30 of July 2020 – Despite the context generated by the global pandemic COVID-19, the members of the TEACH FOR FUTURE project consortium, ANBPR Romania, as a leader, GLBF Bulgaria and HERITAGE Greece as partners, worked together to collaboratively develop a Methodology for training adult trainers in the field of ICT. The purpose of this Methodology is to make it easier for trainer trainers to know and apply a suite of methods and techniques that are suitable for ICT modules, to stimulate innovation and to make activities more creative, easier to prepare and with beneficial effects on the level of involvement of adult participants in the training process.

The innovative Methodology approached in an intuitive and integrated way modern teaching methods and techniques applicable in adult education in the field of ICT, with specific reference to the key areas addressed by the project, namely: 3D modeling and printing, image editing, digital marketing, and online collaboration tools, respectively.

The experts of ANBPR and of its partners who contributed to the realization of this Methodology documented the specific needs of the adult beneficiaries from the 3 countries participating in the project, in correlation with the objectives established for adult education, and detailed, in a structured, intuitive and pedagogical way, the best technology teaching techniques, defined the stages of the ICT skills testing and certification process and provided revealing examples of good practices from the experience of ANBPR and its partners in the technology field. Another added value of the Methodology is the inclusion of a series of recommendations for Member States and stakeholders who intend to replicate the mechanism and activities of the TEACH FOR FUTURE  initiative.

Through its theoretical and applied content, the Methodology contributes significantly to understanding the basic notions about 3D printing technologies, identifying the main types of 3D printing technologies, knowledge of the main areas of applicability of 3D printing technologies, notions of creation, modification and saving objects, import and export of 3D models, knowledge and use of the basic components of a 3D printer and the manufacture of a 3D model, and solving various mechanical problems in the operation of 3D printers.

In terms of image editing, the Methodology outlined guidelines on understanding key concepts related to the use of digital images, graphic format options and color concepts, saving images in different formats, using toolbar display options, etc., capturing and saving images, using various selection tools, creating and using layers, using different methods of preparing images for printing or publishing.

In the section on Digital Marketing, the Methodology provided substantial space to describe and explain the various options for online presence and how to select the right keywords for search engine optimization, use of social media platforms and tools, with the aim of understanding how to that the effective management of social media can contribute to the promotion and generation of potential customers (leads) and sales commitments.

Regarding the Online Collaboration component, the Methodology defined and explained the need to use online storage applications and web productivity, the possibility to create online and mobile calendars for managing and planning activities, as well as modern and intuitive ways to collaborate remotely using social networks, blogs, etc., but also options for scheduling and organizing online meetings and e-learning activities.

The training methodology for ICT trainers, developed within the TEACH FOR FUTURE project, is an innovative non-formal learning product for adult trainers, a co-designed intellectual product with a great replication potential, scalable and contributing to the acquisition of a complex set of attitudes, skills, knowledge and behaviors.