DigiS

Teaching Basic Digital Competences for Seniors (DigiS) is a Erasmus+ project, Strategic Partnerships for adult education. 

The development of digital competences is important not only for active users currently in younger ages but also for the seniors'
use in various areas of their life to more effectively handle various kinds of challenges. Since the digital technologies exist widely – or
rather, it should be said: may exist each aspect of our lives, often allowing faster, more comfortable and cheaper handling of daily
tasks: from purchases, through arranging for social meetings, professional work up to learning and paying bills.
In Turkey and our 5 partner countries, we are still dealing with a large group of older people not using new technologies, namely
the digitally excluded. These people are not able to use the opportunities offered by the digital technologies in everyday life. Only
few of them use the network services in an intermediate manner – due to the help of a close person with the appropriate
competences.

In this context, we have developed our 'Teaching Basic Digital Competences for Seniors' innovative strategic partnership project,
which we have prepared together with institutions that face similar problems to develop a 'flexible course teaching program' based
on special age groups aimed at our elderly citizens over 65 to teach basic digital skills through a 'smart application'.

Our project will start on 11.12.2017 and end on 10.12.2019. With this project, our institutions aim to develop and implement
innovation in the field of digital literacy which is our need by producing quality and concrete learning outputs for elderly citizens
over 65 years old. Within the scope of the project, 5 transnational project meetings will be organized in 3 participating countries, 2
short teaching/training program will be supplied to institution staff in 2 countries on related topics , 2 intellectual outputs will be
developed and 2 multiplier events based on intellectual outputs will be organized . 120 seniors will be trained in their own countries,
results will be assessed and tested and dissemination activities will be organized.

In this framework, our institutions will understand the following current needs in the teaching of basic digital competencies for
citizens aged 65 and older by exchanging and developing ideas,innovations on how to solve the problem with their outputs.

These are;

• strategic dimension of teaching digital competencies for elderly citizens, characteristics of trainees,
• historical dimension, education levels and functions, teaching methods and techniques, benefits on the trainees, effects
• critical and safe use of information society and technology
• communication and social networks
• basic computer use, internet usage, classification via internet, storage, content generation, information presentation and transfer
• access to E-government and other online public services,
• access to education and training environments such as E-learning, E-Course, E-Library, E-School
• daily news , E shopping, E-mail, E-commerce services
• the use of smart phones and basic applications.

More to follow on this project in February-March 2018.