MIND THE GAP - a bridge between digital migrants and digital natives

Digital literacy and competences are vital nowadays for individuals affecting all areas of life intensely. Social life, personal development and safety, active engagement in citizenship have been changing interdependently with contemporary progresses. As younger generation assigns their path through digital instruments with ease, the so-called “Digital Migrants” (individuals over 55 year old) often lose their route to follow-up with the rapid changes. They are mostly in need of assistance with fundamental digital tasks: creating a digital identity, browsing/sharing information, arranging a doctor appointment, social interaction or checking bank accounts. This process has led to health problems, social isolation, flaw in daily routines and engaging in active citizenship, and COVID 19 situation have proved that there is a need for immediate action on the matter. In line with the Digital Education Action Plan, MIND THE GAP project took advantage of digital tools in adult teaching to provide adult-learning providers with flexible and learner-centered training strategies and contents, in order to help digital migrants to personally engage in society as an active citizen, use public services and exercise basic rights.

MIND THE GAP primary focus was to enhance the quality of adult training in terms of digital skills, exploiting the potential of digital learning and providing digital migrants with core digital skills to support them in social, citizenship, personal and daily needs through the digital environment. The overall objectives were upskill Adult Educators to provide support and guidance to boost the quality of lives of Digital Migrants, to prepare an environment for a better social inclusion through digital tools, and to navigate pathways for engaging in active citizenship; targeting informational and communicational digital competences of citizens on the basis of the DigComp. The project provides Adult Educators with innovative and practical solutions facilitating them with core digital and educational methods and modules to upskill digital migrants, helping them to keep psychologically healthy and sociologically active through digital tools. To do so, the project set a framework for contemporary digital skills, developed new learning contents and methods, provided an e-learning platform including digital-ed modules and webinars as maps to help digital migrants become active participants in digital environment.

INTERNAL ACTIVITIES: - Designing and implementing a Project Management approach through a PMI Guide - Conducting and monitoring Quality Assurance, Risk Management and Dissemination Strategy - Realizing 5 Transnational Project Meetings - Realizing a Learning/Teaching/Training Activity for capacity building for 3 days with the participants from partnering organizations and adult trainers - Designing a research methodology to develop a Theoretical and Methodological Framework for Contemporary Digital Skills for Adults - Compilation of the data obtained through the researching process - Organizing focus group meetings to receive insights from the experts on the framework - Conducting an analysis of the Theoretical and Methodological Framework to define the learning modules of the curriculum - Designing and developing the training curriculum and finalizing the curriculum in accordance with the internal feedback - Defining / designing / implementing e-learning platform - Developing digital-ed modules for the contemporary digital skills for digital migrants within the platform - Designing and developing a Practical Guideline to overcome the challenges in the adult learning - Updating/upgrading/translation of the platform - Developing national online surveys to define the themes and contents of the webinars for the adults - Defining the themes, contents and flow of the structures of the webinars/instructional videos - Production of national series of webinars/instructional videos - Equipping webinars/instructional videos with English subtitles - Updating/Finalizing the webinars/instructional videos in accordance with results of the testing phase EXTERNAL ACTIVITIES - Realizing focus group meetings to receive insights from experts from the respective field on IO1 (Theoretical and Methodological Competence Framework) - Realizing a Learning/Teaching/Training Activity for capacity learning for 3 days with the participants from partnering organizations and adult trainers to finalize IO3 (E-learning platform including digital-ed modules) and IO4 (Webinars/Instructional Videos) - 8 Multiplier Events in the partnering countries in M23-M24 - Valorization of the webinars/instructional videos

TANGIBLE RESULTS: - A set of competencies based on EU standards in line with The DigComp Framework Dimension 1 and Dimension 2 (R1: Theoretical and Methodological Framework) - A defined and developed curriculum to equip adult educators in guidance to support digital migrants to overcome their challenges in the adaptation and inhabitation into the digital world and competences (R2: Training Curriculum) - An ICT-based platform enriched with digital-ed modules and e-learning courses to construct a bridge between digital natives and digital migrants (R3: E-learning platform) - A Practical Guideline to enhance the educational environment for adult learners by overcoming the challenges in adult learning (R3: E-learning platform) - National online surveys with at least 20 questions to define the themes and contents of the webinars and instructional videos for adults (R4: Webinars / Instructional Videos) - A designed and developed set of instructive videos/webinars in line with to-be determined needs of digital migrants (R4: Webinars / Instructional Videos) PROJECT ACTIVITIES - 8 Focus group meetings with the participation of a total of 96 (12 per partner) to receive insights from experts on the theoretical and methodological competence framework for adult (R1). The feedback and recommendations of the experts were reported and led the updating phase of the framework - 171 adults “digital migrants” (between 20 and 30 per partner) filled out the national surveys (R4/A2). The findings of the surveys were reported, and the results determined the themes and contents of the webinars/instructional videos - 5 transnational projects meetings were organized - 3-days short -term joint staff training was organized - 8 Multiplier Events were held with the attendance of 209 participants PROJECT MANAGEMENT AND IMPLEMENTATION -Timesheet Templates -Interim Reports -Budget Reports QUALITY ASSURANCE -Internal Questionnaires and Reports: TPMS / 5 Reports, LTTA / 1 Report, MEs / 1 Report, Results / 4 Reports -External Questionnaires and Reports: MEs / 1 Report, Implementation (R3/A9) / 1 Report, Valorization for Webinars / 1 Report DISSEMINATION -Visibility Materials: Project logo, project social media accounts, project website and project e-flyer, Project roll-up -Newsletters (7): 5 for TPMs, 1 for LTTA, 1 for MEs -Dissemination Reports and Portfolio -Stakeholder Lists RISK MANAGEMENT -Risk Analysis Template -Risk Analysis Reports 3 in total All the management documents as well as the project results can be found at this link: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1RDlpcKsKv0qY5IuvSQXK1s2_tVlw1Upx INTANGIBLE RESULTS - Upskilling opportunities for trainers working in the field of adult teaching - Raised awareness on the concepts of “digital migrant” and “digital native”, natural consequences of social exclusion through digital incompetence. - A better understanding of challenges of adult teaching, especially above age 55 - Informed on necessity and transferability of core digital skills for both adult-learning providers and adult learners - Raised awareness on representatives and authorities of adult training and relevant stakeholder on having digital skills - Raised awareness on COVID 19 situation stands as a “turning point” in acquiring digital skills and using digital tools - Developing a better understanding of the digital tools in terms of life-long, flexible and adult-specific learning - Exploitation of the vitality of acquiring digital competences