Online Learning Facilities to Support Coding and Robotics Courses for Youth

Nowadays programming and computational skills are of great importance in working and social life. Knowing how to code is empowering. It allows to understand the digital world we live in and to shape it. Basic coding skills are essential for accessing the jobs of today and tomorrow and for achieving a better skills-match between education and the labor market. This paper presents a European Project entitled “Coding and Youth: An innovative program in the digital era” (Code@Youth), which attempted to utilize constructively the long period of summer vacations in European countries in order to introduce students to the world of programming and robotics by offering hybrid learning activities in parallel with on-line learning facilities. The main purpose of this program was to plan, implement and evaluate these activities for young people, through the on-line platform, in order to lead to the acquisition, recognition and validation of computational skills obtained through non-formal learning

ICT-based Innovation and Employability for Women

The utilization of ICTs in creating new jobs and eliminating gender based inequalities in employability and entrepreneurship, employs increasingly more researchers, governments and organizations around the world. In this article we analyze the current situation regarding the impact of ICTs, social networks and media on creating new opportunities for the employability of women. We also present the new market requirements, the new e-skills that will be acquired by women in order to take advantage of new labor market opportunities. Finally special reference is made to new trends in women's entrepreneurship as well as the supportive role of ICTs

Cognitive-Based E-Learning Design for Older Adults

Aging is highly correlated with a decline in cognitive abilities. Information and communication technologies are nowadays increasingly used for knowledge acquisition, education, cognitive development, etc. Older adults should be prepared to adopt these technologies and take advantage of their capabilities. The purpose of this study was to analyze the cognitive profile of older adults in order to identify the ways that they learn, as well as to analyze older adults’ attitudes, to aid in the development of an e-learning platform adapted to their needs. The sample of the study consisted of 103 older adults, aged 55+, from Greece. According to their responses, older adults seemed to prefer e-learning modules that presented the educational content step-by-step and contained practice questions and examples. In addition, respondents had positive attitudes toward the existence of assessment tests for after the completion of each module. Finally, the utilization of explanatory videos and special graphics in the modules was imperative, according to older adults’ preferences