The aim of the following paper is to present an evaluation of a digital reading circle for Home Economics (HE) teachers in Sweden. The Swedish Committee for HE is an independent organization that works to strengthen the subject. In 2023 a digital reading circle was used and carried out on four occasions. The contents of these four meetings were based on the revised Swedish HE syllabus which was introduced in July 2022. The meetings centered on assessment, sustainable consumption, taste, and researching one's own practice. A total of 22 teachers participated and before each meeting they were instructed to read a text related to the content. After the final meeting, the participants completed an evaluation which was then analyzed using quantitative method. The preliminary results indicated that the teachers were satisfied with this form of the reading circle, and that it was easy to participate. However, the results also showed that the teachers did not prepare to the extent that the instructions indicated. It would be interesting to discuss whether this was due to the contents or the form of the circle. We argue that this is an easy and suitable way to conduct competence development for teachers.

The use of digital tools is an important part of the lives of both students and teachers. This requires new demands on digital competence in higher education and the development of learning environments. Podcasts offer a dynamic and accessible platform for educators to deliver valuable insights, practical knowledge, and engaging discussions that empower both teachers and students.
The aim is to plan, implement and evaluate a podcast as a pedagogical tool in Home economics.
• How can a podcast improve and develop education in Home economics?
• What are the opportunities and challenges of using podcasts as a form of pedagogical tool?

The method is a cross-sectional study; the students will fill in a form, create a podcast and the project is evaluated by oral interviews.

This project will be conducted in November-December 2023 with students in Home economics. There has been a pilot project in 2021 with students in Health promotion. The majority of the students had positive expectations but also saw the task as a challenge. Result shows it was inspiring and engaging. The hope with this project is to inspire other teachers to try Podcast as a teaching method and to develop students' learning in digital tools.

The aim of the project is to
• Create free interdisciplinary learning materials for grades 6 to 9 in theoretical and practical knowledge in everyday economics, health and environment
• Increase collaboration between teachers in different school subjects and between students
• Enable broader teaching within subjects in home and consumer knowledge

Methods
•Cross-Curricular Teams: educators from different subject areas to collaboratively plan and deliver lessons
•Problem-Based Learning (PBL): students work with complex problems that require them to integrate knowledge and skills from different subjects to find solutions
•Hands-On Activities: Incorporate hands-on experiments that increases active learning and encourages students to apply concepts from different subjects
•Formative Assessment: techniques to gauge student understanding and adapt instruction accordingly. Regular feedback to guide the learning process
•Reflective Practices: Encourage students to reflect on their interdisciplinary learning experiences. Journals, discussion reflections, and self-assessments help students articulate their growth
• Peer Collaboration: students work together to explain concepts from their respective disciplines to each other

Findings
• Increased efficacy of proven practice in various interdisciplinary lesson planning
• Increased collaboration between teachers in different school subjects and between students
• Increased motivation to study theoretical subjects

Results
•Several free interdisciplinary lesson plans
•Ongoing project

MYSTERY BOX – The escape room game

The Finnish National Rescue Association, as part of The Committee for Home Emergency Preparedness (2017), has conducted a study on household preparedness in Finland. The study found that households are confident about the future in Finland. Only few people believe the disruptions will affect their own household. More than half have no experience of disruption situations, and less than half of households consciously prepare for threats such as storms and power outages. Rural residents are, on average, better prepared than city dwellers, and the adults are better prepared than the young people.

Training and awareness are key to ensuring the safety of yourself and those around you during an emergency. In this poster session will be presented The Mystery box -game. The household specialists of the North Karelia Martat organization developed the game to teach preparedness especially for young people ages 15-26. During the game young people have to think how a power outage will affects their homes, and how everyday functions change when there is no electricity. Playing the game everyone knows how to prepare for a power outage.

Keywords: preparedness, power outage, young, learning by solving, game, escape room

It is clear the future of education will include some aspects of blended and online learning. The Family and Consumer Sciences Education program at Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah, Unites States of America, has been a pioneer in adopting blended and online learning at their university. Having taught lab-based classes through online or blended modalities since 2018, Natalie Hancock and Dana Hunter bring ideas and best practices to K-12 and postsecondary lab-based online and blended education.

Participants will leave this session equipped to organize, build, and implement online and blended learning strategies into their k-12 or post-secondary FCS classroom. We will share what has worked, changes that have been made and why, and how you can reach more students through this use of technology. Open-source resources will be provided to allow participants to continue their study and practice of blended and online teaching in Family and Consumer Sciences.

Participants will be provided access to the open-source research backed FCS specific edition of K-12 Blended Teaching: Volume 2. in their classroom. This research-based text has application of blended learning woven throughout and is written for both the pre-service and practitioner FCS educator.