job process and/or helping them to maintain their job

A total of 10 scenarios were developed from which only 5 made it to the platform

Scenarios Definition (2)

1. Career Choice

(explore your skills and interests)

2. CV Builder (prepare your

CV )

3. Job Search (read between

the lines” in job

advertisements)

4. The Interview

(prepare for an interview)

5. Time Management

(effectively manage your

time in the workplace

Scenarios Definition (3)Game 1: Career Choice

• Allow users to explore their skills and interests

• Based on the Holland career interest theory of six work types (Realistic, Investigative, Artistic, Social, Enterprising and Conventional)

• User is presented with a series of interests and skills and is asked to rank them

• An algorithm calculates the ranking and suggests 3 possible work types

• Supplementary material: Document with details about work type (tasks, possible jobs, work environments)

Game 2: CV Builder

• Allow users to build the CV• User visits counsellor and through

an interview session a user prepare his CV

• All user answers are validated• Supplementary material: Europass

CV in editable format, Further tips for CV, Functional CV

Scenarios Definition (4)

Game 3: Job Search

• Users are trained to “read between the lines” in job advertisements

• Learning to “read ” job ads can give a candidate an advantage (type of company, type of person they are looking for, how to apply)

• Users are asked questions about the ads and then the answers are given.

• Supplementary material: Further job search tips

Game 4: The Interview

• Users are trained how to handle an interview

• The user views a video analysis of a previous interview with comments from counsellor and is asked to re-answer

• Supplementary Material: Evaluation quiz for further testing, script of the interview in electronic format, further interview tips

Scenarios Definition (5)

Game 5: Time Management

• Users are trained how to effectively manage their time in the workplace

• User is presented with a schedule which is intermittently interrupted by other activities (email, sms)

• The user is asked to prioritize the activities and put them on a schedule.

• System evaluate the user’s prioritization of tasks and return grading and related guidance

• Supplementary material: Tips on time management

Technology Framework

Objectives •Define the technological basis to build the platform•Emphasis on technology to optimize learning gains

Areas of investigation

•Learning Content Management System•Web Gaming Engine•Web Programming Platform

Main outcomes

•Use only open source technologies to facilitate adoption and expansion

•Refrain from utilizing an LCMS to allow for flexibility in “games”•Develop LCMS functionalities where necessary

Platform Architecture

Technologies

Pages: HTML , CSS

Supporting apps: PHP, AJAX

Gaming Anim.: Flash

Gaming Logic: PHP, ActionScript

Database: MySQL

useruseruser admin

admin

forum

chat grading

coursesgame-play

reports

best pract. user mgt

Data Layer

Presentation Layer

Application Layer

PHP modules

user pages admin pages

Supporting

SQL

Platform Build

•Iterative process•3 rounds of internal evaluation for each system component•each game have its own lifecycle in order to engage all

partners and accelerate development•Tasks segregation

•different teams working on animations, logic and database

Methodology

Implementation order

Gaming Engine

PHP modules for gaming

Data access modules

User Management

Supporting modules

Collaboration modules

Evaluation modulesPortal

Platform Features

Gaming• Career Choice• CV Builder• Job Search• The Interview• Time

Management

Supplementary Material• Interests & Skills• Europass CV• Functional CV• Tips for CV• Job Search Tips• Interview

Recording• Interview Tips• Time

Management Tips

Evaluation & Grading• Interview Quiz• In-line evaluation• Evaluation

Questionnaire• My Results• Grading

algorithms

Collaboration• Fully-featured

forum• Chat rooms – one

per language

Other• Multilanguage

support - 5 languages

• Gamebox – Ability to upload new games

• Best Practices Corner – Customised per country

• Administration module

• Google Analytics• User Guide

Platf

orm

Dem

o

www.thejobgame.eu

Platform Evaluation - Methodology

• 11 workshops in 6 countries, ~ 100 users

• Train the trainer approach (guidelines for running the trials)

• Selection process to simulate target group

• Evaluation through questionnaire and trainer feedback

Workshops

• Heavily promoted with dissemination• > 300 registered users from 20

countries• 30% has evaluated the system online• 1400 unique visitors & 130K page hits

per month• Evaluation through online

questionnaire and Google analytics• Online availability – 3 months

Online

Platform Evaluation - Results

The SEILING approach was an instant success in groups closed to our target group (e.g. Slovenia, Ireland, Italy)

Users found the games educational, fun, and rewarding

Despite the fact that the average time for completion of all games was 4 hours, only few users complained about the time they spent in the workshops

The majority of the users expressed the opinion that they can have the training without the help of an instructor

For users with higher education (University graduates) the overall feeling was very positive but overall scores were lower than the ones of our primary target group

87 % of our users believe that the SEILING approach to training (getting trained through gaming) is preferable to the traditional classroom-based training

Platform Evaluation - Results

Games were the most popular feature of the platform. The “CV Builder”, “The Interview” and the “Job Search” scored the higher among the games.

The “Career Choice” Game received mixed results

The Time Management game although it was well received it seems that it lacked depth

Supplementary material (tips, guidelines, CVs, recordings) have surprisingly scored very high. Users liked the idea of getting something back from the training

Best practices corner has also received very good comments as well as the various evaluation material (quizzes, in-game evaluations)

Collaboration tools have received mixed results with the Forum being in better shape than the Chat application.

Platform Evaluation - Results

Users embraced the online availability of the platform and the ability to complete games at own pace

Most of the online users have completed at least 3 out of the 5 games

The overall platform design (characters, animations, graphics, fonts) were appealing to the users

Most of the users believe that the platform was useful primarily to “acquire new skills” and then to “Increase opportunities for professional growth”

The average overall evaluation score for the SEILING platform was 83%.

Dissemination

• Created and maintained web site since the start of the project• Newsletters & brochure in 5 languages• Created and maintained Facebook presence since 1st year• Participated in several conferences, fairs, congresses (IIMSS-

2011, Ballymun Educational Fair, ISCM 2011)• Email campaigns to all participating countries targeting

government and educational agencies as well as training and recruiting centers

• Several presentations to partners, clients, schools, universities government & private organizations, associations

• Promotion over the web (karriera.gr, skywalker.gr, CS.UCY)• Search engines optimization• …and many others

Exploitation

Internal• KADIS and BJC will continue to use the platform as a tool to offer

training services to their clients• WebRelations will add the platform to their offering portfolio and will

seek partnerships and collaboration with other portals• UCY will use methodologies and outcomes of SEILING to teaching

External• In contact with interested party from Ireland for commercializing the

platform (Janus Training & Development Ltd) • Contacts with government agencies in Cyprus (MoL, HRDA, CPC)• Contacts with relevant portals for cooperation i.e. Banner exchange • Further promotion to attract trainers and convince to upload their

courses to our platform

Conclusions (1)

Getting trained through gaming is a solid concept for attracting the low skilled workers into training and lifelong

learning.

SEILING concept can be expanded to other target groups such as elderly people and high school students

SEILING concept allows for raising the competence levels of groups at risk (less qualified workers)

SEILING facilitates the development of innovative practices in the field of vocational education and training and their

transfer to other countries

SEILING supports users in training and further training activities in the acquisition and the use of knowledge, skills

and qualifications to facilitate personal development

Conclusions (2)

Added time to complete a training is compensated by user engagement and involvement

Audio would have significantly improved the product

Well-thought and innovative game scenarios are vital for applying the concept. The transformation of the scenarios

to games needs some special expertise

Simplicity and standardization are key characteristics for the implementation of the games

Provision for evaluation and immediate feedback is a very important element of this approach

Questions & Discussion

Thank you !www.seiling.eu

www.thejobgame.euwww.facebook.com/SEILING.EU