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Workpackages

WP 1 – Management (lead partner: Surrey)

The objectives of project management include setting up the interactive IVY project website for internal documentation and communication as well as external information and contact (in WPs 7 and 8 the website will be extended to service dissemination and exploitation); liaising with the European Commission on contractual and financial matters and making contractual arrangements with the partners; coordinating and monitoring the project workflows, including liaison between partners to communicate the status of the project programme and milestones; organising and conducting five project meetings; preparing reports for the European Commission.

WP 2 – Quality Plan (EKUT)

The overall objective of this workpackage is to set up and apply a ‘Plan-Do-Study-Act’ (PDSA) cycle for assuring quality throughout all project activities during the project lifespan. The WP approach involves the application of a PDSA cycle for each of the project phases: Preparation phase (pedagogical foundations, needs and specifications; development and management of interactive project website), Development Phase (communication and design development), Consolidation Phase (confirmation and implementation of plans, prototyping and testing, communication of changes, standards and procedures), Continuation and Evaluation Phase (iterative process of continuing development supported by timely feedback and pedagogical evaluation), Final phase (dissemination seminar, implementation of exploitation, preparation of final report).

WP 3 – Pedagogical Research (Surrey)

WP 3 develops the pedagogical framework for the VE and the interpreting scenarios, working modes, audio/video contents and activities. This includes the analysis of prior research and initiatives relating to educational uses of VEs and the use of ICT and audio/video corpora in interpreter training. User needs are researched in cooperation with interpreter trainers and clients of interpreters. Based on the insights gained, the WP defines the educational parameters that are best suited to secure the short-term and long-term impact of the IVY platform.

WP 4 – Development of the virtual environment and the virtual interpreting scenarios (Bangor)

This WP encompasses the functional specification, design and implementation of the objects and functions that constitute the 3D environment and of the interpreting scenarios that are built on it. Moreover, the interface from the LLP project BACKBONE are adapted to the requirements of project IVY. An agile development method is used to create a series of prototypes and to integrate the user sites closely with the development.

WP 5 – Creation of content and activities for the interpreting scenarios (StC)

The starting point for the WP are the BACKBONE and ELISA video corpora, in which speakers talk about their professional lives and cultural backgrounds. These corpora constitute a valuable ICT-based resource for interpreter education. WP 5 aims to enhance this resource and to integrate it into the new 3D environment where it forms the basis for the virtual interpreting scenarios. Also, new corpora are compiled to expand the range of available languages. Finally, the corpus-based content is enriched with learning activities for interpreter students and potential users of interpreters.

WP 6 – Evaluation (UAM)

This WP focuses on developing and applying appropriate methods for the functional and pedagogical evaluation of the IVY solution. The overall aim is to assess the impact of the solution. This is achieved in particular by investigating how the learning success in the IVY environment is influenced by the features of this environment, the task being performed, and the user experience with the system and the task. The work in this WP accompanies much of the research, design and development work in WPs 3, 4 and 5 before entering in its final phase of pedagogical evaluation.

WP 7 – Dissemination (Surrey)

Dissemination activities form a continuous process throughout the IVY project. The overall objective in this WP is to disseminate the IVY project to interpreter training communities and to communities of potential interpreter service users, with an emphasis on theme-based scenario training in a virtual environment. Dissemination continues throughout the project life and beyond, thus supporting the longer-term impact and sustainability of the project results.

WP 8 – Exploitation (Bangor)

WP 8 aims to highlight the potential for the exploitation of the outcomes of the project beyond its lifetime. The findings of the IVY project and experiences gathered especially during the pedagogical evaluation and the dissemination activities in WP 7 are used as basis for the widest possible promotion of the IVY solution for the study of interpreter-mediated communication.