Improving Adult Educators Skills for Online Facilitation

"<< Background >>Online education has been growing and evolving for some time and the pandemic crisis has accelerated this change. Trainers/educators working for partner organizations feel overwhelmed and ill-equipped to plan and create effective, high-quality online course content that maximizes learner engagement. The project responds to the needs of partner organizations to explore what are the key technological developments that adult education organizations should be aware of and how these developments will affect adults and their future. Through a discussion among partners, we discovered that the implementation of digital education practices is in the hands of a few individuals, and that the full potential of technology is not yet widely harnessed in organizations working locally with adults.In the digital era, possessing a comprehensive grasp of media, educational technologies, and utilizing them effectively is vital for ensuring successful teaching. The project was also created to inspire the creation of new local and international projects dedicated to the development of adult education practices that integrate digitization.<< Objectives >>The main objective of the project was to improve the educational activities offered to adults by the partner organizations by developing their digital education practices/methodologies and staff competencies. The specific objectives were 1. To develop the competencies of the partner organizations' adult educators to plan, design and deliver online education 2. To explore what are the challenges of inclusion in a digital education world by addressing the issues of education for vulnerable groups 3. To bring together experienced adult educators to explore educational digitization strategies to overcome the crisis caused by Covid19 4. To enable participants to discover the concepts of instructional design, universal design for learning and facilitation of synchronous online events 5. To create an e-toolkit with practical tips for transitioning to digital education with innovative methods of digital adult education 6. To equip participating organizations with tools to implement a strategic development plan for digital adult education that fosters the acquisition of new digital education methodologies.<< Implementation >>During the project, three activities were organized in the three countries of the consortium members. The first activity ""Digital Media, New Tools and Technology"" took place in Braga, Portugal. On this occasion, the partners had the opportunity to conduct a 5-day training course that examined digital media and how they could be used to enhance the teaching and learning process. The second activity ""Facilitating Learning Online"" was held in Granada, Spain. During this meeting, training was provided to learn how to use a combination of methods, with a focus on participatory activities and self-directed learning. In addition, the partners focused on the development of the e-toolkit and became familiar with several new digital tools, such as Doodly, Jamboard and Storyboard That. The last activity ""Online Teaching for Adult Educators"" took place in Gulbene, Latvia. During this training course for adult educators/trainers from each of the participating organizations, participants were taught to have a deeper understanding of the key technical and human considerations involved in creating online courses.<< Results >>The concrete outcome envisaged during the drafting of the project was the creation of an e-toolkit related to the transition to digital education for the adult organization. Furthermore, it was established that this tool would be translated into all languages of the consortium and that it would include 9 innovative participatory methods of adult education. The main expected outcomes were that participating organizations and their adult educators would be able to identify, evaluate and implement learning management tools and systems; Determine key development considerations and formulate a strategic plan to launch an online course or program; Evaluate and adopt educational technologies, apply instructional design principles and methodology; Create engaging content and an effective course experience that aligns with online course development best practices; Explore how to foster favorable and enriching virtual teaching and learning environments; Learn how to teach effectively in online and blended formats to achieve stated learning objectives; Use inclusive or universal design media in the context of designing an online course."