NEEDS Currently, social groups of seniors use mobile phones and computers with Internet access more and more freely. It is increasingly common for seniors to fall prey to fraudsters as a result of reckless "network use". Cybercriminals are using increasingly sophisticated methods to "steal" personal or other sensitive data. Universities of the Third Age provide an excellent opportunity for improving this situation. However, they are generally urban-based and have limited resources, so not everyone can take advantage of their educational programmes. We don’t know the extent of neglect in this field, but by reviewing the education programmes of U3As and the description of their courses, one can conclude that the problem of cybersecurity and critical thinking is either treated marginally or completely ignored. Of course, we don’t know about specific cases, but one can suppose that concentration on basic computer skills (which is a fundamental part of such courses) is not conducive to introducing any additional content. Project objectives: Cybersecurity starts with critical thinking, thus the aim of the “crITic - Critical Internet usage” project to strengthen the self-confidence of Internet users and influence their awareness of the risks they may encounter. The innovative element of the project will be the use of "creativity/memory training" elements in the toolkit, which will have a positive impact on learning and assimilation of information by potential participants. It will also be diversified by the scenarios included in the toolkit which make the training more interactive. The participants will be able to memorise the content of the training more intuitively through the exercise elements using creative methods. The project will result in the creation of a user-friendly toolkit directed at practitioners, educators, trainers, local community leaders and authorities. On the basis of the created a toolkit will be conducted trainings among the local community. They will be conducted with the support of people who will be trained at a joint-staff training in Poland while sharing ideas and presenting their part of the toolkit. The toolkit will include activities aimed at implementing broadly understood critical thinking in the area of internet navigation. The group of participants in the international training will consist of a trainer, educator and project manager who will create a team to disseminate the content of the training. At the same time, based on the toolkit created among elderly adults with whom they work and which will be adequate to their needs. Through a 3-days training, the participants will acquire competencies that will complement their existing knowledge with educational values that will have an awareness effect on a group of adults when navigating the Internet using the concept of critical thinking. During this international training, experiences will be exchanged between trainers who work with diverse groups of seniors.
Cyber security starts with critical thinking. Therefore, the aim of the project 'crITic - Critical Internet usage' was to strengthen the self-confidence of Internet users and influence their awareness of the risks they may face. An innovative element of the project was the use of 'creativity/memory training' elements in the toolkit, which has a positive impact on the learning and absorption of information by potential participants. Participants are able to remember the content of the training more intuitively through exercise elements using creative methods. The project resulted in a user-friendly toolkit aimed at practitioners, educators, trainers, community leaders etc. In addition, our aim was to: - to improve and develop the media literacy skills of educators in various partner organisations in the field of senior education. - the creation of an open and free international website to share project products - the long-term sustainability of the project and further cooperation with interested partners and organisations.
Nowadays, senior citizens' social groups are using mobile phones and computers with Internet access more and more freely. It is becoming increasingly common for seniors to fall prey to fraudsters as a result of their careless "online use". Cybercriminals are using increasingly sophisticated methods to 'steal' personal or other sensitive data. By reviewing the educational programmes of UTW or other local organisations working for seniors and the description of their courses, the project partners concluded that the issue of cyber security and critical thinking is treated marginally or completely ignored. The focus on basic computer skills (which is the basis of such courses) is not conducive to introducing any additional content. On the other hand, staff from the consortium organisations noted that they and educators from other organisations lacked specific tools for developing critical thinking in older people. In response to the diagnosed needs, the partners decided to apply for this project.