Abstract
Education faces continuous challenges trying to adapt to the everyday life situation. The new teaching and learning practices, involving blended and collaborative approaches, are in front line of the European strategy which focuses on E-competences and e-skills as autonomous elements of personal and professional development to be supported by specific learning activities and patterns. The latest ICT solutions for simulations, virtual worlds, immersive learning and enhanced learning experiences are continuously producing renewed toolkits, supporting the development of authentic learning settings. From this perspective, the needs for communication and collaboration, for exchange ideas and for harmonizing the educational patterns are obvious.
This paper analyses the role of ICT-based professional development training programs for changing the teaching and learning process in the context of adult education, with a particular focus on entrepreneurial training program. This training program was developed during the implementation of the European project "Development of the entrepreneurial competences - an efficient alternative for adaptation to the labour market in the information society (POSDRU/92/3.1/S/62353)", coordinated by the Career Counselling and Guidance Center, University Politehnica of Bucharest. These kind of ICT- supported training programs represent a suitable solution to develop/export educational models, to transfer good practice in training field and to support mutual learning, as specific practices in adult education and professional development, particularly. During 3 years of implementing this European project, among other specific activities aimed to promote the entrepreneurial culture and increase the awareness, we developed, authorized and implemented a training program in entrepreneurial field, as a key element of sustainability. The training program consists of 10 modules focusing on development of entrepreneurial skills and competences and is addressed to employers, employees and persons who want to start an independent activity, in order for them to get support in term of counseling and expertise in entrepreneurial field. The training program benefits of the advantages of a dedicated e-Learning platform, whose role and impact will be described in the paper. E-learning has become a dominant delivery method in training settings across various fields and a wide range of contents approached. How prepared are the beneficiaries for initiating and managing independent learning or working activities, especially related to the e-business field? How well could we motivate them in learning experience based training supported by ICT tools? |
Keywords
education and training programs, ICT tools, professional development, e-Learning platforms, European projects, adult education |