Online Learning in youthwork

Oivanki Outdoor Education Centre (Kuusamo, Finland), one of Finnish youth centres, will be the applicant organization and we are searching for reliable partners active from the field of Youth work to prepare and send participants from Program and partner countries. The TC will take place during late autumn 2018 (exact dates to be confirmed with partners).

Young people in Europe spend an increasing amount of their time consuming digital media (video streams, messaging, blogs or social media). However, there is an obvious lack of competences of young people to use many online platforms for learning instead only for leisure and entertainment.

These tools can provide a place for young people to learn, to share their experiences, to exchange
their views, to have fun with their friends and to actively participate in society. As our societies are
constantly evolving and moving towards an even more increased usage of online content, youth
work should take advantage of this and make itself more accessible in the online sphere.

As stated in the 2nd European Youth Work Declaration, 'there is clearly a role for online youth work practice, in terms of exploiting a new space for youth work in a meaningful way, supporting digital literacy and enabling young people to deal with some of the associated risks. The practice implications for youth
workers lie in new competencies required and new forms of boundary maintenance in relationships with young people.'

Having all this in mind, the project aims at raising awareness among youth workers about the value
of distance learning models and equipping them with the competences necessary for them to
transfer their work into online sphere. The project is focused on building capacities of interested
youth workers regarding distance learning models and online learning platforms in order to create
sustainable relationships with their primary target group;
The objectives are:
* To gain new knowledge and skills regarding a non-formal education activity development;
* To understand and learn how to use online learning platforms such as Moodle, Coursera,
EdX, etc.
* To understand the value and potentials of online learning in making their current activities
more attractive and accessible to local youth;
* To try out webinars on various topics and issues important to youth in local communities of
the participating organizations;
* To provide networking opportunities among participating organizations;
* To facilitate exchange of experiences and knowledge among youth workers in the field;
* To create a handbook on development and implementation of online learning activities;

Today young people are so-called “Digital Natives” who has grown up with the internet and mobile phones and who are fundamentally different from previous generations in the way they communicate, seek information, engage, interact and entertain themselves. As they become adults their approaches to learning and getting information may vary but the need to be informed and improve their competences in the way they find it appropriate will remain.

Of course the online world does not exist unconnected to the physical world. Indeed, it is precisely the ‘hybrid’ nature of the lives of these young people – the interaction of the virtual or internet world and the physical world – that needs to be understood in order to ensure that learning, support and information are available in forms they want and can relate to.

The youth organizations need to
create that hybrid in their future educational activities in order to make sustainable learning
environment for their participants.

Interested organizations - please send the PIF of your organization and a letter of motivation by
email to:
Panu Päivärinta
Manager of Youth Work
Oivanki Outdoor Education Centre

kuusamo.international@kuusamo.fi