During this festive season, we would like to take a moment to sincerely thank you for your collaboration over the past year and share some exciting updates with you. As an OpenSource development company, we remain committed to providing products for the greater good. It’s been a year full of progress, and we look forward to offering you solutions that will continue to benefit you in the future.

Enjoy the holidays, and let’s start the new year with fresh energy!

The Erasmus+ Alive project, aimed at enhancing digital and media literacy for older adults, has been completed. The project has developed the ALiVE Virtual Environment and e-learning platform, which features six interactive Learning Stations. These stations provide learners with essential skills to navigate the digital world, covering critical thinking, digital literacy, content creation, online safety, and responsible digital citizenship. All the materials are now available to users, and the consortium, which includes partner organizations from Austria, Greece, Italy, Spain, Ireland, and Cyprus, is evaluating the outcomes of this challenging and rewarding two-year initiative. More than 120 participants from the target group (adults aged 45 and above) have already taken part in the e-course during the piloting phase.

Austria was one of the five countries where the piloting of the e-course took place, with 27 participants registered to test ALiVE learning materials. The majority of participants were aged between 55 and 64. Following their participation, the users were asked to provide feedback on the e-course. Over 90% of the evaluations from Austrian users were "positive," while 9% of participants rated the materials as  being useful. All participants reported an improvement in their digital and media literacy knowledge.

A new orientational concept for educational leaders is being developed as part of the CUTIE project. This course focuses on enhancing teachers' digital literacy and is designed to support deans and heads of university departments in fostering these critical skills.

The CUTIE resource catalog has also introduced an exciting new feature: case studies. Users can now not only add actions but also enrich them by attaching case studies, offering valuable insights into the context and implementation of these actions. This addition makes the resources even more practical and engaging for users.

Additionally, the CUTIE project has launched a podcast series featuring leading educators discussing key aspects of digital transformation in universities. 

Listen to the podcasts here.

One more outstanding project that GTN Solutions is proudly involved in is the nationwide Lesegütesiegel (Reading Quality Seal). This initiative recognizes primary schools that show exceptional commitment and implement a variety of measures to enhance their students' reading skills and motivation. It helps schools identify and highlight their strengths in reading through five key focus areas:  school reading culture, reading spaces, diagnostic-based reading support, reading promotion, and literary education. It includes 24 mandatory criteria and 50 additional criteria. To receive the nationwide Reading Quality Seal, all mandatory criteria and at least half of the additional criteria (minimum of 25 points) must be met. GTN Solutions has contributed to this project by developing the software that supports schools in assessing and showcasing their reading competencies which is based on Moodle.

Events

This year, Ulixes European Union Training and Research E.E.I.G. celebrated its 30th anniversary, reflecting on its journey from a time when the internet was still emerging and the vision of a barrier-free Europe was just beginning. Over the years, the organization has developed a strong network of collaboration across Europe. On 14th November, a special event took place in Vienna, bringing together professionals for a day filled with presentations, speeches, and networking. A highlight of the event was the keynote by Andreas Riepl, CEO of GTN Solutions, who shared his insights on the evolving landscape of education in his talk, “When the Matrix Becomes Your Classroom.”

On December 10th, the European Network Education and Training in Occupational Safety and Health (ENETOSH) hosted a network meeting focused on “A Human-Centered Approach to Digital Education and Training.” This joint event was organized in collaboration with the Department of Education and Health at Leuphana GmbH – Leuphana University (Lüneburg, Germany) and the UNESCO Chair in Global Health & Education (Paris, France). Andreas Riepl represented the Austrian Federal Ministry of Education, Science and Research, offering valuable insights on how to support the development of digital education in schools. He highlighted the work of the eEducation Austria competence center as a key example of successful initiatives in this area.