Abstract:

In 2018 the European Commission adopted the Communication on the Digital Education Action Plan. This document focuses on implementation and the need to stimulate, support and scale up purposeful use of digital and innovative education practices as well as outlines three main priorities which one of them “Making better use of digital technology for teaching and learning”. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, much of the adult trainings that was originally planned in person had to be organized online. That way the COVID‑19 pandemic has resulted in a significant increase of usage of digital learning by adults and posed a strong challenge to the potential of both online learning and teaching. This time contributed to better use of digital technology for teaching and learning also in adult education as well as to development of new approaches and methods.

Despite the fact that e-learning has been introduced as a part of the adult learning process for a long time, a number of problems emerged that limited full-fledged distance learning during the COVID-19 pandemic. For that reason, the aims of the article:
(1) to evaluate the various methods of digital learning used in adult education based on the experience of learning during COVID-19 lockdown situation,
(2) to identify problems emerged and
(3) to highlight the most relevant didactic aspects of digital learning and the use of ICT in order to drive content and provide continuity and availability of adult education.

The empirical study includes an analysis of the results of the adult educators’ survey on teaching and learning experiences during COVID-19 lockdown situation carried out in three countries: Latvia, Lithuania and Sweden within Nordic Council of Ministers’ programme for NGO co-operation in the Baltic Sea Region.

The results of the study show that the most frequently mentioned problems are:
(1) insufficient provision of adult educators with information and communication equipment,
(2) lack of knowledge and skills to use various IT tools, as well as
(3) workload change - in the distance learning process spend more time than before and
(4) balancing personal life and work.

Keywords:

Adult Education, Digital learning, e-learning, ICT, Competence, Learning outcomes.