Forging new pathways of research and innovation in open and distance learning

eLene4work – Developing a Framework for Soft Skills and Digital Soft Skills for Employability
Deborah Arnold et al.
The end result is thus the following soft skills framework:
Table 1: eLene4work soft skills framework
Soft skills framework
Social (inter-personal)
Personal (intra-personal)
Methodolological
Digital (from DIGCOMP)
Communication
Teamwork
Conflict management
Negotiation
Leadership
Self-evaluation
Adaptability and flexibility
Learning to learn
Analytical skills
Creativity and innovation
Problem solving
Information and data-processing
(Digital) communication
(Digital) content creation
(Digital) problem solving
Exploiting the soft skills framework in the next steps
This framework has been applied in the following three concrete outputs of the eLene4work
project:
1. A self-evaluation tool assessing students’ soft skills and digital soft skills for helping to
identify the needs for improvement, which was developed by taking into account, for
each skill, definitions, skill dimensions and learning outcomes from a previous project
(the already mentioned ModEs project) and selecting the most suitable questions from
pre-existing questionnaires and tools used for soft skill self-assessment and selfevaluation.
2. An orientation guide specifically designed for students and young workers, to help them
in their approach to personal development in soft skills and digital soft skills and
covering:
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−
−
−
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the transversal skills required by the international labour market useful for
mobility in European Countries;
new ways of learning (the main differences in studying online compared to face to
face);
the potential of MOOCs: information about their classification, how they are
organised, how to participate etc.;
how to optimise participation in MOOCs, to get the best out of this experience;
what they need to know, and the learning-to-learn competences they need, to
undertake this experience;
350 Reaching from the roots – 9 th EDEN Research Workshop Proceedings, 2016, Oldenburg
ISBN 978-615-5511-12-7