Games Without Barriers project aims at developing, within the initial VET on tourism, new training contents on accessible tourism and at experimenting innovative game-based approaches and digital tools for their delivery. Context/Background Accessible Tourism is an important sector with great economic value and a solid growth. However, the percentage of tourism operators that can benefit from this market is still low also linked to the lack of staff trained to cater for customers with access needs. There is therefore a big need for training on accessible tourism but, in this respect, the situation throughout Europe is significantly inadequate. Permanent and recognised vocational training offers are very few and mainly directed to continuing VET while training for accessible tourism services is neither part of any mainstream educational provisions nor initial VET. In recent years the spread of new digital technologies and Internet has fostered the implementation of new teaching approaches, including those based on edutainment which, by applying gaming dynamics in educational settings and using new media (educational software, digital games, video games, etc.), encourage learning, making it more enjoyable, engaging and effective. Nevertheless, in the current formal educational context these innovative approaches are still under-represented. New forms of training based on gaming using digital technologies require new competences of the teaching staff. This creates additional challenges to the teachers who need to be creative, prepared for life-long learning and professional development in order to provide high-quality education.Objectives and results• to reduce the training gap within tourism VET schools with regard to accessible tourism issues, by embedding accessible tourism topics in their curricula • to develop and experiment edutainment approaches and tools in training, by integrating game-based and experiential learning in the teaching practices and using new media and digital technologies in a creative and collaborative way • to improve the knowledge of accessible tourism by teachers of tourism VET schools and increase their expertise and skills in the use of game-based learning approaches and digital training tools• to increase students’ engagement and boost their participation in training activities.• to increase students’ awareness and sensitivity towards disability and social inclusion of people with specific needs • to provide students with new knowledge, skills and competences with regard to accessible tourism• to increase the capacity of tourism VET schools to operate at transnational level, share and confront ideas, practices and methodsNumber and profile of participantsAround 15 teachers of three tourism VET schools in Italy, Romania and Spain will participate in the project activities. All of them have been teaching subjects belonging to the domain of tourism for many years 72 students, aged between 14 and 19, attending the three tourism VET schools will participate in the experimental training activities during transnational exchanges of groups of pupilsActivities• Organization of joint staff training events addressed to teachers of the partner schools who will be trained on accessible tourism issues and on the use of edutainment approaches to training• Design of training modules on accessible tourism for use in mainstream tourism VET school programmes and formal recognition of their learning outcomes • Design of training activities for the modules delivery focused on game-based learning and experiential learning, also through the use of digital technologies and tools• Design, implementation and experimentation of a game-based web app on accessible tourism• Experimentation of the new training modules on accessible tourism and the edutainment methods and tools during exchanges of groups of pupils Methodology Edutainment approaches - “game-based learning” and “gamification” - will be used in producing the game-based web app and in delivering the training activities to test the new modules on accessible tourism. In the implementation of the training activities the methodological approach of “collaborative learning” and “experiential learning” will be also adopted. Impact and potential longer term benefits• Improvement of the ability of mainstream initial VET to make better use of digital technology for teaching and learning• Increase of the efficiency of mainstream initial VET to meet the needs of tourism industry that requires staff capable of correctly taking on customers with specific access needs • Possibility for the tourism industry to exploit the high potential of accessible tourism market thanks to the availability of personnel trained to cater for customers with specific access needs• More travel opportunities for tourists with specific access needs who will benefit from the increase of tourism services adequate to their requirements

The Spielend neues lernen project was a continuation of the successful implementation of the eTwinning project, which was awarded the European Quality Label and got also an award for the best German project. And that was the main reason why the eTwinning project implementer from Turkey, Slovakia, and Greece decided to implement the project as an Erasmus+ project and they invited two other schools from Poland and Italy to participate in it. The project coordinator was Elementary School, Wolkerova 10 in Bardejov. The aim of the project was to motivate pupils to learn foreign languages, to expand the use of activating elements of the game in foreign language teaching, but also in other subjects and to improve pupils´ digital skills. Gamification in education suggests using gaming systems, new experiences and cultural roles to motivate students in learning. Everyone involved in this project had the opportunity to work with web 2.0 applications, create online games, learn from each other, and compare the traditional form of learning with gamification. New learning resources have been created, which are constantly being disseminated and published on the project website, for other schools and teachers. Pupils aged 14-16 years were involved in the project. The project had 2 transnational meetings and 3 short-term pupil exchange meetings. In the 1st phase of the project realization, a website was created to inform about the objectives and implementation of the project. The 1st transnational meeting in Turkey was focused on the evaluation of ongoing activities and at the same time coordinators had made decisions about coordinating other project activities as well as the organization of the exchanges according to the plan. The 2nd transnational meeting was linked to the final evaluation of the project. The main part of the project was the exchange of pupils mainly focused on the practical application of the game elements in learning and communicating in a foreign language. The main part of the project was working on English and German lessons. Pupils created vocabulary collections on selected topics and created online quizzes and games. Subsequently, the short-term meetings of pupils were primarily focused on the practical application of the elements of the game in learning and communicating in a foreign language. Activities in which pupils could participate were also focused on learning about culture. Short-term student exchanges were attended by 45 teachers and 58 pupils from five countries. Each meeting lasted for five days. The program was aimed at checking the acquired language and digital competences. The verification was carried out through quizzes, created online. Pupils worked in international teams, wrote scenarios on assigned topics, and created digital learning material through Learningapps, Quizzis and Kahoot. They also learned how to work with a 3D printer. Thanks to the excursion to Samsung's development laboratory, they became acquainted with creating the mobile applications. They had also the opportunity to become familiar with the lifestyle of teenagers in the country, to develop a team spirit, to improve their language, digital and presenting skills. Each meeting had a game day, where teams played online games and quizzes. The last day of each meeting was always dedicated to the evaluation and the best team was rewarded. The Evaluation of the project was in the form of questionnaires. All results were processed in the final evaluation of the project. The use of games in the classroom aims to achieve success in learning in a simple and fun way. This learning increases pupils' self-confidence, improves problem-solving autonomy and encourages team spirit. We have achieved a great deal by working on our project. As a result, 2692 pupils dealt with 771 questions online via quizzes. The percentage success rate increased from 60% to 80%. The exchange provided the opportunity to explore other cultures on the basis of one's own experience and to gain a sense of European identity. Acquired digital skills have taught pupils to look for the necessary information and critically evaluate them. Not only mobility was our goal. It was durability and reusable learning methods in the form of a game. All scenarios and online games are available to the general public on the project website as well as on the project's eTwinning website. The website is a guide and resource for teachers. The e-magazine informs about the course of the project as well as about the overall experiences and life of the pupils involved in the project. Created collections of thematic vocabulary and games were offered to foreign language teachers at workshops by project participants at schools in their region. The teachers who created this project recognized the benefits of using gamification elements in the classroom and therefore encouraged their colleagues to combine the traditional method of teaching with the use of gamification.

"The project “Climate is Changing. Let’s Change Climate. Make Difference Together ”, in line with the educational offerings of the schools that formed the partnership, is fully integrated into the process of internationalization undertaken by them and meets the expectations of students, families and the social and territorial contexts in which they operate. For some years now, Erasmus plus Programme constitutes a strong point of our Educational Offer Plans.Our project aims to lead students to acquire full awareness of their role in the environment, starting from the knowledge of the territory and problems related to its unsustainable use (management of natural resources, impact of food on the environment, pollution, production of waste, alteration of ecosystems, …). We believe it is essential that they learn to recognize and to address the main problems related to land use and are aware of their active role to safeguard the natural environment for future generations. Participation in the various actions of this educational project will increase their knowledge, skills and competences, with the ultimate aim of creating aware and responsible citizens with regard to the protection of the natural environment.The main objectives are: -developing awareness of environmental issues;-educate to sustainability and circular economy;-encourage changes in behaviour and lifestyles;-use digital resources within a stimulating learning environment that enhances their creative capacities;-integrate the territory and involve families and other stakeholders;-make them compare on the topic with their foreign peers, putting them in a position to know directly the lifestyles and customs of the host country of which they have only read or heard;-interact with ""native speakers"" to use so, more naturally, the foreign languages studied, in particular English;-promote an open mind towards different cultural realities and encourage collaborative behaviour and solidarity for the overcoming of stereotypes and the development of critical thinking;-deepen the knowledge of the state of health of its territory and its natural heritage to make it a strong point of the future tourist offer based on sustainability.Number and profile of participants:In the project, which will last 24 months, will be involved in mobility:- 4 teachers (Erasmus plus programme coordinators in partner schools) for participation in joint staff training in Italy;- 16 students of different addresses, aged between 16 and 18 ( equal number of students for partner schools, belonging to classes corresponding to those of our school system) selected for merit and availability to hospitality;- 8 accompanying teachers (languages and DNL, i.e. non-linguistic subjects) per country.Cultural-linguistic exchange will take place on a reciprocal basis, provides family hospitality and aims to develop civic, linguistic, expressive and digital skills and offer students an original and useful opportunity to understand what is happening to our Planet and what are the most effective actions to protect him.The notional contents of the topics will be proposed through multimedia educational tools offering students numerous opportunities for reflection, debate and contribution. Divided into groups, they will also relate to the world outside ( representatives of local authorities, public and private companies, ordinary citizens) to document with photos and videos the degradation of the city environment and conduct interviews on waste reduction, the protection and improvement of urban decorum. Cooperative learning pathways will be developed; ; group activities will be organised to use technology subsidies and common platforms; a timetable of joint activities to set deadlines will be drawn up and activities will be carried out to involve all students. The activities that will be carried out will be supported from the teachers of the class councils who will participate in group work and in joint laboratories. We will also make use of the collaboration with the Legambiente Association because, as coordinating school, for some years we have joined the Sustainable School Formula, designed for schools that intend to engage in the promotion of sustainable lifestyles within their own community and territory, including through projects with a European dimension."

"The project ""Future Food Cultures"" aims to raise students' awareness about climate changes and the European sense of community. Based on the theory of Knud Illeris's three dimensions of learning we will design learning processes to activate the students in order to enable them to build their own opinions from the gained knowledge about climate changes, food cultures and the European society.By activating the students and let them interact with each other in different ways, our goal is also that they develop their communication strategies, also when speaking a foreign language. Inspired by the research of John Hattie we also believe that students' learning will progress more when they play an active role in their own learning process, both regarding subject knowledge, social skills and language acquisition. We are aware that the succes of this peer tutoring depends on teacher guidning and propper scaffolding during the proces.As mentioned above, this project aims context wise to raise the students' awareness on climate change issues, in this specific case changes about food cultures and food productions due to climate changes. In connection to addressing this problem the project also means to focus on how strong the sense of European community is in today's Europe, in this case specifically whether each country prefers to address the climate change issues alone or together."

"Project context: IPSSEOA “Giovanni Falcone” and the “Lycée de l'Hôtellerie et du Tourisme de Gascogne” have among their strategic objectives that of favoring the European dimension of learning in formal and non-formal contexts, for a social integration policy respecting diversity and for an employment policy turning to an international context. The project ""Food, Culture and Traditions in Comparison: the Richness of Cultural Diversity"" was carried out fully responding to the aforementioned priorities and to the expectations of students and parents, who enthusiastically joined. This experience has allowed us to enrich and expand our educational offer, and to develop a planning in line with our partnership. The project focused on food, meaning it as ""food for thought"" : food to get in touch, food to communicate, food to socialize and to tell about the territory and the culture it belongs to, at the center of the cultural activities and visits during transnational mobility . Although not directly involved in it, students and teachers of the two schools took part in some of the planned activities and the whole school community contributed to the success of the project. The communication to the territory, to educational institutions, to local and regional cultural and professional associations was excellent as well as the visibility of the project on the media (television, newspapers, magazines and web) throuhout its steps, at local, regional, national and international level. The tools used for an initial evaluation of the results have revealed a very positive overall effect Achieved objectives - direct knowledge of lifestyles and customs of the host country, - comparison with a different school system - interaction with ""native speakers"", which made it possible to improve communicative skills in French and Italian; - openness towards different cultural realities, development of the spirit of collaboration, overcoming of some stereotypes and development of critical thinking; - deeper knowledge of one's own territory and of its cultural heritage; - development of a sense of responsibility on which to base one's life project. In mobility project each institution involved: - n ° 10 students from different school sectors, aged between 16 and 19, selected by merit and willingness to host, accompanied by two teachers on each side Description of activities and methodology: The cultural-linguistic exchange included reciprocal family hospitality and participation in educational activities and cultural initiatives organized by the partner school. The workshops offered students the opportunity to come together in order to share and experiment their culinary knowledge, discover and ""tell about"" the raw materials, design and create dishes reinterpreting the tradition. There were show-cookings, workshops, lectures, meetings with chefs, pastry chefs, wine experts , sustainable tourism operators, cultural visits and naturalistic walks. In some cases, the students of Tourism provided the information about the planned itinerary. The privileged methodology was that of learning by doing, observation and peer to peer learning. Results and effects: Mobility has accustomed students to confrontation with other cultures, contributed to open-mindedness and developed intercultural competences necessary to build a European society that perceives cultural diversity not as a limit, but as an extraordinary source of wealth. The interest in the language and culture of the host country has grown. In Sicily, back from the period of mobility in France, one of the students took part to the contest ""Goût de France"" organized by the Regional Network of Francophone Hotel and Catering Institutes, promoted by the French Embassy in Italy and ranked first in the Waiting skills category , so winning two weeks of internship in Nice, in a lycée hotêllier . Moreover, the French teachers at school have recorded for all the students engaged in the mobility a remarkable improvement of their performances in French . Expected long-term benefits: - encouraging students (not only those directly involved in mobility) to undertake medium and long-term mobility experiences too, and possible company internships; - increasing the number of families willing to host students from abroad; - further strengthening the partnership and presenting new Erasmus plus applications in order to expand the actions of our internationalization plans with scheduled exchanges of teachers as well; - increasingly involving local institutions, the territory and partners in our project activities."