This project was completed in October 2003. For further information about the European partners involved and their projects, please see the project website www.adultstudy.net
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What is Adult Study Net?
Adult Study Net (ASN) is an exciting new project which aims to spread the use of information and communication technology (ICT) in adult education.
The project is funded through the European Commission (Grundtvig 4) and NIACE is the UK representative. Our partners in the project are Sweden, Latvia, Estonia, Lithuania, Finland, Italy and Austria.
The Swedish partners have been successfully running a cooperative ICT network "Folkbildningsnatet" and the Adult Study Net project plans to test how such a facility could be used both transnationally and on a national basis by the countries involved.
The platform used to run the facilities is called First Class. This platform allows:
 | Group communication; |
| User friendly access and availability; |
| Flexibility; |
| Cooperation between partners through local, regional, national and transnational networks |
The target group for this project are adult learners and those who support them. The project will particularly try to enable groups with little or no computer skills to take part. Adult Study Net will also seek to encourage those who do not want to engage in traditional / conventional education to take part.
NIACE will be offering free access to any group (16 years +) who want to use the facilities for any learning or activity that supports learning. All those who take part will have free email, conferencing and support. We are also producing guides for online learning and these will also be freely available through the Adult Study Net.
There are no catches the only thing you pay for is your connection to the internet.
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Adult Study Net Leaflet
To register your interest in taking part in the Adult Study Net , please complete the form which is attached to the following leaflet.
Adult
Study Net Leaflet |
How do I read a PDF file? |
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The role of the Moderator
Your role as moderator will vary depending on the group you are working with.
The moderator role requires an active presence in the conference. Ideally as moderator you would check / monitor the activity in your conference several times a day. Obviously this may not always be possible for time or access reasons.
You may like to consider sharing the moderator role with a colleague, and perhaps taking it in turns to check in on the conference. Whatever you decide to do you need to let members of the conference know. It is better to let your members know that you intend to check into the conference every other day and do it than say you will be there every day and let them down.
The role of the moderator is to set the tone of the conference so that it is a place that feels welcoming.
The moderator needs to state clearly what the conference is for, keep the group focussed on this, whilst encouraging the hesitant to participate and keeping a check on the more enthusiastic contributors.
The following are the general roles and responsibilities of a moderator:
| have a clear understanding of what the conference is for and make sure everyone know what the objectives are; |
| be flexible; |
| encourage participation; |
| talk to, rather than at learners; |
| acknowledge and welcome everyone, especially lurkers and latecomers; |
| respond quickly to people's first contributions; |
| provide and create opportunities for introductions; |
| reinforce good manners, and make sure you informally encourage good spelling and grammar; |
| handle poor netiquette privately and as soon as possible; |
| refer to learners by name; |
| invite responses from participants to express how they feel about the conference; |
| pace the conference, and make sure learners are aware of the time plan; |
| be clear about when conferences end; |
| Provide swift feedback. |
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Conferences - what are they?
Conferences are places where people can send messages on a subject so that others can read them. They are usually themed in some way so that people can identify easily which one would be of interest to them.
Conferences allow for messages on a specific topic to be collected together in one place - which makes following discussions much easier.
Messages in conferences are usually listed in date order so that the most recent message is always on top. A conference will also usually display who has sent the message and the subject. When there are new or unread messages a red flag is shown.
A conference can also have other layers - these are usually referred to as sub conferences.
All conferences have a moderator who is responsible for making sure the conference runs effectively. The moderator will usually have posted the first message that you read in the conference explaining what the conference is about, what contributions or tasks are needed and most importantly introducing themselves.
Conference messages are held for a set number of days. After this time if they have not been archived they will be deleted.
Private
On your desktop you will have conferences or folders that are specifically
for the course you are taking part in. All the courses start with the prefix ASN
(adult study net). These conferences cannot be accessed by anyone not taking
part in that specific course.
Other conferences
On your desktop you will have some shared folders. These contain common
information and advice. These are usually read-only conferences - which means
you are allowed to read the information but you cannot post any comments there.
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Resources
This file is very large (2 megabytes) because it contains many essential, explanatory graphics, hence it may take a while to download. A hard copy of the Adult Study Net handbook will be sent to all participating projects. The handbook is photocopiable. Please note that the images on page 4 of the handbook are now slightly different to those on the Centrinity website. The latest process for downloading First Class has been simplified - and clear onscreen instructions are given. |
How do I read a PDF file? |
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