The project, on the basis of the recommendations made in the Copenhagen Declaration in November 2001 and by the Council of Europe in Barcelona in March 2002, has the goal of setting up a virtual “workshop” on internet. Through this site a practitioner in the area of woodworking who has already acquired basic skills (an accumulation of experience, general knowledge and the notions particular to the field, according to conventional standards) can follow the steps necessary to raise his/her level of competence keeping up with the latest technological innovations. Along these lines, a woodworker (craftsman or employee may it be), who generally possesses technical-vocational skills based mainly on the utilization of manual tools and electro-mechanical equipment, can be offered the opportunity of elevating his/her status, especially in light of creating new businesses in the sector.

The machine equipment for the working of wood and production of furnishings have followed the same course as other fields in terms of technological innovations and thus necessitate different and more complex skills in comparison to those called for in the “arts and crafts” culture of the last century. But at the same time it seems useful and necessary to join in a single conceptual universe various aspects belonging to the traditional world of work along with various aspects of cutting edge technology.

Thus we need to determine in this fusion which part of one’s professional baggage can be considered “obsolete” and which, on the other hand, should be transferred to a new professionalism together with the new skills to be acquired. This process must also have well-defined contours, keeping in mind that the objective is the realization of “quality” products and that within the process are interacting powerfully new technologies, in particular that of digital imprinting.

The project focuses on secondary-level technical-vocational training, a strategic element for the future development of a knowledge-based human-resources-centred economy on a European level. Thus the project is geared toward the setting up of a “self-training device” for those in the woodworking field, capable of providing sufficient technical-vocational knowledge necessary for acquiring an overall view of the entire production process (from familiarity with different types of wood to matters of safety and disposal of waste materials, from touching up defects and damages in the wood to working with machine utensils, from reading a blueprint to achieving a finished product, etc.). Control over the production process and its results, in a quantitative as well as qualitative sense, not excluding direct intervention by the worker in the process itself, calls for mastery of the opportune notions dealing with the various phases a “product” undergoes, even more importantly when other types of specialized workers are involved.

The creation of training materials is to be carried out by “simulating” real technical-vocational working settings and contexts so that the workshop user always winds up performing “in a situation”.

Each training module is divided into four sections, which are further divided into instructional units:

• Section 1: A page on the prerequisites needed for a successful approach to the theme and corresponding tests.
• Section 2: Pages explaining the specific topics dealt with (texts, audio, images, video).
• Section 3: Exercises (reading comprehension, listening comprehension, recognition and understanding, problem solving, etc.) of various types, all machine-correctable (true/false, multiple choice, completion, etc.), with a glossary of related specific terms.
• Section 4: machine-correctable evaluation (formative assessment).
  

The series of modules might terminate with a comprehensive evaluative test (summative assessment)

01/10/2006 – 31/10/2008

Education and Culture DG (DG-EAC) – European Comission

www.mobywood.net

1. COORDINATOR :
   ciid – Cooperativa insegnanti di iniziativa democratica (IT),
   

• FhR – Fachhochschule Rosenheim – Fakultät Holztechnik (DE)
• AIDIMA – Instituto Tecnológico del Mueble, Madera, Embalaje y Afines (ES)
• ENSTIB – Ecole Nazionale Supérieure des Technologies et Industries du Bois (FR)
• NYME – Nyugat- Magyarországi Egyetem – Faipari Mérnöki Kar (HU)
• Consorzio Legno-Legno (IT)
• DISTAF – Dipartimento di Scienze e Tecnologie Ambientali Forestali – Università di Firenze (IT)
• ISIS – Isituto Statale di Istruzione Superiore di Lissone (IT)