Training Adults Online (TAO) project, implemented with the participation of partners from Germany, Great Britain and Poland, was an answer to the following questions for an insufficient number of adequately and comprehensively trained educators who are competent to teach a variety of subjects for adults, especially the elderly, using modern online tools for this purpose. In relation to an adequate number of well-trained educators can result in an increase in the participation of adults and older people in the learning process, the main objective of the project is to train competent educators of elderly adults in the field of various teaching techniques using the latest ICT technologies and equip them with a tool for self-education.The main objective of the project was achieved through the following specific objectives: - Development of a Training Programme for adult and older educators (IO 1) including: methodology of adult learning, modern tools for online teaching of adults (with particular focus on older people), online teaching of foreign languages and other skills. The main objective of the project was achieved through the following specific objectives: - Development of a Training Programme for adult and older educators (IO 1) including: methodology of adult education, modern tools for online teaching of adults (with particular focus on older people), online teaching of foreign languages and other skills. - Development of a comprehensive Self-education Guide for adult and older educators (IO 2) on teaching and working with adults, especially in older age, using traditionally available online learning channels (youtube, chat rooms, video, social media) and new generation educational tools (e.g. virtual classroom). The Guide, available in three language versions: English, German and Polish, includes sections concerning: the specificity of educational work with older people in general; necessary digital and organisational skills of educators and listeners in the process of making effective use of tools for various forms of online training; specific tools for online learning on a variety of topics; and possibilities to combine online forms of language learning with elements of interaction between participants in a group and to find the optimal online tools for teaching specific language skills to older people.- Development of the TAO application for tablets and smartphones (IO 3) in 3 language versions including: essential information from the Guide for Educators, Toolbox of practical tools, techniques and resources for online teaching and virtual classroom management, practical tips for teaching people 50+. It can be used both online and offline. - Increase of motivation and awareness of adults, mainly the elderly, about the essence and important role of the lifelong learning process. - Increasing the knowledge of older people about the opportunities available to them in the training market. - Developing essential basic competences for older people at a high level in a lifelong learning perspective. Within the TAO project 4 partner meetings were held, three of which were combined with trainings (each 3 days) for educators from partner institutions, who then trained other educators working in their organizations. After the trainings, each time the so-called Training Pack was created, which later, after evaluation, was included in the Guide for Educators (IO2). As part of dissemination activities, according to the application, trainings for external educators took place in all partner countries. They were attended by a total of about 100 educators. Webinars were still planned, but these were not funded at the stage of application evaluation. Educators who participated directly in this project, whether in partnership or training courses as part of their dissemination activities, have been comprehensively trained and prepared for educational work with adults, especially older people, who require a slightly different approach. They also received theoretical support and practical tools to work with these people, which they can use at any time and place, including offline. This has improved their digital competences on the one hand and motivated them to use more tools for online learning for older people in their daily learning activities in order to make them more attractive. In addition, the attractiveness of forms of training offered to older people has already increased within the institutions, which makes them more willing to use them in later years of life. The free and universal character of the products, manifesting itself in multilingualism (English German, Polish), general accessibility (they can be downloaded free of charge from the project website) and the fact that they can be used by educators teaching various skills and competences will make the learning process of older people more attractive and there will be more and more learners in later life in all partner countries.

This two-year project addressed the problem of insufficient training provision in the field of adult care and the related outdated provision of care to dementia sufferers. It built a partnership of five organisations from five countries, who brought into this project complementary expertise and experience in senior care, adult training, e-learning, software coding and development of training programmes. The focus of this Strategic Partnership was to innovate through cooperative practice with the aim of developing an Integrated Platform to be used as tool for dementia care and a Vocational Education Training Package at a European level in order to: • improve the ways senior care professionals are trained to work with patients in person-centred mode; • provide them with the necessary digital skills, communication, problem solving and team building skills and specific sectoral skills in the care of dementia sufferers; • provide them with state-of-the-art guidance and digital tools to tackle dementia; • make the methodology accessible to informal carers in domestic setting; • ultimately improve dementia sufferers' condition In order to reach our aims, the objectives of this project were therefore to: • develop a platform to be used as a multilingual tool in dementia care, based on reminiscence therapy, allowing users to record and later use memories in the format of sound, images, text or videos • establish a baseline and create a comprehensive set of training tools (a training framework, 5 modules, 5 videos, 5 webinars) • pilot, test, evaluate and refine the training resources through training events and collaboration with our associated partners • identify and use tools to evaluate impact in the short, medium and longer term against the baseline • disseminate the outcomes widely through the transnational network of associated partners and through 5 multiplier events in 5 countries • build an online network of expertise to exchange practice through the online communities hosted on the Integrated Platform The platform and the training programme were developed in English, French, German, Polish and Greek. The initial impact has been a demonstration of improved training provision for VET and CVET learners in the field of dementia care, acquired new core and sector-specific skills for the professional carers, but ultimately an improved treatment of dementia sufferers through reminiscence and namely: • Improvement in cognition, mood, and functional ability. • Reduction in the symptoms of depression. • Reduction in the strain experienced by carers and relatives. This is the ultimate goal of this project, to improve the well-being of dementia sufferers through improved training provision for carers and use of modern methodologies.

The term Digital Champion is not new, so a distinction should be made: EU Digital Champions are ambassadors for the Digital Single Market, appointed by their Members States to help every European become digital. Community Digital Champions have the same goals but work from the bottom up rather than top-down. Digital Champions are the essential elements of our approach to digital transformation – they get the work done on the ground and make a huge difference to their communities.The Digital Champions for Community Success project brought together 5 partners from 4 EU countries to develop a Training package and Methodology to be used by adult educators and particularly by Trainers and Carers of vulnerable adults facing obstacles such as: disabilities and/or learning difficulties, vulnerable adults with social obstacles: low-skilled migrants, long-term unemployed, elderly in care. Trainers and carers are able to boost the impact of their work with the target communities and foster digital champions, who will continue to work within their communities to support their peers. As acutely highlighted by the Covid19 pandemic, in this age of digitisation of almost every aspect of our everyday lives, these adults are even more isolated and either dependent on external help or just excluded from participation in society. Often the approach was to solve their immediate needs, instead of empowering them to solve their needs by themselves and have a sense of achievement. The project drew on partners’ experience and newest research to create a Training Package for adult educators and carers who work with disadvantaged adults in different communities, no matter what the local context or type of community. The project created an integrated platform hosting a space for users, as well as 3 comprehensive training modules based on a training framework designed at the beginning of the project.Module 1 (Digital Skills) presents in 6 thematic groups various digital skills necessary to navigate modern life. They are structured by levels of ability, taking into account corresponding literacy, numeracy and transferable skills.Module 2 (How to be a Digital Champion) focuses on the competences that an educator / trainer / coach / facilitator of vulnerable adults should have or acquire in order to improve their practice of working with vulnerable adults. There is also a list of online tools which can be used for the support sessions with vulnerable adults.Module 3 (How to become a Digital Champion) describes the best practice when identifying suitable members of a community to become digital champions. It provides an insight into motivational and support strategies for the digital champions.A mini handbook has been prepared for the digital champions as first hand support in their new role.The training modules are complemented by a 9 case studies, illustrating the good practice in order to inspire the take up of the DCCS approach by communities of vulnerable adults.Stakeholders, such as other practitioners, local authorities and support organisations were involved through a comprehensive dissemination strategy and face-to-face or online multiplier events in each partner country: UK, Germany, Italy and Cyprus. This project is innovative on several levels:•Adult education sector – new approach of delivering and improving the retention of basic digital skills•Learning methodology – the Digital Champions for Community Success methodology is a catalyst to any training programme delivered by support organisations to vulnerable adults•Learning content – the self-learning modules offer an interactive way of exploring this new methodology•Skills development – after completion of the self-learning modules, educators will have gained new work skills, but most importantly the vulnerable adults will gain from the new methodology•Access to information – vulnerable adult learners will be able to access online services such as online banking, government services, and also this improved access to information online will help them make better consumer choices.•Geographical context – this project will benefit all the partner countries and the wider EU in different ways depending on the local situation. This project is important not only for its innovation in adult learning focused on vulnerable adults, but also for its impact on their social inclusion.

This two-year project involves 5 partners from 5 countries and focuses on the upskilling both volunteers and existing language teachers who are working on the teaching of the home language to asylum seekers and refugees. It addresses shortfalls in both provision and quality. The Council of Europe Report (2017b) highlighted the key role of volunteers in providing language tuition to newly arrived asylum seekers and refugees in both formal and non-formal contexts. However, they rarely have access to training. Furthermore, research by the Fundamental Rights Agency, in 2017, highlighted that even in formal settings, many teachers are not trained or have no experience with general issues of migration and diversity, to work with refugee students and their particular needs or to teach the national language as a second language. This project aims to address these shortfalls by creating a model of training provision that focuses on the specific needs of the target groups of asylum seekers and refugees, and the quality of teaching and learning. It aims to explore such issues as knowing the needs and expectations of the target groups, different techniques to improve engagement, and learning models to meet those needs, including non-formal learning. It will share existing expertise and develop new strategies. The aim will be to provide a model methodology and set of resources that have been tested in a range of contexts with a variety of target groups, which can then be more widely adopted.The resources to be developed will be a set of 5 training modules. The approach taken by this project is very much learner orientated and linked to their specific needs and ambitions – this is covered in the first module of the training. Evidence shows that all too often, there is a one size fits all approach and that this is de-motivating. The learner-centred approach will focus on the individual need and use individual plans to tailor provision and measure progress. This project also aims to ensure that formal approaches are supported by non-formal learning, and that there is a synergy between them. The 5 modules are:1.Getting to know your target groups and their needs – including using a self-evaluation tool2.Active engagement techniques including creating a positive climate for learning3.Structuring learning including preparation, planning, and resourcing 4.Teaching Models including lesson design for inclusion incorporating both formal and non-formal learning, learning styles, guided learning, and group work5.Assessment for LearningThese will be trialed in two cycles with volunteers and trained teachers and it is anticipated that they will reach 400 learners. The outcomes of the trials will be reported in an impact report.The project addresses the Adult Education priority of extending and developing the competence of educators and other personnel who support adult learners and the horizontal priorities of supporting individuals in acquiring and developing basic skills and key competences and social inclusion. The overall anticipated result will be a new training model and resources with evidence that they can impact on the quality of teaching and learning of those working with asylum seekers and refugees, despite different educational and cultural contexts. They will be made freely available to NGOs working with asylum seekers, voluntary organisations, training providers and regional authorities across the EU.

This two-year project involved 5 partners from 5 countries. It addressed the issue of putting pedagogical theory into practice to improve the quality of initial teacher training and produce more confident teachers who are less likely to leave the profession early. The resources that were developed and the methodology that was adopted were based on a PedPack for schools, which was developed by the UK National Strategies over a decade ago, but not widely taken up at the time due to policy changes. However, the topics, although in need of updating, were still relevant. They were based on whole school strategies, rather than subject specific approaches, to implement pedagogical theory in practice. This project developed updated digital resources to improve the delivery of ITE and support teachers in their early years to both make the teaching profession more attractive and reduce the drop-out rate due to pressure. Partners started by analysing five key topic areas: • Structuring Learning • Teaching Models • Assessment for Learning • Developing Effective Learning • Classroom Management However, they concluded that there was considerable overlap in the topics of Structuring Learning and Developing Effective Learning, so merged these into a new topic Developing Effective Learners. The project addressed a number of the areas highlighted in the ET2020 paper, ‘A guide on policies to improve Initial Teacher Education’, (2015) which pointed out the ‘urgent need to improve Initial Teacher Education’ The objectives of the project were to: • update five areas of the pedagogical guidance and digitise them • put the updated guidance into practice in teacher training provision in 5 countries • trial and test the methodology and the resources • undertake an impact study on the whole school methodology and the resources • share the outcomes and materials widely The project addressed the Horizontal Priority of educators… • by strengthening the induction of candidates for the teaching profession to support high-quality teaching It addressed the Erasmus+ School Priorities of… • strengthening the recruitment of teachers to make the career more attractive and supporting teachers in adopting more innovative practices The specific outputs of the project were: • A digitised set of pedagogical resources in 4 areas for use in the training and support of trainee teachers • A longitudinal impact study on the PedPack methodology and the updated resources • A website hosting the downloadable resources and case studies - http://pedpack.eu/ • A set of dissemination materials and seminars in 5 countries • A research report with recommendations on policy The overall result is a new training model and resources and evidence that this impacts on the quality of teaching, despite different educational and cultural contexts. The resources are freely downloadable from the project website http://pedpack.eu/.