Social Technologies
Author: Neasa Boyle, PhD Researcher, Assisting Living and Learning (ALL) Institute, Department of Psychology, Maynooth University
It’s impossible to overlook how deeply technology has influenced daily life, employment, and education today. With its growing importance, education systems must adapt to ensure that students are prepared for the modern digital world and obtain the skills to navigate a technologically advanced society. However, such education streams have only been implemented in recent decades, limiting social inclusion for individuals who are out of education, training, or employment. This new demand for digital skills leaves a large proportion of the population with the responsibility of upskilling, or else facing the risk of being left behind in the current job market and, ultimately, being left unable to participate in the society.
Bridging the Gap – a research report, has found that 42 percent of Irish people describe themselves as being ‘below average’ in digital skills and abilities. This emphasises the digital skills gap in Ireland, and we know it is affected by factors such as age, socioeconomic status and region. As a result, the South Dublin County Partnership (SDCP) have created an innovative programme to improve the potential skills gap and draw upon the benefits of further education in digital skills. In doing so, members of the local community have been given the opportunity to educate and upskill themselves. In collaboration with researchers from Maynooth University’s ALL Institute, a full research report has been conducted to evaluate the impact of the program on community members (which will be made publicly available in coming weeks)
The SDCP is a local development company whose mission is to advance social inclusion. They are committed to proactively encouraging and facilitating the delivery of locally focused and tailored educational and social resources to communities in the area to address issues of unemployment and disadvantage.
The Let’s Get Digital programme was developed in partnership with, and funded by, Microsoft Datacentre Community Development and the Social Inclusion and Community Activation Programme (SICAP). It’s a free programme targeted towards adults, who are recruited through various networks, such as outreach campaigns and in co-ordination with other charities.
The programme is unique in its approach as it provides an in-person teaching experience, along with outreach programmes and an innovative teaching strategy with several different modules, which all work together to help accommodate participants. By implementing a structured, supportive learning environment and collaborating and coordinating with partners, it allows individuals to learn independently and grow their interest and confidence in themselves and in their skills, which they can then use in future when applying for further education or employment. The program is designed for participants of all ages who are interested in furthering their education, growing their digital confidence, and increasing their employment opportunities. Participants may start their journey differently depending on their interests or skills levels, but the majority will get to sample the Tech Tasters workshops, and then move on to the StepIn2Tech and Microsoft mentoring programmes.
Participants emphasised the value of having digital skills in relation to employment, and many expressed concerns about their employment situation due to a lack of technical skills or the pressure of trying to adjust to workplace digitization:
“It’s a new world that we’re all living in… There are zero methods of actually helping people to refocus their lives from an employment perspective and from a knowledge perspective… They need to be guided and to be guided is superb”.
In striving to improve their literacy, individuals must first believe that they have the capability to start the process. It can be difficult to dive into something new such as this, but as reflected in participant’s feedback, the Let’s Get Digital (LGD) program worked to make the modules entertaining and engaging. When interviewed, multiple participants noted that they were interested in continuing to learn, whether that be through LGD or further education pathways. One participant who benefited greatly from the program completed StepIn2Tech, FIT, and Tech Taster courses after learning about the programs through Clondalkin Access Network. Upon completing the courses, he was motivated to continue his education and enrolled in a computer science program in TU Dublin:
“The (Tech Taster Activities) were user-friendly and the visual aspects made it engage and much easier as a tech novice to build my own game. Taking part in the activity was both fun and interactive too. My teenagers were so impressed by what I achieved…. and it has encouraged me to perhaps dabble in tech some more in the future” – Participant Experience.
The overall emphasis is that the programme provides access to vital information to improve digital skills, and employment opportunities. It has given people a chance to rebuild their lives in a new and positive direction. In collaboration with ALL Institute researchers, a full report of the impact of the program is to be published, highlighting how the program has benefited many community members and groups. The SDCP looks to the future with plans for expanded outreach and engagement, and tailoring programs to span a greater range of ages. Though the program was initially created to target those aged 18 to their late 20s, they are seeing that younger generations are in need of specialized training and that older populations are significantly benefiting from digital skills classes. The SDCP looks forward to continuing to actively encourage, facilitate, and support the delivery of tailored educational and social resources to local communities.