The first round has been a success: At the end of December, the participants successfully completed our first online course "Finding work with computers and the internet" as part of the "Intro - Internet Recherche Kommunikation" project! We are very happy to report about it now.
Our goal is to teach people essential digital skills and support them in their online job search and job market orientation.
New teaching concept
In a previous blog post (in German) we described the specifics of our online course. We have implemented a new course concept which consists of live sessions via Zoom, an online learning platform for independent and flexible learning as well as intensive personal support. After the first run of the course, we are confident that this concept can be successfully applied to the target group. We are also very pleased that our course appealed particularly to women. 67% of our participants were women, and as many as 90% of the participants who started the course with low digital skills completed it successfully.
The first course run
As planned, the modules "1. Online communication for job search" and "2. Job search and job market orientation on the internet" each included five online sessions of 90 minutes on two mornings a week. In combination with these, we offered two Q&A sessions of 60 minutes each. One took place in the morning, the other in the late afternoon. We regarded these sessions as particularly important in order to give each participant the opportunity to address uncertainties or to work on exercises together with us. Many of the participants used these hours to ask questions that came up during the learning process.
What did we learn?
We quickly realised that some things just won't go according to plan, especially because everything takes place online. Our key learnings are:
Adaptability: We often spontaneously adapted the course content to the participants and their respective level of knowledge, technical equipment and interests in order to provide an optimal learning environment.
Accessibility and communication: One-to-one communication with our target group via WhatsApp or email is important to support and motivate them.
Learning environment and course content: Google Classroom is a suitable platform for flexible learning. We uploaded all course content (presentations, input videos, screencasts, quizzes to measure participants' progress) so that participants were able to access it at any time.
Course format:
The self-directed learning style of the course enabled participants to better integrate the learning into their lives and learn on their own terms.
The flexible format of the course ensured that participants had several opportunities to interact with the teachers and ask questions during the week.
We look forward to the second course run, during which we will make adjustments and implement what we have learned.
We are looking for new participants!
The course is far from over! As of now, anyone and everyone who wants to learn independently and at their own pace can register. From 20 March to 25 April 2023, there will be another run of the course with live teaching via Zoom. We are very much looking forward to the continuation of the course and would be very grateful if you would share this blogpost and forward the information and flyers it contains.
More information for those interested in our Intro course can be found here (in German): https://www.grenzenlos-digital.org/intro-kurs
Flyer asychnronous Intro course - Registration possible at any time! (In German)
Flyer Intro course from 20 March to 25 April 2023 (In German)