Count me in: Improving civic competences of adult learners through digital tools Erasmus Project

Project Title

Count me in: Improving civic competences of adult learners through digital tools

Project Key Action

This project related with these key action: Cooperation for innovation and the exchange of good practices

Project Action Type

This project related with this action type : Strategic Partnerships for adult education

Project Call Year

This project’s Call Year is 2017

Project Topics

This project is related with these Project Topics: New innovative curricula/educational methods/development of training courses; Inclusion – equity; ICT – new technologies – digital competences

Project Summary

In the post-COVID-10 era, Europe has to keep up with innovative ideas to ensure a sustainable and inclusive recovery. “If we choose to hold on to the innovator’s path…we have to focus on people, places and processes.” (European Political Strategy Centre Strategic Notes, 2017)
In the last months, we witnessed the creation of a stronger sense of community and people supporting each other and their communities. Amid the COVID-19 crisis, supporting communities and people and promoting their development is essential. The partners of the Count Me In project focused on improving learning opportunities for low-skilled adults, especially from the disadvantaged groups, such as unemployed young people and adults with special needs to improve their life chances, promote their inclusion, and connect members of a community to support it flourishing.
The main objectives of the project were to: 1) support development of a quality learning offer in the field of adult education focusing on learning outcomes and learner responsibility and autonomy; 2) promote the use of technology in educational and civil participation processes, 3) provide all interested stakeholders – adult learners, educational centres, civil organisations, decision-makers – with an access to open and innovative teaching/learning tools through the SMART platform; 4) foster the international cooperation of organisations active in adult education and civil participation focusing on active inclusion of the youth and people with special needs.
Employing technology maximizes teaching /learning efficiency, encourage active participation of the disadvantaged groups in society processes and, consequently, make them able to better their environment – on personal and community level – transforming it into smart.
Even basic digital competences combined with imagination empower ordinary people to design solutions for problems in their environment, making it smarter, conserving resources, and optimizing free time. The project partners sought to raise curiosity of adult learners about the world; help them to understand that they are a main chain in the change process; plant the seeds of the knowledge sharing best practices and working out new creative solutions.
Within the project, the partnership 1) designed a SMART platform, an open education resource; 2) designed and deployed a training for trainers and an e-course for adult educators in order to improve their digital and professional competences; 3) designed an e-course for adult learners and organise piloting in partner countries targeting young people and people with special needs in order to improve their digital skills and civic literacy to be able to make “smart” changes; 4) improved attractiveness and access of the disadvantaged groups to new career paths in the field of digital technologies and sustainable community development
The strategical partnership pursued the creation of an international network where the partners were able to share information on Smart practices on personal/community levels to find cost-saving tech-solutions. The project was carried out transnationally in order to acquire already contrasted knowledge and, thus, to be able to adapt and apply this synthesized knowledge for future actions on personal/community levels. The developed transversal and longitudinal courses created synergies between knowledge fields.
The results of the project are available on the website www.countmein.eu. The developed SMART platform provides an open access to teaching and learning materials for both adult learners and adult educators or volunteers working in this field. All the teaching and learning materials were developed in English and partner languages and are freely accessible for anybody interested in the topic.

EU Grant (Eur)

Funding of the project from EU: 212710 Eur

Project Coordinator

Associacio Programes Educatius Open Europe & Country: ES

Project Partners

• Szczecinska Szkola Wyzsza Collegium Balticum
• European Digital Learning Network
• Kolegji ILIRIA
• Agencija za ruralni razvoj Zadarske zupanije
• ISTITUTO DEI SORDI DI TORINO
• NODIBINAJUMS INVALIDU UN VINU DRAUGU APVIENIBA APEIRONS
• DOMSPAIN SLU