CareNET Newsletter2
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1) The newsletter provides updates on several initiatives from the careNET project, including a map of digital competences for care workers and recipients, an upcoming conference on ICT and eSkills for social care, and the launch of pilots testing the careNET learning resources in Spain and France. 2) The conference will be held in Brussels in February 2014 and will include keynote speakers, presentations on the careNET project and related initiatives, and networking opportunities for practitioners, organizations, and researchers. 3) The pilots implemented the careNET learning architecture and resources through tablet-based trainings for 120 care workers and recipients in Spain and France. Trainees learned using a virtual learning environment and "Learning Relay Centers
CareNET Newsletter2
- 1. Project Newsletter – Issue 2 Map of Domains for Digital Competences Visualised Following the announcement of the full report, careNET now offers the visual representation of the full "Map of domains for common and specific digital competences for domiciliary care workers and care recipients aged 65+ years" for your convenience. The visualization supports the analysis and report published after collaborative exercises in the development process in two workshops. Take a look here. Participate! Join us for the ICT and eSkills for Social Care Conference On 26 February 2014 an international conference (careNET conference) will be organised to share the lessons learned and to collaborate with other initiatives of the field and to establish further use of these results. We invite practitioners, organisations and researchers to join the consortium in discussing what ways open up for the care-sector in the brave new world of digital inclusion. To see the conditions for submitting a presentation of project/research in progress/demonstration, please click here. Selected submissions will be invited to participate and present at the event and will be published online (no fee involved). Are you interested in participating without presentation? There are two ways for partcipation: online and on-site. The venue will be the Brussels Press Club in Brussels, Belgium, with to its central location (Schuman Metro stop) it’s easy to reach from all parts of Brussels. All participants are required to register online here (participation for both online and on-site event is free of charge). What will happen during the conference? The Conference will open with high profile keynote speakers from all around Europe elaborating on ICT skills in social care. Following the presentation of the careNET project, participants will have the opportunity to learn about the careNET national cases including a showcase summary. To support networking and to create a possibility for other initiatives to collaborate, the careNET showcase will be followed by presentations and demonstrations of other similar initiatives’ results. Coffee breaks and buffet lunch will be provided. The entire conference will be streamed live online via Adobe Connect. Read more on the careNET website. On the Road to Digital Skills: The launch of the careNET pilots The pilots of the careNET project started in November 2013. They implemented and validated the careNET learning architecture, pathways and resources previously produced. The Spanish and French partners carried out trainings through a specific ICT tool, a digital tablet, involving 120 care workers and care recipients. During these trainings the participants used a Virtual Learning Environment (VLE) consisting of three tools: a social network, a learning platform and a competency wiki. Through the VLE and the related “Learning Relay Centers” provided by the project partners, the trainees learn in an innovative surrounding.
- 2. Read more about the pilot here. Good Practices of Digital Competence Development Carer Aware Cases In a world where information and communications technology (ICT), and in particular the Internet, are transforming the way we communicate, learn and work, thousands of independent sector social care services for adults in England do not have access to high-quality internet or digital technology. This means their clients and staff are at a disadvantage in terms of access to training and development, knowledge gathering and full participation in the support networks available online. In 2010, the Social Care Institute for Excellence (SCIE) commissioned the National Institute of Adult Continuing Education (NIACE) and the Institute for Employment Studies (IES) to undertake a study into the impact of the Get Connected Investment Project. It aimed to enable care providers to improve access for service users, carers, visitors and staff to ICT so they can use the power of the internet to communicate, learn and train. Read about their good practices in this article. Reading Corner Social Networks and Elderly People Social networks may play a key role in getting the elderly to enjoy the benefits of digital empowerment. Social networks alone cannot fulfill the important need for social contact but are a valid and increasingly used tool to complement other ways of social interaction. Why don’t the elderly engage in social networks? It is due only to the attitudes and perceptions that they have about these networks (e.g. “I am too old” and “It is too complicated”) or do actual existing barriers (e.g. related to declining health or a lack of resources) keep them at bay? This is a difficult question to answer and more research needs to be done into the real causes, and how these barriers can be removed. In this article we will tackle the possibilities that social media and online discussion forums can offer to the elderly and how they can actively engage in social networking. A Video Call Connects Seniors with their Loved Ones A great number of elderly people suffer of loneliness, mainly because of their children living in distant places. In this case, telephone has always been a consolation for them in order to communicate directly with their beloved ones. The advancement of digital technologies has brought a new dimension in the communication of the seniors, since they can combine voice and video calls with digital tools that can be easily used by them. In this article we give some tips to home-carers how to support seniors to overcome the fear of technology. ICT Learning in Home Care: Carers as learning mediators Several projects are aiming to improve the care of older people involving both carers and older people. However in projects like ACTION or DISCOVER the training is solely dedicated to carers considered as an intermediary in the development of competences. The ACTION project provides carers information about ICT services, especially using videophones with older people and caregivers. In the DISCOVER project carers learn to use mobile devices and digital technologies to become mentors of their care recipients. In this article you will read about cooperative learning in home care situations with the help of ICT.