Matchmaking between digital competences gap of adult educators and e-learning offer Erasmus Project

Project Title

Matchmaking between digital competences gap of adult educators and e-learning offer

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 2020

Project Topics

This project is related with these Project Topics: ICT – new technologies – digital competences; Open and distance learning; Overcoming skills mismatches (basic/transversal)

Project Summary

Building competences of adult educators has gained a lot of attention in the last years, due to the massive increase of adult education across Europe. Adult education is tackling Europe’s most pressing challenges, such as the inclusion of migrants and refugees, automation and digitalisation, the inclusion of socially isolated persons (EAEA, 2018). In a fast-changing world, where digital technologies are becoming an important driver for the disruption of education, the need for capacity building of adult educators in digital skills become apparent.
The relevance and the quality of the training offer for adult learners is a concern in many EU Member States, especially in Southern and Eastern Europe. The massive increase of online courses of different forms has made it hard for the potential learners to select the most appropriate course that will support them develop the competences they need and progress in their learning paths.

In this context, SkillsMatch comes to support adult educators develop digital skills and support course providers to develop new e-learning courses covering the demand for skills.

The specific objectives of the project are:
• To increase the demand for e-learning courses, certificates and qualifications in the field of digital skills for adult educators
• To improve the relevance and quality of e-learning courses on digital skills
• To develop a matching tool for selecting the most appropriate e-learning course, based on identified competence gaps
• To provide feedback on course providers on competence gaps and learning needs of adult educators.
• To provide e-learning providers with a guide on how to understand the market demands and develop more targeted courses
• To provide adult educators with short e learning modules regarding soft skills

SkillsMatch addresses two main target groups:
• Adult educators looking to increase their digital competences and skills with e-learning courses.
• Designers of e-learning courses for Adult educators

The project will produce three core intellectual outputs that are:
O1: Online/mobile matching tool. The online/mobile matching tool will match the identified digital competences gaps with the e-learning offer. It will be based on a smart search engine that will search over the internet, offered courses and will analyse information or metadata from the websites.
O2 : Guide for course providers
The guide will help the e-learning course providers to understand the specific needs of the target group and to develop courses more adherent to the needs of the adult educators.
O3: Learning Nuggets, micro e-learning units regarding the soft skills identified by the European Framework for Digital Competencies of Adult Educators (DigiComEdu). The short modules will help adult learners to understand and to develop the soft skills addressed by the courses.
These outputs will be accompanied by 6 Multiplier events at the end of the project, as well as awareness raising events during the project lifetime.

The project activities and output will result in:
1) Awareness raising on the importance of digital skills development. Through events that will be organised by project partners, as well as with the dissemination strategy that will be followed, adult educators will be engaged and informed about the different levels of digital competences, according to the DigCompEdu, and how they can progress from one level to another, will be introduced to multiple courses offered in different languages and from providers all over the world, which will help them discover cultural and cross-country differences in offered courses.
2) Increase in the demand for e-learning courses that address adult educators. By identifying their digital competence gaps, adult educators will want to find an e-learning course that best fits their learning needs and awards the required qualifications and certificates.
3) Professional development of adult educators. The matching of learning needs, digital competences gaps and courses provided, will contribute to the professional development of adult educators and the enhancement of Life Long Learning. Through the experimentation phase of the project, a total of 90 adult educators will have the opportunity to test the results of the project, before the final launch of the online/mobile application. These adult educators will be prompt to follow one of the e-learning courses proposed by the matching tool.
4) Improvement of relevance and quality of e-learning courses provided. By linking the results of the self-assessment tools that will be filled online by adult educators, e-course providers will have access to statistical data regarding digital skills gaps, grouped by country. This will lead to the improvement of quality and relevance of courses offered since course providers will have the opportunity to adjust their courses according to actual needs.

EU Grant (Eur)

Funding of the project from EU: 298409 Eur

Project Coordinator

MIDDLESEX UNIVERSITY HIGHER EDUCATION CORPORATION & Country: UK

Project Partners

• P & W PROJECT GMBH
• A & A Emphasys Interactive Solutions Ltd
• Pontydysgu SL
• AINTEK SYMVOULOI EPICHEIRISEON EFARMOGES YPSILIS TECHNOLOGIAS EKPAIDEFSI ANONYMI ETAIREIA
• EUROCREA MERCHANT SRL
• Oracle TES Ltd