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Assoc. Prof. Dr. Nicoleta Acomi is the legal representative of the Romanian organisation Bexley-C Level-IT, which was responsible for creating the first result of the Erasmus+ project Smart Tools for Inclusive Teaching in VET, in synergy with other European partners.
In this interview, Dr. Acomi addresses several aspects related to inclusion and accessibility in the education sector, sharing her thoughts on the impact that the project results and Flipped Classroom Approach have had on the beneficiaries.

• A brief presentation of your organisation, what it does, what experience it has in the Erasmus+ Programme and in the implementation of project results such as the ones developed for STIT.

BCLIT is an entrepreneurial hub specialised in IT solutions for education. As CEO of the organisation with 20 years of experience in teaching, I am fully involved in continuous research to create innovative learning experiences for individuals and development opportunities for educational organisations.
For more than 10 years, I have been committed to bringing the Erasmus+ Programme close to the Constanta community, accelerating interactions between local and national NGOs, schools, universities and entrepreneurs.

Together with my diverse team of professionals, we undertake the development of the digital part of several Erasmus+ projects and we adapt instructional design models to various categories of learners. For example, within the Smart Tools for Inclusive Teaching in VET project, we designed meaningful interactive and engaging activities able to maximise the learning impact on the course taker. In addition, we set up a competencies recognition system and integrated it into an innovative educational platform making it available and sustainable in the future.

• STIT aims at fostering competence development for teachers, tutors and educators involved in the VET sector. 
  Please briefly explain the course content and what impact you believe the Accessibility Training Course for VET Staff can have in teacher training and education in general.

Teachers, tutors and educators are well recognised for their commitment and capacity for lifelong learning. Certainly, they are highly competent professionals in their specific subject, but very often they do not have the skills and tools to support students with disabilities and/or Special Educational Needs.

The Erasmus+ project STIT and the Accessibility Training Course for VET Staff were an excellent opportunity to equip VET staff with the knowledge and skills to create a more inclusive learning environment. The teachers and trainers who participated in the course, and those who will join at a later stage would get valuable insights in terms of accessible materials, adaptation of the learning curriculum, as well as planning inclusive classroom activities. These achievements are crucial for supporting diverse learners, including those with disabilities.
In addition, teachers who understand accessibility principles can improve their teaching methods and materials to meet the needs of all students, making the results long-lasting and sustainable.

• The first result includes several elements, i.e. it was created as a Moodle platform to which you added videos developed with AI and interactive questions for users.
  What was it like to work on several levels and what was the added value in using AI?

As previously mentioned, teachers and educators are involved in various learning activities. Although they are devoted and willing to participate in training, their time and availability are limited. Thanks to this online interactive course on Moodle, they may enrol whenever they want and can revisit the course, having the opportunity to self-evaluate their understanding of the proposed topics.

Moreover, the explanations on the video lessons generated with the AI support added value at various levels. First of all, I would like to mention that the content of the video course was carefully developed by project experts specialised in teaching methodologies and it was reviewed by peers. Therefore, the AI software was used exclusively to add the content and to create online lessons with the audio and video. In terms of benefits, the use of the AI captivated learners' attention and interest, making the educational material more engaging and memorable. In addition, using the AI ensured a diverse representation of cultures, perspectives, and voices in the educational content provided by the international avatars. This expedient fosters inclusivity and supports learners connecting with a broader range of experiences.

• Throughout the project, BEXLEY disseminated the project results and the STIT project in several events.
  In your experience, how was it to present our work to the general public and what feedback did you receive?

During the preliminary research for the course development as well as in its review stage, we had the opportunity to get in contact with more than 50 VET staff, teachers, and educators involved in various forms of education. I noticed that there is a widened interest in making classes and educational materials more inclusive. These findings made the results more valuable, giving our team the satisfaction that our work is important and necessary.

Together with our collaborators, we assessed that the overall knowledge about inclusive classrooms is generally good among VET staff, while the practical examples and concrete applications were not sufficiently tackled. Therefore, the results and tools developed during the Erasmus+ project STIT were highly appreciated. In particular, they appreciated the Flipped Classroom Approach and few VET staff members already put it into practice in their teaching environment. Last but not least, students were happy to embrace diversity in their learning experiences, showing great interest in the flipped methodology.

• Could you share your thoughts on why it is important to make education inclusive and accessible to all students?

Making education inclusive and accessible to all students is relevant for several reasons.

The most important aspect is that it eliminates discrimination and provides everyone with a chance to learn and succeed. In addition, I would like to mention that teachers and trainers using methods and tools that make the classroom inclusive promote positive relationships among students, contributing to a fairer society.

More than that, as emphasised in our online course, ensuring accessibility and inclusivity in education is not only an ethical responsibility but also a legal requirement in many jurisdictions.

In brief, I think that we all agree that “Sharing is Caring”. From this perspective, when educational institutions actively collaborate and involve various support services and programs, they create a network of resources that enhances the overall experience for all students.
We are proud to contribute to this network by sharing the results of the Erasmus+ project STIT, offering new digital tools, which can be adapted by teachers to meet learners’ needs.

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In the upcoming weeks, a series of interviews with the project partners will be published on how the STIT project was implemented and what the impact was on the direct and indirect beneficiaries and on the participating organisations as well.

The multilingual texts in English, Italian, Spanish and Romanian were translated by the project coordinator (Sara Porta - Aforisma) and the Italian, Spanish and Romanian project partners (Luigi Bevilacqua - QZR srl, Francisco Hurtado Martínez - Fundación Docete Omnes and Nicoleta Acomi - Bexley C-Level IT).