TRACK 6 - LIFELONG EDUCATION Authors: Giselle Janeiro, Luis Jacob and Maria José Rodríguez Conde

1. OPALESCE – Online Portal and Active
Learning System for Senior Citizens in
Europe
Luís Jacob
RUTIS – Association Third Age Universities Network

2. Luís Jacob
President of RUTIS
Teacher at Escola Superior de Saúde de Bragança
Giselle Janeiro
Gerontologist of RUTIS
Teacher at Escola Superior de Saúde de Bragança
Authors

3. THE OPALESCE PROJECT
Erasmus+, NA of Portugal
2014-1-PT1-KA204-1044
5 partner organisations
01. Sep. 2014 – 31. Aug. 2017
http://opalesce.eduproject.eu

4. WHY DO WE DO THE PROJECT?
RATIONALE:
POTENTIAL BENEFITS:
Seniors suffer the risk to be left-behind.
Technology offers great opportunities.
Enhance independency, decrease helplessnes.
Engage with others, decrease loneliness.
Tackle intellectual decline, foster self-esteem.

5. OUR SUGGESTED SOLUTION!
ACTIVE LEARNING SYSTEM
(mobile application)
ONLINE PORTAL
CLAIM
1 hour-barrier
BASIS
Learning theories
Andragogy acc. to KNOWLES
CTML acc. to MAYER

6. BROWSE
LEARNING CONTENTS
USE
MICRO UNITS
TEST THEIR
KNOWLEDGE
SEE PROGRESS &
STATISTICS
ACTIVE LEARNING SYSTEM
(mobile application)
MANY MORE

7. ONLINE PORTAL
• Account administration
• Micro Unit catalogue
• Author information
• Guided Authoring Tool
• Help & FAQ
• …

8. • Highly focused and concise
• Lengths of 10-15min.
• Microteaching Setting
• Elements & Views
• Learning Support Functions
• Assessment fosters self-evaluation
MICRO UNIT-APPROACH

9. EVALUATION (INFORMATION)
10 participants (4w, 6m)
Aged 60-85
5 from rural areas, 5 from cities
Semi-structured interviews
Visited at home
OBJECTIVE:
Perceived usefulness and quality of LCD.
Estimation of the acceptance of such a system.
Information for the User-Interface design.
NOTE:
This was an early evaluation, to get general
information. It is only one of many evaluations
focusing on different target groups, and
outputs.
PARTICIPANTS:

10. EVALUATION (RESULTS WITH SENIORS)
„In my opinion, this project is very important and useful. For me it is important that it is simple.“
• Thought through design, and the target groups‘ needs are met.
• Clear preference towards images, audio, and video elements; Text elements should be used cautiously.
• Do not combine too many elements in one Micro Unit.
• Need for easy gestures, due to impaired manual dexterity (e.g. athritis sufferers).
• Practical orientation/ easy to follow content structure/ avoid academic contents.

11. EVALUATION (FIRST EXPERIENCES, OUT OF THE BOX)
• Creation only of Micro Unit-concept needs 8h. (unexperienced creator, high quality standard)
• 8-10 min. are perfect – 15min. are maximum (dependent from the Elements used)
• Highly transferable into other contexts (business, university, etc.)
• Useful for Blended Learning and Inverted Classroom approaches
• Advances in the field of assessment are necessary

12. THANKS FOR YOUR ATTENTION!
.