social inclusion
Council conclusions on the role of education and training in the implementation of the ‘Europe 2020’ strategy
Education and training have a fundamental role to play in achieving the ‘Europe 2020’ objectives of smart, sustainable and inclusive growth, notably by equipping citizens with the skills and competences which the European economy and European society need in order to remain competitive and innovative, but also by helping to promote social cohesion and inclusion. The key role of education and training should therefore be fully reflected in the Council's work during the new ‘European Semester’ established from the beginning of 2011.
Digital Agenda Assembly: Workshop 20. Digital literacy and e-Inclusion
This workshop aims to create in-depth awareness and provide practical tools for the EU Member States to engage in structured, long term policies for digital literacy acquisition in the e-Inclusion context (Digital Agenda action 66). elearningeuropa.info will participate.
Through a participative workshop in the form of a hands-on training centre, digital literacy courses of various levels (from basic to professional ICT skills), for various target groups and purposes will be available (e.g. employability, re-skilling, social inclusion).
Models of successful and relevant policies and funding mechanisms of all levels will be discussed. A set of stakeholder recommendations as to the remaining challenges to be addressed as priority will be drawn.
This workshop is organized with the Big Idea of Multi-stakeholder platform for digital literacy and e-Inclusion.
Workshop "Digital literacy and e-Inclusion" Agenda
DAY 2, FRIDAY 17.6.2011, 09:30 – 12:30
9:30 - 9:40 Welcome and Introduction:
• Katarzyna Balucka-Debska (European Commission, DG Information Society and Media)
• Alexa Joyce (European Schoolnet, Big Idea leader)
Keynote speaker - Dr Tarek Shawki (UNESCO)
9:40 - 10:40 Addressing the Challenge
Users' perspective
• Telecentres - going from zero to being empowered by ICT literacy / skills, Ian Clifford (Telecentre Europe)
Digital Literacy and skills delivery perspective
• ECDL Foundation, Damien O'Sullivan (CEO of ECDL Foundation)
• European e-Skills Association, Elena Bonfiglioli (Executive Committee Chair of EeSA)
Policy in practice perspective
• Graham Walker and Susan Easton (Raceonline2012, UK)
• Ulla Scherfig Gilberg (Danish ICT and Electronics Federation, Denmark)
10:40-11:00 Coffee Break – Try IT! Hands on trainings and demonstrations
11:00 - 11:50 Discussion - Views from the field
• Chair: Paul Timmers (European Commission, DG Information Society and Media Directorate H Director)
• Introduction by Gabriel Rissola (The Institute for Prospective Technological Studies, European Commission Joint Research Centre)
Panelists
• Member State perspective - Sander Ruiter (Senior policy advisor for the Ministry of Economic Affairs, Agriculture and Innovation, Netherlands),
• EU Life Long Learning policy perspective - Lieve van den Brande (European Commission, DG Education and Culture),
• Stakeholder perspective - Damien O'Sullivan (ECDL Foundation),
• People perspective - Ian Clifford (Telecentre Europe);
11:50 - 12:20 Breakout groups
a) "What kind of support do intermediaries need?" – Alexandra Hache (Independent researcher)
b) "How can the big idea be sustained financially?" – Andrea Parola (European e-Skills Association)
c) "Which tools are available to achieve digital literacy and eInclusion?" – Fiona Fanning (ECDL Foundation)
d) " Digital literacy and SMEs" – Kieran O'Hea (Digitigm)
e) "Role of formal school system in supporting digital literacy" – Alexa Joyce (European Schoolnet)
f) " eInclusion and employability" – Telecentres / IPTS (tbc)
g) " Role of industry: training and eInclusion – Bridget Cosgrave (Digital Europe)
12:20-12:30 Wrap-up
Alexa Joyce (European Schoolnet)
Session organiser: Katarzyna BALUCKA-DEBSKA (European Commission)
FreqOUT
FreqOUT! uses wireless technology to engage socially excluded young people aged from 8 to 25, inspiring them to tell their stories. FreqOUT! aims to increase young people’s opportunities for employment and further education. It does this through technology, working with artists, technologists, businesses and statutory service providers.
FreqOUT! explores the potential of wireless technology to engage socially excluded young people living in areas which fall in the top 20 per cent most deprived neighbourhoods nationally.
Designing the Fair Start Project - a free e-learning and organizational development program for orphanage and foster families
The article describes an online staff training program developed by staffs in orphanages and foster family managers and child development scientists in Europe, resulting in the free 7 language version education program for care givers, www.fairstart.net/training.
The European Get online week 2011
Learning 2.0 for an Inclusive Knowledge Society – Understanding the Picture
Links-up is research project about how ‘Web 2.0’ technologies – e.g. social networking software – are changing the face of education and training for disadvantaged people.
The project puts together a picture of the ‘landscape’ of ‘Learning 2.0 for Inclusion’ by reviewing what has been done in the academic and research field, and reviews what has been done by practitioners working on the ground in projects that have been using Web 2.0 to work with disadvantaged groups.
It uses a series of ‘action research’ experiments, collaborating with ‘host’ projects working in the field, to evaluate the added contribution Web 2.0 can make to practices that use learning to support social inclusion.
First Phase
The project activities are based on an ‘action learning’ approach. Links-up builds on the results of what has been done so far, through a review of the academic and research literature, and a ‘mapping’ of programmes and projects involved in ‘Learning 2.0 for Inclusion’. Read the Literature Review on the topic in our e-library.
Second Phase
We carried out 20 case studies of examples of ‘Learning 2.0 for Inclusion’ initiatives; highlighting success factors and barriers. The learning from these initial research activities will feed into this web-based platform. This resulted in an online ‘Innovation Laboratory’ a range of resources for further research and action research. You can download this publication here or browse among the Cases online.
Third Phase
These resources are now being used in five ‘action research experiments’ with ‘live’ initiatives currently providing support to disadvantaged groups. A set of supporting evaluation and dissemination activities will enable external stakeholders and public to join in the work of the project, by sharing their own experiences; commenting on the work of Links-up and taking part in online discussions:
Contributing on the Links-up website: by registering on the website, you can comment the cases and can add your observations which will then feed into the overall reflections. You may also join us in the discussion via
Facebook; Slideshare; on Youtube; local podcasts;
Research - Action research
Links-Up has recently entered into the core phase of its action-research approach, by implementing on-the-field experiments, aiming analysing the three general Links-Up research questions through five “innovation laboratories”:
- Is learning 2.0 really supporting inclusive life-long learning?
- Can isolated experiments be mainstreamed?
- Is learning 2.0 fundamentally changing the educational landscape?
The laboratories have already started and will end in October-November 2011, though a follow-up will be carried out until the end of the whole project, according to the action-research approach adopted by Links-up.
Action-research focuses on gathering and analysing data to assess the nature and scope of changes brought about by an innovative intervention. The innovative intervention in our case is the use of Web 2.0 to supplement existing learning practices.
We want to deepen our understandings of how social Web is being used to support new forms of learning and new ways of supporting inclusion in real-life situations that reflect particular configurations of technological choices and attributes; learning scenarios, pedagogic models and tools; institutional arrangements; target users and objectives; outcomes.
The evaluation design adopts a multi-methodological approach combining qualitative and quantitative aspects through interviews, questionnaires, observation etc.., in order to examine ‘success’ and ‘failure’ factors and impact on individuals, organisations and communities.
Supporting the online dissemination effort, we also aim to carry out a series of ‘Learning Dialogues’ in which project partners will join with ‘action research’ partners and other groups and individuals working in this field to review and share what is being done and what is being learned: the next Learning Dialogue takes place during the 2011 EDEN Annual Conference in Dublin during the open Links-up Workshop.
En quoi les nouvelles technologies peuvent aider à surmonter des « handicaps invisibles »
L’idée qu’Internet contribuerait à une nouvelle ère de la démocratie participative s’est imposée depuis quelques années, mais le risque est réel de voir cet « outil de démocratie », comme on s’est plu à le qualifier, devenir un facteur de marginalisation sociale pour ceux qui ne sont pas capables de maîtriser les compétences de lecture-écriture. Pour éviter ce risque, les institutions éducatives et sociales doivent tenir compte des problèmes auxquels sont confrontées les personnes handicapées lorsqu’elles utilisent les technologies modernes et leur fournir des outils spécifiques, notamment une formation et des logiciels appropriés.
C’est seulement ainsi que la technologie pourra être considérée, non pas comme LA solution, mais tout au moins comme un moyen de minimiser les conséquences de la dyslexie et de favoriser l’intégration sociale des personnes dyslexiques en les aidant à faire face aux difficultés et aux appréhensions qui sont leur lot quotidien.