Two years have passed since we received the notification of the approval of WORK@BLE project from the Spanish National Agency of Erasmus + programm. The last month of the project we have organised several events to present our game, and there have been a question that many people has made to me: How did you do it? How have you manage to create a game like this?

Here is my answer: joining efforts, combining knowledge and summing up.

We were not experts on videogames, but we are very good team workers, and that was our ace under the sleeve. We worked on the creation of the game from scratch, starting by researching about the key skills trained by job coaches when they target people with disabilities like special learning needs, cognitive, developmental or mental health problems. At the same time we also defined the profile of the future users and the context in which the game was going to use.

Once we got this picture of the contexts, the players and the skills, we designed the puzzles of the game. That was the most challenging stage of the game creation. We distributed the skills identified among partners, and each invented puzzles to train a set of skills. In October 2021, we met by first time face to face in Tallin, and during 2 days of work we shared our puzzle ideas, discussed, selected some, discuss, agreed the game logic, discussed, ordered the puzzles, discuss….And when we went home the concept of game was READY to be code!

Some months later, we met again in Valladolid to learn about the mock version of game. We played, discussed, proposed changes, discussed, agreed on outlook, discussed, layout the guidelines content, discussed…and we went home with a clear picture of game, which was completed and amended in a couple of months and we started testing it.

Several versions followed after another, by fixing bugs and including improvements till the game was STEADY to pass the definitive proof with job coaches and final users.

The pilot testing took place in 5 countries, with different profiles of job coaches and users, some more adjustments had to be done, and finally the game GO!

That is the story on how we created the game. Impossible without sharing ideas and discussing. Now the project is over, but I have the feeling that this is not a game over…the last time we met in Athens, we discussed and figured out a WORK@BLE 2.0!!

Be attentive, it is coming soon…

by Victoria Ammann, dafür

Young people often have unclear ideas about professions and companies and are unsure about choosing a profession. The most common questions are:

• What can I expect during my apprenticeship?
• How will everyday working life be like?
• What opportunities does the profession offer?
• How will my working environment be like?

One approach to solving this problem is virtual reality. Virtual reality is an artificially created environment with images, videos, sound and animations. With the help of virtual reality (VR) glasses or a smartphone, interested young people can watch videos and interact in games and apps. In doing so, they experience it as if they were right there in the action. The basis for virtual reality (VR) are 360-degree videos. Corresponding cameras film in every angle all around. Therefore, it is possible to experience what is happening in front of the camera, but also to the side and behind you.

This technology is used in various areas:

• Virtual career orientation for young people (e.g. at trade fairs as well as in counselling interviews)
• Presentation of companies and jobs
• Virtual reality from the perspective of a person with a disability (e.g. everyday working life from the perspective of a wheelchair user)

Since the trial apprenticeship is one of the most important stages in career orientation, the virtual company tours offer a digital opportunity to get to know real apprentices, including job description and tasks.

VR can therefore offer the possibility to get a first direct insight into a future workplace by presenting apprenticeship professions and the environment accordingly.

At dafür, a social service provider for persons with a disability in Austria, the virtual reality glasses “Oculus Go” are used within the “Virtual Career Orientation” app. This app was programmed for apprenticeship fairs using this new innovative tool to get young people excited about apprenticeships. Currently, 80 job profiles are available with information, 21 of which feature state-of-the-art 3D VR surround technology and surround sound.

Employees are trained regularly in the use of the VR glasses and the «Virtual Career Orientation» app for apprenticeships. It is particularly important for the job coaches to implement this innovative tool in their everyday work.

In this way, the app also offers the opportunity to make lesser-known apprenticeships accessible to a wider audience in an innovative way. The goal would be for career guidance teachers to also use the app in the classroom.

By Astangu

Digital solutions can be very effective in teaching people with disabilities and engaging them, as long as we know the best ways to use it.

That is why Astangu Vocational Rehabilitation Centre has decided to up their technology knowledge by participating in a new program called Digital Accelerator.

Digital accelerator (DigiKiirendi) is a program for the whole personnel of a school, meant to keep up with fast-paced technology and how to use it in our advantage. This program will also help to raise confidence of using digital means while teaching and working with students.

Every worker in Astangu has to complete a 30 hour training program that has been put together with the consideration of work specifics and needs of Astangu. Program will help to develop new ways of teaching and learn teaching methodologies that will help teachers and specialists in their daily work, while providing an engaging method of learning for students with disabilities.

Digital accelerator (DigiKiirendi) will work with most schools in Estonia. They will not only teach the teachers, but everyone included in that school on how to work better with digital world and use it in their advantage. During the second half of 2022, six schools, including Astangu will partake in the program. The program itself consists of 32 academical hours, with the possibility to choose basic knowledge in the digital world or more specific topics for those, who know the basics. For example, learning how to work with different programs, websites, how to make and cut videos, how to do online crosswords and puzzles for students and many more engaging topics. School management will also participate in those to learn how to better support their staff and students in making steps towards better technological means.

Schools and institutions are constantly moving on a path of digitalization. It is very clear that projects like Work@ble are very necessary, as it will help people with special needs keep up with the digital world and make the means of technology more accessible to them. The game Work@ble project  has created will not only be a great tool for job coaches, but will also be a valuable part in digitalization progress that the world is going through.

«Little Miss Geek Wearable Tech Event» by LadyGeekTV is licensed under CC BY-ND 2.0

By María Carracedo

There is a broadly extended opinion regarding video games as harmful for mental health. It is true that excessive gaming can certainly be harmful, (like any other activity done in excess) but using videogames in a moderated way can carry on benefits on people’s mental health and wellbeing.

In 2020, a research conducted by the University of Oxford found that playing video games may improve mental health and make people feel happier. For instance:

• Cognitive stimulation: Playing video games forces gamers to deeply stimulate multiple different areas of the brain, this leads to the development of new dimensions of thinking.
• Coping with stress: Playing constitutes a relief for the stress, immersing in a game is a great way of escaping for a while from the stresses of daily life.
• Overcoming difficulties: Games make us find solutions to overcome in-game challenges, which can make gamers better equipped to deal with real-life obstacles and difficulties.
• Feeling accomplished: In the game, there are goals and objectives to reach. Once the player achieves them, they bring him/her a lot of satisfaction, which improves the overall well-being.
• Emotional resilience. When you fail in a game or in other situations, it can be frustrating. Video games help people learn how to cope with failure and keep trying. This is an important tool for children to learn and use as they get older.

Some mental health centers, like Mental Health Unit of the Reina Sofía Hospital in Córdoba (Spain), have started using videogames as a tool for improving psychological well-being, self-esteem, attention, concentration, fostering manual and creative skills, while helping to enhance interpersonal and social relationships of the patients.

According to the declaration that its Coordinator, Leonor Padilla, has made to the press, «the aim is to offer them a more attractive dynamic to prevent them from refusing to participate in leisure activities. We also use games that invite them to participate in sports and cognitive activities, which also helps them to improve their self-concept and, little by little, we manage to create guidelines for behavior modification, enhance socialization, always as a complement to the main intervention, which is the face-to-face one.”