Abstract:

Digitally enhanced learning has been considered an option to create learning opportunities for young people who are currently out of education and learning in rural areas. In the Erasmus+ project Winnovators we have explored a new digitally enhanced learning practice between universities and rural young women. Our approach intends to promote e-learning practices that would motivate young rural women to advance their digital competences, sustainability knowledge and learn to be more entrepreneurial. Universities are to become the actors of sustainable education goal, providing new competences for students to contribute to the communities as change agents, driving young people to learn jointly.

This paper explores the research question: What approaches in learning design can motivate cross-university community e-learning?
The Winnovators approach developed learning design that coupled higher education students from youthwork, computer science and educational technology with rural young women to jointly learn and work on digital, sustainability related or entrepreneurial challenges. The approach was digitally mediated - the students as Change agents and the young women from rural neighborhood were invited into the e-learning environment Winnovator Space. The Winnovators approach developed learning design that coupled higher education students from youthwork, computer science and educational technology with rural young women to jointly learn and work on digital, sustainability related or entrepreneurial challenges. The approach was digitally mediated. The e-learning materials were provided on different topics for self-paced elearning. The problem challenge themes were created for student-young women teams that they could choose as they liked. The Winnovators competence framework was composed from several competence frameworks to support active citizen. The learning of competences was associated with open badges.

The badge system was gamified with open leaderboard showing who were successful learners. The personal dashboard enabled to see which badges were earned.

The pilot study was conducted in Estonia, Serbia and Slovenia in February-July 2023. The individuals were asked to learn e-lessons and progress on team challenges. They could collect open badges for Winnovator competences. In the end of the pilot an online evaluation survey with Likert scale statements and the open ended questions was conducted. It aimed to study how different digital opportunities such as asking and giving badges, viewing the progress leaderboard, and personal dashboards and receiving badges associated with the motivation of students and young women to learn. The data from three piloting countries were combined and analyzed. Additionally the whole Pilot was evaluated with qualitative diaries kept by students and teaching mentors in the country cases.

Our Pilot study validated, that elearning based cross-university rural young women learning could be a suitable solution to bring young women back to learning and entrepreneural path. It also advanced higher education students as change agents for the rural community members. We suggest that the e-learning process in cross-university rural community settings has to comprise matchmaking and team support elements to be successful. Also, the simple gamification elements such as open learning badges and leaderboards and personal dashboards might not create the motivational surge for the learners.

Keywords:

e-learning, cross university-community, motivation, gamification, higher education capacity building.