BEST DIGITAL RESOURCE FINALIST

Get Smarter

Malta Communications Authority (MCA)

Resource website: http://www.mca.org.mt/getsmarter

Year created: 2017

Number of people benefited: 1,000

DOWNLOAD THE BOOKLET IN ENGLISH: MCA_GetSmarter_booklet_ENG.pdf

RESOURCE DESCRIPTION

The MCA, in collaboration with the three lead operators in Malta (Vodafone, Melita and GO) launched this project with the aim of providing introductory sessions on the use of smartphones to the general public. This training went beyond the regular use of phones and reflected the difference between Wi-Fi and broadband, connecting with people, using the camera and browsing the internet just to name a few.

Sessions were offered free of charge. In order to facilitate participation, the MCA set up the sessions at different times during the day, at its various centers across Malta and Gozo. These 4-hour sessions were open to everyone, split over two sessions of 2 hours each. Participants who already owned a smartphone, were invited to bring it with them during the sessions. Those who do not own a smartphone were still eligible to participate as smartphones were provided during the sessions.

INNOVATION

This project was conducted in collaboration with the three biggest mobile telephone operators in Malta, the first of its kind to bring together such rival companies to work towards one goal.

Furthermore, training on smartphones had never been done before in Malta, and the curriculum was developed with the endorsement of the three operators. The content of the course was not academic, but based on the daily needs of the participants.

IMPACT

The project had 1,000 successful participants.

It kicked off with a press launch where all project stakeholders attended together with Dr. Emmanuel Mallia, Minister for Competitiveness and Digital sector in Malta together with the media. 

A marketing campaign was developed. This included a short video ad with a TV personality to promote the use of smartphones and encourage participants to attend the training. This video was posted on social media and was viewed by over 46k individuals.

Other types of marketing tools were used, such as participation on TV and radio talk shows, TV adverts and a webpage for the project.

In the post-training survey, 45% participants replied they feel confident  and 32% feel very confident in using smartphones after the training.

In the comments section of the survey, participants expressed their gratitude for the course. Below are some of the quotes:

• "A very good course, the lecturer is a very good teacher and very patient with all. Her explanations were very clear".
• "First of all thank you, and if there be another one like this i will be the first to come".
• "It was very interesting and it is good to have another refresher course".

SCALABILITY / TRANSFERABILITY

The booklet that was developed for this project can definitely be transferred and also used as a self taught material for anyone who is interested in learning the basics of using a smartphone.

The content is also very international friendly and can be used in any country. The booklet uploaded online is in English which makes it easy to be used by anyone since English is an internally used language.

Very few resources are required to deliver this course. All that is required are smartphones since the training is designed for participants to have a hands-on learning experience.

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