Promoting Quality Digital Youth Work through the creation/mapping of Connected Learning Routes in Europe: An innovative way to reach out to marginalised Young People (CONNECTEDLEARNING@YW) Erasmus Project

Project Title

Promoting Quality Digital Youth Work through the creation/mapping of Connected Learning Routes in Europe: An innovative way to reach out to marginalised Young People (CONNECTEDLEARNING@YW)

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 youth

Project Call Year

This project’s Call Year is 2018

Project Topics

This project is related with these Project Topics: Youth (Participation, Youth Work, Youth Policy) ; Inclusion – equity; ICT – new technologies – digital competences

Project Summary

“Education is not merely a way of integrating more learners into mainstream education, but rather an approach that can transform education systems in order to meet the needs and diversity of learners. Inclusive education is necessary to provide an appropriate response to all the needs a diverse group of learners might have in both formal and non-formal educational settings”, (UNESCO Institute of Lifelong Learning, 2016). Connected Learning as a project echoes the efforts of UNESCO in education by developing an education offering across borders regardless of geography and time to ALL learners especially supporting the skills needs which can be provided by Non-Formal Learning providers and environments. Through Connected Learning we created a learning environment and platform which we also tested and trialled with Young People and Youth Workers where providers and learnings alike could meet in an one place and learners could identify opportunities for learning, both online and offline, whilst providing the opportunity to create learning maps across cities, regions, countries and the EU. This project also delivered a mobile application to allow learners and providers to interact regardless of digital platform so that the end goal was to deliver learning across Europe. Indeed, the project also developed a TOOLKIT to be used by others to engage with the Connected Learning platform so that learning in the new age becomes more about what skills and knowledge is needed and less about what is available in a convenient geographic location. The projects overall sought to create an interactive online platform and an equivalent mobile application, featuring an interactive map that allows young people to easily find and filter courses or training workshops that they are interested in and need, which therefore supports the EU 2020 Agenda aim “to expand career and life enhancing learning opportunities for young people with fewer opportunities and/or at risk of social exclusion” and therefore allow young people to benefit from the expansion of opportunities for Non-Formal Learning (NFL) and from strengthened provisions for recognition and validation through Open Badges.

The project successfully tested CONNECTED LEARNING ROUTES where map and connecting spaces were the founding principles. The connected spaces included providers, centres and institutions of FL and NFL, thus enabling young people to better navigate through learning opportunities, based on their needs and interests. To this end the project pilot-tested a specific Learning Route which focused on the acquisition, assessment and validation of competencies through the development and delivery of 6 learning modules. This included mapping the learning opportunities and the creation and provision of local, regional, national and EU, offline and online, opportunities and validation through the Open Badges. The platform and mobile app have allowed the project and young people engaging with Connected Learning to see the value and opportunity of such a connected learning space/offering. Indeed the project has created a sustainable solution for recognition and validation of learning opportunities for young people across Europe through the promotion of open and innovative practices in education and training. Outputs including the free interactive Web Portal and Mobile App with function to map and search learning spaces in Europe amongst other things and the TOOLKIT to support regions, cities or organisations to create Learning Routes anywhere in the EU adapted to their needs are significant interventions and developments to help future proof learning and skills development across Europe.

Specifically, the project has achieved 5 Intellectual Outputs namely:
IO1 – THE CONNECTED ROUTES FOR FORMAL AND NON-FORMAL LEARNING: METHODOLOGY, MAPPING AND CREATION OF THE NATIONAL AND EU INDEX which delivered methodology for mapping, filtering, sorting and categorising the learning provision of young people along with comparative country reports on Non-Formal Learning and understanding learning routes and suites.
IO2 – THE CONNECTED LEARNING@YW WEB PORTAL AND MOBILE APP which resulted based on the best practice identified through the project research.
IO3 – THE DIGITAL LEARNING ROUTE- SUITE: DIGITAL COMPETENCE FRAMEWORK, TEACHING AND LEARNING MATERIAL, ASSESSMENT AND VALIDATION THROUGH THE OPEN BADGES which resulted in developing teaching materials and e-learning modules.
IO4 – THE CONNECTED LEARNING@YW TOOLKIT: AN A TO Z GUIDE TO MAPPING LEARNING ROUTES ACROSS EUROPE which delivered a ToolKit to allow replication at city, region, country and EU wide.
IO5 – CONNECTED LEARNING@YW UPSCALING – POLICY RECOMMENDATION STRATEGY PACK: FROM THE LOCAL TO THE NATIONAL AND EU LEVEL which developed an exploitation strategy to ensure sustainability of the Connected Learning@YW products and create awareness and interest in the need for education regardless of time, geography or provider including delivering 6 multiplier events throughout Europe.

This project set out with aspirational desires to deliver learning regardless of time, place or space with the opportunity to map learning across cities, regions, countries and the wider EU. The successful achievement of the project and the unanimous positive feedback on the platform and widespread recommendation of its use is further testament to the success of the Connected Learning@YW project and its impact.

Project Website

http://connected-youth.eu

EU Grant (Eur)

Funding of the project from EU: 324999,5 Eur

Project Coordinator

UNIVERSITY OF ULSTER & Country: UK

Project Partners

• European Digital Learning Network
• Vudutek OOD
• A & A Emphasys Interactive Solutions Ltd
• Association Euni Partners
• CULTURE GOES EUROPE (CGE)- SOZIOKULTURELLE INITIATIVE ERFURT EV
• HÄLSINGLANDS UTBILDNINGSFÖRBUND