In recent years, more and more training offers have been converted to blended learning. However, especially for adult learners with a lower qualification level, these offers are often hardly accessible. The reasons for this are that, on the one hand, various basic competences for participation are lacking and, on the other hand, the prejudice prevails that blended learning is not suitable for this group of learners.
Therefore, we focus on two main target groups in this project:
ADULT LEARNERS We want to help all adults developing the basic digital and cognitive competences they need to participate in further education where new forms of learning, especially blended learning, are applied. This should also lead to an increase in the motivation of adults to participate in many continuing education programmes in the future.
ADULT EDUCATORS To help adult educators to prepare their learners for successful participation in blended learning courses, we provide them with supporting materials. In addition, we show them, as well as other decision-makers, how important it is to give adults with a lower qualification level access to blended and distance learning settings.
Through all these activities, we aim to support adults to continue their education and thus remain competitive in the rapidly changing labour market.
Why do we work on this project?
Due to the ongoing digital transformation of the last decade and the associated changes in the professional world, the need for qualification in adult education has increased immensely. For example, according to the World Economic Forum, it is predicted that almost every second adult in Europe will need further training within the next 5 years. Therefore, adults need access to further education in order to remain competitive in the labour market.
Increasingly, training offers are being switched to distance or blended learning. But at the same time, it is precisely these learning opportunities that are often difficult to access for people with a lower level of skills. The reasons for this is on the one hand that these learning settings are very often not offered to those people because of the existing prejudice that they are not suitable for them. And, on the other hand, many adults are lacking some basic competences for a successful participation. Therefore, it would be of great importance to give all adults equal access to these distance or blended learning settings and to support adults in developing basic digital and cognitive skills that enable them to successfully participate in those settings.
Project Results
To achieve our objectives, we will develop the following results within this project:
RESULT 1:
Policy paper and competence catalogue In the first step, we develop a policy paper. The paper is aimed at people who make decisions about which learning settings are offered to which groups of learners. It aims to break the prejudice that adults with a lower level of qualification are not able to participate in all educational offers, especially in blended learning settings, and to show how important it is to include all adults equally in the educational landscape. In addition, we are creating a catalogue that contains the competences needed for blended learning and that will serve as a basis for the development of the learning materials.
RESULT 2:
Learning materials for adult learners
Based on the competence catalogue from result 1, we develop learning materials. These are addressed directly to adult learners and are intended to support them in developing the necessary digital and learning competences required for a successful participation in blended learning settings. They consist of an online course and also include learning videos on specific topics.
RESULT 2:
Learning materials for adult learners Based on the competence catalogue from result 1, we develop learning materials. These are addressed directly to adult learners and are intended to support them in developing the necessary digital and learning competences required for a successful participation in blended learning settings. They consist of an online course and also include learning videos on specific topics.
Funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or OeAD-GmbH. Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them.
