Among the various work packages making up the project, WP4 also aims to produce training materials through two co-designed workshops. The second and last workshop took place in Cyprus on the 22^nd and 23^rd of May, with the overall aim of discussing the modules each partner is developing and testing possible interactive activities directly with the final users. One of the workshop’s strengths was the involvement of external stakeholders coming from project partners’ countries: 15 people were involved, including two parents, three school leaders, seven teachers and two trainers – some of them representing different categories of end-users at the same time; five of them from the Netherlands, one from Italy, two from Greece and five from Cyprus. In addition, 13 participants from European project partners joined the workshop. 

External stakeholders have been invited to attend the workshop to introduce different points of view, providing a bottom-up take on to the training from different European situations. During the two-day workshop, they have been involved in interactive activities of various kinds, reflections and discussions using a co-design approach. Their feedback, input and critics have been deeply valuable to evaluate and develop the training contents and structure and make the final course usable.

Co-designing a training course is a strategic and inclusive approach that aims to create content responsive to the needs of those who will use it – in line with the DRONE Project objectives to empower the whole community. Actively involving the final users represents, at the same time, a good practice in an educational context and a fundamental prerequisite to ensure effectiveness, relevance and sustainability over time. Through co-construction, participants become co-actors of the training, contributing with their points of view, experience and specific needs. This process generates more thoughtful content, more accessible language and more worthwhile tools, increasing the sense of belonging and engagement. Moreover, active participation stimulates a collaborative learning dynamic, promotes the empowerment of participants and facilitates the actual adoption of the content in daily practice within and outside the schools. For these reasons, it seemed essential to involve different end-users groups to make the training a space for dialogue, exchange and shared innovation. The need to actively involve teachers, school leaders and parents and propose a bottom-up building process for the final training arose from several issues, came up from the interviews conducted in WP3. From adolescents’ interviews a double attitude emerged: on one hand, teenagers require parents and teachers support when discussing digital literacy; on the other hand, parents, teachers and school leaders are often perceived as inadequate by adolescents because of their lack of digital literacy and the reluctance of some towards the digital world.

Among the activities planned during the workshop, of particular interest were the “futuring activity”, the purpose of which was to imagine that one had already done the course and tell what one had learnt from it, and the activity of configuring the training modules according to the needs of the end-user groups. In the latter case, parents, teachers, trainers and school leaders work separately.
From the “futuring activity” many expectations have emerged, mainly related to the acquisition of specific know-hows, such as the ability to reach out to or catch up with teenagers to help or empower them and to train other parent, teachers and school leaders to spread awareness and information to the whole community. In addition to that, the acquisition of know-hows related to the management, supervision and evaluation of digital information.
In the second activity, very different configurations emerged depending on the type of end-user considered. This variety may reflect the discrepant needs of stakeholders when interfacing with adolescents and levels of digital knowledge. Among other results, in the case of teachers, some challenges emerged in ordering the modules, mainly because, in general, they do not feel they have the right background and skills related to information literacy. Furthermore, parents came up with the cruciality of the Information Literacy module and skills such as Critical Thinking and Problem Solving, highlighting the need for a general positive approach and practical activities in each module.

Several strengths and challenges emerged from the workshop held in Cyprus. The complexity of the topic and the viewpoints of the groups involved represent both a resource and a challenge. Each group involved has a distinct view and level of preparation regarding digital and, above all, a different role and approach to adolescents. Nevertheless, given the significant role each group plays in adolescents’ lives and education, it seems essential to continue to discuss with the various groups using a bottom-up and inclusive approach, possibly involving adolescents during the training.