PRACTICAL EXAMPLE OF THE IT TRAINING FOR SENIORS
Training contents:
Content 1: Participants draw up a learning project in the doubles, focused on IT program for seniors, which will be used when conducting the training. The target group of the IT teachers will be seniors, in future referred as “students”. Focus on topics of IT program for students (appendix to modules) prepared by Slow Learning partners.
Training methods:
The following methods are recommended:
The deliberate use of smaller groups when working with larger groups is an important option for facilitators. Working in small groups permits more engagement by participants in the process and may encourage those who are more reticent to contribute further as a consequence of the perceived safety and confidentiality of the smaller group.
Brainstorming is a simple and effective way of generating ideas and suggestions. Brainstorming generates a large quantity of ideas without regard to their quality; subsequent sorting and prioritizing of the ideas are used to refine the raw results. They are useful for introducing topics and generating an interest before further and more detailed work is undertaken, and they can be used to energize a group and stimulate discussion.
The case study is a useful and flexible method of providing examples of a subject for discussion and comment by participants. Case studies are used in almost all of the Resource Packs. Facilitators are reminded to consider each case study carefully before deciding to use it with a group of participants. Choose case studies for their relevance to the issue under consideration. It may be necessary for facilitators to rewrite case studies to suit the particular needs of the participants.
Checklists are used by a group of participants either to remind them of key points about a subject or to rate themselves against a set of criteria. They serve as a useful reference point and a summary of important factors being considered by the group. Most checklists are prepared in advance by the trainer or facilitator.
Discussion exercises form a significant part of the exercises and come in many forms. The value of discussion – between pairs, in small groups, or as part of a plenary discussion – is that it engages the participants in the learning process. By contributing to the discussion, participants are either relating and applying the material to their own situation or questioning and disagreeing with it because they cannot see the connection to their own experience. Either way, discussion forms an important part of testing, refining, and ultimately internalizing the course material by the participants. Discussion may be unstructured or structured.
Speaking to a group as an audience is a long-established method of teaching and demonstrating. It is particularly useful when conveying information or giving an explanation that people need to hear. In working with groups, it has tended to be discarded as an inappropriate method of engaging people and working with them.
The use of questions and answers forms a significant part of the training and learning process within a training course. Apart from the obvious situations in which participants will ask questions of the facilitator and vice versa, there are other ways in which the use of questions and answers can enhance a training course. Questionnaires can provide useful information for use by the group and contribute to a self-assessment exercise for individual members. They can be developed either by the facilitator or by the participants themselves. Questionnaire surveys can be carried out by participants, either with people external to the group or with each other.
Everyone has an inherent ability for visual literacy, and the impact of visual methods on communication and analysis can be profound. They allow literate and illiterate people to participate in the process as equals, facilitating the exploration of complex relationships and generating collective knowledge. In this section, the following list of techniques will be described: diagrams and visualizations, using photos and drawings, and using videos.
This technique offers an enjoyable and creative way of encouraging participants to synthesize their thoughts or develop key messages from a presentation or a previous exercise. It also provides a way of considering the potential for developing this kind of technique for advocacy or promotion work in general.
By inviting participants to reflect on their own experiences in relation to a topic or an issue, the facilitator is encouraging them to develop a greater understanding and/or an empathy for the situation that others may have to deal with. This technique encourages greater insight in deciding how to address the issue at hand.
When it is well run, a role play will have a strong impact, but a poor one is likely to result in criticism and frustration. There is a potential complication in the case of facilitators who may be implementing role plays that they have not developed, and so they must think very carefully about how relevant or effective they will be. This should include careful consideration of any cultural aspects that might affect the running of the role play.
PRACTICAL EXAMPLE OF LEARNING PROCESS FOR SENIORS
Duration
1 h
Aims
- Trainers are delivering educational course on IT to seniors 55+.
- Trainers are capable of implementing all of the desired aims and activities of educational program for seniors in combined Face to face delivery and e-learning implementation.
- Trainers are able to find updates on data, needed for delivering the course: additional research through Internet and/or library.
- Trainers are following the syllabus and are implementing all of the exercises and practices prepared in the work plan.
Contents
- Slow Learning IT Educational program for seniors (Face to face and e-learning), prepared by Slow Learning partnership.
- Piloting the training with seniors in classroom – 10-15 participants.
- Piloting the training via e-learning – 10-15 participants.
- Evaluation after the implementation – focus group with participants of the IT training for validation of activities, their usefulness and suitability for desired target group.
Activity 6.1: Intro on piloting the Slow Learning IT educational program (Face to face and e-learning)
- Purpose of the exercise:
Trainers will conduct IT training for seniors in combined version: via Face to face and e-learning. Program lasts for 30 hours and could include 10-15 participants, seniors (55+).
Mentor of future IT trainers will supervise the implementation in both versions of the program.
Future trainers are prepared to be supervised and the tools for evaluation are developed. Questionnaire for trainers on implementation of IT educational program before and after the pilot will be fulfilled for evaluation and update purpose.
- Duration in minutes: 60 minutes
- Group size: 6 – 8
- Instructions for the trainer:
Pilot will start after the C1 training, and 1 trainer will be selected for implementation. He/she will then be supervised and validated before and after conduction.
- Equipment: classroom, computer
- Tips and tricks for the trainer:
Key Considerations during implementation
- Participation in education course
Closely monitor the attendance and involvement of the participants. Short communication is often sufficient to reinforce the importance of their engagement in the course. This is important because of evaluation of materials and activities, prepared for participants: are they suitable and serving their purpose?
- Evaluating the activities and achievement of objectives
Are you seeing any progress toward achieving the overall training goals that were identified during the first phase — the needs assessment phase — of the planning of systematic training? What comments and other feedback are you getting from the participants that will be useful in ensuring a high-quality training program?
- Changes to the learning activities and materials
Training plans are changed much more frequently than most people realize. Plans can be changed, as long as they’re changed in a systematic approach, for example, if the version of the plan is updated, the impact of the change is considered and the changed plan is distributed to all relevant participants.
TRAINING SESSION MODEL
- An introductory exercise that draws out participants’ own ideas/understanding relating to the topic (e.g., brainstorming, a ranking exercise, and personal experiences).
- A relevant participatory activity (e.g., simulation, case study, role play, discussion topic) for the participants to experience together and that would form the main body of the educational program.
- General reflection and discussion on the exercise (this could be a group-work exercise, discussion in pairs, question and answer).
- Analysis of the basic principles/model/concepts involved or development of a conceptual framework (this might take the form of a short presentation, handouts, overheads, video).
- Experimentation or practice (either during or after the program) of the concepts, skills, and attitudes developed within the educational session.
- Review, feedback, and evaluation.
