iMOtion - Framing Informal Moments in Trainings

"<< Background >>After the boom of online learning due to Covid-19 restrictions of the past two years, we realised that what was missing the most in the learning process was the informal time made available to participants through coffee breaks. Informal Moments (IM) are vital for networking and for creating deeper connections with other learners, which allow for a more open, trustworthy and creative learning environment. Besides being a social playground where individuals can develop and practise their social skills and their leadership potential, IM are spaces where individuals can process their insights into further learning. This is because learning is a holistic process that involves thinking, feeling, and doing and that hardly exists independent of the social context. We saw the need to raise awareness on how important these moments are and wanted to create guidelines on how they can be framed for them to speak to as many senses, aptitudes and talents as possible. As we all work with target groups that are at risk of exclusion (unemployed, migrants and LGBTQI*), we wanted to find ways on how to make IM more inclusive either online or onsite courses, highlighting that IM are valuable for participants’ as well as trainers’ wellbeing. << Objectives >>1.have a substantial and mutual exchange with adult educators, as well as a reflection on the topic of Informal Moments (IM) as part of learning journeys and adult educational didactics. We wanted to deliver a definition of IM in professional educational contexts, as well as an explanatory bibliography in support of our research. We also wanted to create a set of guidelines that could highlight the areas to keep into account for framing IM and that could show practical examples of what can be offered during these moments. 2.enhance the quality of digital learning environments of both learners and educators. Moreover iMOtion responds to the framework's emphasis to ensure learners physical, psychological and social well-being while using digital technologies. 3.connect with marginalized and discriminated people by involving experts working with marginalised groups and people with fewer opportunities in the Lab phase of the project. Thereby taking steps towards conducting more inclusive learning opportunities in the future.4.Increase the partners’ competences by learning how to produce and deliver podcasts. << Implementation >>3 main activities were carried out:1A Research phase in which each organisation selected 10 relevant sources on the topic of Informal Moments (IM) to create a critical bibliography. We met in person for the first partner meeting in Italy to share the results of our research, find common ground and develop a shared definition of IM. 2A Laboratory and testing phase in which we met for the iMOtion-Laboratory in Austria in September 2022 with experts working with different marginalised target groups (e.g. unemployed people, migrants, women, LGBTQI+). They engaged in a training designed to include planned and spontaneous IM with the aim of drawing together practical guidelines for framing IM that could take into account the needs of different marginalised groups. A five month testing phase followed during which all the participants implemented the draft guidelines for promoting IM in their ongoing activities with their target groups.3A Production phase during which the gathered knowledge and expert inputs as well as the activated competencies from the previous knowledge-transfer activities, research and laboratory phase, converged in the elaboration of practical guidelines on how to frame IM, of 6 podcasts and of 13 blog articles. << Results >>The tangible outputs are:- Common definition of ""Informal Moments"" (IM) contained in the 40 page publication “iMOTion - Guidelines for framing Informal Moments in adult learning”. (English/Italian/German) - iMOtion-Bibliography with 30 references and links, accompanied by an explanation on what they are about and why they were chosen to widen the professional horizon of the importance of IM in adult education. - Production, post production and dissemination of 6 podcast episodes (2 German, 1 Italian, 3 English) 1 trailer, intro/outro and 1 podcast script template. -13 detailed blog articles on exploring IM in adult education published on the respective partners' dissemination channels among others the websites, EPALE , facebook and LinkedIN. The non-tangible outputs are: -Partners increasing competences in the digital field (learning on podcast recording and podcast editing, creating a pod-cast channel, learning on and implementing 3D World platforms into online gatherings; getmibo.com)-Partners increasing competences in the pedagogical field (developing guidelines on framing informal moments in education)"