Blended Learning Archives - European Initiative for Education

Media Competence and Digital Literacy of Seniors – the BonJour Project

PeterMaz 30. May 202430. May 2024 Blended Learning, BonJour, Technology Enhanced Teaching

The BonJour Project (Erasmus+ 2023-1-IT02-KA220-ADU-000160320) aims to improve media literacy among older adults by enhancing their journalism and digital skills. This will empower them to be more socially active and bridge the digital gap between generations. A new profession, the Media Educators for the Elderly, will be established to address the specific needs of this demographic. The project will involve training these educators, developing media literacy curricula for seniors, and creating an e-learning platform for seniors to become active and critical media consumers. The EBI – as a partner in this project – has undertaken some specific analyses of the focus rounds (with experts, implemented in May, analysing the new role of Media Educators and different points of view on media literacy of seniors). Here is the first summary:

Roles and Responsibilities of Media Educators

Media educators play a vital role in supporting seniors in their digital journey. They should equip seniors with the skills to use digital technologies effectively, while also raising awareness of both the risks and opportunities associated with them. Promoting social inclusion through digital literacy is another key responsibility of media educators.

Educators should focus on teaching core digital competences such as recognizing different types of online content, understanding how the internet and social media work, and developing critical thinking skills. However, fostering a positive learning environment is equally important. By adopting a friendly and non-hierarchical approach, media educators can create a space where seniors feel comfortable asking questions and learning from each other.

Media Educator - symbolic picture created by AI — Media Educator in the On-site Training – working with senior adults.

Core Competences for Media Educators

Several key competences are essential for media educators working with seniors in the frame of the BonJour Project. These include:

Pedagogical Skills
The ability to identify effective learning strategies that cater to the specific needs of older adult learners.
Emotional Skills
Understanding and addressing the anxieties or frustrations seniors may experience while learning new skills.
Digital Skills
Strong digital skills to serve as a role model and provide clear guidance to seniors.
Socialization Skills
The ability to create engaging learning experiences that promote interaction and build a sense of community among participants.

Training and Certifications

Currently, there is a lack of widespread awareness regarding specialized training courses or certifications specifically designed for media educators who focus on teaching seniors.

Pedagogical Approaches and Teaching Methods

Experience-based and transformative learning methods might be most effective for engaging senior learners and making the educational process meaningful. Cooperative learning with clearly defined micro-objectives can also be highly beneficial. However, face-to-face teaching, practical exercises, and demonstrations remain crucial elements in creating a successful learning environment for seniors.

Illustration of Media Literacy — Media Literacy will be taught using a Blended Learning delivery (Based on Flipped Learning 3.0).

Preferred Learning Methods

When it comes to learning methods, seniors tend to gravitate towards concrete approaches such as practical exercises, face-to-face interaction, group work, and video tutorials. Methods that encourage the exchange of experiences and the application of newly acquired skills in real-world scenarios are particularly effective for this demographic.

Practical Issues in Creating Learning Material

Accessibility is a key consideration when developing learning materials for seniors. This includes using larger font sizes, increased line spacing, and clear, concise language. Self-assessment tools and cooperative evaluation methods can also help to reduce feelings of anxiety or inadequacy among learners. Basically, the team will select an active learning approach. The team will also create a learning platform with multimedia-based and interactive training materials.

Challenges Faced by Elderly Learners in the BonJour Project

Several challenges can hinder seniors’ ability to learn new digital skills. Age-related difficulties like vision problems or motor skill limitations can create obstacles. Additionally, some seniors may be hesitant to change their established routines or may fear appearing outdated. Psychological barriers such as the fear of making mistakes can also impede progress.

Overcoming Challenges

Media educators can address these challenges by creating tailored learning modules that cater to the specific needs and abilities of seniors. Designing lessons that are relevant to their personal experiences and providing ample opportunities for practice are also crucial. Motivating senior learners by emphasizing the benefits of digital competence and demonstrating how these skills can enhance their lives is essential for promoting continued engagement.

Use of Technology in Teaching

Various digital tools can be incorporated into lessons for seniors, including the Office Suite, web browsers, PDF editing tools, and even social media platforms. However, it is important to prioritize familiar and accessible technologies such as smartphones and commonly used applications.

While some seniors may be comfortable using platforms like Facebook and WhatsApp, navigating unfamiliar platforms can present challenges. Repetitive practice and confidence-building activities are essential for overcoming these hurdles.

Responsible Sharing of News

Media educators in the Bonjour Project play a critical role in teaching seniors about responsible news sharing. This includes emphasizing the importance of verifying information before sharing it and teaching them to critically evaluate sources and cross-check information.

Quality Control in Journalism

Quality control in journalism is paramount. Media educators should impress upon seniors the importance of verifying information from reputable sources and cross-referencing information with relevant authorities to ensure accuracy. The ever-evolving media landscape presents a challenge to maintaining quality, but critical thinking skills are essential for navigating this complex environment.

Media Literacy in the BonJour! Project.

Media literacy is crucial for both younger and older generations. Educators play a vital role in teaching everyone to critically evaluate the information they encounter and to avoid the pitfall of accepting information at face value. Developing strong research skills and fostering a culture of persistence and critical thinking are essential components of media literacy education.

Algorithmic Influence

The rise of algorithms and the creation of information bubbles are significant challenges in today’s media landscape. Media educators should raise awareness of these issues and encourage seniors to seek out diverse sources of information to gain a well-rounded perspective.

A Casual Learning Space

PeterMaz 11. February 202311. February 2023 Blended Learning, Learning Spaces, Staff Education

The EBI has held various courses despite Covid. Before the Covid-19 crisis, we only held cooperative and group-based training. During Covid-19, this was not possible: “Social Distancing” (which should have been better called “Physical Distancing”), the wearing of masks and other restrictions threw us back to the level of lecture teaching, with a classical classroom structure and a lecturing teacher/trainer. We have recognized the advantage of a modern Learning Space within the last few years. Collaborative and group learning spaces provide opportunities for individuals to work together, share knowledge, and develop a more in-depth understanding of the material. In these environments, learners can learn from each other, receive different perspectives, and engage in productive discussions that enhance their problem-solving skills. Additionally, group learning spaces foster a sense of community, support, and motivation that can lead to increased engagement and improved academic performance. All these items have been considered in the CICERO project. Nevertheless, the COVID-19 crisis prevented the further development of a Casual Learning Space.

EBI-Kneipp-Kurs-DISK-Project — Training in 2022: Conveying digital competences in the typical classroom setting (Kneipp Course 2022).

How to improve it

The trainers of the EBI had another approach to effective training In Adult Education. Our ideas were:

An open learning space, group based and focusing on collaboration, is the best learning space for most of the training situations in Adult Education.
A modern learning space for Adult Education must be flexible in the spatial design. It must be possible to change the spatial arrangement easily.
Modern learning spaces for Adult Education must not follow traditional teaching or training methods, but can use other approaches based on active learning.
Modern learning spaces for Adult Education must provide a modern pedagogical approach. This approach must ensure that no one is left behind in informal learning and that all learners have the opportunity to achieve the goal(s).

The questionnaire

The EBI started a questionnaire to create a case study about an innovative, versatile, and engaging Learning Space. EBI addressed approximately 100 Adult Education organisations in European countries. Feedback came from 40 organisations from 11 European countries (Norway, Spain, Portugal, Denmark, Poland, Italy, Finland, Netherlands, Sweden, Greece, and Austria).

The feedback confirmed our ideas and showed that there is a great deal of agreement with our approach to modern learning. It also indicated that there is a certain need for innovative and universal learning spaces – especially in the field of adult education.

Processed questionnaire results

This traditional classroom, as it’s well-known in School Education, is the best learning space for most of the training situations in Adult Education.

CasIL-Questionnaire-EBI — The result is clear: The organisations answer the question in the negative, with a majority of 73%. Classical teaching in the traditional setting is not perceived as a suitable solution.

An open learning space, group-based and focusing on collaboration, is the best learning space for most of the training situations in Adult Education.

Modern learning space for Adult Education must be flexible in spatial design. It must be possible to change the spatial arrangement easily.

Modern learning spaces for Adult Education must not follow traditional teaching or training methods, but can use other approaches based on active learning.

New cooperation

The ideas of EBI found fertile ground with some of the organisations approached: The Portuguese organisation AJITER, JA-Eesti from Estonia, EduVita from Italy, and EDRASE from Greece are now working together to develop an innovative learning space to meet the given requirements. Within the framework of this cooperation, the trainers of the participating organisations were asked about their ideas for such a learning space. The results are presented in the final slideshow.

Conclusion

Obviously, the trainers of the cooperation match with the feedback of the organisations asked in Europe.
The development of an innovative, versatile Learning Space, best-fitting to informal training, is a must.
There is a broad discussion currently dealing with innovative learning spaces.

New Project launched: CICERO

Europaeische Bildungsinitiative 15. December 201816. December 2018 Blended Learning, CICERO, Project

The EBI/EIE (Austria) is partner in a new project “Enhancing Digital Competence through Photography” about digital competences. The project partners come from Spain, Greece, and Portugal. The official coordinator is the University of Stockholm, Sweden. The application has been written by Peter Mazohl (from the EBI/EIE) with peer reviewing of Harko Verhagen from the University of Stockholm.

**Digital Photograpy** is closely connected with **Digital Competences**

The objectives of this project are to develop and implement special courses for adults teaching Digital Competences by Photography. Learners learn to take digital images of certain quality, to develop digital competences (using the DigComp 2.0 framework ^[1]), editing images, use of images in medias and other related competences. A photo contest will be used to motivate learners (and other adults) to submit their photos; these images will be published in the European Cultural Heritage Database.

This approach of teaching digital competences is new: There are elements of project-based learning in combination with Blended Learning. The training method behind is active and group-based learning.

In the project, different types of adults are going to be targeted: younger adults (to increase their digital competences and to give them better chances on the working market), older adults (to prevent the exclusion of society due to missing digital competences) and disadvantaged people living on remote places (for example Greek islands).

The developed courses will provide the (more or less) same content und use the identical pedagogical approach, but be developed, implemented, performed and evaluated to the specific target groups.

One of the aims of the project is to organize an European Photo Contest (out of the participating partners and their trainees) to collect images showing “European Heritage”. This contest will be open for all Europeans and be a means of dissemination of the project.

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[1] DigComp Framework: https://ec.europa.eu/jrc/en/digcomp/digital-competence-framework

Image source: Pixabay (CC0 License)

Cooperation contract with the FLG

Europaeische Bildungsinitiative 11. October 2018 Blended Learning, Flipped Adult Education

The EBI/EIE signed a cooperation contract with the Flipped Learning Global Initiative (USA) for the new project about Flipped Adult Education.

The FLG will impact to the project and provide a “supervision” on the developed handbook for Flipped Learning. The special role of the FLG in the project will be

Be an associate partner to the project
Provide tactical and strategic-planning support and guidance
Participate in the initial project partners planning-session in Vienna
Review the final project outcomes before publication

Jon Bergmann and Errol Smith wil be personally involved in the development of the project’s results. The impact from the FLG and the knowledge collected by the pioneers of flipped learning will enrich the project and care for high-level results.

eLearning and Blended Learning Materials

PeterMaz 1. January 20181. January 2018 Blended Learning, Miscellaneous, Technology Enhanced Teaching

Books were a source for learning hundreds of years. Today, they still play a role – but often in an electronical version (ebook)

To plan and develop an eLearning course covers many aspects. To ensure the necessary quality you have to consider the institutional mission, the organizational structure and the available resources. Furthermore, you have to care for a well-fitting curriculum and design, the support from faculty (or similar internal structure) as well as the students’ support and to define the competence oriented learning outcomes.

Create the content

For the content of such a well-designed course, you have to develop the best-fitting material. Content in eLearning should cover different activities and learning content in a well-defined mixture (that depends in most cases from the taught subject). The following issues must be included:

Content to gain knowledge
Activities to interact with other learners. To promote group work and to develop the skills defined in the competence oriented learning outcomes
Content to develop the learners’ attitudes (as defined in the learning outcomes)
Assessments and test environment to check the learning progress

Reuse the content

The created content should be reusable – that means, that – as a start developed – content can be used easily also in other courses. The costs of content development for one single course ar too high to create high quality eLearning courses economically.

Where to take content?

There are different types of content based on the used media. Specialists in the subject can do writing a text easily. To provide the necessary graphics or high-quality multimedia material is more difficult and in the most cases cost extensive: You have to buy the material from companies specialized in that field of multimedia or expansive internal or external specialist create it.

Images and graphics

In spite of paying a lot of money for external specialists or image agencies, you may use content from sources under the Creative Commons (or similar environments).

This chapter of the webpage will supply you with information about “open resources”.

Animations

The same situation as mentioned above is in the field animations. There are many applications available either to create animations or ready-to-use animations that can be used without copyright violation.

You will also find here some information about free material and the legal conditions for their use.

What does eLearning and Blended Learning mean?

PeterMaz 1. January 20185. January 2018 Blended Learning, Miscellaneous, Technology Enhanced Teaching

eLearning means to learn with electronic media. In many descriptions it’s reduced to learning using the internet. That’s basically not correct. eLearning covers the learning process supported by any means of electronically media (Computer, CD-ROM, digitized video, sound, the Internet, …).
eLearning as a term is outdated and should be replaced by “Technology Enhanced Learning”. This covers all the learning techniques as mentioned above, also the learning using the internet (as the access to the Internet only can be done by using multiple devices¹ the learning with the Internet is fully covered by this term).

Blended Learning combines classical classroom teaching with eLearning. You may also call it “Hybrid Learning” or “Mixed Learning” – there are a lot of different terms existing – all meaning the same.

eLearning does not exist apart from already established and traditional learning venues. As new technology is introduced and adopted, it immediately becomes integrated with the instructional technology that preceded it. This is called “Blended Learning” or “Hybrid Learning” delivery.

Online learning content and strategies are showing up in classrooms nationwide. Digital content is replacing textbooks and much of it was initially used in formal or informal learning online.

If you are interested in technology enhanced learning and teaching methods have a closer look atour pages and in the blog!

¹ Multiple devices means computers, laptops, norebooks, convertibles, tablets, and even smartphones. The use and the term “multiple devices” was created by Carlos Guerrero (SAFA) and Peter Mazohl (EBI/EIE). You will find mor information in this blog post!

What is Blended Learning?

PeterMaz 2. October 20175. January 2018 Blended Learning, Miscellaneous

Blended Learning – simply defined

The term Blended Learning is generally applied to the practice of using both online and in-person learning experiences when teaching students (Abbott 2014). This term has developed for many years with changing interpretations.

Blended Learning means a teaching method, where face-to-face teaching is combined with distance learning. The teaching process is supported by the use of an appropriate learning platform. The term eLearning (modern: Technology Enhanced Learning TEL) in this document refers to the platform-supplied distance learning.

Blended Learning is a teaching method and no pedagogical or didactical concept. Blended Learning describes the technique used for teaching. This means teaching highly connected with the use of ICT. ICT offers new opportunities but also new challenges for both instructors and students (Redmond 2011). Teachers and trainers change their working place and reduce the time used in the traditional brick-and-mortar environment. Students get the independency to decide, what, where, when and how they learn during the distance learning.

Hint: This post summarizes the results of the BladEdu project.
Text & Graphics: (c) 2016 Peter Mazohl

Sources
Abbott, S. (2014): The glossary of education reform. Blended Learning Definition. Available online at http://edglossary.org/blended-learning
Redmond, Petra (2011): From face-to-face teaching to online teaching – Pedagogical transitions. Available online at http://www.ascilite.org.au/conferences/hobart11/downloads/papers/Redmond-full.pdf

Technical Innovation in Blended Learning (TIBL)

Europaeische Bildungsinitiative 1. October 20171. January 2018 Blended Learning, Miscellaneous, Project

Working with a tablet during distance learning

The project developes C-VET training courses for training performed in formal and in non-formal C-VET education. These courses use Blended Learning as a technology enhanced method and focus on the use of multiple devices (as used by the trainees an everyday life). The innovation is the implementation of a trainee-focusing pedagogical framework based on heutagogy, the development of an all-encompassing quality enhancement framework (including also the pedagogy) and the approach to the diversity of various technical equipment (the multiple devices). The project is complementary to a Grundvig Multilateral project by transferring the theoretical developed outputs to a practical implementation in a different (but similar) educational sector.

The project combines knowledge and experience from VET training institutions with the research and innovation potential of universities.

The applicant SAFA is an important Spanish school foundation focusing on school and vocational education,
EFQBL is a VET and trainers education organisation and was founded as a dissemination tool out from a Blended Learning Multerlateral Grundtvig Project,
DigiLab from the University La Sapienza and the
University of Aveiro are specialised in innovation in technology enhanced training and the related pedagogy.
SADE is a specialist in Distance Learning and quality enhancement frameworks.

These participants ensure a consortium well-distributed in Europe.

The project results impact to the trainer community in Europe providing innovative and modern training (based on Blended Learning and including workplace-based training) with a technology enhanced approach to training using multiple devices.

EBI/EIE was founding member of the EFQBL and still is close connected to this organisation.

Web page of the project

The webpage of the project offers considerations about Blended Learning, the use of multiple devices, pedagogical considerations in context with the training and the specific training conditions in web-based C-VET training and the working trainees.

The created project results including the developed toolbox are free for use.

Blended Learning