IT TEACHERS FOR SENIORS

Learning & education can play a very important role in reducing age segregation, as it regulates imbalance between generations and opens up new opportunities for social inclusion to older adults.

Despite the fact that there is a need for providing better opportunities for education of older adults & intergenerational education & learning, education of the elderly is still a peripheral activity today, which is reflected in the development of theory and practice of this area (in particular, the development of programs and skills of education providers for older adults).

The training of older adults requires andragogically well-trained providers, who are familiar with the theory and practice of adult education, know the characteristics of the life course of the members of different age cohorts and those effects on the readiness for education, understand that older adults are an extremely diverse group of adults with very different needs and require tailor-made approaches and modes of work in educational programs.

The main problem that IT educators are facing is that they don’t have the needed skills and competences to educate older people in new technology. Educators of elderly, and specifically IT educators, need knowledge of older and contemporary image of old age in society. On one hand they are aware that older people are not all the same, that they are very different, that they are more different from each other than different members of the younger generations, but on the other hand they also know, they lack knowledge both in theory and practice on better working methods with this target group. Lot of teachers are more pedagogues (school system of teaching) than andragogists with merely basic knowledge on working methods for seniors.

Main objectives of the project are:

• Better understanding of senior expectations & needs in learning environments, focusing on IT
• training;
• Improved knowledge & use of pedagogical tools, new technology in educating seniors;
• Exchange of good practice among partners;
• Create the basic theoretical foundations for the implementation of education of IT to older adults;
• Get to know older adults as an extremely diverse group of adult learners for whom education is being prepared according to their needs and for them

Primary target group are adult educators, teachers, mentors, trainers, professionals in IT, who will:

• gain necessary awareness, knowledge and pedagogical tools
• develop key competences for working with older adults
• adopt practical skills for increasing the quality and efficiency of the implementation of non-formal IT programs for seniors

Secondary target group are seniors who will be be impacted with an increased accessibility to nonformal IT learning activities, especially adapted to their needs & expectations.

12 hours for Training program for IT teachers.

Main training aims are:

• Better understanding of senior expectations & needs in learning environments, focusing on IT training;
• Improved knowledge & use of pedagogical tools, new technology in educating seniors;
• Exchange of good practice among partners;
• Create the basic theoretical foundations for the implementation of education of IT to older adults;
• Get to know older adults as an extremely diverse group of adult learners for whom education is being prepared according to their needs and for them

The expected results are the following:

• Teachers/trainers/educators will participate in curriculum design, update their skills and learn about the innovative methodologies and tools to teach older people;
• Activities on creating e-learning objects and design pedagogy for e-learning will be a new skill for most teachers/trainers;
• Innovative approaches for IT trainers in order to upgrade their skills and competences in teaching older people new technology;
• Attractive training program (with blended learning and workshops), in line with individual needs and expectations of the participants. For the creation of the training program, the specific needs of IT trainers (target group for pilot) will be taken into account;
• Development of a training program which will be accessible on the internet for free and will be used as elements in existing education and as courses for further training of IT trainers from educational organisations;
• Experience in organizing common learning and training activities for work place and education together;
• Increased skills among the staff in the participating organizations in relation to participation in international cooperation;
• Establishment of permanent channels/procedures which will ensure that the exchange of experiences and continuous communication between education community will not end with the end of the project but will continue as permanent activities.