Intergenerational Digital Service Learning (IDOL)

2021-1-DE01-KA220-HED-000031186

Intergenerational Digital Service Learning (IDOL) was a two-year project coordinated by Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz. The project started on February 1st 2022 and aimed to develop an innovative approach to implementing tandem teaching in intergenerational digital learning through engagement (service-learning). In the process, universities and their staff and faculty were equipped with knowledge, skills, and resources to digitally integrate tandem teaching in intergenerational learning with older and younger students.
The outcomes of the project were, on the one hand, the creation of a guidebook that practically identifies, catalogues, and disseminates best practices for intergenerational digital service-learning and "tandem teaching" for universities and a toolkit with digital tools and resources for training university staff in digital learning through engagement. On the other hand, a new collaborative network was created for the project partners who are active in the field of university service learning with different focuses.
The following partners were involved in the project: University of València, Spain, University of Vienna, Austria, Folkuniversitetet, Sweden, European E-learning Institute, Denmark and Momentum [Educate+ innovate], Ireland.


Learning, Teaching & Training event "Service-Learning & Digital Empowerment. How can we make it work?" in June 2023

In June 2023 Milena Ivanova (ZWW, JGU) was a guest at the University of Zagreb and presented the Erasmus+ project "IDOL - Intergenerational Digital Service-Learning" at the Learning, Teaching & Training event "Service-Learning & Digital Empowerment. How can we make it work?" of the Erasmus+ project SLIDE. The event was organised by the SLIDE project team (Service-Learning as a pedagogy to promote Inclusion, Diversity, and Digital Empowerment).
The event was attended by service-learning stakeholders from the EU higher education sector representing Belgium, Germany, the Netherlands, Italy, Romania, Austria, Spain, Croatia and Slovakia.
A keynote speech first introduced the audience to the project content and goals of IDOL. Possibilities and limits of intergenerational digital service-learning were shown, and first project results were presented, which resulted into a plenary. During the conference, participants were invited to attend different workshops on (e)service-learning to exchange and network on different (new) methods and findings in the field of (e)service-learning.

Learning, Teaching & Training event "Service-Learning & Digital Empowerment. How can we make it work?" in June 2023, Photo: © ZWW

Partner meeting in March 2023

On March 30 and 31, all project partners met at the University of Valencia for the second transnational partner meeting. The IDOL team worked together on the planning and design of a hackathon, which took place at the end of the summer, as well as of a hackathon-guide, which had the intention to introduce HE-teachers to the concept of "hackathon" as part of a service-learning project.
The project made great progress. On our website you can download the handbook to Intergenerational Digital Service-Learning in four languages and the Toolkit with helpful tools for Service-Learning projects in HEIs: digitalservicelearning.eu/resources/

IDOL Partner Meeting March 2023, Photo: © ZWW

Project update September 2022

The IDOL project team (Intergenerational Digital Service-Learning) was working on the toolkit for the implementation of digital service-learning and the completion of the handbook for university staff as first project outcome. The team met online on 5 September 2022, with the IDOL project partners for the second online project partner meeting organized by the University of Vienna.

 

First partner meeting in May 2022

The Idol team met on 4 and 5 May 2022 in Mainz for the first project partner meeting. The topics were the partner research for the first project result, the project priorities, and the work on the practice manual for digital, intergenerational service-learning. This handbook will help teachers and educators identify, design and disseminate practices for intergenerational digital service-learning and "tandem teaching" for higher education institutions.

Project update February 2022

On 24 February 2022, all project partners of the Erasmus+ Project "IDOL" met online and got to know each other for the first time at a joint pre-kick-off meeting. The partners exchanged information about the first project steps and agreed on initial project goals. The JGU was represented by Beate Hörr and Milena Ivanova.