The European Learning Community for Regional Development- ELDORADO Project (229582-CP-1-2006-1-ES-Minerva-M) aims to create a European Learning Community for responsible and agents involved in Local and Regional Development (hereafter RD), based on the Integration of Lifelong Learning and Information and Communications Technologies (hereafter LLL and ICT). The identification of the potential of the ICT use for learning is also accompanied in many cases by the recognition of the lack of actual integration of ICT for learning policy and practice into the RD strategies and initiatives. This existing gap is due, among others, to the lack of familiarity of regional and local policy makers with the use of ICT for learning; to the fragmentation of responsibilities concerning local/regional development; to the relative isolation of education and training in the overall regional policy agenda and to the lack of awareness and lack of experience of ICT use to support learning by responsible and professionals of RD.
The main goal of ELDORADO is to establish a user-friendly- European Learning Community for RD responsible and agents, addressing their main learning needs and aiming at familiarizing them with the use of ICT for learning. The Community is intended to become, not only an approach to support their own learning as a professional community, but also as a high potential instrument to accompany and accelerate regional innovation, social and economic development programmes and initiatives. Five are the objectives: (1) to establish a Continuing Professional Development model (CPD model) for Regional Development Agents (RDA) based on an integrated and contextualised use of ICT for learning; (2) to increase awareness and confidence of RDA and the policy makers on the potential of ICT for learning through promoting a direct experience of learning embedded in relevant project work; (3) to explore and collect evidence of the potential of ICT for learning to accompany and support regional development initiatives/programmes; (4) to validate the model and plan its dissemination and sustainable development, upgrading and updating the model on a basis of a continuing flow of improvement; and (5) to improve understanding of the impact of ICT and, specifically of using ICT for learning tools on the organization of the learning processes of the RDA.
The scheduled activities are organized in 6 work packages, namely: Regional Development Laboratory; Benchmark Analysis; Project based pilot learning; Learning Community for Regional Development; Feedback and sustainability and Project management and evaluation. ELDORADO main outcomes include (1) a map of main regional development priorities from a benchmarking analysis, a SWOT analysis, the identification of learning supply and related learning needs; (2) the activation of a collaborative learning environment and learning resources; (3) a Continuing Professional Development model tested and running and (4) a sustainability plan.
The paper will present the results of the experience undertaken by twelve RDA from the Balearic Islands that have been monitored and accompanied through a process of discovery and adoption of ICT. They have communicated by instant messages, chats and forums debates. They have shared essential information and have learned how to organize and store it by using 2.0 web tools. Finally, they have prepared documentation by using a collaborative methodology.