In the first few months of the #HackAD project we developed three Training Course Outlines which serve as a guide and a plan to implement the Social Hackademy Training Courses with participants from disadvantaged backgrounds.

Topics for the three Training Courses had to be about something which is interesting to young people and gives them the ability to use their skills and knowledge practically in the digital environment we are all living in, so the project envisaged courses in:
– Native mobile app development,
– Web design, and
– Visual and Graphic Design.

The curriculum for the three courses includes 40 hours of training for Native Mobile App Development and Web Design, while Visual and Graphic Design course is 20 hours long. After the training is complete the participants will gain several DigComp 2.0 competences, and also EntreComp and P21 competences related to creativity, teamwork, etc.

Besides curriculum, the Course Outlines contains a lot of useful information regarding the equipment needed to implement the Training Courses and other prerequisites for attending the course such as basic computer skills, recommended instructional methods, etc.

Although the three Training Course topics may seem daunting at first glance given the time constraints and the difficulty of the subjects at hand, the project team made sure that the innovative lesson plan and methodology used in the project will enable the participants to acquire practical skillset in limited amount of time to be able to create and express themselves in the frame of mentioned domains.

The lesson plan and the methodology relies on the student’s involvement and desire to learn which is fostered by engaged trainers and practical lessons and exercises designed not only to teach the skills but to raise participants’ interest in further advancement and study. It is very important that the students gain skills and knowledge to be able to create something new, as this contributes to their personal and professional development.

Additionally, it empowers them to take on a more active role in changing their community for the better, as well as helping to achieve UN’s SDGs.
The project partners are currently working hard on collecting Open Educational Resources, or creating ones themselves, which will accompany the Training Course Outlines and provide the trainers with the materials for training activities including concrete examples, presentations, infographics, exercises as well as pedagogical and didactical materials used to foster the social dimension of the training.

Besides this, the work is underway on the Trainer’s Handbook and the Social Hackademy Online Platform which will complete the first phase of the project.

The whole project team is very excited with the way the project is going so far and can’t wait to get busy and use everything we are currently preparing in action. New materials and features are expected to be published during the summer months so stay tuned!