Intellectual Output 1 - Methodological Framework

It will be developed in the first stage of the project (months 1-9) under the leadership of ULapland and the co-leadership of CES. Unibo and AMU will participate in the creation of the methodological framework.

This Intellectual Output includes as main results the following documents:

1) Outline of Methodology. This document outlines the methodology to be employed in order to appropriately design language and cultural materials that are to be used through an APP.
Main methodological focus will be laid on the concept of incidental learning in the context of informal education: its pros will be illustrated, possible strategies to prevent its contras will be worked out, in strict connection with adequate ICT solutions to strengthen pros and attenuate contras.
The finalised document will report the results of the discussion among the partners about how to enable the app users to incidentally learn the language and the culture of a given country by making experience of contextualised information and geo-localised references. The methodological document will also contain the ICT specificities for the app.

2) Survey on students’ needs and expectations. In parallel with the development of the methodological document, a survey will be carried out among students of participating institutions as well as of other institutions. The objective is to detect needs and expectations of students envisaging future mobility experiences.
The survey will comprise a large-scale consultation conducted through an online questionnaire as well as face-to-face interviews, so that massive data coming from the online consultation can be further refined. It will be conceived in such a way as to convey the students’ opinions about the contexts and situations they are likely to find themselves in during their mobility experience, with special reference to the tool that the project is going to produce. The results of the survey will be analysed and formalised in a document.

3) Map of contents. This document will result from the methodological discussion among the partners and from the indications coming from the survey. It will include a list and description of all the situational experiences which will be contained in the app.
Each of the ILOCALAPP languages will have a dedicated set of situations which will be contextualised in the university town where the students will spend their mobility period. The experiences proposed by the app are very likely to be lived by the students themselves who will then use the app as a reference tool to consult for concrete and practical advice.

An added value of this Intellectual Output is that the framework, in all its constituting parts (Outline of Methodology, Survey results, Map of contents), will be transferable and adaptable to similar contexts and objects that can be developed for other languages and cultures. Its potential impact and transferability, exemplified by a first demo version of the implemented app, will be the main object of the first multiplier events planned for June 2017.