Promoting the improvement of elderly ICT skills and well being by inter-generational and multi-sectoral education http://www.primerict.eu/
Project coordinator University of Maribor, Faculty of Health Sciences, Slovenia Editorial Board
Dr Peter Kokol, University of Maribor, Slovenia Helena BlaĹžun, MSc, University of Maribor, Slovenia Dr Khim Horton, University of Surrey, United Kingdom Dr Rita Collins, University College Dublin, Ireland Dr Melanie Deutmeyer, Carinthia University of Applied Sciences, Austria
Language editing Dr Rita Collins, University College Dublin, Ireland Dr Khim Horton, University of Surrey, United Kingdom Technical Editor
Borut Gaber, BSc
Brochure Design Borut Gaber, BSc Publisher
University of Maribor, Faculty of Health Sciences Žitna ulica 15 SI-2000 Maribor
UNI Servis d.o.o. Krekova ulica 2 SI-2000 Maribor
Number of copies 1200 (English: 600; Slovenian: 300; German: 300) Published
May 2010
Disclaimer This project has been/is funded with support from the European Commission under the Agreement number 2008- - 4279/001-001, project number 143665-LLP-1.20081-SI-KA3-KA3MP. This contribution reflects views/view only of the author, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein. Further details and contact information for the PRIMER - ICT project can be found on the PRIMER - ICT web page at (http:// www.primer-ict.eu).
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http://www.primerict.eu/
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INTRODUCTION
As people age they experience a decline in physical or cognitive abilities which can affect their quality of life. Not surprising many people have turned to ICT to help resolve the growing concern over social exclusion. ICT provides a number of new opportunities for improvement in the daily life of an older person such as work, education, travel, entertainment, healthcare, and independent living. A consortium of EU partners (Slovenia, Austria, Ireland and UK) comprising of experts in the fields of ICT, health care and psychology are keen to enable older people to access and use ICT to sustain and enrich their autonomy, independence and quality of life.
Source: http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/clipart/
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AIMS AND OBJECTIVES
Using an inter-generational and multisectoral approach in education we aim to: L educate
students primarily from health care and ICT related fields, who will in turn educate both elderly and the multipliers (community nurses, nurses in elderly homes, family members, volunteers from different sectors/ages).
L contribute
to the reduction of isolation within the older population through the promotion of collaboration through ICT channels of communication, thus reactivating the elderly into society.
Author: Khim Horton
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LEARNING OUTCOMES
The contents of the e-learning courses will be prepared in the languages of all participating countries and will be aimed to educators/trainers, multipliers and older people. We will also develop portals which will connect participants through various forms of communication like e-mail, chat rooms, forums and blogs; we will also include daily overview of news and events. E-learning courses will be implemented using different didactic approaches such as problem based learning, enquiry based learning, active learning and experiential learning. To prepare the e-learning materials, MetaTool for creation of adaptive and flexible course materials will be used. Moodle an open source platform extended with MetaTool plug-ins will be used for online learning. This will enable the personalisation of learning paths for each individual trainee.
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The main result of the project will be socially integrated older people who are able to access information which will help them to improve their well being and quality of life. At the same time PRIMER-ICT will develop wide network of educators and multipliers, who will have the knowledge and experience in working with older people and also knowledge of various ICT skills. In that manner we will ensure the continuous growth of the network and thereafter the spread ICT education and use of it among more and more elderly people. The contents of the e-learning courses will be prepared in the languages of all participating countries. Each partner will also adapt and customise the materials for their local portal.
Source: http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/clipart/
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WHO ARE WE LOOKING FOR
Educators/trainers Anyone working in healthcare or ICT who is willing to undertake a course to teach the multipliers how to teach older people. This course will be centred on the theory of teaching and on teaching methods.
Multipliers Anyone who would be willing to teach the e-learning course to an older person. You will need to be reasonable competent in using a computer. You will be taught how to teach an older person using the course as an exemplar. You do not need to have a healthcare background but it would be helpful to have previous experience working with older people.
Older people Anyone aged 65 and above who would like to learn ICT skills. You will be given one-to-one instruction by people trained with the elearning package. You do not need to have your own computer as classes will be held in venues that have computer facilities.
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Source: http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/clipart/
Source: http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/clipart/
Author: Khim Horton
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BENEFITS FOR INDIVIDUALS
All three involved groups (educators/trainers; multipliers and older people) will gain many benefits as expressed below. Educators/trainers will be students from health care and computer science, who will be able to exchange their skills and knowledge with students from other scientific discipline and to work, learn and teach in a multicultural environment. They will also have the opportunity to learn some new skills and competences which they didn't learn during their regular studies. Health care students will be able to gain more computer and information technology skills, and students from computer science will learn new knowledge from health care science and therefore increase their value in a labour market and obtain knowledge which can help them in postgraduate studies. Trainers will have the opportunity to work within the project and get some valuable new experiences, their work will also be valued. At the end of the course all educators/trainers will receive certificates at an official public ceremony. Multipliers are a group who will be taught by the educators/trainers and will 10
later educate and transfer knowledge to older people. They will work with both educators and older people and in this way they will learn the differences between the groups and will be able to adapt teaching and learning accordingly. The multipliers can be either students, health care workers or other older people and the course will enable them to communicate and work with different persons and in this way learn and experience multigenerational, multisectoral and multicultural cooperation. At the end of the course all multipliers will receive certificates at an official public ceremony. Older people will have the opportunity to learn ICT skills, and with this new knowledge to be able to gain and increase the control of their life. The new gained knowledge will allow them to be more socialized, independent, healthier, less isolated and last but not least to improve their overall well being. All who would like to partake in new experiences and are not afraid of new challenges to improve their quality of life are warmly welcome. At the end of the study course all participants will get certificates at an official public ceremony.
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ADDED VALUE FOR THE SOCIETY
The project aim is to disseminate it’s outcomes to the broader community and society. The modern society needs vibrant residents on all ages and this requires that we provide them with a conducive environment in which they can progress, develop and fulfil their own wishes and needs. Education is very important for each individual and needs to be available in all periods of life. Especially important is the 3rd life period, because older people often have less opportunity for learning. Our aim is to actively involve older people in society so that they will remain part of decision making, be visible in everyday life and be able to continue to use their knowledge and wisdom. Ideally, this will result in a society with less illnesses, more integration of older people and we will be able to tailor our services to maximise social and health care need of older people. The goal for the society is to have healthy happy successful people and this project aims to supply this o p p o r t u n i t y to o l d e r people. Author: Rita Collins
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NOTES
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PARTNERS
University of Maribor, Faculty of Health Sciences (Slovenia) Zitna ulica 15 2000 Maribor Slovenia Organisation's website: http://www.fzv.uni-mb.si/
University of Surrey (United Kingdom) Duke of Kent Building Guildford Surrey GU2 7TE England Organisation's website: http://www.surrey.ac.uk/
University College Dublin (Ireland) Health Sciences Centre Belfield Dublin 4 Ireland Organisation's website: http://www.ucd.ie/index.html
Carinthia University of Applied Sciences, School of Health and Care (Austria) Hauptplatz 12 9560 Feldkirchen i.K. Austria Organisation's website: http://www.fh-kaernten.at/
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Contact information For further information please contact any of the following: Prof Dr Peter Kokol (Slovenia) E-mail: kokol@uni-mb.si Telephone: 02 300 47 46
Helena Blazun, Msc (Slovenia) E-mail: helena.blazun@uni-mb.si Telephone: 02 300 47 46
Dr Gregor Stiglic (Slovenia) E-mail: gregor.stiglic@uni-mb.si Telephone: 02 300 47 46
Dr Khim Horton (United Kingdom) E-mail: k.horton@surrey.ac.uk Telephone: 01 483 684 555
Dr Rita Collins (Ireland) E-mail: rita.collins@ucd.ie Telephone: 01 716 64 06
Brigitte Pintar (Austria) E-mail: b.pintar@fh-kaernten.at Telephone: 05 905 004 101
http://www.primerict.eu/