THE THIRD READING AGE

Short descriptor of good practice
The THIRD READING AGE project aims to increase accessibility to new communication technologies for older adults and develop the reading culture among citizens aged 60+. Beside seniors, the project develops competences for educators and library staff working with older adults, and creates new educational material and resources aimed at activating older adults in the digital space. 
The project will develop senior’s competences in basics of using e-books and their possibilities, running and maintaining a creative online blog, and designing an E-reader club.

Type of setting where good practice is delivered
·         Adult education Institution Dante and Rijeka City Library ( Croatia)
·         Adult education Institution Glafka (Czechia)
·         Local Public body Unione della Romagna Fiorentina (Italy)
·         Small and medium sized enterprise Art Smart (Latvia)
·         NGO Euni Partners (Bulgaria)

Time Frame for delivery of good practice
It is Erasmus+ KA2 project that started 1.9.2020. and ended 31.12.2022.
 
After designing Online Reading Curriculum and E – reading Community Portal, a Training Programme For Adult Educators and Library Staff was created in order to support the delivery of the developed outputs and to ensure a quality training outcome.

Type of learner the best practice is supporting
– Seniors aged 60+
– Adult educators and
– Library staff


Resources used as part of good practice
https://www.3rd-reading-age.eu/
·         E -reading Community Portal: https://www.3rd-reading-age.eu/reading-portal
·         Senior Learner Manual: IO3_Trainig_Programme_for_Adult_Educators_and_Library_Staff_ENG.pdf
IO3 – Training Program_CRO.pdf

Aims and objectives of good practice
–       To increase accessibility to new communication technologies for citizens aged 60+
–       To develop competencies for Adult Educators and library staff working with senior citizens so they can adapt their teaching and services to their local context and learner needs
–       To develop new educational material and resources aimed at activating senior citizens in the digital space

Evidence as to why this was considered good practice
The project developed 3 Intellectual outputs with specific results:
1) Online Reading Curriculum for Older Adults – aimed at facilitating, encouraging and re-thinking reading for seniors using new technologies.
2) E-reading Community Portal – an open-source online learning portal featuring activities and tools in English and partner languages in support of piloting the Curriculum. The activities and tools on the portal are available for self-directed learning for any seniors that were not directly included in the training programme but need to develop competencies in using digital tools, participating in reading clubs, or using national e-reading resources.
3) Training Programme for Adult Educators and Library Staff: Senior Learner Manual – in order to support the delivery of the developed outputs and to ensure a quality training outcome. This training programme placed a significant emphasis on working with non-traditional learning approaches with the full consent of digital media in its use.

3 Key learning Principles that were used in this good practice to support senior learners
1. Participation
2. Readiness to Learn
3. Self directed Learning


Any additional learning that we can take from this good practice example
/

Any Additional Information
/

Country studied: Latvia