Abstract:

This paper intends to present the self-evaluation mandala, an innovation implemented in the frame of the project “Digital Immigrants Survival Kit” (DISK). In the frame of the project, effective tools will be produced for those in need of being integrated in an increasing digital society. DigComp 2.0 framework contains the statistical data, according to which, 46% of European citizens in average, lack digital competences (DC). Every possible effort must be made to reduce this number of less educated people in the use of digital tools. This project focuses on typical DC necessary for people to remain well-integrated in a digitalized society. The project aims to develop missing digital competences of adults (Adult Education AE) with a special focus on so-called ”digital immigrants” which are people disadvantaged in society due to their lack of digital competences (DC) and therefore count to miner educated people in DC and to enable them to take an active role in the digital society.

The objectives are to create, implement and evaluate 15 modules teaching various specific topics related to everyday life covering and including DCs as a “Digital Immigrants Survival Kit” (DISK); to use flipped learning 3.0 as the training approach; to create an innovative self-evaluation tool based on competency-based self-evaluation mandalas; to create a transferability and implementation guide to transfer the results and outcomes in a flexible way in other European countries and finally to publish the modules of the DISK Toolkit as Open Educational Resources (OER).

The Self-evaluation Mandala is the modules’ innovative element. The Mandala is a graphic depiction which aims to increase the learners’ control, satisfaction and, ultimately, motivation. It describes the taught competences in terms of knowledge, skills, and attitudes. The depiction or graphical pattern of the competence’s description enables self-assessment to take place at a regular pace throughout a course. It can be implemented as a formative assessment to provide “just-in –time feedback”, as well as a summative assessment at the end of the course.

This method was developed between 2017 and 2018, has been evaluated in a case study in 2018 in the field of School Education and has been tested positively in an international project in Austria, Italy, and Spain in 2019.The DISK Project will transfer this method to Adult Education for the first time. For this purpose, the self-evaluation mandala will be enhanced, and the use will be adapted to adult learners (in AE).

The DISK Project is an Erasmus+ (KA2 Cooperation for innovation and the exchange of good practices) with the project number 2019-1-PT01-KA204-060898, the coordinator of the project is the University of Porto (Portugal).

Keywords:

Innovation, technology, self-evaluation mandala, adult education, digital competences.