Expected results
CBTs on fatigue and driving physics will be available in Austria, Spain and Poland after their translation and adaptation. Dissemination strategies will have been developed for the aforementioned countries and Germany. Recommendations for the transfer of CBT tools especially in the field of road safety will have been elaborated.
- The training package (CBTs and training guidelines) will be ready-to-use in the languages of each partner country.
- The transfer of the learning tools will provide a deep insight into the adaptation process and the acceptance of the learning materials in different cultural contexts.
- Recommendations will be elaborated as a result of the transfer process and the experiences made and the revision of other tools available in each country. A complete final report, as well as a summary, will be available on the partner's websites for the diffusion of the results.
- Experiences will also be gained with respect to the design of training courses and embedding the CBTs in seminars and workshops.
- The CBTs can be used for professional as well as for private car drivers. The project will elaborate dissemination strategies to target as many drivers as possible in the project countries.
- At least, 1,500 CBTs of each learning programme will be produced in each language for dissemination along with the training guidelines.
Publication and dissemination
The adapted e-learning CBTs will be copied so that 1,500 units of each programme will be available in each country, as well as the booklets and training guidelines. Precisely because of the characteristics of this type of e-learning tools, its diffusion is particularly useful also because of its low cost and possibility of use at an individual level by all kinds of e-drivers. Moreover, a complete final report, as well as a summary, will be available on the partner's websites for the diffusion of the results. On the basis of the strategies elaborated for national dissemination, these products will be spread all over the project countries. The recommendations for the transferability of CBTs will be forwarded to the EU Commission, to the EU Member States road safety authorities, as well as to the main stakeholders in the field of road safety education
The material shall be published and disseminated through the following channels:
- Press releases and press conference announcing the results
- Articles in magazines or publications of the partners
- Articles provided to specialised print media of the transport and training sector
- Provision of CBT test versions
- Provision of the learning programmes as shareware in the internet in the respective countries offered by the project partners
Visibility
The CBTs which will be disseminated will have a special indication that their translation has been possible due to the support of the European Commission, DG TREN.
The results of the recommendations about transfer of CBT programmes in road safety will be presented at national level (in the countries of the partners) as well as at international level (international conferences, symposia, etc.)These results will also be forwarded to the ERSO Website to be communicated to all countries of the EU and to all interested road safety experts.
Other elements that will particularly contribute to the visibility, in addition to the publication and dissemination described in the previous paragraph, are the following ones:
- The availability of complete information of the reports as well as a general explanation on the partner's websites (in their own language and in English).
- The dissemination of 1,500 CD-ROMs in the participating countries.
- The International workshop in which the press conference will be given.
- An Information Day In Brussels
Evaluation:
The project itself consists of testing the acceptance of an adapted CBT learning tool for the target group of professional drivers for the transport of goods and passengers. The seminar participants will provide extensive information on the degree of acceptance of this kind of learning tools and also on the desired modifications.
The target audience of 60 participants in the seminars conducted per country has to be fulfilled to obtain the necessary input of information. The quality of the responses will be an indicator of the interest raised within the target group. Also the telephone inquiries after the seminar will provide information about the sustainability of the learning process.
Other elements that will guarantee the assessment of the action development process will be the following ones:
- The close collaboration among the partners in the different workpackages will allow a crossed supervision.
- The attendance of the project coordinator in the first seminar in each country will allow the standardization of the seminars among the countries, as well as the verification of the differences and coincidences due to cultural matters.
- The participation in the seminars and in the international workshop of persons from different areas (drivers, decision makers, researchers…) will allow a complete vision of the acceptability of the action.
- The use of objective tools (questionnaires, structured enquirie) to obtain the difficulties and the advantages of the tools, as well as their sustainability and acceptance, will allow quantifying these aspects, at each country level, as well as generally and comparatively.
For an external evaluation it is foreseen to install an advisory group which should revise the development of the project as well as the final outcomes. This advisory group will be composed by representants of ETSC, IRU, BGL, BGF, etc.
Particular characteristics
This project is a support for the development of training and qualification measures for professional drivers, but also for all other types of drivers. Professional drivers have to face the implementation of the Directive concerning their training and qualification. Here, new ways of transmission of contents - such as the use of CBTs in qualification and refreshing courses - have to be developed in the near future. The use of CBTs could become very efficient, both from the human resources point of view and the cost aspects, and thus could support a sustainable learning process
Another particular aspect would be to have a Spanish version to start opening new possibilities of European developments by facilitating the transfer of these to Latin American countries.
Innovative character
CBT programmes in the field of road safety have been developed in several European countries over the last years. There is not much knowledge about the quantity, quality, scope, dissemination and use of these products. This project will provide a first insight and information about the quality and quantity of the programmes, focusing primarily on the issue of fatigue and driving physics in the countries of the project partners.
For the first time, CBTs in this field will be translated and adapted to be shared at European level, including the Spanish one, which would facilitate the future diffusion and adaptation in Latin America.
European dimension
This project deals with three areas at the same time:
- Implementation of new learning methodologies in the field of road safety, specifically CBT
- Qualification of drivers
- Safety and health at work
Each area can profit from the results of this project, mainly by offering different versions of the CBTs and by encouraging their use on a wider scale.
The project complies with the operations of coaching, teaching, training and learning mentioned in the call for proposals. The European dimension is given through the fact that the training of professional and individual drivers with computer based training programmes should be as equal as possible throughout the European Union, starting with the countries where the project partners come from. The use of the CBTs aims at improving the behaviour of drivers and at raising the awareness towards the problems of fatigue and the lack of knowledge regarding the physics of driving. Until now, there are not too many e-learning tools available for the main target group (bus and truck drivers) related to this project, therefore the provision of this kind of learning material is an added value for the whole Community.
On one side, knowledge is shared and transferred, on the other, the provision of educational programmes to other countries avoids duplication of the development of teaching / learning material.
Added value is also given through the development of recommendation regarding the transfer of learning tools between different Member States.
Dimension of the operation
One of the main roles of the European Commission is to support the gathering and dissemination of best practice and experiences in the field of road safety. This project incorporates the use of CBTs into existing driving and working environments in four countries of the European Union. On the one hand, the translation of these learning products into other languages and cultural environments will help to disseminate this learning tool on a wider scale. On the other hand, for each participating country a specific dissemination strategy will be developed which will focus on the lack of accessibility to these tools that above all the haulage and transport industry is facing.
The participation of institutions that belong to the road transport sector with strong interest in educational aspects is an asset to fulfil the above mentioned objectives of this project. In future, it can be extended to other European countries.
Cost-effectiveness
This project is cost-effective, because
- The basic development work related to the content, programming and designing of the CBTs has already been done by the German applicant.
- The project organisation has a top-bottom approach related to the gathering of information:
- Central co-ordination but local implementation
- It has on the other side a bottom up approach when it comes to the compilation of the results in the international workshop and the last project meeting
- Those partners have been selected which come from countries with a larger driver population and which are especially involved in international transport of goods and persons.
- At the same time, the availability of an assessment of the e-learning tools and of a concrete product widely spread in different EU countries will be a good basis for adaptations of such learning materials in the future
