SeniorLearning

European eLearning platform for Senior Citizens (55+)

Barcelona (ES), September 2008 - A simple and easy-to-use eLearning platform recently went online that is specifically designed for senior citizens (55+). The project SeniorLearning is supported by the European Commission under the Lifelong Learning Grundtvig Programme. It offers free access to practical, structured, and easy-to-follow online courses that enable senior citizens to learn how to use the Internet and benefit from its services.




The SeniorLearning Project is a two-year initiative and is centred on researching both the needs and aspirations of senior citizens in terms of their involvement in the Information Society, identifying best practice in pedagogical methods for teaching senior citizens in the practical use of the Internet. The aim is to channel the findings into the development of a series of practical eLearning courses that will successfully immerse senior citizens in the use of the Internet.

The aim of the SeniorLearning website is to empower senior citizens to take part in the new digital world by providing them with step-by-step practical assistance in the use of the Internet.

Four courses are currently available online: an introduction to the web and the SeniorLearning platform; a communications course that teaches the basic applications of email, chats, forums, and Skype; an introduction to online newspapers, e-books and digital libraries; and one that explains travel-planning tools (flight booking etc.).

The long-term goal is for SeniorLearning to become a best practice in the field of teaching the use of the Internet via an eLearning approach to senior citizens. SeniorLearning has achieved two strategic goals upon which it and other initiatives can build: To deliver a multilingual learning environment for seniors that teaches the practical use of Internet tools and resources and to deliver a formal set of recommendations and good practices based on what the SeniorLearning team has learned over the course of this development effort.