Foster, mUltiply and connecT adUlt Edcation - FUTURE is a project for the exchange of good practices that aims to create a favorable environment in the field of adult education, in order to fully embrace digital education. More in details, the project aims to analyze and understand possible future scenarios in the field of adult education related to the use of tools and methodologies supported by digital for educational processes, dynamics within social classes, inclusive learning and teaching methodologies for adults. FUTURE originates from an initiative of the European Digital Learning Network and its members (some of which are part of this consortium) that dates back to the European survey promoted between May and September 2017. The survey "What do you think about the future of digital education and Training in EU?" aimed to understand the point of view of those who work in education and training with a bottom-up approach. The objective was to collect as much data as possible from those who work daily in this area and can suggest improvements and changes accordingly. The survey has allowed to gather a lot of information about Education&Training from a general perspective, involving also a specific focus on adult education. More than 1000 people involved to a certain degree in the world of education has been reached, and a special Pledge by the Digital Skills and Jobs Coalition has guaranteed high levels of visibility and dissemination. More in details, the outputs of FUTURE will be: 1. A collection of case studies related to the most effective methods applied to learning models which adopt ICT tools; 2. A database of free and open source online tools, easily customisable and adaptable to different fields; they will be analyzed and decoded by project partners according to their propensity to adapt to the needs of the educator and the learner; 3. A kit of resources that will gather all the results from the previous points. FUTURE addresses its results to education professionals engaged in adult education, in order to provide practical tools for the improvement of their skills, as foreseen also by the new strategy "Upskilling Pathways: New Opportunities for Adults" (EU 19.12.16 on pathways to improve the level skills: new opportunities for adults). One of the pillars is to support the initial training and continuous professional development of professionals dedicated to the provision of paths to improve the level of skills, in particular teachers and professional trainers. In fact, educators are looked as models in our society, and it is vital for them to be equipped with adequate digital skills to be able to participate actively in the society with the role they play. Project partners have been chosen among the members of the European Digital Learning Network, by means of an internal call. After the publication of the results of the mentioned research (October 2017), and in light of the analysis drawn from the resulting recommendations, the DLEARN’s Scientific Committee has considered important to propose an action addressed to the training of adults. The call included the following requirements: - interest in the topic, - previous experiences - the willingness to exchange with other organizations. Additionally: - the selected partners had to be based in different countries, in order to guarantee an adequate geographical coverage; - the partnership had to guarantee the presence of institutions representing school education, vocational training, higher education and adult education. As a result from the selection performed, 9 out of 10 partners are members of DLEARN (namely those that met the selection criteria) while only P10 FUNTESO is external to the network, as it was involved as technical expert of inclusive and personalised platform.
FUTURE (Foster, mUltiply and connecT adUlt Edcation) is project for the exchange of good practices that aims to create and promote innovation in the adult education sector, with the objective of fully embracing digital education. Specifically, the project focused on the analysis and understanding of future scenarios for the adult education sector, related to the use of digital-supported tools and methodologies for educational dynamics, teaching processes, inclusive learning and teaching methods for adults. The project was born from an initiative of the European Digital Learning Network and its members (some part of this consortium), which dates back to the European survey promoted between May and September 2017. The consultation “What do you think about the future of digital Education and Training in EU? " aimed to understand the perspective of those who work in education and training with a bottom-up approach. The intent was to collect relevant data from professionals in this area, gathering a clear picture of the "As is" situation and suggestions for improvement and changes. The survey (counting 1000 people engaged at various degrees in the world of education and sponsored as a Pledge of the Digital Skills and Jobs Coalition) allowed collecting valuable information about education and training, with a dedicated focus on Adult Education. FUTURE produced the following results: 1. a collection of case studies relating to the most effective methodologies applied to learning through Information and Communication Technologies (ICT); 2. a database of tools available online, free, customizable, open-source and easily adaptable to multiple training subjects, analyzed and decoded by the project partners according to their orientation to be adapted on the needs of trainers and students; 3. An online repository (Future kit) collecting the resources developed in the previous two points. A minimum of two educators from each partner was involved in the pilot test of the results produced, in order to validate the case studies and the tools collected in terms of relevance, effectiveness, degree of customization and accessibility. The selection of educators for the pilot test was carried out by each partner within their own national and educational context, thus ensuring the necessary geographical coverage and the representation of various local and national Adult Education sectors. In addition, the feedback collected from the direct target group of the project made it possible to verify the potential impact of the resources obtained among professionals in the sector, thus using the responses collected to refine the results according to a co-creation process. The rproject results have been mainly aimed at adult education educators, providing them with practical tools for improving their skills, in consistency with the strategy "Upskilling Pathways: New Opportunities for Adults" (EU 19.12.16 on improvement paths for skill level: new opportunities for adults). In accordance with its pillars, FUTURE's activities have supported initial training and continuing professional development of dedicated staff for the delivery of skills level improvement paths, in particular teachers and professional trainers. FUTURE has shown a significant potential for transferring and disseminating its results on various sectors of education, thanks in particular to the implicit transversal nature of digital skills and the participatory methodology used for the development of project results. In fact, the concept of digital education does not relate exclusively to the field of adult education, but it embraces instead the whole education sector, according to a horizontal approach of mutual contamination and interdisciplinarity. Based on this principle, the products of the project have been designed in order to facilitate an application as flexible as possible, using a simple and never excessively technical language in order to be accessible to a wide audience.