EAEA’s latest research shows that technology integration works best when it genuinely supports the learning goal; and when learners have a safe space to engage with it. Therefore, our team has been working on materials for adults in vulnerable situations to develop competences in five areas, in partnership with organisations across Europe. These materials focus on teaching some digital tools, while embedding these tools in the learning process. The following learning scenarios are designed to help educators in their planning and give them concrete ideas to work on emerging technologies in adult education. No digital expertise is needed since the general idea is to provide guided ideas that can be customised to the learners’ contexts and needs.
Learning area 1: Literacy and numeracy
We read, write, express ourselves, and deal with numbers on a daily basis, which is the reason why we might take these competences for granted. The following learning scenarios are designed to encourage adults with low literacy and numeracy skills to participate in daily activities. These materials also bring awareness about useful digital tools which can be used individually or guided by a facilitator.
Learning scenario 1: Navigating everyday tasks aims at supporting individuals who struggle with literacy. It provides guides that can be customised to meet the learners’ needs at work or in personal matters. To use it, it is important to guide learners when introducing them to AI and explain that AI should not be regarded as a replacement but rather as a supportive tool. Exercises include how to use AI tools as grammar and spelling checkers or as a translator for plain language to support adults in understanding forms, contracts, and other important documents.
📃 Learning scenario: Navigating everyday tasks
Learning scenario 2: Smart money shows how to manage finances.Educators receive several guides on how to help learners manage their finances, an important life skill to navigate daily responsibilities confidently. One of the sessions shows how to use AI tools to manage budgets in a practical and personalised way. Educators working with adults in financially vulnerable situations are especially encouraged to put these lesson ideas to use.
📃 Learning scenario: Smart money
Learning area 2: Personal, social, and learning to learn
Reinforcing the idea that learning is not limited to a specific age or context is essential to promote personal development in adults. Learning is not only about technical skills for the job market, but also about social and emotional skills that are covered in this second unit.
Learning scenario 3: My object, my story focuses on self-expression and emotional management. One of the exercises encourages individuals how to narrate stories multimedially using simple digital devices such as one’s own phone or computer and AI tools that create videos, music, and text.
📃 Learning scenario 3: My object, my story
Learning scenario 4: Picture this sees art as a way to practise self-expression and a vehicle for learning. While this lesson introduces learners to art with the help of a main app which uses AI and VR tools, it also forces them to engage with it creatively by creating their own versions of famous paintings.
📃 Learning scenario: Picture this
Learning area 3: Digital spaces and communities
As daily environments are becoming digitalised, navigating daily life requires knowledge and usage of digital tools. In this learning area, learners are introduced to social platforms that are a hurdle for social inclusion: a real challenge to overcome without proper training and assistance.
Learning scenario 5: Digital spaces, human connections provides a practical introduction to communication platforms such as Zoom and/or Google Meet. The activities are designed to be flexible, and most importantly, keep adults’ comfort and feelings of safety into account.
📃 Learning scenario: Digital spaces, human connections
Learning scenario 6: Finding your place in digital communities introduces adults to communication and community platforms, namely social media – an essential tool for socialising. It shows adults what purpose and how to use each platform, while also informing users about their rights online. To make the experience more interactive and fun, an easily-accessible digital game is one of the numerous activities you can find in this learning scenario.
📃 Learning scenario: Finding your place in digital communities
Learning area 4: Environmental sustainability
Informing adults how to live sustainably can support them to make ethical decisions about consumption. These scenarios related to environmental sustainability can help learners reflect on how their everyday choices connect to the world around them.
Learning scenario 7: Sustainability on a plate shows learners about carbon emissions of food consumptions with the help of YouTube videos and interactive tools that help measure one’s own food carbon footprint. The learners will also be able to put their knowledge into use by creating a sustainable menu for the week with the help of digital tools.
📃 Learning scenario: Sustainability on a plate
Learning scenario 8: Energy aware at home shows that you don’t have to be proficient in numeracy in order to learn about energy consumption and its implications for the environment. This scenario provides personalised sessions for showing adults how to use AI chatbots to help calculate energy savings to actively and practically remind adults that “a little every day means a lot every month.”
📃 Learning scenario: Energy aware at home
Learning area 5: Democracy and active engagement
Often, some communities are not aware of their rights and are not properly informed on how to engage in political and civic activities, let alone make their voices heard. Therefore, educators working with adults in vulnerable situations are especially encouraged to use these two learning scenarios in order to promote active democratic participation, supporting the development of critical thinking and decision-making skills
Learning scenario 9: Digital village intends to make emerging technologies more accessible as part of the democratic mission. This learning scenario provides several resources to help organise info days on these technologies for local communities.
📃 Learning scenario: Digital village
Learning scenario 10: My community, my voice puts democratic engagement into practice. This learning scenario includes activities that encourage adults to express their opinion confidently and strengthen decision-making skills through critical thinking and awareness of rights. In one of the activities, learners can put these skills into use by drafting a petition.
📃 Learning scenario: My community, my voice
You can find the entire compilation of learning scenarios in the interactive toolkit or in ETHLAE’s MOOC (massive open online course)! Register for free on the MOOC to access research findings, articles, and digital resources.
Text: Lara StoltzPhotos: Image from lisegagne - Getty Images