ELIS College

Elis is currently running a three year program named: Jubilee 2000: a solidarity program to make disadvantaged people enter the Information Society. The program is made up of the following parts: a two years course named "Multimedia Languages & Technologies " for 30 boys of 18 years of age coming from disadvantaged regions of South Italy (1996-1998). This activity is funded by Telecom Italia, IBM, RAI - Italian public broadcaster. Hewlett Packard has given a grant to set up the multimedia laboratory (http://projects.elis.interbusiness.it/mpp) a distance learning project named Mediateca funded by the Italian Ministry of Labour and the European Social Fund aimed at preparing a learning environment suitable for addressing the needs of disadvantage people such as drop outs (youngsters who have failed in achieving a qualification within the national system), physically disabled students, women wishing to re-enter the labour market). The main purpose is to equip these people with the necessary skills to live in the Information Society. (1997-1998). The Elis approach to distance learning is based on the concept of "learning group". a distance learning pilot course, 6 months duration (September 98 - March 99) devoted to 60 boys and girls who have failed in achieving a formal qualification at school. The course will be held both in Rome and Milan where 2 Educational Resource Centres will be set up and two learning groups (classrooms) activated. Traditional lessons will be substituted - if appropriate - by multimedia learning materials available on the WEB and a tutor will design personal paths of learning of each student. Moreover each student will be given a PC and an Internet access so that some individual distance learning will be possible. This course has already been approved for funding by the Italian Ministry of Labour and the European Social Fund. a job creation activity made up of a practice enterprise, a telecentre and a cybermall, i.e. an incubator for start up companies. The project is partly funded by the ESF (European Social Fund), Telecom Italia, Leonardo da Vinci program of the EU A.Mi.G. - C.E.A.D. has a wide experience using informatics and telematics in favour of disabled people, deriving from the informatic laboratory, activated since 1987 in the rehabilitation site of Villa Valentina, where technology has been used as a means of rehabilitation and autonomy for mental and physical disabled.