3 Results
The results section of this publication is segmented according to the eight areas of evaluation mentioned above. Each segment is preceded by a short text de - tailing the key research questions in each area. 3.1 Digital international youth work formats This area of evaluation focused on questions such as: • How are online and offline elements combined du - ring digital international youth work projects? • According to the young participants and experts, what is the ideal minimum duration of a digital pro - ject? • How long should individual online sessions last? • What online tools are used most frequently and what is their function?
However, as mentioned above, some projects used a mix of these formats. The feedback from the team leaders as well as the participants clearly showed that they wanted any future formats to involve a suitable and proportionate mix of offline and online elements. In other words, training curricula and funding regulati- ons should be adapted to ensure that such a suitable mix can result. Particular mention was made of online elements in the run-up to and after an exchange. As regards memorial site-related projects, the feedback suggested that didactically, it makes sense to have an online preparatory phase that focuses on a range of aspects in advance of the actual site visit. Asked about the ideal minimum duration of a digital project, the feedback was mixed. Some team leaders and young people stated a preference for short pro - jects lasting a number of consecutive days (without a break). Others said they preferred medium-length pro - grammes with between four and five meetings spread over two or three weeks. Yet others stated they would rather take part in longer-term projects over a number of months with a monthly online meeting. The actual duration of a project was felt by the team leaders to be a secondary consideration; they stated it was more important to incorporate sufficient time for learning pro - cesses to evolve, for reflection to take place on the in - dividual sessions, for building trust and for engaging in an intercultural dialogue. Also, they said, programmes need to be easily compatible with the young partici - pants‘ daily lives. As for the ideal length of individual online sessions, the interviewees felt that three hours was the ma - ximum. Important aspects to them were an attractive programme design and structure as well as sensible scheduling, given that activities in online settings often take longer, which can lead to undesirable breaks and delays. The team leaders also said that obtaining feed - back from participants as well as technical difficulties can cause delays that in online settings (in contrast to in-person settings) are more difficult to bridge with in - formal conversations, etc. As one expert put it,
These questions yielded the following insights:
Online and offline elements can be combined in various ways. In practice, this can result in a wide variety of formats that, roughly speaking, can be ca - tegorised as purely online, hybrid, or blended. These three categories were developed over the course of the project to help describe the many different digital formats in international youth work. As detailed below, however, some of the examined projects used a combi - nation of these basic categories. Even so, the catego - ries can help to create some common ground when it comes to understanding the different options. • The evaluated online-only formats were exactly that – all participants were connected online and each took part in the activity using a personal de - vice. • In the hybrid formats, online and offline phases took place at the same time. For instance, one youth group was offline in one location while the other connected from another location online. • The blended formats involved an alternating sequen - ce of online and offline activities. Depending on the project, the online phases took place at different points in time: in advance, at the same time, or afterwards.
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