The onTrain project "Online training: the treasure within", is inspired by the Jacques Delors report for UNESCO "Learning: the treasure within". This is an Erasmus+ project of two years duration, had its beginning in November 2018 and will end in October 2020, where 5 universities and institutions of adult education from Europe participate: Spain, Italy, Germany, Finland and Romania. This project will develop an educational material aimed at trainers, in addition to online educational tools that will be useful to promote social learning.

Our main target of this project are the trainers and educators (tutors, facilitators, coach, mentors, team leaders, human resources departments...) that want to start offering their training using online platforms.

In this way online teaching will be an activity that is not only used to deliver material or send messages, but it will be a social and collaborative space, thus allowing the advantages of online education in adults and seniors to emerge. Specifically, the results will be two main products:

1. Guide for the online teacher, which includes techno-pedagogical content for an adequate teaching through online platforms.
2. Online learning course and activities, with social, collaborative and discovery activities.

The first product is intended to be a guide-reference for the teacher or facilitator at European level that will include 30 aspects to take into account in quality online teaching in adults and the elderly. The second will be a catalog of activities that European institutions can use to boost and achieve a richer learning in their institutions.

We are aware that online education can be used to teach many types of courses. As for example of; history, art, psychology, economics, science, sociology, etc. In this way, it is possible to learn the course content itself, allowing more people to access new opportunities for learning and growth, without distinction of age, distance or time, thereby diluting accessibility limitations, lack of opportunities in rural areas or other impediments that would make it impossible to access an educational center.

In addition, the treasure that surrounds online education is to favor a learning of new information and communication technologies (ICTs) not as a course where the student is taught skills with the computer or Internet, but as an activity where he already uses the ICTs, manages them and increases their skills and interests using ICTs as a means, and not as the main object of a course. It will be possible in this way for the student to integrate ICT as a habit and habit; through searching information, communicating, using files, etc.

If you want to know more about what is being done you can access the activities section where you will find updated information about what is being done. 

What am I learning here and why?

• Make your organisation benefit from online teaching
• Methods for monitor, evaluate and improve my course
• Make your students share, collaborate and learn together
• Motivate the online student while they enjoy learning
• Discover new Ideas, tools and resources for your online courses
• Organise your course, propose activities, and enjoy teaching

Material available for trainers

You can find several units to download which are material for the trainers. The Learning Units have the following titles:

Block A:

1. Introduction to E-Learning
2. Benefits of E-Learning
3. New role of the trainer
4. New role of the learner
5. Course Management
6. Course Material

Block B:

1. Lifelong Learning
2. Learning for social impact - community building
3. New learning approaches: formal, non-formal, informal
4. Promoting a learning attitude
5. Motivating the online learner
6. Experience as a source for learning
7. Learning by experiences

Block C:

1. Course concept
2. Development of user-centered course design
3. Methods of assessment
4. Alternative learning methods: games, gamification
5. Teaching Soft skills and Hard skills
6. Forming a group online: group dynamics in virtual space
7. Management of conflicts and challenges
8. Systems for evaluation and monitoring
9. Scalability

Block D:

1. Collaborative learning platforms
2. Learning the learning tools
3. Promoting collaborative work and creativity

If you are interested in the project, you can get more information on the project’s website: http://ontrain.eu

Do not hesitate to contact us to collaborate, test or use the materials. The first 10 units are available now. These are part of the educational material aimed at trainers You can download each one of these Learning Units in this link: http://ontrain.eu/2020/04/28/educational-material-learning-units/