SOCIAL MEDIA & ADULT TRAININGS

PROJECT GRUNDTVIG Nº 2012 – 1 – DE2 – GRU06 – 11434

2012 – 2014

SMAT - PARTNERS

iberika education group gGmbH - Germany (coordinator)

DCVS Community Action Dacorum – UK (partner)

Laurea University of Applied Sciences - Finland (partner) Asociatia Lectura si Scrierea pentru Dezvoltarea Gandiri

Critice - Romania (partner)

e-Space Krzysztof Ciąpała – Poland (partner)

Aula Hispánica – Spain (partner)

Bolu Turk Egitim Sen – Turkey (partner)

Know and Can Association – Bulgaria (partner)

The project has been funded with support from the European

Commission. This publication reflects the views only of the author, and

the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be

made of the information contained therein.

Social Media & Adult Trainings Using social media and Web 2.0 in adult education – SMAT project 2

Table of Contents

1. Introduction...............................................................................................4

2. Why use social media in education? Testimonials...................................7

3. Good practices in using social media in adult education........................17

4. Prerequisites and quality criteria for courses using social media...........45

5. Conclusions............................................................................................48

6. Glossary.................................................................................................49

Social Media & Adult Trainings Using social media and Web 2.0 in adult education – SMAT project 3

1. Introduction

European education policies have recognised the importance of keeping pace with new technical

developments. E-skil s and social media in particular have a growing influence on countless aspects of daily life, but despite the fantastic potential of social media for adult training developers, with indefinite possibilities for interactive methodology and the potential of making adult education

much more appealing to learners, the majority of the adult education providers in the EU do not

make any use of it.

This guidebook intends to exemplify how social media can be used successfully in adult training. It

was developed as part of the Social Media & Adult Trainings (SMAT) project, in which eight European adult education institutions shared their knowledge and experiences in this area. After

an initial stage of research, analysis and evaluation of existing practices of social media use in

learning, the partners col aborated on creating and testing several ways of applying social media in

adult education courses in different learning contexts.

Picture 1: Kick-off meeting in Jaca (Spain)

Social Media & Adult Trainings Using social media and Web 2.0 in adult education – SMAT project 4

The guidebook contains five main sections. It offers some basic information on social media tools

with an overview of the current tendencies, information about the necessary prerequisites and

quality criteria for their implementation and eight different simple promising practices for incorporating social media elements in different areas of adult training.

Picture 2: Project col age

After this introductory section, chapter 2 summarises learners’ and trainers’ impressions of these forms of learning. In the fol owing chapter we describe eight good practices implemented by the

partners. So as to allow the reader to easily find appropriate tools and units for their target group,

the chapter starts with a table containing an overview of the unit title, social media tools used, type of course and target group. Further on chapter 3 contains 8 subchapters - one for each partner country. Each subchapter includes relevant background information on social media use in the

respective country, in general, and the partner institution in particular, followed by the description of one example of successful social media use tested by the respective partner. The project partners represent different types of adult education institutions providing different learning experiences.

Social Media & Adult Trainings Using social media and Web 2.0 in adult education – SMAT project 5

Consequently, their uses of social media also differ quite widely, except for two institutions, who

have employed the same approach and developed similar units for language learning in the non-

formal education sector. The eight examples we share, and which we think of as best - or at least

promising - practices, should motivate and encourage adult education trainers to test some of the

units in their own organizations, or they should help them design their own original training units

based on similar uses of social media.

Chapter 4 of the guidebook lists the prerequisites and core quality criteria for the proper implementation of web 2.0 and social media-based elements in teaching.

The last two sections of the guidebook offer project conclusions c hapter 5 and a glossary of used tools chapter 6 providing basic definitions and guidance for the reader to find further related information.

We hope this guidebook will help adult education providers enhance and improve the training

programmes they offer, help trainers develop and adapt their curricula using the described teaching methods in adult training, and also encourage learners to interact and continue learning

with flexibility in time and place.

The SMAT project was considered a Good Practice in the Project Proposals, Studies and Methodologies category by the Design for All Foundation in 2014.

Picture 3: Certificate

Social Media & Adult Trainings Using social media and Web 2.0 in adult education – SMAT project 6

2. Why use social media education? Testimonials

BULGARIA

Excerpt from the learners’ feedback during the

testing of the course

“I truly think using the Wordpress Blog to organize

the training was a very good idea. It allows the

information to be structured clearly and I found

what interests me very easily. The links in the

Blogroll are useful and relevant to the topic of the

unit.”

Picture 4: Bulgaria training session

Excerpt from the trainers’ feedback during the

testing of the course

“The Blog is the proper tool to use, because it

doesn’t restrict the size of information (that is

happening in some social media - Twitter for

example). In a structural aspect the blog is very

close to the websites and to find the address on

the internet is easy. The poll on the homepage of

the Blog is very useful, because it gives

participants in the course the opportunity to

Picture 5: Bulgaria training session

assess its efficiency.”

Social Media & Adult Trainings Using social media and Web 2.0 in adult education – SMAT project 7

ROMANIA

Excerpt from the learners’ reflections shared on

the course blog

"What I find great in using Google Docs is that

you can not only create documents online, but

you can access them from anywhere you may

be, share it with your friends, and you can work

on it together in real time. Certainly, Google Docs

offer excel ent opportunities for both trainers and

learners."

Picture 6: Romania training session

Excerpt from the trainer’s blog entries during the course

“I thought using the blog was very helpful. I recorded my

reflections on the learning process - my own included - and

my interpretation of the learners’ response to the course. I

have it al - with date and everything - to refer back to

whenever I want - it’s not like I might lose a slip of paper I

scribbled on.”

Picture 7: Romania training session

Social Media & Adult Trainings Using social media and Web 2.0 in adult education – SMAT project 8

GERMANY

Excerpt from the learners’ feedback during the testing of

the course

“I like using social media for the course because I can

do the exercises when I have time. I work every day

and do not have time to do a normal English course. I

have time for this course because half of the course is

online Social media makes the course interactive and

more interesting. I like writing messages to the other

learners. It is more fun than doing a worksheet for

homework.”

Picture 8: Germany training session

Excerpt from the trainer's feedback during the testing of the course

“At first, using social media in a course was a little bit difficult for me. I did not have much

experience with it, so I was learning as the learners were learning. It was easier after I had some

more practice and it made me more interested in using social media in my personal life.

Some positive things I found were that social media

allows the participants to be more flexible when taking

the course. I create the assignments ahead of time and

they complete them according to their own schedules.

Social media also lets me give the participants

feedback. I can see what problems they are having and

then just send them a message. I can also discuss

common mistakes in the blog that the learners can refer

to at any time. Many learners have the same questions.

Instead of answering the same question over and over

Picture 9: Germany training session

again, I can just put it on the blog and answer it one

time”.

Social Media & Adult Trainings Using social media and Web 2.0 in adult education – SMAT project 9

SPAIN

Excerpts from the learners’ feedback during the testing of the course

“What I really liked about this course was the combination of using YouTube, Dropbox, and Skype. It real y seemed like you were in a virtual classroom. You don’t need to actually go to the

school if it is too far and expensive to get there. Just using the social media we have used is

enough for having a lesson and working together. The only inconvenience of Skype is that we

needed to fix a date and hour which was convenient for everyone”.

Picture 10: Spain training session

Picture 11: Spain training session

Excerpts from the trainers’ feedback during the testing of the course

“This course was very beneficial for me because I had never used any type of social media before.

By using the short videos from YouTube in the classes, the learner is able to improve their listening

skil s. The use of Facebook and Dropbox al ows the learners to work together to develop their

writing skills. And finally, with the use of Skype, the trainer and learners can communicate oral y.

The combined use of these three social media tools make it easier for learners to improve in the

four language skil s: listening, writing, reading and speaking”.

Social Media & Adult Trainings Using social media and Web 2.0 in adult education – SMAT project 10

FINLAND

Excerpt from the learners’ ideas during the course

“My experiences from Adobe Connect Pro are good. I have been able to

participate in the meetings fluently from my own office, which has saved a

lot of travel ing time. The quality of the voice has usually been fairly good

even though some smal adjustments have sometimes been needed. I

have not used Google Docs practically at all so my experiences from it are

very limited. However, I have used a tool cal ed Wikispaces, which is quite

similar to Google Docs according to my understanding. Wikispaces is

Picture 12: Finnish learner

fairly simple and wel -functioning tool in a shared writing process.”

Excerpt from the trainer’s ideas during the course

“Adobe Connect is easy to use. It saves time for students that they don´t

need to travel. Despite of distance I have a feeling that we were working

together as a team.

Wiki is good because al written material is available for all. In our case

some teams wanted to write together face to face. Wiki space needs to be

voluntary for students. If social media applications are not adding value to

Picture 13: Finnish

trainer

work they are not useful. Despite the wiki application is designed for joint

writing, which was the focus of our course”.

Social Media & Adult Trainings Using social media and Web 2.0 in adult education – SMAT project 11

POLAND

Excerpt from an education forum (learner)

“The world does not stand stil - we al have to

realize this, especial y trainers. Using social media

in the classroom should be the norm rather than

extravagance. I really like when my trainer sends us

a task on Facebook. I feel that this is the

appropriate environment for me and I'm more

motivated to do any task”.

Picture 14: Poland training session

Excerpt from an education forum (trainer)

“Facebook has a lot of functionality that you can

use in the process of transferring knowledge to

learners (groups, communicator, timeline, private

and groups messages and many others). I would

like to emphasize that for me personal y,

Facebook provides a great possibility of

expanding contacts with the parents. Not

everyone can afford to frequent face to face

Picture 15: Poland training session meetings, this social media allows you to contact from home, during the journey, or even in the

workplace”.

Social Media & Adult Trainings Using social media and Web 2.0 in adult education – SMAT project 12

TURKEY

Picture 16: Turkey training session

Picture 17: Turkey training session

Excerpt from the moderator’s reflections shared in an interview

“I believe the discussion form was very productive to share ideas and feelings while learning some

new information at the same time. Since all participants were educators, it gave them different

ideas about teaching methods using social media. The fact that you can bring people from miles

away together online to discuss issues and learn is intriguing and very handy when you think of all

the arrangements you need to make otherwise to bring members together to discuss things. At first

I was scared that I cannot control the group and manage comments which may create tension but

everything went well thanks to sharing rules beforehand and we experienced a nice activity together”.

Excerpt from the participants’ reflections shared in an interview

"For me, the discussions proved very useful. First of al , as a trainer I saw firsthand that these types of activities can be used at schools especially in some classes such as language, literature

psychology, history, sociology etc. I also saw that these activities developed my skil s in using

multiple media together and do some research online. Combined together, these activities will not

only develop the skills of learners but wil provide richer environments to learn and teach. I wil

definitely use these types of activities in my classes."

Social Media & Adult Trainings Using social media and Web 2.0 in adult education – SMAT project 13

UNITED KINGDOM

While teaching learners how to create their own website from the absolute start and for complete

beginners, it quickly became apparent that new starters would need extra help, especial y whilst

attempting to replicate sessions taught in class while on their home computer and without the

benefit of having the trainer with them.

Hand-outs can only go so far in assisting learners when outside of the classroom setting, so I

created a video showing each of the steps that a learner might need to know for completing simple

tasks, which would build on their overall knowledge. The other positive aspect of this is that each

learner can learn at their own convenience.

Image 1: United Kingdom screenshot 1

Using a social networking platform like YouTube to means that each learner can learn when they

want or in some cases when they can, it fits more easily into the modern, busy routine and I have

been told by some learners that learning while at home and relaxed later in the evening, increases

their ability to retain information.

Social Media & Adult Trainings Using social media and Web 2.0 in adult education – SMAT project 14

Image 2: United Kingdom screenshot 2

Another benefit of using Social Media on a social network is that the video can be stopped, paused, rewound, played repeatedly, at the pace of the learner, something that would be impossible within a classroom setting.

Learner view on using videos for teaching within Social Media

What does one do when in the need of learning to, for example, build a website but nobody is

around to teach one? Easy.

One goes to YouTube and looks for a video with that content, because, let's face it – there is a

video for everything, so why not use it?

Why not use it for teaching?

Using videos on social networks to teach has, for me, three big advantages.

First off, a video wil guide you step by step through the setting up of your own website, for example, so you wil not get frustrated by not knowing what to do next.

Social Media & Adult Trainings Using social media and Web 2.0 in adult education – SMAT project 15

Also, you can almost always choose from a wide range of videos on a subject, which makes it

possible to meet your own level of knowledge. That aspect is what makes learning from videos so

attractive to me.

The second thing is that a video can show a whole group of people how to create something within

the world of social media. That, I think, not only saves a lot of time but gives the individuals the

opportunity to ask/help another if the need arises.

The last and biggest advantage for me is that the videos are accessible from any computer, which

enables not only me to re-watch it when and how often I want to. It is also less expensive.

Mara Randt – learner

Social Media & Adult Trainings Using social media and Web 2.0 in adult education – SMAT project 16

3. Good practices in using social media in adult education

Overview of the units

Title of Good Practice

Social Media Tools

Type of Course

Target Group

Page No

Teaching my Rights as a Blog

An interactive training

Adult trainers and

18

Citizen in the EU

course based on a

learners

Blog platform that aims

Bulgaria

at raising awareness

about your rights as a

citizen in the EU

Google Drive in In-

Google Drive

In-Service Teacher

Teachers

22

Service Teacher Training

Forum and blog on

Training

Moodle Platform

Romania

Flexible Interactive

Facebook

Language Course

Adult Migrants

26

Language Course

Moodle

(Literate)

You Tube

Germany

Blog

Etherpad

Skype

Example of a language

You Tube

Language Course

Foreign students

30

class activity

Facebook

learning Spanish

Wikis

Spain

Skype

Joint Writing Group

Wiki

Writing an Abstract –

Students, open

33

Adobe Connect Pro

Professional

university students,

Finland

Optima e-learning

Development Course

working life

environment

representatives and

teachers

Social Media in Active

Facebook

Social Media Training

Residents from

36

Ageing to Prevent

Retirement Club

Exclusion

Poland

Using Social Media Tools Facebook

Social Media Training

Members of the

39

in Teaching

Twitter

Teachers Union

You Tube

Turkey

Use of Social Media to

Facebook

Radio Presenting –

Volunteer Radio

42

teach presenters at

Knowledge of the

Presenters

Radio Dacorum on the

studio, audio editing

layout of the studio

and specialist software

United Kingdom

Table 1. Good practices

Social Media & Adult Trainings Using social media and Web 2.0 in adult education – SMAT project 17

3.1 Case Study – Know and Can Association, Bulgaria

Teaching my Rights as a Citizen in the EU

In the research phase of the project Know and Can explored the attitudes of the target group

towards the usage of social media in leisure time and for studying/ teaching. Our research showed

the fol owing facts:

 21 (out of 25 participants in the survey) state that they use computer daily in their

leisure time. But it is interesting to point that just about the half of the respondents use

computer daily related to studying or teaching/ at work.

 18 persons declare that they do not use Blogs for professional purposes at all.

The detailed results of the research phase in Bulgaria has been published on our website.

Since the research showed that only a small part of the interviewed have been using blogs for

studying or teaching we decided to implement our course using a blog platform in order to motivate

more and more people to use it in their studying/ teaching methods. We chose the course to be

prepared so, because in this way it would look clear and simple to the learner. Blogs don’t restrict

the size of information (that is happening in some social media- Twitter for example). In a structural

aspect the blog is very close to the websites and to find the address on the internet is easy (that is

one additional advantage). The comments on the posts can be controlled, which protects from

publications with useless content, advertisements and other kinds of side information that doesn’t

refer to the topic of the course. We chose Wordpress, because it is one of the most popular blog

platforms, it’s wel -known, easily accessible for everyone and it offers many opportunities for organizing the information.

Our course is entitled “My Rights as a Citizen of the EU”. Its main aim is to inform people about

their rights as citizens of the European Union and the opportunities for protection in case of infringing upon their rights and give a list with useful links, which wil be of help to everyone who

wants to receive information on these topics. 15 learners were enrolled in our course (10 of them

are adult learners and 5 are trainers in various subjects).

Social Media & Adult Trainings Using social media and Web 2.0 in adult education – SMAT project 18

 Just 4 of the participants say that they use social media services daily for studying or

teaching.

The difficulties when working out the course were related to the initial phase and making it more

concrete: how exactly to be organized it and what would be the specific way of its realization.

We haven’t got many obstacles during the actual implementation of the tasks. Some technical

confusions connected with the usage of the blog platform appeared, but they were immediately

fixed. In particular, they were: the order in which posts are published and how to create the hyperlinks. One of the advantages of the blog is that it is pretty simple and even users with just

basic computer skills can use it effectively.

The content of the training course was uploaded on the blog as a Powerpoint presentation. There

was also a summary of the course and its main aims. One advantageous tool of our course is the

creation of a test that allows learners to check what they have learned with the unit. There is a link

to it also on the homepage of the blog.

Clicking on the button “MyEUrights”

participants in the course were able to

download the content of the unit in the

form of a Powerpoint presentation.

Image 3

Social Media & Adult Trainings Using social media and Web 2.0 in adult education – SMAT project 19

On the right side of the homepage of the

blog there are links that can provide

learners with additional information if they

are especially interested in some of the

themes of the course.

Image 4

Another useful tool that you can apply when teaching on a blog is to create a poll. And when

someone votes they are redictered to the exact results of the pol in a percentage ratio.

Here you can see the poll about the

usefulness of the course which was

prepared. It is evident that all of the

participants in the course have voted.

Also you can see that the vast

majority of them has positively

assessed the course.

Image 5

Social Media & Adult Trainings Using social media and Web 2.0 in adult education – SMAT project 20

Judging from the feedback of the participants in the course it can be said that it is well organized.

The test, elaborated in relation to the unit contains clear and wel formulated questions, whose

answers could be checked in the corresponding link. General y the worked out course was useful

for the participants and equal y accessible for people at different ages.

Social Media & Adult Trainings Using social media and Web 2.0 in adult education – SMAT project 21

3.2 Case Study – Asociatia Lectura si Scrierea pentru Dezvoltarea

Gandirii Critice, Romania

Google Drive in In-Service Teacher Training

According to a 2011 Eurostat study1, although over three quarters of al Europeans aged between 16 and 74 used a computer, the percentage of computer users in Romania was much lower: a

mere 50%. The survey showed that of the internet users, 41% had a social media account.

20

18

16

14

Not at all

12

Less often

10

About once a week

Several times a week

8

Daily

6

4

2

0

I use

I use com- I use in-

I use inter-

computer puter rela- ternet in net related

in my lei- ted to

my leisure to studying

sure time studying or time

or tea-

teaching/

ching/ at

at work

work

Fig. 1 Frequency of computer and internet use

1

http://www.romania-actualitati.ro/romania_ultima_in_ue_la_utilizarea_calculatorului-39459 (accessed on 13.10.2013)

Social Media & Adult Trainings Using social media and Web 2.0 in adult education – SMAT project 22

At the beginning of our project, we investigated our learners’ computer, internet and social media

usage in their spare time and for professional purposes including learning – see Figures 1 and 2

(the results of the research can be found here). Our learners are mostly teachers and teacher trainers, members of the Romanian Reading and Writing for Critical Thinking Association.

Fig. 2 Frequency of social media use for professional purposes

Based on our findings we designed a couple of courses which included social media for training

adult learners. One of the courses was entitled CLIL through CLIL.2 The course was delivered by means of a Moodle platform, which includes forum and blogging facilities, and Google Drive. The

learning activity we will detail below relied on Google Drive.

With the purpose of encouraging cooperation, the 12 learners enrolled in the course were given the

group task to draft a 15-hour CLIL unit of their choice. Subsequent to this task, the learners were to

individually design a CLIL unit for their own learners and prepare to teach the unit in the following

semester.

2

CLIL stands for “Content and Language Integrated Learning”

Social Media & Adult Trainings Using social media and Web 2.0 in adult education – SMAT project 23

Image 6. Screenshot of the Moodle platform and the

Google Drive for cluster building to define the concept

of CLIL

The learners were divided into three subgroups, each including 3 to 4 people. In the Announcement section of the Moodle platform, the trainer informed the learners who was to work

in which group. Each subgroup had its own assigned forum space and Google document to work

on. The template of the Google document was linked into the assignment, which included the text

“you can access the template here”; by clicking the highlighted word “here”, the learners would be

redirected in a new window to the relevant Google document. The members of the different groups

could see what the other groups were working, but they could not edit the other groups’ work. The

learners had a week’s time to complete the task, and they were provided relevant support resources (a book containing sample CLIL units) on the Moodle platform.

The trainer could fol ow the learners’ work in progress and check the “revision history” to see who

contributed what, and when. When learners were on-line simultaneously with the trainer, they could

ask for guidance or clarifications in real time, and the trainer could encourage them and provide

feedback (see image 6). At other times, the “Comments” function of Google Docs could be used.

Each of the three groups completed their task satisfactorily and most of them within the assigned

time. One of the groups preferred to save the template to their computer, finish the work “offline”,

and submit the final product (their CLIL unit draft) via the forum on the Moodle platform. This was

due to the fact that not every member of the group had a googlemail account, or was willing to get

one.

Social Media & Adult Trainings Using social media and Web 2.0 in adult education – SMAT project 24

One other challenge that can be related more

general y to assignments that are to be completed

collaboratively, and not only to the above

described particular learning activity, is that the

division of the workload among the group

members can hardly be fair unless al members of

the group are on-line and working simultaneously.

To mandate simultaneous work would be

counterproductive, because one of the huge

advantages of learning by means of social media

would be undermined: control over the time when

to do the learning. It is our empirical observation

that almost unavoidably, the person who starts the

work will contribute the most, while the other

members of the group wil have a relatively easier

task revising or adding to the document. This

issue - if perceived as a problem - can be

resolved by alternatively assigning the learners to

start, although that also may interfere with the

self-directed nature of learning with the help of

social media.

Image 7 – Google document

In retrospect, we find that Google Docs are a highly effective social media tool in teacher training.

As the training relies heavily on teachers sharing their expertise and learning from each other’s

classroom experience, collaboratively constructing text (whether in pre-set structures or not) is an

effective way of pooling their wisdom, and facilitating their professional development. To avoid

running into the same difficulty of not al learners having a googlemail account, in the second

piloting we only enrolled learners after they had a googlemail account. In addition, we set aside

more generous time for the entire course and for specific learning activities so as to al ow for more

learner control over the time of learning.

Social Media & Adult Trainings Using social media and Web 2.0 in adult education – SMAT project 25

3.3 Case Study – iberika education group gGmbH, Germany

Flexible Interactive Language Course

In Germany the share of internet users aged 14 + was 75,9% (54,2 Million) of the population in

2012. The average user spent 169 Minutes on the internet per day and use of mobile devices had

increased to almost twice as much as the previous year with 5.3 online electronic devices in online

households.

According to Facebook statistics, in Germany 50% of internet users (25 Mil ion) are active

Facebook users with 19 Million daily users per month. Mobile devices have played a primordial role

in the last months, increasing their use from 23% to 41% in 2013.

In the research phase of this project iberika education group gGmbH conducted a questionnaire involving 100 trainers, learners and others (other staff than trainers) of English, Spanish and

German in order to analyse their attitudes towards computer, internet and social media use in

leisure and working / learning time.

The analysis of our results showed that the different target groups revealed very different attitudes

in internet use. While some of the participants of the German courses – mainly courses for

integration programmes in Germany – answered that they had never used internet or even a

computer, 95% of the Spanish and English trainers and learners were using their computers daily

both for leisure and work and almost all participants were using daily social media services.

In light of these results we decided to conceive different course types for the different target

groups. In the following paragraphs we describe the structure we implemented for a German

Integration Course for beginners:

Social Media & Adult Trainings Using social media and Web 2.0 in adult education – SMAT project 26

Course

Flexible Interactive Language Course tested in a German

Integration Course for Beginners

Target group:

Literate adult immigrants

Starting Level:

A1 (European Framework)

Reached level:

B1 (European Framework)

Structure:

Minimum of 75% face-to-face course and maximum of 25% online

Lessons per week:

20

Duration:

6 modules 30 weeks

Course Aim:

German basics and basic skills in computer, internet, social media

and virtual learning environments

Trainers:

2 for German basics

1 for internet and social media skil s

Difficulties:

Almost 20% of the participants have almost never used social media

services, internet or computers before

General Feedback:

Learners in general are very positive about additional flexible

activities.

Learners with no previous experience with computers, online services

and social media had a very positive and collaborative reaction.

Experienced learners are encouraged to work as tutors, improving

their communication skil s rapidly.

Table 2. German Example

Our learners pointed out during the research phase the advantages online services would offer

them in terms of time flexibility. We nonetheless had to face the problem that many of our German

Course Learners had never used social media tools and some of them had even never used

computers at al . Our major interest was to develop a new course that would cover the regular

programme for the German Levels A1, A2 up to B1 as was expected in our regular integration

course, and at the same time would improve the computer and social media skil s of their participants, therefore increasing their integration chances in the labour market at the same time.

Most learners lacking IT skil s were reluctant about the implementation of information and communications technology. In order to motivate learners it was essential to develop a course that

would gradual y introduce the tools and increase their use, offering every participant the opportunity to start from their prior knowledge. First of all, we developed a guidebook as an introduction the computers in general, to some programmes such as Word, to the internet and to

the creation of an email and Facebook account.

Social Media & Adult Trainings Using social media and Web 2.0 in adult education – SMAT project 27

The curricula developed for the course introduced the online parts very gradual y, starting with a

face-to-face unit (1 unit = 45 Minutes) per week dedicated to online and computer skil s, then 2

units per week, and final y 4 units per week which depending on the skills and self-confidence of

the participants can take place in a complete virtual environment or at our school under the guidance of our trainers. We wanted to guarantee our learners the possibility of working in virtual

environments with the support of our professional trainers.

The main structure of the online course was developed

on the virtual learning platform Moodle. Here learners

could find different types of written exercises on topics

seen during the face-to-face classes of the week. The

online skills trainer would mainly communicate with the

learners via Facebook with weekly exercises, links to

determinate articles on our complementary grammar blog

for the course and links to specific Youtube sites with

additional grammar explanations. Collaborative written

Picture 18: Germany training session

exercises were offered in file sharing services such as

Etherpad and the monthly reporting and feedback

and additional communication activities took place via

Skype.

Image 8

Social Media & Adult Trainings Using social media and Web 2.0 in adult education – SMAT project 28

Summing up, the extra flexible services improved the quality of the course, reaching the same or

even better results as in a purely face-to-face course. By the end of the course, learners were able

to practice different communication strategies with complete flexibility. Apart from improving their

linguistic skills having completed the levels A1, A2 and B1, by the end of the course every learner

was also able to use a computer and different social media tools in an independent way. Learners

were familiar with computers, different online services and virtual learning environments, they had

created their own dedicated profiles for the course, they were conscious of the different privacy

levels offered by most tools and were willing to continue using them for other purposes.

Image 9

Social Media & Adult Trainings Using social media and Web 2.0 in adult education – SMAT project 29

3.4 Case Study – Aula Hispánica, Spain

Example of a language class activity

According to a research published recently by the National Observatory for Telecommunication and

Information Society (ONTSI)3 the situation of the social media in Spain is the following: 72% of the internet users belong at least to one social media. Spain occupies the third position in

the world ranking of active users in social networks with 77%.

54% of social media users in Spain prefer Facebook and just 20% use Tuenti. When this is looked

at by gender, there are more women who have an account in Facebook (81%) than men (75%),

but it is the men who use more the forums (31%) whereas only 21% of the women use them. With

regards to the worries about what other people may think of them 74,8% say to be just little or not

worried at al .

58% of the users use only one social media whereas 41% of the users between 19 and 25 years of

age use two social networks on average. The daily users of social media are between 18 to 34

years old.

In Aragon4, the autonomous community where Aula Hispánica is located, the total percentage of internet users is 57,26%. The two main social networks used are Facebook (92%) and Tuenti

(34%). The frequency of using the social media is quite high, with 42,6% reporting to connect to

social media several times per day and 26% using the social media more than four times per week.

The three main user activities on social media websites are the following: publish comments/links

(86%), sending private messages (85%) and upload photos/videos (75%). Only 14,4% of the Aragonese enterprises use the social media as a marketing tool.

Good Practice

At the beginning of the SMAT project, we analyzed the social media usage at our school Aula

Hispánica. The SMAT questionnaire was handed out to a sample of 15 people, all of them trainers

and learners at Aula Hispánica in December 2012. The sample of learners included local learners

and workers attending French classes and learners of Spanish as a foreign language.

3

http://www.ontsi.red.es/ontsi/es/estudios-informes

4

www.aragon.es/oasi

Social Media & Adult Trainings Using social media and Web 2.0 in adult education – SMAT project 30

These are the results: the trainers use the computer and internet daily or several times per week in

their leisure time, less for studying or teaching. The most used social media in their free time are

Facebook, Google+, LinkedIn and Skype as web conferencing. Even though they don't use the

social media much for teaching/at work, they seem to be real y motivated in using them for studying or at work.

As to the learners, the frequency of computer and internet usage in their free time is higher compared to the trainers because the majority of the learners use the computer (laptop, iPad, etc)

and internet daily or several times per week. Nevertheless, they do not use them as much as the

trainers for studying. The social media applications less used by learners are blogging platforms,

web conferencing, knowledge sharing, col aboration and games. As the group of trainers, learners

showed to be motivated in using more social media applications more often at their leisure time

and studying.

32% of the social media users report to use the blogs daily and 29% of the users access the social

networks via mobile devices.

The regions in Spain with a high use of the social media are the Balearic Islands and La Rioja.

Due to these results we decided to design a course for both trainers and learners. The target group

were foreign learners learning Spanish and non-native Spanish trainers. Level of the learners minimum B2. Competences of social media tools are also required. In the following, a 45-minute

unit of this course is described. The objective of the unit is analysing the meaning of body language in the Spanish culture in a specific atmosphere – the bar.

The learners are invited through Facebook to see a video on YouTube, the first time without sound.

Then they write possible dialogues about what the characters suggest them they are saying.

They are watching the video on YouTube again, this time with voice. They write in a collaborative

group what they understood. After that they watch the video a third time with the copy of the real

dialogue posted in a Dropbox and they fil in the gaps. They use Skype to share their ideas with the

trainer.

Social Media & Adult Trainings Using social media and Web 2.0 in adult education – SMAT project 31

In summary:

• YouTube is used for showing the material.

• Facebook is used for a closed discussion group about the study unit.

• Wikis are used for collaborative writing.

• Skype is used as virtual classroom with the trainer.

As result, we realized an increase of motivation of trainers and learners as well. The trainers

learned how to use the social media as a new didactic tool and the learners how to apply the social

media, they were already using in their leisure time, within an academic environment. Both groups

agreed that learning and teaching through social media offer the possibility to get more in touch

with others due to more and different ways of communications. Trainers and learners also agree

that social media give more flexibility than traditional courses because you can access the course

at home whenever you want.

Social Media & Adult Trainings Using social media and Web 2.0 in adult education – SMAT project 32

3.5 Case study in using social media in education – Laurea University

of Applied Sciences, Finland

Joint writing group

In Finland in 2012, the share of internet users of the population aged 16 to 74 grew to 90 per cent.

Nearly everyone aged 45 or under used the internet. Seventy-eight per cent of those aged 16 to 74

used the internet daily (www.stat.fi). In 2012, one half of Finnish residents aged 16 to 74 fol owed

at least one social network service to which they were registered members. Social network services reached their current popularity very quickly and their popularity is stil growing.

Participation in social network services is closely tied to age. (www.stat.fi) Educational institutions can take an active role in regional development and learning related to social media capabilities.

Picture 19: Finland training session

Joint writing group is study unit (5 ects) in Laurea University of Applied Sciences (UAS). The study

unit learners are: members of staff and leaders in enterprises in Lohja region, teachers, bachelor

and master students of Laurea Lohja UAS and Laurea Lohja UAS Open University students. In

joint writing group study unit enterprises and other organizations in Lohja region are aiming to

develop their services and products in cooperation with international partners. Higher education in

the region can assist the development work by sharing knowledge, skil s and competencies, joint

development processes, joint writing and evaluation.

Social Media & Adult Trainings Using social media and Web 2.0 in adult education – SMAT project 33

Having completed the study unit the learner

- is capable of taking responsibility for collaborative learning and sharing knowledge in teams

- is capable of social influencing using know-how and actions based on ethical values

- is able to utilize information and communication technology in oneś subject field

- is able to conduct research, development and innovation projects by applying the existing knowledge and methods of the field.

The learners are writing together as a group (members from enterprise/other organization and

UAS). They are writing an abstract in English for a national or international conference making an

oral presentation, poster or full text at a conference (10 groups). They are presenting a development project in the conference they have chosen (existing joint project between enterprise

and UAS). These require language skil s and competence in use of new tools. The groups are

counseled by senior and principal lecturers and an English lecturer.

Social media used in the joint writing group study unit:

- YouTube; as a tool for preparing the presentations

- Wikis; collaborative writing. http://jointwriting.wikispaces.com/

- Adobe Connect Pro (ACP); is used in counseling and meetings

http://www.adobe.com/products/adobeconnect.html

- E-learning environment Optima; learning is guided by steps, students are using Optima at least

for submitting the reports, but also for messaging and chatting

Social Media & Adult Trainings Using social media and Web 2.0 in adult education – SMAT project 34

Image 10: Screenshot

In Joint writing study unit there have been ten groups writing together. Each group consists of two

to four members. Al students have used Optima as an e-learning environment and most of the

students wikispace for writing. Some of the groups have used Adobe Connect Pro (ACP) as a

connecting tool. It has worked very well and some of the group members have saved a lot of time

and travel cost because they live about 100 km away from school. With ACP they can share

videos, texts and they can discuss. Despite of distance they have a feeling that they are working

together as a team.

While Wiki and written material was available for all, some teams wanted to write together face to

face. Those teams that used wikispaces felt it was a very good tool for joint writing. If social media

applications are not adding value to work, they are not useful. Laurea (UAS) has used Wikis as

learning environment for several courses. In comparison with the closed learning environments

(e.g. Optima and Moodle), there are more possibilities to modify the visual presentation in a wiki

and it is also very user friendly.

Read more

http://www.laurea.fi/fi/lohja/tk/hankkeet/kaynnissa_olevat_hankkeet/smat/Sivut/default.aspx

Social Media & Adult Trainings Using social media and Web 2.0 in adult education – SMAT project 35

3.6 Case Study – e-Space Krzysztof Ciapala, Poland

Social Media in Active Ageing to Prevent Exclusion

In Poland, Facebook currently has 10.7 mil ion registered users. 27.73% of Polish population uses

Facebook. It is 44.76% of al internet users in Poland. Most of the Facebook members from our

country are 18 to 24 years old (3.2 mil ion), and come from the fol owing age groups 13-15, 16-17,

25-34, 35-44. 52% of Facebook users in Poland are women, 48% are men. These statistics explicitly show how popular community service Facebook is in our country. Facebook is a leader

but not the only available social website, there are also many other social networking sites that are

gaining wide popularity among internet users, especially those young ones.

The already mentioned Facebook is used to share thoughts, interesting and valuable content like

web pages, photos, videos, and online discussions. It is also a great place to build interesting and

creative relationship between a trainer and learners. We would like to present a case study of using Facebook for teaching purposes, developed by trainers open to innovation.

U

se of advantages of social media to fight against social exclusion

According to the latest research, Poland occupies a prominent place in the process of dynamics of

aging society. Our society is becoming increasingly older, unfortunately it is associated with the

decrease of equity of social activity among the elderly. In Poland, less than 28% of people aged 55

- 64 years still work. Low professional activity occurs among persons aged 60 - 64 years, especially women.

This situation often becomes the basis for the exclusion of these various types of people, one of

them is digital exclusion. Of the nearly 13 million of Poles after fifty, more than 10 mil ion (78%) do not use the internet at all. Therefore initiatives / projects arise which have the objective: to fight

against social exclusion using social media.

A group of young 10 people (volunteers) meets regularly with seniors (55 +) and acquaints them

with the basics of handling with social media. In the first place presented is the philosophy of social media and the fundamental differences between the various portals. Shall be presented possible

applications and examples of profiles available online.

Social Media & Adult Trainings Using social media and Web 2.0 in adult education – SMAT project 36

The participants set up themselves profiles practiced under the supervision of young volunteers.

The main medium that has been “domesticated” ;-) by the participants was Facebook.

Groups on Facebook allow to actively participate in discussion forums, comment on the content

published by you and to communicate. It works perfectly as a tool to support project work, facilitates the creation of thematic / working groups in the classroom. Trainers can use these groups to send bulk messages, reminders, or homework.

Topics of tasks that were exercised by participants with using Facebook account are:

1.- Facebook - a source of information

2.- Perfecting foreign languages on Facebook

3.- Present your achievements

4.- Use Facebook to col ect information

5.- Communicate with friends

6.- Teach how to work together

Picture 20: Poland training session

Additional value comes from how these meetings is knowledge / experience and memories

transmitted by the seniors to young volunteers. Participants were asked not to invent fictitious

Social Media & Adult Trainings Using social media and Web 2.0 in adult education – SMAT project 37

examples and figures, but to share with the young people's own experiences and knowledge.

In this way, we managed to speak on the fol owing topics:

 Easter traditions

 Traditional Polish cuisine

 Customs and traditions of the region

 Technology in past and today

 Memories from school

When volunteers all agree that participants already ful y understood the operation on Facebook

and its functionality, they are helping seniors only on-line and at their express request. In private

life it is often the beginning of a unique intergenerational friendship.

In this way, the ever increasing number of people (including elderly) learns how to use social

media, thus reducing the threat of social exclusion and the gap between the generation.

Social Media & Adult Trainings Using social media and Web 2.0 in adult education – SMAT project 38

3.7 Case Study – Bolu Turk Egitim Sen, Turkey

Using Social Media Tools in Teaching

With its fourth position among the top 5 countries on the Facebook, Turkey is doing incredibly wel

in terms of Facebook country population reaching towards 30 mil ion. With 76.8 million people in

Turkey it means that 38.50% is using Facebook. What’s even more compelling is the number of

online population, which exceeded 85% and makes Turkey one of the largest markets for social

media networking.

Based on the graph below, we can see fairly stable increase in the Facebook users; but what lies

underneath this growth? Demographics from Turkey show, that almost one half of the country’s

population is under the age of 29, which is the most prevalent age for Facebook fans. Because

large portion (more that two quarters) is too young at the moment, we can assume the population

of Facebook to grow on constant rate. This stable growth of approximately 1% is evident in our

stats as wel .

Table 3

(http://www.socialbakers.com/blog/207-turkey-is-facebook-world-country-no-4 )

Also according to Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Usage Survey on Households

and Individuals, 2013 by Turkish Statistical Institute show that Computer and internet usage continue to rise in Turkey. More homes have internet connections, mobile devices carry internet

Social Media & Adult Trainings Using social media and Web 2.0 in adult education – SMAT project 39

and almost everyone has access to internet either at home or at work. However, use of internet

technologies and especial y social media for educaitonal purposes is not very common yet.

In this table the percentage of internet users which have carried out internet related activities, 2013

in the same web site shows that people generally use internet technologies to do research, interact

with others and listen or watch different media.

This being the case, it is very clear that social media which is often used by the youth and learners

should be integrated in teaching. In Turkey, the wide national project F@TİH (Movement to Increase Opportunities and Technology) also encourages the dissemination of internet

technologies at teaching environments however trainers do not quite know how they will develop

teaching materials and use multiple media together to present a successful learning experience.

Therefore, this project was a good point for us to examine the situation form the trainers’ point of

view since all our members are working in the field of education and the participants in the project

are all trainers at different levels in Turkish schools and educational institutions. We focused on

adult learning and informal/non-formal learning experiences and the survey we gave showed that

people use social media a lot but not for training in a topic. They mostly used social media outlets

to interact with others, self-learning and to obtain materials that can be used in their personal

development or in their teaching.

Results of the survey can be found in the link below. (English)

http://projesmat.weebly.com/en_anket.html

As an organization, we aimed to have our members get acquainted with social media and Web 2.0

tools and also expand the extent of social media use for members who are active in social media.

In this framework, we first sent SMS and e-mails to members who are active in social media

announcing the discussion group about some educational issues by using social media.

The first discussion group on Facebook included:

-Our expectations

-Thoughts on the topic

-The effect of the Union work on the system

Social Media & Adult Trainings Using social media and Web 2.0 in adult education – SMAT project 40

That was introduced to the Turkish educational system about a year ago and affected al trainers

and learners in the country. Discussion groups worked under the direction of a moderator in short

and long formats.

We announced that there would be a different discussion topic every week at the same time and

the same day of the week. (Tuesdays, 21.00 / 24.00)

The first discussion group had only 8 participants. The second discussion topic was introduced

through SMS and e-mail and this time we had 13 participants. The third forum held in December 2

centered on a big educational problem in Turkey: the study courses provided after schools which

are preferred since they help learners get into university more easily. However, two different educational systems for learners make them study very long hours, decrease social activities and

create a burden on Turkish educational System in different ways.

The ideas and experience sharing were later copied from the page and organized in word program

(paying attention to coding the participants, arranging the font sizes etc) and transformed into PDF

to be sent to the members with e-mail so that al ideas and rules about the new system could be

shared with the members.

The mails also included information about the date and time of the next discussion and information

forum. Discussion forum documents will be published in the project web site of the organization

(http://projesmat.weebly.com).

We believe that participants will increase with each forum and we want to make it a traditional

implementation of the Union. We also plan to include video conferences to make the forum more

attractive and to develop the use of social media to learn and be informed.

Al in all, the activities were highly enjoyed and teaching benefits of the activity using social media were very well received. However, trainers have a problem in implementing these ideas at schools

since Turkish state schools/educational organizations cannot have access to social media and

trainers need to integrate this method in the free time of their learners. However, it was discussed

that homework and research related activities can very well be undertaken in this manner and it

would be a step to start using social media in teaching.

Social Media & Adult Trainings Using social media and Web 2.0 in adult education – SMAT project 41

3.8 Case Study – DCVS Community Action Dacorum, United Kingdom

Use of Social Media to teach presenters at Radio Dacorum on the layout of

the studio

In late 2012 Dacorum CVS undertook initial research into the use of social media within a small

group of learners. Key findings from the 52 respondents:

 96% use a computer in their leisure time (78.8 % of those daily).

 63% use social media services in studying or teaching (26.9 % daily) and 28% do not

use at al

 26% use Web Conferencing several times a week in their free time

The results contributed to the preparation of a number of new learning initiatives and detailed

below is one example of creatively using technology to support the running of Radio Dacorum, our

internet community radio station. www.radiodacorum.org.uk

86.5% use the internet related to studying or

teaching/at work (36.5% of those daily).

Image 11: Screenshot

Social Media & Adult Trainings Using social media and Web 2.0 in adult education – SMAT project 42

Case Study:

As the manager of a busy radio station, with over 60 presenters, volunteers and production staff to

oversee and train, Matt Hatton found introducing social networking has been invaluable in keeping

track of learners needs.

Although not in a traditional classroom setting, every individual at the studio has been a student /

learner at one time or another, whether that has been in person, during a group or one to one

tutoring session, or via the many documents posted on-line in the private group set up for the

learners to download and read at their leisure.

The information on operating the technical equipment in the studio is complex for the new person

and it is important to make learning easy to access and supportive. Some of the online documents

have been a very basic “FAQ” format (Frequently Asked Questions), quick guides in the form of a

single image with basic text as an explanation, al the way up to complete training manuals with

detailed instructions on how to complete a task or carry out an activity (examples to follow).

One of the most instructive and helpful methods of sharing information using social media has

been evolving from day one among the learners themselves, without the studio

management/trainers intervention. Using the social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter

to exchange information quickly and easily, especial y in a minor crises, this has happened on

many occasions and has proven to be most effective.

Social Media & Adult Trainings Using social media and Web 2.0 in adult education – SMAT project 43

Image 12: Screenshot

Image 13: Screenshot

Social Media & Adult Trainings Using social media and Web 2.0 in adult education – SMAT project 44

4. Prerequisites and quality criteria for courses using social

media

In our information and communication technology-rich world, most courses provided for adult learners may consider including social media as part of the methodology of course delivery.

Moreover, some courses in adult education are delivered entirely by means of social media, so that

all interaction between the learners and the tutor and among learners takes place by means of

social media.

Courses using social media should always strive for facilitating quality learning. For this purpose,

they should observe all the general quality criteria that apply to quality education provision. In

addition, however, such courses should also meet the more specific quality criteria listed on the

next page.

To provide high-quality learning experiences to all learners, courses should be planned and delivered keeping in mind the principles of transparency, flexibility and responsiveness to learner

needs.

The quality criteria below apply to courses in which social media is used as a means of adding

value to the learning process (by engaging stakeholders otherwise excluded, providing sources of

information otherwise inaccessible etc.) and the learning outcomes.

The training provider should check that the fol owing prerequisites are met prior to enrol ing participants into a course with obligatory use of social media:

Social Media & Adult Trainings Using social media and Web 2.0 in adult education – SMAT project 45

#

Categories of

Prerequisites

prerequisites

1.

Access-related

Access to the computer/ PC/ mobile (both in school and

outside of school)

Access to the internet (both in school and outside of

school)

Access to the social media applications (both in school

and outside of school)

2.

Skills-related

Basic skills in information technology

Basic skills in the language of the applications

Basic skills

 in choosing the appropriate settings on the

social media profile;

 in judging the reliability of social media

sources;

 in countering cyber-bul ying;

3.

Knowledge-related

Knowledge of terms and conditions of using each

required application, including the meaning of:

 open access;

 open data and information;

 digital shadow and footprint;

Knowledge of intel ectual property rights

Table 4. Prerequisites

Social Media & Adult Trainings Using social media and Web 2.0 in adult education – SMAT project 46

Social-media specific quality criteria and indicators

Criterion 1: Relevance

1.1. The social media application serves the objectives of the course;

1.2. Social media enhances the learning process;

1.3. Social media enhances the learning outcomes.

Criterion 2: Support for learners

2.1. Social media application related technical support is included in the course;

2.2. Affective support (encouragement) is provided for less experienced social media users;

2.3. Guidance related to social media etiquette is provided.

Criterion 3: Flexibility

3.1. The course allows for flexibility in terms of space;

3.2. The course allows for flexibility in terms of time;

3.3. The course allows learners to use alternative applications;

3.4. The course provider collects feedback from learners about their satisfaction with the

choice of social media used in the course and acts upon it;

3.5. The social media application is tailored to meet the learners’ needs.

Criterion 4: Course design

4.1. The course is designed keeping in mind the dynamic and complex nature of learning

with social media.

Criterion 5: Transparency

5.1. The course provider informs learners about its social media policy, if available;

5.2. The course provider informs learners about its monitoring and evaluation procedure of

the learners’ usage of social media;

5.3. The course provider informs learners about the availability of social media related

support.

Table 5. Quality criteria

Social Media & Adult Trainings Using social media and Web 2.0 in adult education – SMAT project 47

5. Conclusions

The experience of discussing, analysing, developing and testing social media elements has been

very positive for the whole partnership. Al partners have learnt and profited from each other. The

different types of teachings and differences in addressing the target groups has enriched skil s and

partners’ work.

SMAT has shown that social media definitely improves quality in the teaching, provided the prerequisites and the quality criteria mentioned in Chapter 4 are respected and a basic social

media training for trainers and learners prior to running the course is provided. The specific knowledge of terms, conditions and different privacy possibilities in social media has helped to

overcome fear of the unknown. It has helped trainers and learners to find out that these tools could

be used in a safe mode, i.e privacy settings can be used to protect.

The SMAT experience has demonstrated as wel that people who were using social media for

leisure have started to use this tool for their professional work. The myth that social media is only

used by younger people has also been addressed during the project by training adults of al ages –

including 70 years old plus, bringing very satisfactory results. Where geographic distance, cost and

time availability of the learner is a barrier to their engagement in learning, social media-based units represent a real alternative to other types of teaching. The examples of social media training units

could be very useful for institutions providing adult training, especial y, because almost all of the

shown courses are based on different social media tools and are on different topics.

Nevertheless, when planning and developing social media units, education institutions and trainers

are required to consider tools very careful y. There are a lot of social media tools that are free to

use, however prior to implementation it is necessary to analyse and test which ones are beneficial

to the course and its learners. Otherwise, trainers risk to fail to draw the best of the usage of social media platforms in their teaching. With appropriate tools, most learners are happy to use social

media for their studies. The more trainers and learners use social media the easier it is to continue

developing creative approaches to the course delivery.

Through the SMAT project the organisations have definitely benefited from using social media in

their professional and personal life. It has increased their confidence to the level at which they are willing to try new tools and to continue developing them. As a conclusion it can be said that not

only did the project improve the professional capacity of the staff of the project consortium, but it

will also have a long lasting effect on the teaching methods of the adult training providers in partner countries.

Social Media & Adult Trainings Using social media and Web 2.0 in adult education – SMAT project 48

6. Glossary

Adobe Connect (http://www.adobe.com/products/adobeconnect.html) - an audio and video web

conferencing platform used for web meetings, eLearning and webinars. It has features that al ow

for creating information, presentations and online training materials. Conferences happen in meeting rooms with functions like chat, whiteboard, notepad, screen sharing, polls and meeting

recording.

Blog - a web site published on the Web that consists of individual entries (cal ed 'posts') displayed in reverse chronological order (the most recent appear first) It is mainly used to publish private

posts, but organisations and companies also use them as marketing or PR media. Blog can be

created by a single or many authors, can be mono- or multi-thematical, textual, with photographs

(photoblog), audio (podcast) or videos (vlogs). 'To blog' means to maintain and post content to a

blog. A blogging person is called 'a blogger.'

Etherpad - (http://etherpad.org/) a real-time col aboration platform where many people can work on one document (known here as 'pad'). It records changes and enables version saving. It doesn't

require registration and is shared via an URL link.

Facebook (http://facebook.com/) - a social networking platform used to connect with friends, family, acquaintances, colleagues. Contacts on Facebook are cal ed 'Friends.' People can post

updates called statuses which may include text, images, videos, or links. Facebook is now prevalent across the Web thanks to its 'Like it' button, which appears on almost any website and is

used to show our sympathies and interests found on the internet. It also features text, voice and

video chat.

Forum (message board) - a web page where people hold conversations in the form of chronological posted messages. It is organised in a hierarchical structure where the main forum

can have several sub-forums, several topics and each can include discussions. A single conversation on a forum is called a 'thread.' Each thread can be replied to by any number of users.

Al posts are saved and can be managed by a moderator. A moderator is a caretaker of a forum

who grants access to forums and threads, answers users' questions and complaints, and general y

keeping the forum clean.

Google Drive (https://drive.google.com) - formerly Google Docs. An on-line office suite with collaboration features (document sharing, multi-user editing and chat). It includes a word processor, spreadsheets, presentations, form creator and drawing applications. It is also used as a

Social Media & Adult Trainings Using social media and Web 2.0 in adult education – SMAT project 49

50

50

data storage facility that can be synchronized with local computers. It requires a Google Account.

LinkedIn (http://www.linkedin.com/) - a business-oriented networking networking site used for professional networking. It is used as an online CV by job-seekers and candidate-base for headhunters and employers. User profile can be fil ed with our job experience, education, skills and

competencies. A LinkedIn user can ask others to endorse their skills and previous or current employees to write a recommendation note which appears on their profile. Contacts on LinkedIn

are cal ed 'Connections'.

Moodle (https://moodle.org/) - an LMS platform used for e-learning. It is widely used by universities and col eges that provide on-line courses due to its flexible environment for learning communities.

It includes features like blogs, wiki and forums. Users can collaborate on tasks, design and complete quizzes. It allows learners to contribute to the educational experience. It supports many

third-party plug-ins and modules.

Skype - (http://www.skype.com/)software that al ows for real-time text, audio and video chat between users. Paid features include making and receiving phone cal s and conference video cal s

for one-to-many conversations.

Twitter (https://twitter.com/)- a microblogging tool that al ows to send and read "tweets", which are text messages limited to 140 characters. It can be accessed through the website, SMS, or mobile

device app. You can subscribe (here 'fol ow') to Twitter feeds of other users and read their tweets

on your twitter feed. Your tweets will be visible to those fol owing you.

Wiki - a web application where people col aboratively add, modify, delete content. It is a content management system where content is created without any leadership and evaluated by the same

community of creators. It doesn't have implicit structure as it can emerge according to the community's needs. The biggest and the most popular wiki on the web is Wikipedia (http://wikipedia.org/) project.

Youtube (http://www.youtube.com/) - a video-sharing website. Most content is being uploaded by

individuals, but some companies offer their proprietary material via Youtube. It's probably the world's largest video repository. Unregistered users can watch videos, registered users can upload

videos, comment, create playlists and subscribe to channels of other users.

Social Media & Adult Trainings Using social media and Web 2.0 in adult education – SMAT project

Document Outline

2. Why use social media education? Testimonials

3. Good practices in using social media in adult education

Overview of the units

4. Prerequisites and quality criteria for courses using social media

5. Conclusions

6. Glossary

1. Introduction