Abstract:

In a historical moment where senior citizens in advanced societies increase their life expectancy and, in turn, new information and communication technologies evolve, develop and advance at breakneck speed; the participatory inclusion of the senior generations in the digital society becomes necessary.

Life expectancy has increased in recent years, as shown in the report "Evolution of the family in Europe 2018 European Parliament": on average about 10 years in the last 50 years. On the other hand, 1 in 5 Europeans (19.2% of the population) is over 65 years old, surpassing 97.7 million people. The population over 80 years old reaches 25 million people, and now represents 5.1% of the population. (Evolution of the family in Europe 2018 European Parliament: 2019).

The Committee on Culture and Education of the European Parliament, at its meeting on education in the digital age: challenges, opportunities and lessons for the design of the Union's policies carried out in December 2018, warned that 44% of the population of the Union The European population between the ages of 16 and 74 years lack basic digital capabilities, which causes a situation that threatens to create a new social fracture and significant gaps between men and women and between generations and social groups. For this reason, the commission proposes lifelong learning in digital competencies of different governments in cooperation with all stakeholders, such as companies and civil society organizations, and through formal and non-formal frameworks, to guarantee a sustainable digital transformation. in which no one is excluded.

The social constructions on aging, where care principles prevailed, have been transformed in the last decades towards some improvements in which potentiality and active aging form the pillars of previous generations. In this sense, new technologies stand out as necessary entry doors for digital inclusion, empowerment and the "activation" of the elders of our time.

For all the above, this article aims to serve as an example of the achievement of the appropriation of digital skills by including older people in the processes of co-creation and co-validation of online tools and their content, specifically through the Design of Massive Online Open Courses (MOOC) designed to promote the active life of older people through the collaborative economy. MOOCs, as demonstrated in recent years, allow to facilitate and guarantee the quality training of any group, regardless of their geographical situation or age (Castaño and Cabero, 2013, 89).

The participants of this project met in two sessions (co-creation and co-validation) in Spain, Greece, Germany, France and Austria, at two different times to determine the structure and content of a MOOC for the elderly and the General population interested in the processes of activation of older people and in the collaborative economy. In them, 40 people participated with the following population profiles: elderly people, local representatives of older people and professionals who work daily with these groups. At the conclusion of the sessions, significant improvements were made in aspects such as the autonomy in the management of ICT, the adaptation of tools to all groups, the construction of new meanings on the opportunities offered by ICT for the elderly, overcoming barriers and encouraging creativity through assets.

Keywords:

Digital society, MOOCs, active ageing, co-creation.