DIGIVET4ALL - Developing digital vocational education and training to suit different learner types and vocational disciplines Coordinated by Careeria, Porvoo, Finland Main contact: International Coordinator Ville Vierimaa, [email protected], +358405378367 Partner group: Careeria, Mediamaisteri (Finnish E-learning solutions provider company), Galway Technical Institute, Tartu Vocational Education Centre, Berufsbildendeschulen Rotenburg The project is about: -Finding the answers to questions that most VET teachers have about digital pedagogy but dare not ask -Developing digital VET approaches for different learner types and finding solutions to common challenges that teachers have about digital pedagogy and compiling a freely accessible resource online -Providing a tangible model for teachers to put into use in their own organizations ie. a set of instructions on how to make the most of Moodle in VET -Mapping best practices for Moodle System specialists for supporting the use of digital pedagogy in VET organizations Here are some questions that DIGIVET4ALL seeks to explore and answer. What are the best practices for modern use of Moodle? How do I create a course on Moodle that is more than just a material bank? How do I design a pedagogically sound Moodle course? How does the structure of the course and different exercise types on it support or hinder learning? How can I help students from different language backgrounds? How do I address both adult learners and younger learners who are on the same Moodle course? Can digital pedagogy be used to reduce learning material costs? How can Moodle support learning that takes place at the workplace? How can Moodle support learning that takes place at a workplace abroad? Can the same Moodle course be used for both distance and blended learning? What is the best way of using other platforms with Moodle? What about different media formats? What is the best organization strategy for Moodle? How do we make sure that Moodle knowledge is spread nicely and evenly around the college? How to ensure that the staff members make the most out of Moodle? How to ensure that the staff members get the right kind of support at the right moment? What are the best practices of promoting Moodle in my organization? The DIGIVET4ALL is about improving the quality of digital vocational education and training by supporting teachers. The three products of the project are all closely connected to Moodle support. The first product is a questionnaire that can be used by any organisation wishing to map what kind of support the staff members feel they should have what comes to using Moodle. By making use of this product the organisation can direct the Moodle support more precisely. Furthermore, the content of Moodle support can also be adjusted to address the correct things by making use of the questionnaire. The second product of the project is a tangible, hands-on instruction package for teachers who use Moodle. Some of the teachers may be beginners and some may be more advanced users but all the same the product aims to address both types of teachers by offering them a set of hints and advice on how to make the most of Moodle. Product no 2 consists of exercise templates, hints and instructions how Moodle can be used to a) address different learner types b) enable learning in various different environments c) make life easier by reducing study material costs and reducing the workload of teachers Product number 3 is a set of best practices for Moodle support, management and promotion in VET providing organizations. This case example compilation is the result of discussions and comparisons by European Moodle system specialists during DIGIVET4ALL project. All of these products are compiled by VET and core skills teachers who meet are trained on the topic on Learning, Teaching and Training activities in Finland, Estonia, Germany and Ireland throughout the project period of 2019-2021. The products of the project will be made freely available on a project website.
We wanted to create a partner group / small network of organisations dedicated to Moodle development for VET. We wanted to map the current and future needs and developments in digital learning in relation to Moodle platform and its use in European VET. The information was gathered with the questionnaire. The results of the questionnaire were used to guide the work on support materials for teachers. We wanted to address the needs that VET staff have by creating support materials. By creating the support materials we also wanted to steer staff members from using Moodle as a simple learning repository towards planning the courses with pedagogical objectives in mind right from the beginning. We also wanted to create support materials that would enable the teachers to create learning materials for different learner types and to take into account accessibility matters. We also wanted to get a grasp of what's happening in digital pedagogy in the world of VET. This was achieved as the substance specialists ie. Moodle and digital pedagogy experts got to share, compare and discuss practices. The substance specialists we also trained by Mediamaisteri (elearning solutions provider) and invited guest lecturers from different countries.
We applied for the project because there was a need to address issues about Moodle development in VET that the whole partner group shared. The following needs were addressed: -Gathering information on VET staff's Moodle usage -> a questionnaire was made and answers compiled before and after corona hit the world -Developing digital VET approaches for different learner types and finding solutions to common challenges that teachers have about digital pedagogy -> instruction materials were created and compiled on the project page and transfered to partner organisations' Moodle learning environments. The site: www.digivet4all.com -Providing a tangible model for teachers to put into use in their own organisations ie. a set of instructions on how to make pedagogically sound Moodle courses for VET -> instruction materials on pedagogical use of Moodle were created and compiled under www.digivet4all.com . -Mapping best practices for supporting the use of digital pedagogy in VET organisations -> this was done by the project substance specialists when they presented, compared and discussed the different approaches in different partner countries during the project meetings and LTT activities