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ACTIVITIES :: eTen :: Projects :: Projects of the Month :: BSOLE (July 2004)

July 2004 Project of the Month: BSOLE

Basic Skills Online for Europe

Issues Being Addressed

In Europe today there is widespread awareness of the need to combat adult illiteracy and to promote qualifications to adult learners, especially to those from a poor educational background. Computer technology is increasingly being promoted through a variety of national programmes as an effective means of achieving this goal. This is where BSOLE fits in: as a suite of multilingual learning materials and web-based e-learning products for the European market, delivering tuition in basic and lower skills to adult learners. One can define basic skills as "the ability to read, write and use mathematics at a level necessary to function, and progress at work and in society in general".

The members of the BSOLE project team – Amitié (Italy), LPIA (Latvia), BEST Training (Austria) and CTAD (UK) – have brought together their expertise to produce the prototype learning materials. They are based upon the Target Skills range (developed by CTAD) and in addition to all the features one would expect from this product (such as resources for both learners and tutors, a web-based management system for tracking progress and a communication platform), BSOLE offers further advantages.

Crucially, the product has been made language specific and culturally relevant to each target country – making the learning experience more entertaining and effective for learners and tutors alike. Flexibility is another key advantage: the software is designed in such a way as to make customisation of the product very easy and cost-effective. With the separation of content, engine and instruction, BSOLE can be adapted by teachers and learners into any European language. This brings obvious advantages for foreign language learners: you could learn basic skills in German, for example, whilst following written and audio instructions in English.

The product is aimed at delivering basic and lower skills to the following groups:

• employees who need to upgrade their skills in the workplace, especially where the introduction of new technology demands greater literacy, numeracy and ICT skills
• socially excluded young people and adults with basic skills needs
• young people and adults in or out of work who seek to improve their employability
• refugees and immigrants who need basic language skills in their host Member State.

Objectives

We believe that BSOLE has the potential to become a trans-European service which contributes to the European Community’s commitment to the facilitation of an e-society, lifelong learning and enhanced social inclusion.

The specific objectives of the project in order to reach this goal, are to

• assess the need for technical and linguistic customisation to accommodate three European languages
• identify if the technical system meets the emerging standards for interoperability
• customise the educational content for the various language versions
• test the customised learning environment and content with potential purchasers and end-users in selected European member states and measure its desirability
• determine the costs involved in customisation for a range of European languages
• develop a business plan for the market deployment of the new product both to these Member States and to other member states in other languages across Europe

Achievements

This year has witnessed the arrival of the BSOLE prototypes in German, Italian, Latvian and English – a showcase of the potential for CTAD to take a multilingual version of Target Skills to the European market. The prototypes are available online at www.bsole.com for people to try them out for themselves.

As part of the market testing process, the product has been trialled in the selected target areas of Austria, Germany, Italy and Latvia plus in the wider European market of France, the Netherlands, Portugal and Spain.

The feedback obtained from the market tests has been very encouraging and informative in terms of the market environment – such as its receptivity to elearning and its provision for basic skills education - and the reactions towards the product itself. BSOLE has gained recognition from virtually all the institutions and experts contacted, and it was generally agreed that the product is technologically and pedagogically superior to any existing national products, and indeed there is currently no real competition in this field. The prospect for the deployment of BSOLE is certainly bright, with offers of support from such quarters as an educational multimedia publisher and an internationally recognized VLE company.

Reference data

Dedicated Web site: http://www.bsole.com
Project Ref: eTEN-28018
Contract Type: Market validation
Start date: 01/02/03
Duration: 18 months
End Date: 30/07/04

 

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