Evaluations Rebootkamp Brussels and Limburg

Evaluations Rebootkamp Brussels and Limburg

During the first weeks of July evaluations with the youngsters of two “Rebootkamp” took place. One evaluation was at the Rebootkamp held in Brussels, and the other at the Rebootkamp in Limburg.

Rebootkamp is a camp were youngsters aged 15 to 18 years old with a passion for gaming are challenged to act in an active, creative, and reflective way with peers in order to discover leisure activities next to gaming. Group dynamics and self-discovery are central throughout the camp. Participants can immerse themselves in a range of activities that, alongside gaming, may receive a place in their life.

Goal of the evaluation was to gain insights in the usability of the TICKLE environment, the way it was perceived and used by the youngsters and their supervisors. For the evaluation in Brussels, the youngsters played a 2-hour city game with different challenges and activities to undertake in the center of Brussels. During the evaluation week in Limburg, the youngsters could use the environment as a guide and reflection tool for the Reboot activities. The youngsters used the TICKLE environment on smartphones with mobile data, completely sponsored by Telenet.

We received good reactions from the participants. Through the evaluations we obtained useful feedback and suggestions to further improve and develop the TICKLE environment. Therefore, we would like to thank the organization of Reboot, Try-out Brussel, CAD Limburg, the supervisors and the youngsters for their cooperation in this TICKLE evaluation, as well as Telenet for the sponsoring.

City game @Brussels

Second intermediate evaluation at VDS

Second intermediate evaluation at VDS

In September 2018, a second intermediate evaluation of the TICKLE environment was carried out at the Vlaamse Dienst Speelpleinwerk (VDS), translated as the Flemish Service for Playground Work. The evaluation took place during their start weekend in Oud-Turnhout.

Here, a kind of city game, restricted to one street, was played. A divers set of cards with challenges was spread along the street. Participants had to find cards which became visible on the street map on the screen when they physically came in the vicinity of a card. These cards contained tasks and challenges with which points could be earned. Each challenge that was well executed yielded points. The aim was to collect as much points as possible.

User screen (Cards are in Dutch)

After the geo game, feedback of the participants on how to improve the TICKLE environment was asked and taken into account.

We would like to thank VDS and all participants for their cooperation and feedback during this second evaluation of the TICKLE environment!

 

 

First intermediate evaluation at VDS

First intermediate evaluation at VDS

A first intermediate evaluation of the TICKLE environment took place at the Vlaamse Dienst Speelpleinwerk (VDS), translated as the Flemish Service for Playground Work. More specifically, the evaluation took place in August at the playgrounds of Bornem and Puurs. VDS was looking for a game to improve the cooperation between the animators of the playgrounds and to stimulate their creativity. In order to do so, the TICKLE environment was used.The TICKLE environment offers a number of cards that can be collected by completing the task or challenge mentioned on the card (a sample card can be found below).

Sample card (cards are in Dutch).

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The cards were used to give the animators assignments. All cards were placed on a treasure map (see below).

Treasure map

The challenges were activities related to the operation of the playground. Challenges could be carried out individually, or collaboratively with other animators. The goal was to carry out the challenge/activity to the best possible and to collect as many cards as possible.

Afterwards, feedback of the animators on how to improve the TICKLE environment was asked and taken into account.

We would like to thank VDS for their cooperation in this first evaluation of the TICKLE environment!

 

TICKLE is searching for advising partners

TICKLE is searching for advising partners

The TICKLE project is all about collaboration. Not just between the research groups WISE and BILD, but also between researchers and practical experts. In order to make a real difference in the intervention and prevention programs focused on school drop-outs, the researchers first need to get a feel for what is happening in the field. That is why the TICKLE team is searching for advising partners who work with school drop-outs in Brussels.

The advising partners will help us to gain a better oversight of the context surrounding youngsters before, during and after they have decided to drop out of school. We will relate this information to findings from existing scientific research on drop-outs, which is often focused on small portion of the problem itself. The partners will also bring us up to speed with the current organization of aid programs in Brussels focused on school drop-outs. This includes information about how various aid programs function, if and how institutions collaborate and what the current needs for innovation are. After all, our goal for the TICKLE project is to find and utilizes connections to existing practices in order to drastically increase the chances of success and the value of the toolkit that will be developed.

Institutions that are interested in becoming an advisory partner can contact the promoter and coordinator of the TICKLE project, professor Olga De Troyer (Olga.DeTroyer@vub.ac.be), or senior researcher and advisory board manager, Joachim Vlieghe (Joachim.Vlieghe@vub.ac.be).

[NEDERLANDSE VERSIE]

TICKLE is op zoek naar adviserende partners

Het TICKLE project staat in het teken van samenwerking. Niet enkel tussen de onderzoeksgroepen WISE en BILD, maar ook tussen onderzoekers en experten uit de praktijk. Om een verschil te kunnen maken in de aanpak en preventie van voortijdig schoolverlaten moeten de onderzoekers immers eerst een goede voeling ontwikkelen met de praktijk. Daarom is het team op zoek naar adviserende partners die werken met schoolverlaters in Brussel.

De adviserende partners zullen ons helpen om een totaalbeeld te krijgen van de situaties waarin jongeren zich bevinden voor, tijdens en na het voortijdig verlaten van het onderwijs. Wij zullen op basis van deze informatie een terugkoppeling maken naar de bevindingen uit het bestaande wetenschappelijk onderzoek dat vaak gericht is op deelaspecten van de drop-out problematiek. Verder zullen de partners ons ook zicht geven op het landschap van de hulpverlening aan schoolverlaters in Brussel: de praktische werking van hulpverleningsprojecten, de wisselwerkingen tussen instellingen en de bestaande noden en tekorten. Het is tenslotte de bedoeling om binnen het TICKLE project zo veel mogelijk aan te sluiten bij de bestaande praktijken om zo de waarde en slaagkansen van de te ontwikkelen toolkit drastisch te verhogen.

Geïnteresseerde instellingen kunnen contact opnemen met de promotor en coördinator van het TICKLE project, professor Olga De Troyer (Olga.DeTroyer@vub.ac.be), of met senior onderzoeker en advisory board verantwoordelijke, Joachim Vlieghe (Joachim.Vlieghe@vub.ac.be).

TICKLE Kick-off meeting

TICKLE Kick-off meeting

On April 12, 2016 the TICKLE team held its kick-off meeting.
The team discussed finer details of the structure of the project’s research and development planning. In addition, the meeting also addressed issues related  to finances and human resource management.