Implementation and Management Approach

The project has been structured into three main stages: identifying practices, selecting the most relevant experiences for the study, and finally, analysing the work methodologies and taking a pedagogic approach to the experiences analysed.

In the initial phase of the project a common reference vocabulary has been established, this to develop an internal protocol among the participants and, at the same time, to reflect the differences between the various participating regions; from this common conception framework, the first stage of the project started with the investigation of ICT programmes or projects being carried out. Internet was an essential tool in this phase and in the dissemination and communication phases.

To obtain consistent information on the ICT use experiences was a complex task as such experiences are often disperse; another major issue was to distinguish the information concerning ICT for adult from the ones focusing on senior citizens; to overcome this problem, different sources were used, from specialised bibliography and search engines to the direct contact with local partner or television programs.

Once possible experiences and projects were identified in each country, a questionnaire was created to collect information on basic aspects Information related to the project's promoting body: type of body/entity, number of people working on the project, objectives and main activities involved;

• Information concerning the project itself: objectives, number of people involved, results obtained, tools created, type of funding, etc.
• Information on territory and target groups: number of participants, age, geographic location, etc.

Once gathered all the relevant information, a second questionnaire was sent to those projects that fell within the target group defined for the project (second phase of the project). The main objective of this second questionnaire was to find out more information about the methodology used in the different projects and experiences. This initial approach was followed by an in-depth analysis of each selected project, and the project members spoke directly with the persons in charge of the projects in question. Based on the results obtained, a number of analysis criteria were agreed, these allowing to make a comparison of experiences and draw up the conclusions of the study (third phase).

Technology solution

As anticipated, the project ran in different European countries and led to the use of different IT tools and approach; for experiences in Spain (Catalonia, Asturias, Extremadura, Andalucía and Aragon), the support materials created for adults were very diverse: a certain typology of material was released for self-learning purposes (CD-ROM, video cassettes, audio cassettes etc.) and occasionally internet was used as a communication tool between participants.

In some projects, video-conference systems were used to facilitate the collaboration among people located in different cities. In Sweden on the contrary distance learning (video course, CD instructions etc.) was not very frequent and some users needed the physical presence of the trainer to acquire basic skills.

In Austria, various means of communication were used, depending on the level of previous knowledge; E-learning courses could be used only by students having basic IT knowledge; this group of users could make use of more advanced collaborative tools like SKYPE, e-mail, and forums. Finally in Poland, the ICT learning materials were very diverse: CD-ROM, computer games, internet, audio cassettes, but mostly, manuals.