The EU 2020 Strategy for smart, sustainable and inclusive growth acknowledges LLL and skills development as key elements in response to the current economic crisis, demographic ageing and the broader economic and social strategy. The economic crisis has highlighted the major role which Youth Work and Adult Learning (AL) can play in achieving the EU 2020 targets by enabling Young People and Adults to improve their ability to adapt to changes in the labor market, family and society. EU Agenda 2020 has highlighted the need "[...] to expand career and life-enhancing learning opportunities for young people with fewer opportunities and/or at risk of social exclusion. In particular, these Young People should benefit from the expansion of opportunities for Non-Formal and Informal Learning and from strengthened provisions for the recognition and validation of such learning within national qualifications frameworks." Our world is changing, and we need to adapt to new realities of knowledge, society and education. Technology has fundamentally changed our idea of community and the ways in which we interact with each other so that building individual networks for learning and support is more important than ever before. In the above context the project LEARNING ROUTES aims to create an on-line tool in the form of an interactive and dynamic portal backed up by a MOBILE APP which will map out learning opportunities provided in Formal, Non-Formal and Informal Learning for Young People. The LEARNING ROUTES of a city or region will be presented in an interactive map for easy access by Young People while providing the opportunity to people with fewer opportunities or marginalized to identify learning opportunities anywhere they are in an easy and intuitive way. The above aims will be achieved through: • The creation of LEARNING MAPS ACROSS BORDERS which will be created to MAP and CONNECT spaces (Providers, Centres and Institutions etc.) of Formal, Non-Formal and Informal Learning, which will enable Young People to better “navigate” through the learning opportunities, based on their needs, interests and passions across the wide spectrum of learning. • The design and development of the ONLINE PORTAL and a MOBILE APP adapted to the needs of partners’ represented territories and easily scalable across Europe in the future. • The initiation of SYNERGIES, NETWORKS AND PARTNERSHIPS between local, regional and national communities and providers while creating on-line LEARNING SUITES (playlists) - a youth friendly way to present and deliver diverse learning content online and offline with integrated recognition through Open Badges. • The creation of a TOOL KIT which will support Youth Organisations, Authorities and Associations in a city or region to create their own LEARNING ROUTES and LEARNING SUITES anywhere in Europe. • To engage Young People in identifying learning opportunities and shaping the understanding of learning according to their needs, interests and passions.
"Education is not merely a way of integrating more learners into mainstream education, but rather an approach that can transform education systems in order to meet the needs and diversity of learners. Inclusive education is necessary to provide an appropriate response to all the needs a diverse group of learners might have in both formal and non-formal educational settings", (UNESCO Institute of Lifelong Learning, 2016). Connected Learning as a project echoes the efforts of UNESCO in education by developing an education offering across borders regardless of geography and time to ALL learners especially supporting the skills needs which can be provided by Non-Formal Learning providers and environments. Through Connected Learning we created a learning environment and platform which we also tested and trialled with Young People and Youth Workers where providers and learnings alike could meet in an one place and learners could identify opportunities for learning, both online and offline, whilst providing the opportunity to create learning maps across cities, regions, countries and the EU. This project also delivered a mobile application to allow learners and providers to interact regardless of digital platform so that the end goal was to deliver learning across Europe. Indeed, the project also developed a TOOLKIT to be used by others to engage with the Connected Learning platform so that learning in the new age becomes more about what skills and knowledge is needed and less about what is available in a convenient geographic location. The projects overall sought to create an interactive online platform and an equivalent mobile application, featuring an interactive map that allows young people to easily find and filter courses or training workshops that they are interested in and need, which therefore supports the EU 2020 Agenda aim “to expand career and life enhancing learning opportunities for young people with fewer opportunities and/or at risk of social exclusion” and therefore allow young people to benefit from the expansion of opportunities for Non-Formal Learning (NFL) and from strengthened provisions for recognition and validation through Open Badges. The project successfully tested CONNECTED LEARNING ROUTES where map and connecting spaces were the founding principles. The connected spaces included providers, centres and institutions of FL and NFL, thus enabling young people to better navigate through learning opportunities, based on their needs and interests. To this end the project pilot-tested a specific Learning Route which focused on the acquisition, assessment and validation of competencies through the development and delivery of 6 learning modules. This included mapping the learning opportunities and the creation and provision of local, regional, national and EU, offline and online, opportunities and validation through the Open Badges. The platform and mobile app have allowed the project and young people engaging with Connected Learning to see the value and opportunity of such a connected learning space/offering. Indeed the project has created a sustainable solution for recognition and validation of learning opportunities for young people across Europe through the promotion of open and innovative practices in education and training. Outputs including the free interactive Web Portal and Mobile App with function to map and search learning spaces in Europe amongst other things and the TOOLKIT to support regions, cities or organisations to create Learning Routes anywhere in the EU adapted to their needs are significant interventions and developments to help future proof learning and skills development across Europe. Specifically, the project has achieved 5 Intellectual Outputs namely: IO1 - THE CONNECTED ROUTES FOR FORMAL AND NON-FORMAL LEARNING: METHODOLOGY, MAPPING AND CREATION OF THE NATIONAL AND EU INDEX which delivered methodology for mapping, filtering, sorting and categorising the learning provision of young people along with comparative country reports on Non-Formal Learning and understanding learning routes and suites. IO2 - THE CONNECTED LEARNING@YW WEB PORTAL AND MOBILE APP which resulted based on the best practice identified through the project research. IO3 - THE DIGITAL LEARNING ROUTE- SUITE: DIGITAL COMPETENCE FRAMEWORK, TEACHING AND LEARNING MATERIAL, ASSESSMENT AND VALIDATION THROUGH THE OPEN BADGES which resulted in developing teaching materials and e-learning modules. IO4 - THE CONNECTED LEARNING@YW TOOLKIT: AN A TO Z GUIDE TO MAPPING LEARNING ROUTES ACROSS EUROPE which delivered a ToolKit to allow replication at city, region, country and EU wide. IO5 - CONNECTED LEARNING@YW UPSCALING - POLICY RECOMMENDATION STRATEGY PACK: FROM THE LOCAL TO THE NATIONAL AND EU LEVEL which developed an exploitation strategy to ensure sustainability of the Connected Learning@YW products and create awareness and interest in the need for education regardless of time, geography or provider including delivering 6 multiplier events throughout Europe. This project set out with aspirational desires to deliver learning regardless of time, place or space with the opportunity to map learning across cities, regions, countries and the wider EU. The successful achievement of the project and the unanimous positive feedback on the platform and widespread recommendation of its use is further testament to the success of the Connected Learning@YW project and its impact.