Enhancing competence development for social inclusion Using the TENCompetence Web tools

This paper describes the study of two pilot studies centred on technology-enhanced competence development in lifelong education carried out in the challenging context of the Association of Participants Àgora. The comparison between both pilot studies reinforces the first conclusion drawn from the 1st pilot experience, which puts in evidence that the use of the TENCompetence infrastructure provides significant learning benefits for adult participants with low educational profiles and who are traditionally excluded from the use of innovative learning technologies and the knowledge society. The participants had the opportunity to develop and improve competences related to English language, ICT and Basic Spanish (only 2nd pilot). The tools employed switched from being a Rich client to a Web client also integrating new functionality related to self-assessment, activities organization and resources sharing. The paper introduces the context and the pilot scenario, indicates the evaluation methodology applied and discusses the most significant findings and the comparison of the two pilot studies. The results of the second pilot reinforce the conclusion that TENCompetence provides a relevant solution for competence development in support of social inclusion.