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LASER – LANGUAGE, ACADEMIC SKILLS AND E-LEARNING RESOURCES

A three year project
Funded by the European Union
Will run in Jordan, Lebanon and Syria
Targets young people aged 18-30
Those who have experienced higher education and those who have not
Combines academic skills development with online learning pathways
Works with organisations already working in the field to reach Syrians and disadvantaged Jordanians

Organisation	Country	Offer
CARE International	Jordan	Language, academic skills, online learning support and facilitation
Goethe Institut	Jordan	Language
Institut Francais	Jordan	Language
Norwegian Refugee Council	Jordan, Lebanon	Language, academic skills and online learning support and facilitation
Jordan Education Initiative	Jordan	Language, academic skills and online learning support and facilitation
Edraak	Jordan	Online learning
Talal Abu Ghazaleh (TAGIUNI)	Jordan	Online learning -Amity University (accredited)
SPARK	Syria	Language and online learning (if possible)
Open University and Futurelearn	Jordan, Lebanon	Accredited online learning (OU) and MOOCs (Futurelearn)

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OBJECTIVES:

To contribute to providing Higher education to displaced Syrian students and disadvantaged youth in host communities.

SPECIFIC OBJECTIVES:

To help students (aged 18-30) to reintegrate into the education system by providing them with language training, academic readiness skills, coaching and distance education programmes.
To help students who cannot access, or who have dropped out of formal education, to find new opportunities to continue their higher education in Syria or in its neighbouring countries.

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THE LASER PROJECT WILL:

Reach at least 2,930 displaced Syrians of higher education age in Jordan, Lebanon and Syria, together with up to 30% disadvantaged Jordanian youth in Jordan
Provide language learning and academic skills classes in English, French and German improving student’s access to higher education and skills
Provide online short-courses through MOOCs in English (Futurelearn) and in Arabic through Edraak , with the possibility of studying in French and German through OpenUp Ed, the EU’s MOOC platform.
Facilitate online, accredited higher education distance learning through Open University and Amity University for 300 students who meet the entrance criteria for these courses.
Deliver language and academic skills training in Syria through a partner organisation (SPARK) with the possibility of the future delivery of MOOCs

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THE LASER LANGUAGE PROJECT WILL:

The LASER language programme will support students to:

develop digital literacy skills and a positive approach to online education
increase their language and communication skills
improve their presentation and discussion skills
learn how to manage their time
develop their ability to work in teams and to work with their peers by learning collaboratively in groups, in managed learning centres
develop their confidence and grow their self-directed learning processes
Be able to have their English language levels tested through Aptis or IELTS - as appropriate to the level and needs of students.
be provided with coaching, guidance and support to increase their chances of success

Participants in this programme will serve as a pool of candidates for other courses – including credit-bearing online learning, short courses and MOOCs. (note – students will be encouraged to learn what interests them and makes sense in terms of their prior learning

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LASER ONLINE

- Flexibility – meet individual needs: time, skills, language, venue

- Learners select courses they are interested in and which will be useful - Learners will use digital libraries, textbooks and open access resources

- Be able to develop their own learning pathways – degree and other options

- Recognition of prior learning – students to continue learning programmes begun in Syria where possible

- Will provide evidence of academic skills – for future opportunities -

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THROUGH LASER, WE WILL :

Track and record the progress of all students through data collection and analysis mechanisms
Ensure that both men and women have equal access to community facilities and learning opportunities
Evaluate the outcomes of the project through specific KPIs and measures of success
Work with local and international organisations to assure the quality and the successful outcomes of the project.