O3 The Digital Skills for Culture Online Course (DSC)
The training program Digital Skills for Culture will be developed as an online course with integrated MOOC and OER tools, resources and solutions, translated into all partners’ languages, and designed specially for low digital skills adults. This Output will be based on the results from O1, implemented in the VLH from O2. It will be delivering the knowledge to integrate the credentials from O4 and it will it interdependent with the pilot on O5. It will be validated by the evaluation of O6. This the core output of this project.
Digital Skills for Culture Course is designed based on Conole’s 7Cs Framework of Learning Design, using innovative methods such as the MOOC Design Canvas (Alario-Hoyos, 2014), “Learning through Design” (Bartoletti, 2016). Principles will included “sMOOC Step by Step”, but will also take into consideration quality standards (Quality Assurance Subjects Benchmark Statements and the framework of European Cooperation on Adult Learning Policy and the Quality Assurance in Non- Formal Adult Education (Epale report, 2016) and national regulations regarding adult education) – as a free Massive Open Online Course – MOOC based on Open Educational Resources (OER).
The course will promote an innovative approach that will include several methods of learning design, familiar to the university partners who all have experience in online course design, in MOOCs development and in providing support in blended-learning. We expect that this course will have an impact at different levels on the learners – as well as improving their digital skills, it will introduce adult learners to self-regulated learning by rethinking the assessment process. By scaffolding their further development, it will also increase the success rate for cultural actors from vulnerable socio-economic classes (who can have better access to know-how).
The design team composed of project partners will encourage the exploration of various teaching and learning models, and leverage digital tools to create an adapted and personalised learning experience for adults, supporting networked learning and reflection.
The new principles, which will be implemented in ICT courses designed for continuing education will include: new course materials using simple terminology, multimedia examples, interactive online activities, real-life problem-based exercises, building e-portfolios, e-assessment and peer-to-peer assessment, reflection in blogs, but will also be using existing OERs and examples provided by the cultural institutions partners or associated partners in the project. The course will encourage collaborative learning by including discussion forums, wikis and teamwork activities which will be enhanced in the blended-learning piloting phase. The MOOC will provide learners with a clear course map, with milestones and “must do’s”, and a schedule with tasks, assignments and deadlines. This will increase the perception of learners as active participants in the course, will improve their engagement in order to avoid drop-out and will empower them to become independent learners.
The MOOC course will be fully integrated in the Virtual Learning Hub with an online component on UniCampus and easy-to-access features in the mobile app.
O3 will be accomplished in several steps:
1 refine the course goals, design the concept and curricula for the whole Digital Skills for Culture Course with diverse activities to foster digital skills,
2 define and design each course modules,
3 design, develop each course module content using new materials, existing and producing new OERs,
4 develop evaluation and assessment methods and tools (with O4),
5 adapt the course materials from English into national languages,
6 refine the course after the MOOC phase 1.
At each development step, the contribution of cultural and heritage experts from the partners and associated partners will be used to assess the validity and quality of the materials proposed.
Successful courses require careful planning and continual revision. It is important to define successful strategies and collect feedbacks from learners taking the course. Course planning is a continual process in which all the steps above are strongly connected, and it will undergo continuous revision during the piloting activity.
Once the pilot testing of the courses is finished, they will be revised and their resources and methodology will be redesigned in MOOC format . The final Digital Skills for Culture MOOC released will be completely free for use and every OER developed will be released into major OER repositories on the web. As the course will contain new and important information about the use of ICT in different areas, it will be transferrable to other sectors where digital skills are essential, but currently at a low level, such as tourism. Being an online course any adult will be able to connect and acquire the desired skills.
Output Type: Open / online / digital education – Massive Open On-line Course (MOOC)
O3.1 Digital Skills for Culture Curricula
To build a valid curriculum, partners will refine the course goals, in order to fit the latest digital media innovations and requirements of the cultural sector,and design the concept and curricula for the Digital Skills for Culture Course as a unified course. The Course content will be based on the five areas of digital skills and the 21 competences as defined in DigCom2.0. Each course module will be planned to respond to one or two competences and to cover the transversal competences of communication and collaboration.
Based on the existing target group analysis performed by the partners the planned Course content modules are:
- The Internet, World Wide Web and introduction to the digital world
- Digital content (including wikis)
- Copyright and Open Licenses
- Digital Curation – Digital Libraries and Museums
- Digital Humanity
- Digital storytelling
- Digital audiences, Digital analytics (Google, Facebook, Twitter, SEO)
- Social media for culture
- Augmented and Virtual Reality
- Mobile apps and mobile media
- Digital management and communication in culture
- Presenting digitally
- Online and mobile digital media tools (audio-video)
The milestones are (see timeline attached):
O3.1. Digital Skills for Culture Curricula
Leading: UPT
Participating: all
O3.2 Digital Skills for Culture Syllabus
Based on the agreed curricula discussed with the cultural stakeholders, the partners will develop in more detail each course module syllabus to ensure that the modules do not overlap with each other, and that the course as a whole covers all the important areas for building up digital skills for the culture and heritage sector. The module syllabi will be evaluated with a larger number of cultural stakeholders with the support of the cultural associations involved in focus groups to be run in each country.
Leading: UPT
Participating: all
O3.3 Digital Skills for Culture Modules
Each university will develop 1-3 modules based on their experience and expertise. The content will be constantly evaluated with the support of the cultural and heritage stakeholders from the partners and associated partners.
The development will imply a two phase development; the first will be evaluated with the actual existing users during the first MOOC pilot, then following refinement, the second will be piloted online and through blended-learning. Each module will contain: new course materials using terminology adapted for adults with low digital skills, multimedia examples, interactive online activities, real-life problem-based exercises,discussion forums, wikis and teamwork activities, e-portfolios, e-assessment and peer-to-peer assessment, blogs, and existing multimedia OERs and examples. After the first development each course module will be translated in all partners languages.
The milestones are (see timeline attached):
O3.3.1. 13 Course modules in EN
O3.3.2. 13 Course modules in RO, DE, IT, LT, DK, GA
O3.3.3. Digital Skills for Culture Course Learner Map
Leading: UPT
Participating: all
O3.4 Digital Skills for Culture OERs
After the development and the evaluation is finished the partners will set up the multimedia artefacts produced and translated into all the partner languages as OERs, which will be made available in the Digital Skills for Culture Inventory and listed in OERs repository in the market. We plan to develop at least 40 innovative OERs.
Leading: UPT
Participating: UNIROMATRE, AAU, DCU, UniGraz, NADE
O3.5 Digital Skills for Culture MOOCs
The entire course Digital Skills for Culture will be piloted in two phases and using two teaching methods which will allow us to evaluate and validate which one is more appropriate for gaining new digital skills in adult education dedicated to low digital skills adults. At the end the course will be available as MOOC in the UniCampus.eu platform of UPT and also each language version will be integrated into the universities’ own MOOC platforms (in Austria in imoox.at, in Ireland in Academy, Denmark in VBN, in Lithuania in open.ktu) so as to ensure the continuing delivery of the course for other stakeholders after the project ends. The MOOC course will self-sustained with a clear guidance and delivery map.
Leading: UPT
Participating: UNIROMATRE, AAU, DCU, UniGraz, NADE
Expected results: Course modules, OERs, MOOC.
