This document provides an overview of progress and participant demographics for the Italian virtual community created as part of the Connect project. It summarizes that 81 people have registered for the community, with most being end-users from Italy. It also describes the age, education levels, employment statuses, language abilities, technology skills, interests and expectations of the initial 38 participants who completed a questionnaire. While participants show diverse backgrounds, the community aims to provide social and educational opportunities to strengthen competencies and reduce social exclusion.

1. Web2.0-based virtual communities and social learning
to strengthen competencies of people at risk of exclusion
LIFELONG LEARNING PROGRAMME - Transversal Programme – Key Activity 3
Project Number: 505251-LLP-1-2009-1-IT-KA3-KA3MP
Grant Agreement: 2009-11792
Italian Community
Progress so far
26th April 2012
Frankfurt Meeting
This project has been funded with support from the European Commission.This publication reflects the views only of the author,
and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.

2. Italian Community
Registered users
81* registered members
* 3 members are registered twice
(dual role: administrator and end-user)
2
This project has been funded with support from the European Commission.This publication reflecs the views only of the author,
and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.

3. Italian Community
81 Registered users
P1 Project Coordinator 6
P2 Connect Technical Partner 7 4 technical staff (2 with dual roles as tutors ) 3 technical services
P3 Czech Community 3 3 tutors
P5 Spanish Community 8 6 end-users; 1 tutor; 1 overseer not actively involved as tutor
P6 Norwegian Community 1 partner
P7 German Community 8 6 end-users; 1 tutor; 1 overseer not actively iinvolved as tutor
P8 Internal Evaluator 1
Transnational Community 2 2 end-users
EU observer 1
P9 Italian Community 36 end-users
8 7 tutors: 2 permanent; 5 supporting advice when needed; 1
overseer not actively involved as tutor
3
This project has been funded with support from the European Commission.This publication reflects the views only of the author,
and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.

4. Italian Community
Registered users (81) by role
Project
Project coordinator 6 coordinator
Others , 6 ,6
Technical
Technical Staff 7 Staff , 7
Tutors , 12
(3 technical services)
Users , 50
End-users 50
Tutors 12 (14-17 if we include P1 and P2 staff acting as tutors)
Others 6 (EU and internal evaluator; partners’staff not playing the role of tutors, )
This project has been funded with support from the European Commission.This publication reflects the views only of the author,
and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.

5. Italian Community
People “recruited” (Comune di Milano)
*64 People who answered our call initially and sent us 20 stopped there
some feedback (at least an email, most often a telephone call
and/or filled in the initial questionnaire)
44 filled in the initial questionnaire (38 people) and/or 4 decided not to continue
took part in at least one meeeting
4 did not subscribe to the Italian
Community
36 Registered users (not all of them filled in the initial 28 since 11 February 2011
questionnaire)
8 between March and
December 2011
* Not included in the overall figure of 64 are the people who were contacted before the testing phase set off (they
were given the questionnaire and were presented the project, but they did not respond to any solicitation).
This project has been funded with support from the European Commission.This publication reflects the views only of the author,
and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.

6. Considering that:
- 7 people who filled in the initial questionnaire are no longer members of the
Italian Community (4 didn’t register; 3 signed a disclaimer note sent by email last
October to check dropouts)
+ 8 new people registered
How has the Community profile changed from the initial survey (38
questionnaires) ? **
Comparison (qualitative) with slides prepared in March 2011 - Prague meeting
**the information given refers to people “rectuited by Comune di Milano, not to people from other
communities.
6
This project has been funded with support from the European Commission.This publication reflects the views only of the author,
and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.

7. Personal Data
Age Range and Place of Origin
North
South EU
Africa
America 2
1
4 5%
3%
10%
over 50; 25-45;
17; 44% 16; 41%
Italy
46-49; 6; 31
82%
15%
7
This project has been funded with support from the European Commission.This publication reflects the views only of the author,
and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.

8. Personal Data
Employment Status
Retired Employed
1 2
Homemaker 3% 5% Employed
6 Free lancer;
15% 4; 10%
working Occasionally
10 Employed ;
26% 4; 10%
not
working Unemployed
28 22
74% 57%
8
This project has been funded with support from the European Commission.This publication reflects the views only of the author,
and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.

9. Personal Data
Formal Education
Permitted
School Leaving
Tertiary Age
education 1 2-3 years more
11 3% 5
29% 13%
Secondary
education
21
55%
9
This project has been funded with support from the European Commission.This publication reflects the views only of the author,
and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.

10. Personal Data
First Language
Spanish Arabic
4 1
10% 3% French
Portuguese 2
1 5%
3%
Italian
30
79%
10
This project has been funded with support from the European Commission.This publication reflects the views only of the author,
and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.

11. Languages
English (Self Evaluation 18; 42%; Entry Test 25; 58%)
Self Assessment Entry test
(self perception on a scale of 1 to 5)
Level 0
7
C2
Level 4; 9; 16% Advanced
21% 2 A1 Beginner
C1 Upper
Level 1 8% 4
Intermediate
4 2
16%
9% 8% A2
Elementary
B2 4
Intermediate 16%
4
Level 2 16%
Level 3 B1 Pre-
14 9
Intermediate
33% 21% 9
36%
11
This project has been funded with support from the European Commission.This publication reflects the views only of the author,
and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.

12. Languages Potential communication
French, Spanish and German resources of the community
German
Level 3 Level 4
1 2
Level 2 3% 5%
2
5%
Level 1
French 4 Level 0 Spanish
11% 29
Level 76%
4 Level Level 3
5 Level 2 1 Level 4
Level 1
1 5 3% 1
3 3% Level
3% 13% 3%
10 0
26% 14
37% Level 1
2
5% Level 0
29
76%
Level Level
2 1
11 1
29% 2%
12
This project has been funded with support from the European Commission.This publication reflects the views only of the author,
and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.

13. ICTs
Skills and Use
Skills Use
E-mail 3,9 Sending an email 4,3
Mobile phone 3,7 Searching for information 4,1
PC/notebook 3,6 Consulting the Web for learning 3,7
Browser (e.g. Internet Explorer) 3,6 Reading online 3,6
Word processing 3,4 Searching for online learning 3,6
Instant Messaging systems (e.g. Skype) 2,9 Using online services 3,5
Web 2.0 based services (e.g. Wikipedia) 2,9 Job searching or sending a job
Virtual communities (e.g. Facebook) 2,8 application 3,4
Spreadsheets (e.g. Excel) 2,5 Downloading files to read 3,3
Online video services (e.g. YouTube) 2,4 Using web radio/TV 2,8
Blog 2,1 Uploading images, etc 2,7
Podcasting 1,5 Playing or downloading
games/music 2,4
Downloading software 2,2
Doing an online course 2,2
 7/38 have ICT qualifications (ECDL)
(4 Basic; 3 Advanced ) 13
This project has been funded with support from the European Commission.This publication reflects the views only of the author,
and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.

14. Easy and regular access to a PC with an Internet connection
N. %
Easy and regular access 38 100
At home 36 95
100%
In a library 6 16
very rarely
In an Internet café 5 13
At a friend’s house 5 13
Unemployed or occasionally
At work 4 11 employed people
Other (Mobile) 1 3
14
This project has been funded with support from the European Commission.This publication reflects the views only of the author,
and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.

15. Interests /Hobbies/ Voluntary work
special interests other than work or study : 30/38
activities not part of paid work: 22/38
15
This project has been funded with support from the European Commission.This publication reflects the views only of the author,
and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.

16. Expectations
Short-term aims (2-3 years) Further skills to develop, including self-taught ones
N. % N. %
Personal fulfillment 36 95 82
Create new personal opportunities 31
To find a job 31 82
Improve my English 30 79
Meeting people from other countries 26 68
To improve access to online resources 25 66 Use a PC/upgrade PC skills 29 76
Meeting new people 23 61 Obtain better access to local services and facilities 21 55
To deal with bureaucracy 23 61 45
Prepare and write a CV and cover letter 17
To be able to help my children/grandchildren 14 37
Find contacts for job searching 16 42
To improve household matters (e.g. paying
bills online, etc.) 14 37 Improve work-life balance 12 32
To get a diploma / a degree 10 26 26
Improve the language of the country of residency 10
To find a better job / maintain my current job 7 18
16
This project has been funded with support from the European Commission.This publication reflects the views only of the author,
and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.

17. Interest in the project
 previous experience in e-learning sessions: 10/38;
 interest in the project: 34/38;
 willingness to dedicate time: 36/38;
 time to dedicate to the project: N. %
Daytime 23 61
In the evening / At night 20 53
Weekly (3-4 hrs) 17 45
Primarily at weekends 10 26
Every day 10 26
Once a week Occasionally 1 3
17
This project has been funded with support from the European Commission.This publication reflects the views only of the author,
and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.

18. Italian Community. Trying to build a cross-section profile
People at risk of social exclusion. What do they have in common?
“People at risk of social exclusion” identifies persons by problem, i.e.
"finding a job or a stable job,“
which in itself does not identify a uniform target
(i.e. with similar characteristics and needs)
18
This project has been funded with support from the European Commission.This publication reflects the views only of the author,
and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.

19. Italian Community. Trying to build a cross-section profile (profiling)
A very heterogeneous group: personal, professional and needs differences
People very different are present in / have passed through the Community, e.g:
people with issues of relationship /social communication and well-integrated people
people with few "assets" compared to the labour market and highly specialized people
people working in admin/business, and others in the creative professions (e.g. design)
These differences in turn intersect with very diverse priority needs
The rise of "interest groups" occurred in a piecemeal and
often no spontaneous (= pushed / promoted by the tutor) manner
Significant investment of tutors’ time and resources.
to get online contributions.
19
This project has been funded with support from the European Commission.This publication reflects the views only of the author,
and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.

20. Italian Community. Profiling participants
The most common observed profiles
The community is an "indefinite" source of " possible opportunities
People reading LO no clear goals / weak expectations (with respect to Connect)
the community
Plus factor new initiatives
The community is an “open market” (once-off approach)
People asking the LO focused /highly specific and very concentrated
community
Plus factor immediate and tangible benefits / free services
The community is chance of social interaction
People speaking LO no immediate goals
to the community
Plus factor comments and feedback
The community is gateway to broaden horizons/cultural relationships
People “living”
LO a long-term investment
the community
Plus factor learning opportunities 10
This project has been funded with support from the European Commission.This publication reflects the views only of the author,
and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.

21. Italian Community. Profiling participants
The most common observed profiles
People reading
Passive / discontinuous
the community
People asking the Active / occasionally
community or intensively active, but for a very short/limited period of time)
People speaking Active, but doesn’t stiimulate others’ follow-up
to the community
People “living” Active, interacts with others, activates communication flow
the community
21
This project has been funded with support from the European Commission.This publication reflects the views only of the author,
and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.

22. Italian Community. Profiling the Community
The community as a whole: which are the recurrent/cross-cutting elements?
Little or no time to spend;
need for short-term time investments (urgent and immediate need to find a job);
(very) low need to communicate with other members of the community;
prevalent communication with tutors (very high);
need for online “spaces” ensuring information protection and privacy;
better response to Live online and private (mail, telephone) discussion;
unwillingness to "do homework“;
unwillingness to communicate in a language other than their own.
22
This project has been funded with support from the European Commission.This publication reflects the views only of the author,
and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.

23. Italian Community. Profiling the Community
What elements resulted in an increase or fall-off in interest/participation?
Higher Activity Lower Activity
Tangibile benefit “Leverage perceived” Feeling of “being exploited” by:
personal benefit the project (e.g. project evaluation activities);
specific benefit (a specific person, a “friend”) the community in general (abstract benefit) (e.g. web
resources / collaborative story ?);
others participants, if benefit is too "unbalanced" (e.g.
language tandem when “unbalanced”).
short time long time
(immediate benefit) (waiting time before receiving a benefit)
23
This project has been funded with support from the European Commission.This publication reflects the views only of the author,
and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.

24. Italian Community. Profiling the Community
What elements resulted in an increase or fall-off in interest/participation?
Higher Activity Lower Activity
(requests, feedback, inclusion of additional information, evaluations with the option “like/distaste”; reports on other social networks).
services offered (e.g. workshops, offering Lack of new “things to do”
counselling services)
information on local initiatives / opportunities Improving the community with content had no
(especially if promoted Comune di Milano) perceptible activity recorded
social events (Christmas, Easter, leisure time together);
meetings in presence (group or individual; with tutors or
between participants); Lack of personal support (mail, phone call, meeting proposed,
immediate feedback in the forum) and/or Immediate/positive
sessions in the live room
feedback (comments/like/distaste option,)
discussions in the forum
presence of a tutor online (see.”people online”)
24
This project has been funded with support from the European Commission.This publication reflects the views only of the author,
and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.

25. Italian Community. Profiling the Community
Two case-studies
Case-study 1 Case-study 2
Workplace psychologist Homemaker
25
This project has been funded with support from the European Commission.This publication reflects the views only of the author,
and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.

26. Italian Community. Critical issues
Unfulfilled or inappropriate expectations?
Interviews conducted since highlighted that decrease in online activity is not
related to what Connect/the online environment:
is / has not done (according to the original contract)
but is related to what:
is not that is
─ a job-search helpdesk (I was hoping it would help me find a job);
─ a model of formal training (I was expecting a course, all was fine until there was a training course -
February-March 2011: Introduction to the platform) - ; I would like to continue face-to-face training,...);
─ an environment where only the partner institution to have an active role;
─ a social network like Facebook (with pages and tools just like Facebook , where I can chat with
"friends", etc.).
26
This project has been funded with support from the European Commission.This publication reflects the views only of the author,
and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.

27. Italian Community. Critical issues
Learning/training time: a crucial issue
The very heterogeneous ICTs skills of participants suggested, at the outset , to
devote training time to the Connect environment communication tools and
resources (how to manage personal pages and friends, how to write a post , how to use the Live room, web
resources, tagging, etc.):
─ if we had not acted in this way, the already small community, would not
have survived,
─ but, because of this "waiting period“ (the initial training took longer than expected),
the interest of people with advanced skills has worn away.
It is not a coincidence that there was a return of some users in autumn 2011.
27
This project has been funded with support from the European Commission.This publication reflects the views only of the author,
and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.

28. Italian Community. Critical issues
The layout and structure of the online pages
This is a controversial point:
─ some still believe the structure to be "cluttered"
(I struggle to find what I seek, it is not intuitive and I lose patience, etc.)
─ others do not believe layout/structure/etc. to be problems.
The different "fluency" in the use of ICTs takes into account, in part, for this
difference in perception, but
further investigation (with the experts of the project) needs to be made in order
to understand what changes might make navigation more immediate.
Changes have already been made in this direction, as indicated hereafter.
28
This project has been funded with support from the European Commission.This publication reflects the views only of the author,
and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.

29. Italian Community
What has changed since the beginning of the testing phase?
From To
Layout of pages , new sections
Design Co-design
tutors’ / project ideas (Cv map, collaborative story, users' ideas (see press release, testimonials, other-than-words,
Tandem) Cv helpdesk, With A Little Help From My Friends)
Home page
Fixed design, “authoritative”, (referent, evolving design: small but continuous changes
registration, welcome)
without links (news included) “console”: all is on the home page;
links redirect to pages devoted to specific
services/issues/discussions, etc.
contents not evident Contents/themes/services evident
29
This project has been funded with support from the European Commission.This publication reflects the views only of the author,
and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.

30. Italian Community
What has changed since the beginning of the testing phase?
From To
Approach
Prevalent in training that is: Prevalent in information and communication
very driven by request to do things/tasks proposals based
assessment of what has been done (I tell you ’“open-market” approach
what to do, I ask you if you did; see blogposts on CV) (I create the environment, the market-place):
increase in content increase in proposals, i.e. proposals of new:
consultancy services (Cv's, entrepreneurship, blogs , etc.)
services in partnership (press releases, testimonials): to which
they can contribute
focus on: focus on:
texts, photos, videos, links apps (google docs, voki, spicemaps photopeach, etc.)
(blogposts , web resources, documents, discussion tools "how to" (see Live session with the Czech community -
threads, "link of the week“) M.Folgado)
experiences (Live with the Spanish community)
cooperation "how to" (German Comm. tutor: recipe; With a little
help from "your" friends)

31. Italian Community
What has changed since the beginning of the testing phase?
From To
Approach
blog as "blackboard" for "homework blog as a diary, recounting experiences (e.g. Christmas)
assignment" part of a scheduled programme
Inclusive site Site as “hub” (to Comune di Milano services & other sites)
Evaluation
"formal" evaluation identifiable (to "on-going“/ ”embedded” (ie: performed at every opportunity
place, context, purpose, content) (see focus and in all situations )(tel. mail / live / meetings in presence)
groups, interviews)
participatory, (what's your opinion.about/ what if...)
biographical and narrative approach
retro-spective (what was done) pro-spective (what is going to be done)
given on request more spontaneously given 31
This project has been funded with support from the European Commission.This publication reflects the views only of the author,
and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.

32. Italian Community
What has changed since the beginning of the testing phase?
From To
Tutoring
opening the site to "do things"(a post, a comment). site always open
one content – one tool one content – more tools (e.g. Milan Design Week, news,
blogs, forum v. Live sessions)
prevalent actions: prevalent actions:
- planning learning activities; - activating processes
- enhancing motivation, - making things easier (e.g. use of tools,
- getting feedback communication)
- “brokerage” (to find resources in finding people with
similar needs, research services);
- improving layout
32
This project has been funded with support from the European Commission.This publication reflects the views only of the author,
and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.

33. Italian Community
What has changed since the beginning of the testing phase?
From To
Mode of participation / interaction
face-to-face meetings online meetings blended /different delivery methods (the primary benefit
did not produce clusters of being “making and renewing contacts”; (cf. co-working
communication as experience):
expected
seminars (face-to-face)
Individual meetings (with tutors/(Live / face-to-face)
Meetings in small groups (Live / face-to-face)
promoting meetings between particpants (Live / face-to-
face) and on other nerworks.
group-paced learning self-paced learning
33
This project has been funded with support from the European Commission.This publication reflects the views only of the author,
and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.

34. Italian Community.
Outcomes
Being part of a social community (using its communication tools/resources:
live, forum, blog, wall) has brought about the following outcomes:
Table A (examples)
Using web 2.0 learning/communication tools provided by the Connect
environment has brought about:
Table B (examples)
34
This project has been funded with support from the European Commission.This publication reflects the views only of the author,
and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.

35. Italian Community. What next?
Food for discussion
Layout/Design
Services / “plus”
home page as a console
site ad a hub multilingual live (in cooperation with other
communities)
Mode of participation “how to” live (“let’s learn together how to…”;
online, but
meeting with an expert (if supported by the other
social events (face-to-face and partners). Critical issue: language /language mediation);
online) and occasional meetings
in presence
online cv and job search helpdesk provided we find
ways to protect privacy;
Evaluation LaMiaImpresa (re. entrepreneurship): doubts about the
evolution of this community.
biographical and narrative
approach
35
This project has been funded with support from the European Commission.This publication reflects the views only of the author,
and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.

36. Italian Community. What next?
What next? Recruitment strategies
Apart from continuing with what is already in use:
Jobsearch back-up services (Comune di Milano): ! only occasional persons join Connect
Adult education courses (Comune di Milano). The majority being language courses:
! registration of new participants conditional on the presence of an active international community)
Comune di Milano websites (Council; Employment/Training Dept.; Foreign Languages training services)
We are taking into consideration other possible targets/possibilities
Prospective teachers/trainers (area: Foreign Languages; target: women; age range: 25+; interests: the potential of
Web 2.0 to: enhance language learning; finding a job). ! Not before: September / October
[...] Basic problem
Small communities are not a good presentation card
36
This project has been funded with support from the European Commission.This publication reflects the views only of the author,
and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.

37. Italian Community
“A chicken-and-egg problem” [2007. D. Zinnbauer, p. 34]
Kick-starting ICT-enabled networking among groups at risk-of-exclusion
faces a chicken-and-egg problem.
Motivation to learn ICT skills and get involved depends on the availability
of practical uses and tangible benefits.
At the same time
the utility of online communities depends on high participation rates
committed engagement.
This requires a balanced approach for eInclusion to foster access, skills
and application in tandem, in order to ensure a critical mass of users, uses
and utility.
37
This project has been funded with support from the European Commission.This publication reflects the views only of the author,
and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.