The core idea of YOWOMO2.0-Train is to get youth work in shape for the 21st century. Main target group are both youth workers and their trainers. Education and training for both will be developed to acquire competence and make use of up to date digital technology. This will enable professional youth work to become a player in the digitalisation of Europe increasing digital inclusion, community cohesion, digital citizenship, youth participation, while decreasing informational poverty among young people.YOWOMO2.0-Train builds on the results of the European research projects “EU Kids Online” and “Net Children Go Mobile”. Their results indicate that both the training of youth workers and their professional practice are challenged by the growing significance of smartphones and social media in young people’s lives. Internet use is increasingly mobile with more children accessing the internet in the privacy of their bedroom and when out and about. Although children do more online, most do still not climb far up “the ladder of opportunities”. The knowledge, skills and attitudes needed for professional youth work facing these challenges are described in the Youth Work Mobile 2.0 (YOWOMO2.0) competence framework, which is the outcome of a former European partnership. Building on this framework YOWOMO2.0-Train will now be the first project to be sustainable and to implement the YOWOMO2.0-competences for youth work in the age of smartphones and social media in youth work education and training. Representing the diversity of both practice and training of youth workers in Europe this will be done by applying the competence framework suitable in Higher Education, in Vocational Education and Training, and in Continuing Vocational Education and Training in various European contexts. Due to the diversity the recognition and accreditation of education and training will refer to established systems such ECTS and ECVET, but also will refer to link to non-formal/informal tools such as for example “The Council of Europe Youth Work Portfolio".YOWOMO2.0-Train is partly building on the results of the former YOWOMO2.0 partnership there are partners from the former YOWOMO2.0 involved. However, also new partners are included to allow for new insights and diversity related to culture, social system and level of digitalisation.YOWOMO2.0-Train will develop and pilot three outputs:(1) A course for youth work in the age of smartphones and social media. This course will enable youth work trainees and professionals to acquire the competences for youth work in the age of smartphones and social media. Due to the diversity of both youth work practice and youth work education and training across Europe the instructional design of this course will reflect the contexts of the participating partners. This will be achieved by developing adaptations for on the one hand (1) trainees and students Higher Education, Vocational Education and Training), and on the other hand professionals after entry into working life (Continuing Vocational Education and Training) as (2) in-house training and (3) external course.(2) A preparatory course for trainers, educators, and lecturers to hold the courses for youth work in the age of smartphones and social media(3) An online learning platform and repository. The YOWOMO2.0-Train online platform will offer these courses in form of MOOCs and will serve as a repository of open educational resources for education and training.More than 4000 persons will benefit from the project being involved in stakeholder interviews, focus groups, pilots, multiplier events, or as users of the online platform. The project will impact local, regional, national and international stakeholders in seven countries (Germany, UK, Turkey, Romania, Poland, Italy, The Netherlands) stimulating improvements in youth work practice and in the education and training of youth workers by offering up-to-date education and training on different qualification levels (HE, VET, CVET).
The digital world is increasingly the natural habitat of children, adolescents and young adults. This challenges professional pedagogical work to address the associated opportunities and risks in a professional manner. The YOWOMO2.0-Train partnership - a European consortium of nine organisations from the fields of youth work, vocational education and training and research and development - has developed training courses for both youth work professionals and their trainers in order to acquire the necessary competences for youth work in the ager of smartphones and social media. These trainings are developed in a version for classroom teaching (e.g. continuing education courses, in-house trainings) and for online learning (Massive Open Online Courses). To develop these training courses, the consortium (1) carried out field analyses in the form of stakeholder interviews and focus groups, (2) analysed and integrated existing competence descriptions (YOWOMO2.0; Developing Digital Youth Work), (3) developed extensive material for the practical implementation of training for both professionals and their trainers (curricula, module descriptions, lesson plans, assignments, assessments), (4) tested the developed material in pilot trainings, and (5) presented the results for discussion in various regional, national, European and international meetings. This showed that the results of the partnership were both practically feasible and linked to the expert discussion on digital youth work. All trainings are based on the following four interlocking didactic approaches: (1) Situated learning, (2) Problem-oriented learning, (3) Self-directed learning, and (4) Discovery Learning. The offline version of the training for professionlas consists of seven modules: (1) Digital relationship, (2) Online attitude, (3) Ethics and practice, (4) Legal framework, (5) Social Media and Public Relations, (6) Professional network, and (7) Qualitymanagement. The training for future trainers consists of two parts: (1) a one-day kick-off training to introduce the trainees to the training of skilled workers and (2) flexible informal support for trainees during the implementation of the first training course for professionals (including final assessment). Both the materials for the training of professionals and the trainer training are freely available in the seven languages of the partnership (English, Dutch, German, Polish, Romanian, Italian, Turkish) on the Internet at the address https://yowomo.eu The English language online courses for both professionals and trainers are implemented on the Online Learning Platform Eliademy (https://eliademy.com). The MOOC for professionals comprises modules which are based on the contents of the offline training, but which focus more clearly on the contents of the modules which have proven to be of particular practical relevance for professionals. Therefore, the MOOC comprises the following three modules: (1) Digital relationship (To whom you are talking to - Identifying your target group; Good rapport - How to build professional relationship online; Media richness -The ladder of opportunities), (2) Online attitude (Online identity; Online influence and manipulation - Dysfunctional behaviours; The new normal; Are you also a professional when you are online?), (3) Ethics and practice (Moral compass - Ethics in your work; New acting - protocol). The MOOC for trainers includes modules based on the content of the offline training. Instead of flexible informal support, however, it offers information on the further development of one's own trainer skills. The MOOC comprises the following modules: (1) Introduction to the YOWOMO project and training, (2) Didactical approaches, (3) Training material, (4) Tips and tricks, and (5) How to become a better YOWOMO trainer. Both MOOCs are freely accessible.