Empowering Youth Workers with Basics of STEM Education using Arduino - Group III

Discover the captivating world of STEM with Arduino basics! 
Are you a youth worker or trainer looking to enhance your skills in technology education? Do you enjoy creating, experimenting, and turning ideas into reality? Are you ready to take the first steps into the fascinating world of coding and electronics, and bring these experiences to young people in non formal settings?
Join our Basics of STEM education online interactive course designed to empower you to inspire and engage youth!

This project is financed under the Erasmus+ Youth KA2 strategic partnership, which explicitly targets the professional development of youth workers and the innovation of youth work practices. The course aligns with the key priorities of Erasmus+, particularly in enhancing digital skills and fostering innovative educational practices among youth workers, which are essential to meeting the evolving needs of young people in today's digital and technological landscape​.

We believe this training represents a unique opportunity to bridge the gap between technological education and youth work, thereby enhancing the quality and impact of youth programs. By equipping youth workers with these skills, we are not only supporting their professional development but also enabling them to offer more diverse and engaging activities for young people, in line with the strategic goals of the Erasmus+ Programme / Youth field.

In our course you will learn how to create 12 amazing projects using Arduino, a versatile platform that is both fun and accessible. This training module focuses on the following basic topics corresponding to STEM education:

• Physics: Electricity, Optics, Mechanics, Thermodynamics (Science);
• Elementary Programming and Core Technology Tools (Technology);
• Core Electronics elements (Engineering);
• Applied Math/Arithmetic (Mathematics).

As such, our curriculum integrates theoretical and applied knowledge from the areas of natural sciences, technology, engineering and mathematics.

Who can participate?

This course is open for participants from Programme and Partner countries of the Erasmus+ programme. Programme countries: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, United Kingdom, North Macedonia, Iceland, Norway, Liechtenstein, Turkey and Serbia.

Our training course is specifically designed for youth workers, leaders, and youth trainers. The primary goal is to equip them with the skills and knowledge necessary to incorporate STEM education into their work with young people. This training is tailored for professionals who engage with and support youth in educational settings.

Course elements

During the course, you will use different tools, including the following: e-books, audio-video presentations/films, interactive videos, infographics, quizzes, interactive tasks, assessments, and even online small simulations.

Objectives of the course – key elements

By the end of this course, youth workers and trainers are expected to:

• Successfully install and configure the Arduino Integrated Development Environment (IDE) on their computer or acknowledge the virtual simulation software Tinkercad, and understand its environment and virtual interface;
• Understand the fundamental concepts of Arduino, including its hardware components and software environment;
• Identify and describe the various parts of an Arduino board and the basic operations of an Arduino board;
• Learn how to define and how to use basic Arduino functions;
• Develop basic Arduino sketches (programs) using the Arduino programming language and/or Tinkercad, the virtual simulation software.
• Identify, describe and use basic electronic components like resistors, LEDs, and sensors in various real-world simulations project;
• Utilize digital and analog input/output pins to read sensors and control various operating elements;
• Create basic circuits on a breadboard and interface them with the Arduino board, physically or virtually;
• Design and build interactive projects that respond to user inputs or environmental changes (by exploring additional tasks);
• Identify common issues/errors in Arduino circuits or coding and their potential solutions;
• Apply the principles of science, technology, engineering and mathematics in hands-on project, physically or virtually;

Time: The course will take approximately 32-35 hours to complete, though this may vary based on your study pace. This group is scheduled from October 2024 until 24th of November 2024. You can APPLY by creating the user account HERE: https://stemtrainings.eu/login/index.php. Once you have the account there, you can explore the content as specified in the call: 
https://stemtrainings.eu/course/view.php?id=3.

Price: Our course is offered at no cost to participants, made possible by funding from the Erasmus+ program and the dedicated efforts of our project team.

Certificate: Upon meeting the basic requirements, you will receive a course attendance certificate.

Languages: The course is currently offered in English, with Romanian, Italian, Lithuanian and Finnish versions coming soon.

Level: The course was designed for beginners (basic level), but it is also open to participants with different levels of familiarity with the subject.

The project: This online training course is provided through the Erasmus+ project “The first steps in STEM, Robotics and Programming”, funded with support from the European Commission. More about the project and the other online modules that are developed in the project can be found by accessing the project’s website at this link: https://stemtrainings.eu/.

The consortium of the project is formed out of ZURY Association (Romania) – coordinator, and the partners: Predict CSD Consulting (Romania), Euro-Net (Italy), VsI Robotikos mokykla (Lithuania) and Vantaan Venäläinen Klubi ry (Finland).

Contact: If you have any questions or need any help, you can contact us by email at stemtrainings.eu@gmail.com or call us at +40 731 342062.

Funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the ANPCDEFP. Neither the European Union nor the ANPCDEFP can be held responsible for them.