In June 2026, Efektas Group completed the local piloting phase of the FEAT-DS Erasmus+ KA2 project — and the results were more than we expected. Across two separate sessions in Utena and Telšiai, 18 adults with Down syndrome and 25 educators sat down together to explore electronics, tinkering, and digital coding for the first time through the project’s blended learning platform.
This is what we learned.
What Is the FEAT-DS Project?
FEAT-DS — Electronics and Employability Advancement for Adults with Down Syndrome — is an international Erasmus+ cooperation project (Project Code: 2023-1-LV01-KA220-ADU-000160601) developed by partners from Lithuania, Latvia, Germany, Bulgaria, and Italy. The project’s goal is straightforward but ambitious: build a free, accessible, blended learning programme that teaches adults with Down syndrome practical electronics and digital skills — and equips their educators with the tools to deliver it.
Efektas Group serves as the Lithuanian partner, and the piloting phase was our moment to put the materials to the real test.
Why Utena and Telšiai?
We made a deliberate choice to take the piloting outside the major urban centres. Both Utena and Telšiai are regional towns where structured learning opportunities for adults with disabilities — and access to European project activities — are comparatively limited. By hosting sessions there rather than in Kaunas or Vilnius, we ensured the project reached communities that are often harder to engage through standard dissemination alone.
Two organisations in these locations welcomed the initiative, confirmed their availability of adult learners with Down syndrome and qualified support educators, and organised their spaces to accommodate the sessions. The piloting happened simultaneously at both venues on 25 June 2026.
What Did the Sessions Look Like?
Each participant worked through all five modules of the FEAT-DS Blended Programme, following a consistent learning path:
- Study of the assigned e-learning module on the FEAT-DS Web Platform
- End-of-module quiz to consolidate learning
- Tinkering exercise — hands-on electronics activity using physical components
- Coding game — interactive block-based programming through the project’s educational game
Educators supported learners throughout, adapting the level of assistance to each individual’s needs and pace. No two participants engaged in exactly the same way — and that variability turned out to be one of the most valuable things the piloting revealed.
The Numbers: What the Evaluation Data Showed
After each session, educators completed detailed individual evaluation forms for every learner. Here is what the data showed across the group:
Platform navigation and access: 8 out of 18 learners navigated the platform independently. 9 required educator assistance. 1 learner experienced significant difficulty even with support — pointing clearly to the need for further simplification of on-screen guidance.
Tinkering exercises: 7 learners completed the hands-on electronics activities independently, 8 with support, and 3 were unable to complete them. Difficulty sustaining attention and following multi-step instructions were the main barriers.
Coding game: 7 learners played the coding game independently, 8 with educator support, and 3 were unable to complete it even with assistance. The coding game was the most challenging element of the programme — and also one of the most motivating for learners who could engage with it.
Skill acquisition: 6 learners visibly demonstrated new skills or applied them in practice. 8 showed partial skill development. 3 showed limited results, and 1 showed minimal evidence of acquisition. Given the diversity of the group, this distribution reflects realistic and credible outcomes.
What the Educators Said
The qualitative feedback from educators was just as revealing as the numbers. Several themes emerged consistently across both locations:
The tinkering activities were the strongest element. The immediate, physical feedback of completing a circuit — seeing something light up or move as a result of your own work — created a direct connection between abstract content and lived experience. Participants who struggled with the digital platform were often far more engaged during the hands-on component.
The coding game has clear motivational value, but accessibility is the priority improvement needed. Educators recommended a clearer introductory tutorial and differentiated difficulty levels — because, interestingly, one participant with a milder presentation of Down syndrome found the game too simple, while another found it completely inaccessible. A one-size-fits-all approach does not work for this target group.
Several educators also noted that short instructional video clips embedded within the platform modules would significantly reduce the support burden — and allow more learners to engage independently.
What the Piloting Proved
The FEAT-DS Blended Programme works — and it works best when educators are present, prepared, and flexible. The combination of digital learning with physical tinkering is genuinely well suited to adults with Down syndrome, and the data collected in Lithuania adds to the evidence base being gathered across all five partner countries.
The piloting also confirmed something we suspected from the outset: regional communities are ready for this. Educators in Utena and Telšiai engaged seriously with the materials, provided rigorous and thoughtful feedback, and expressed genuine interest in continuing to use the platform beyond the project’s lifetime.
That is exactly the kind of outcome a project like FEAT-DS is built to produce.
What Comes Next
The Lithuanian piloting data has been compiled into a formal WP4 report, submitted to the project partnership for inclusion in the final evaluation. The findings — alongside results from piloting sessions in Latvia, Germany, Bulgaria, and Italy — will inform the final iteration of the FEAT-DS Blended Programme and ensure its long-term accessibility and usability.
The project concludes officially on 30 June 2026. But the platform, the training materials, and the educational games developed through FEAT-DS will remain freely available to educators, NGOs, and organisations working with adults with Down syndrome across Europe.
Want to explore the FEAT-DS resources? Visit feat-ds.eu or follow the project on Facebook and Instagram at @feat_ds.
Funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or State Education Development Agency (SEDA). Neither the European Union nor the granting authority (SEDA) can be held responsible for them. Project nr. 2023-1-LV01-KA220-ADU-000160601.