OFFER AND DEMAND OF E-LEARNING WITH INTEREST TOWARD RURAL AREAS. ITALIAN RESULTS FROM 'E-RURALNET' PROJECT

This work presents the Italian results of the survey on the e-learning offer and demand that has been conducted by the E-ruralnet partnership in 11 European countries with emphasis on rural areas since e-learning can be considered as a mean for enhancing lifelong learning opportunities. Three questionnaires are addressed to three target groups: e-learning providers, e-learners and a control group. The aim of the study was to investigate the actual offer and demand of e-learning and the potential users. In Italy, the results evidenced that e-learning providers are mainly private, small organisations who develop e-learning content with their own resources and sell a wide offer of e-learning courses to satisfy the exigencies of the large range of users. The main subjects are connected to ICT and communications, business and management, while only a small percentage of providers offer e-learning for rural areas that include people who works or lives in rural districts. The main constraints to reach rural areas are a lack of infrastructure (fast internet), ITC illiteracy and culture of people, nevertheless we have found a successful case study that experimented the use of social networks and e-learning within rural communities needed an aid to rural economy. Through e-learning, familiar enterprises learnt how to promote territory and typical products and social networks encouraged the exchange more than the usual individualism. An additional limit is the lack of support to rural entrepreneurs and employers in ICT and informatics. E-learning can be a useful method for training and learning because it is considered flexible, quick, easy method, however, blended learning is the most used. For a successful e-learning, e-learners should be characterized by self discipline and willingness to learn while technological and organisational aspects connected to delivery and use of innovation are rather important but not priority aspects. On the other hand, the survey concerns the demand of e-learning by users already experienced in e-learning and users who have never attended an e-learning course. E-learners are mainly between 35 and 50 years old and mainly men. They have a high degree of education and in prevalence work in towns bigger than the place where they live. The typology is represented by individual workers and employers in large companies and the reason why they attended the e-course was to increase competences in subjects like ICT and communications, business, technical aspects connected to primary and secondary sectors. E-learning for these users is often paid by the employers: this explains the most selected choice ‘personal interest to do better own job and improve career prospects’ as the main motivation to start e-learning. About the benefits, the majority of e-learners declared the usefulness of e-learning to improve their knowledge connected to their job and to satisfy personal interests. Control group included users who attended (or never attended) a lifelong training course but never an e-learning course. The motivation to start training was the same of the previous group: ‘to do better own job and improve career prospects’ and ‘enlarge knowledge on personal interests’. Among those who never experienced a lifelong learning experience, the main reason was the lack of time and job obligations. Nevertheless, the majority of control group respondents affirmed to be willing to try e-learning.