UPTAKE ICT – MOOC ON DIGITAL EMPLOYABILITY

"Uptake_ICT2life-cycle: digital literacy and inclusion to learners with disadvantaged background" is an Erasmus+ project that aims at enhancing digital literacy among adults with disadvantaged backgrounds. One of the project’s outputs is a MOOC on Digital Employability. This paper presents and reflects upon this product, analysing data collected from the students that followed the course as pilot-group. The experience has proved very positive since students recognized the technical quality of the MOOC, as well as the interest, relevance and utility of its contents. A bridge between academia and the work market was established and the students’ awareness of several career opportunities was raised. These various aspects seem to recommend the replication of this MOOC as well as the making of similar ones.

The adopted methodology that the trainers involved in this action decided to use aimed at reaching two major target groups: higher education students and other participants that were enrolled in parallel training sessions. Trainees from the Higher School of Education of the Polytechnic Institute of Santarem had two sorts of profile, according to their study area, more specifically, communication and multimedia or plastic arts and multimedia. So, the idea underlying the chosen strategy was to diversify the target population of the MOOC, and to establish a bridge between participants who had more competencies in the field of ICTs (the multimedia class), and those who has lesser skills in this field (the art class). This diversity implied that the achieved results and metrics, both analytical data and statistic results concerning the used platform and the course’s content, included answers given by students with different learning profiles.
The MOOC focused on the importance of ICT for employability. It presented information and suggestions on three main areas, Employability, Freelancing and Entrepreneurship. Each module of the course had several lessons since the educational contents were structured into specific sections, each one addressing a key subject and providing sets of examples that helped students to better understand the focused issues.

The MOOC also includes video presentations with real life examples of successful entrepreneurs and freelancers, telling about their experiences and giving advice on how to thrive in the current job market. This is an innovative aspect that means both an approach between business and education, as well as to bring students closer to the objective requirements of working life outside schools.