SUPERLITERATE – Creating an Online Alphabetization Platform for Illiterate Older People Erasmus Project

Project Title

SUPERLITERATE – Creating an Online Alphabetization Platform for Illiterate Older People

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 2019

Project Topics

This project is related with these Project Topics: New innovative curricula/educational methods/development of training courses; Key Competences (incl. mathematics and literacy) – basic skills; Open and distance learning

Project Summary

Illiteracy in Europe is even today widely spread – the European PIAAC study showed that 15 percent of European citizens between 16 and 65 years had problems with reading and writing in 2013. However, for illiterate people this topic usually is a taboo.

Illiterate adults often hide their incapability of reading and writing because they are ashamed and want to keep it a secret. Either they find excuses for not having to read or they pretend to have vision problems. Based on such attitudes it is very difficult to offer suitable courses to them. Often they know the alphabet and how to read and write single words, but their problems start once they have to write or read complete sentences.

However, many of these illiterate adults would like to do something about it but they don’t have access to proper educational materials, they don’t know how to improve their situation. Normally books will not help them as they cannot read. Literacy organisations try to address them actively but it is not an easy task to get to them.

This project will realise the SUPERLITERATE platform, an online alphabetization courses website focusing on older learners (age group 50+) fully based on modern speech technology. A learner – completely incapable of reading and writing – will receive detailed audio instructions about how to choose a course, enroll in it and then attend regular alphabetization learning sessions – which are also fully audio-explained. The platform and its course programme will be realised in English, Portuguese, German, Romanian, Slovenian and Estonian. The course programme will be created by sharing expertise and know-how of the partner organisations.

By carrying out this project at a European scale – starting with five countries – we can incorporate expertise and knowledge about literacy from different countries and alphabetization cultures. After the end of the project period we want to spread the new SUPERLITERATE platform to more European countries and have it translated to more European languages. This will be explained further on in our Sustainability Concept.

EU Grant (Eur)

Funding of the project from EU: 14135 Eur

Project Coordinator

Europäische Liga für Software Entwicklung & Country: AT

Project Partners

• UNIVERSIDADE DO MINHO
• Bralno drustvo Slovenije
• Estonian Reading Association
• Asociatia Lectura si Scrierea pentru Dezvoltarea Gandirii Critice Romania