News
On this page you will find news about the project. Also listed here are various actions and activities in which the project participates in order to become known to the public.
SmartyourHome project successfully completes funding phase
Led by the German Research Institute ILI, a branch of the University of Nuremberg, and strengthened by a partnership including as well the University of Dublin, the CETEM Technology Centre in Murcia and the Regional Agency for Territorial Development of North Romania-Est, Smart Your Home has implemented a series of initiatives aimed at promoting home automation among people in the so-called senior age group. The stated objective – and true pillar of the project activity, was the creation of a gradual training path, to bring this category of people to the applications of digital technologies and allow them to maintain a good level of autonomy at home. Thanks to increasingly advanced and increasingly easy to use devices, organizing your smart home means in fact prolonging your stay at home even when age begins to make it more complicated.
The Smart Your Home project has therefore perfectly combined the themes of digital education with those of welfare for the elderly! Let’s see how: once the needs analysis at the level of each individual territory involved has been completed, the partners have started to work on the definition of the contents of a theoretical and practical course, able to intrigue the senior and attract them little by little towards a technological universe on average not congenial for that age, but rich in interesting solutions and practically within reach of everyone, even from an economic point of view. The course, articulated in teaching modules of increasing difficulty, was conceived as an entirely online activity due to the pandemic, but presents content easily transferable in a more traditional classroom logic. And to test its effectiveness, in the last quarter all the partners have carried out a pilot activity involving in every territory about twenty seniors who studied and practiced with the assistance of online tutors, taking advantage of the digital platform made available by the German coordinator ILI.
The results of the pilot phase, are absolutely encouraging and once again confirm that the issues related to digital technologies, if properly managed, can be extended and bring great benefits even outside the circle of so-called digital natives. Besides, an important added value came to the testing activities through the starter kit for smart home that any participant received for free at the beginning of the course. It allowed to practically handle and start using the most common devices, including a voice assistant that integrate perfectly with the main systems of home automation and showed how easy it is to control Smart devices at home.
Once the project is completed, the course carried out within Smart Your Home will enter the full availability of the entire scientific community and the European social body, adding yet another piece of the Erasmus+ Programme to the construction of a more advanced and supportive Europe.
All products (online learning modules, interactive videos, knowledge map, glossaries, etc.) of the project are freely available on the learning platform in a public area in all five languages under a CC license:
To the public smart home online learning area
SmartyourHome Projekt schließt erfolgreich die Förderungsphase ab
Während einer zehnwöchigen Online-Lernphase wurden zuverlässige Kompetenzen den Smart Home Kursteilnehmerinnen und -teilnehmern im Bereich des technologiegestützten Wohnens nahegebracht. Ca. 120 Senioreninnen und Senioren mit grundlegenden IT-Kenntnissen wurden direkt in das Projekt als Lernende und Online-Tutorinnen und -Tutoren mit einbezogen.
Das Ziel und die Säule der Projektaktivität waren die Schaffung eines schrittweisen Ausbildungsweges als Online-Lernangebot, um die älteren Menschen an die Anwendungen digitaler Technologien am Beispiel des Themas intelligentes Wohnen heranzuführen und ihnen zu ermöglichen, ein gutes Maß an Autonomie zu Hause zu behalten. Dank der immer fortschrittlicheren und immer einfacher zu bedienenden Geräte bedeutet die Organisation eines intelligenten Zuhauses in der Tat, dass man länger zu Hause bleiben kann, selbst wenn das Alter beginnt, es komplizierter zu machen.
Das Projekt SmartYourHome hat also die Themen der digitalen Bildung und des Wohlbefindens älterer Menschen perfekt kombiniert! Nachdem eine Bedarfsanalyse in allen fünf Ländern abgeschlossen war, haben die Partner mit der Definition der Inhalte eines theoretischen und praktischen Online-Kurses begonnen, die die Seniorinnen und Senioren faszinieren und sie nach und nach für ein technologisches Universum interessieren soll. Diese technologischen Innovationen sind meist eher weniger für die ältere Generation geeignet, aber sie sind reich an interessanten Lösungen und praktisch für jeden erreichbar, auch hinsichtlich wirtschaftlicher Gesichtspunkte. Der Kurs, der in elf Unterrichtsmodule mit steigendem Schwierigkeitsgrad gegliedert ist, wurde aufgrund der Pandemie als reine Online-Aktivität konzipiert. In einer Serie von zwölf Lernfilmen wurden die wichtigsten Themen interaktiv und zielgruppengerecht erklärt und zusammengefasst. Um die Wirksamkeit des Lernangebotes zu testen, haben alle Partner im letzten Quartal eine Pilotaktivität durchgeführt, an der in jedem Land etwa zwanzig Seniorinnen und Senioren teilgenommen haben, die unterstützt von Online-Tutorinnen und -Tutoren lernten und übten.
Die Ergebnisse der Pilotphase sind absolut ermutigend und bestätigen einmal mehr, dass die mit den digitalen Technologien zusammenhängenden Themen, wenn sie richtig gehandhabt werden, auch außerhalb des Kreises der so genannten Digital Natives von großem Nutzen sein können. Einen wichtigen Mehrwert erhielten die Testaktivitäten durch das Starterkit für Smart Home, das jede Teilnehmerin/ jeder Teilnehmer zu Beginn des Kurses kostenlos erhielt. Es ermöglichte den praktischen Umgang mit den gängigsten Geräten, einschließlich eines Sprachassistenten, der sich perfekt in die wichtigsten Systeme der Hausautomatisierung integrieren lässt, und zeigte, wie einfach es ist, intelligente Geräte zu Hause zu steuern.
Alle Produkte (Online-Lernmodule, interaktive Videos, Wissenskarte, Glossare etc.) des Projekts stehen auf der Lernplattform in einem öffentlichen Bereich in allen fünf Sprachen unter einer CC-Lizenz frei zur Verfügung:
Zum öffentlichen Smart Home Online-Lernangebot
Das Projekt wurde mit Unterstützung der Europäischen Kommission im Rahmen des Erasmus+ Programmes finanziert. Die Projektprodukte stehen der gesamten wissenschaftlichen Gemeinschaft und der europäischen Gesellschaft zur Verfügung und leisten einen weiteren Beitrag des Programms Erasmus+ zum Aufbau eines fortschrittlicheren und solidarischeren Europas.
OER Barcamp EPALE, Fürth Germany
March, 04th-05th 2020
For two days, the Institute for Learning Innovation focused on Open Educational Resources (OER). On 4 and 5 March 2020, EPALE Germany together with the Institute for Learning Innovation – which was also the venue – organised an OER Barcamp. First of all, the first day included an introductory workshop on the documentation of Barcamp events. Before the participants then went to their pre-selected workshops, the general welcome by the representatives of EPALE and ILI took place. In the first workshop slot the participants could choose between several workshops, all of them on the topic of OER, be it to look at the topic legally, to find free material on the net or to create certain OER tools for the production of free and reusable materials.
In the afternoon, various sessions were scheduled. Sessions are a very typical characteristic of barcamps and run as follows: Everyone is a participant and can become a part of it to the same extent. If you want to say something about a certain topic, discuss a certain topic or are an expert in a certain field that might also interest other participants, you can offer it as a session topic. This will then be recorded on an overview board and distributed to the rooms. The second day had a similar course with further interesting topics and offers on the topic of OER.
SmartyourHome participated in this event at the project market, which took place for 2 hours starting in the afternoon. A poster presentation was used to draw attention to the SmartyourHome project. A lot of interesting conversations could be held and so the topic of Smart Home and elderly people could be spread further. Many contacts could be made and many interested parties could be won for the further course of the project.
The event was a complete success!
3rd Partner Meeting in Romania was cancelled
February, 25th-27th 2020
The third transnational partner meeting of the SmartyourHome project in Piatra Neamt (Romania) was scheduled for 26 and 27 February 2020. Everything had already been organised, the flights booked, the hotel reserved and all meeting arrangements prepared. But then the corona virus thwarted these plans. The media made it known that corona cases were now increasingly occurring in northern Italy and that the Italian government was taking strict measures: The latest news on 24 February 2020 about the closure of various cities in northern Italy (regions of Emilia Romagna [Bologna], Veneto [Venice] and Lombardy [Milan]), as well as the cancellation of the carnival in Venice, also worried us as coordinators of the SmartyourHome project. When our Italian and Spanish partners also cancelled their participation and the German National Agency issued a warning , it was clear that the face-to-face meeting would not take place in Romania. Now we as the project team were faced with the question of how we could nevertheless discuss and agree on our points of content for working together in the project.
Without further ado, we decided as a coordination in consultation with the partners to schedule an online meeting on three days each. Thus, a power online meeting session took place in the morning of 25, 26 and 27 February 2020 from 9.30 – 12.30 hours. During this session, we were able to discuss all the important points in the project, set new deadlines and determine the next work orders for the coming processing period. Conclusion: Extraordinary situations require smart solutions!
The next step is now the conception and development of a basic course on smart home.
Training course on digital skills in Piatra Neamt, Romania
November, 28th 2019
On November 28, 2019, the North-East Regional Development Agency (NERDA) Romania, through the North-East Regional Studies Center, organised a training course on skills in the digital field. This event was a great opportunity to disseminate the SmartyourHome project activities and results. The course was attended by more than 30 participants and the SmartyourHome flyers were received with great enthusiasm by the participants.
“Beteiligung am 3. Bamberger Forum” Bamberg, Deutschland am 23. November 2019
Das Institut für Lern-Innovation (ILI) beteiligte sich dieses Jahr am 23. November 2019 mit dem Projekt SmartyourHome und weiteren am 3. Bamberger Forum für Erwachsenenbildung und Weiterbildung. Veranstalter war die Professur für Erwachsenenbildung und Weiterbildung der Otto-Friedrich-Universität Bamberg, die unter dem Motto “Zusammenarbeit?! Interdisziplinär – Multiprofessionell – Kooperativ” zu einem fachbezogenen Austausch und Diskussion einlud. Nach einem einleitenden Hauptvortrag des Keynote-Speakers Prof. Dr. Wolfgang Jütte (Universität Bielefeld) zum Thema “Multiprofessionalität, Kooperationen und Netzwerke im Transfer zwischen Wissenschaft und Praxis” verteilten sich alle Teilnehmer*innen in zwei Zeitslots auf verschiedene Workshops zum Thema Erwachsenenbildung. Hier konnten die Teilnehmer*innen mit verschiedenen Fachexperten in Diskussion und Austausch treten. Die Veranstaltung war ein toller Erfolg! Dank gilt an dieser Stelle den Veranstaltern und Organisatoren*innen für dieses gelungene Forum, das ILI kommt nächstes Jahr gerne wieder!
“Vortrag an der Alten-Akademie Nürnberg e.V.” Nürnberg, Deutschland am 20. November 2019
Am Mittwoch, den 20. November 2019 war das Institut für Lern-Innovation Vertreten durch die Referentin und Projektkoordinatorin Tamara Suttner an der Alten-Akademie in Nürnberg zu Gast. Mit einem Vortrag über das Projekt SmartyourHome erfuhren die Zuhörer*innen mehr über die Begrifflichkeit Smart Home und auch über Geräte, Anwendungen und Services, die mittels dieser neuen Technologien mittlerweile möglich sind. Im Projekt selbst werden Online-Kurse zu Smart Home Konzepten und Geräten entstehen, die ältere Leute zu zwei Dingen befähigen sollen: zum einen interessierten Senioren*innen die Möglichkeit zu bieten durch die Verwendung von Smart Home Geräten länger autonom im eigenen Zuhause wohnen bleiben zu können; zum anderen sollen die älteren Leute durch die Kurse ein Bewusstsein dafür entwickeln, welche Smart Home Geräte oder Anwendungen sie im alltäglichen Leben sinnvoll unterstützen können (und welche wohl eher überflüssig sind). Das heißt es geht darum den Senioren*innen bei der Entwicklung einer Fähigkeit zu unterstützen, die sie digital autonom werden lässt und sie trotzdem ihre Mündigkeit behalten. Der Vortrag kam bei der Zuhörerschaft sehr gut an und wurde durch Kommentare und Diskussionen interessierter Teilnehmer interaktiv angereichert. Der Vortrag an der Alten-Akademie war ein voller Erfolg und wird voraussichtlich auch im Sommersemester 2020 erneut stattfinden!
“Die Lange Nacht der Wissenschaften” in Erlangen/Nürnberg/Fürth, Germany
October, 19th 2019
On October, 19th 2019 “die lange Nacht der Wissenschaften” (“long night of sciences”) took place in the Nuremberg-Fürth-Erlangen area. The ILI also took part in various events and was able to welcome a large number of interested visitors to the Learning Lab. SmartyourHome was presented as part of an educational project rally and attracted the attention of several interested parties. Altogether a positive summary can be drawn from this “night”. We are looking forward to being there again next year!
2nd Sheld-On Conference Meeting in Ohrid, North-Macedonia, October, 17th 2019
The second international conference SHELD-ON with the topic “Solutions for ageing well at home, in the community and at work” took place on October, 17th in Ohrid (Northern Macedonia).
The ILI was also involved in this conference with the project “SmartyourHome” and was able to present first results. The fitting accuracy of the conference theme and the goals and intentions of the “SmartyourHome” project was astounding, because the project is also about using smart home devices, services and applications in such a way that a longer autonomous life in one’s own home is still possible even in old age.
The “SmartyourHome” project made a valuable contribution to the conference.
Source of the documents: COST Action CA16226, supported by COST (European Cooperation in Science and Technology)\\ scientific committee of the second COST Action CA16226 Sheld-on Conference \\ Creative Commons Attribution-Non-Commercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License \\ To view a copy of this license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/ \\ http://www.sheld-on.eu/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/sheld-on-second-conference-meeting-proceedings-book.pdf
COST Action CA16226, supported by COST (European Cooperation in Science and Technology)\\ scientific committee of the second COST Action CA16226 Sheld-on Conference \\ Creative Commons Attribution-Non-Commercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License \\ To view a copy of this license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/ \\ http://www.sheld-on.eu/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/publicacion-peq-3-web-paginado.pdf
ERASMUS+ DAYS 2019
On the 10th October, a street campaign of the Innovation in Learning Institute (ILI) took place in front of the main library of the Friedrich-Alexander University (FAU). Under the motto “ERASMUS+ moves”, a tandem presented the range of EU projects by means of information material (flyers, postcards). The SmartyourHome project also attracted a great deal of attention and was able to win interested passers-by over.
This action was also posted in facebook: https://www.ili.fau.de/2019/09/12/erasmusdays-2019
Check out the Erasmus+ Days video we shot as part of this campaign! (To watch the video, just click on the picture or the headline below and you will be straightly redirected to the video)
https://www.ili.fau.de/2019/09/12/erasmusdays-2019/
Day of Digitisation in Nuernberg, Germany
October, 9th 2019
On October 9th, the Day of Digitization took place as part of the Digital Week at the FAU Erlangen-Nuremberg in cooperation with the Center for Digitization Bavaria. Various keynote speakers presented interesting approaches to digital teaching. The day was successfully rounded off with workshops on various topics in the field of digital learning.
Project presentation at North-East Regional Development Agency, Romania, September, 24th 2019
On September 24th, the North-East Regional Development Agency, represented by Mrs. Ana Paraschiv, head of CRS office, held a presentation of the European projects managed by the North-East Regional Studies Center, including the SmartyourHome project, financed through the Erasmus+ Program.
Mrs. Ana Paraschiv, presented the objectives of the project and the benefits that seniors can get by participating in online courses dedicated to Smart Home technologies. She had also talked about the results obtained so far and the current stage of implementation of the project.
The initiative was received with great enthusiasm from the participants, who wished to receive updates as the project evolves.
2nd Projectpartner Meeting SmartyourHome in Milan, Italy, 10th-11th July 2019
On 10-11 July, the second project partner meeting of the SmartyourHome project took place in Milan. The host this time was the Italian organisation Eurocrea Merchant. This meeting was primarily about discussing the next steps in the individual intellectual outputs and setting individual deadlines for various activities in a joint exchange. There was a very good working atmosphere, which made constructive work possible and enabled us to take big steps forward together as project partners.
Kick-Off Meeting SmartyourHome in Fuerth, Germany
December, 13th-14th 2018
On 13-14 December 2018 the Kick-Off Meeting took place in the SmartyourHome project. A total of 5 project partners are involved in the project: Ireland, Spain, Italy, Romania and Germany. After getting to know the project partners for the first time, the first questions regarding content were clarified and important milestones were set. We all had a good start into the project and can now start the project full of energy.