2B-DIGITAL aims at supporting the effective digital teaching and learning experience of VET teachers and learners, especially those at-risk of dropout and early leaving by adapting to the digital transition, magnified by COVID-19, in an attempt to avoid the increase of inequalities in education, and their consequent drift to youth unemployment and exclusion. It does so by encouraging teacher’s digital pedagogical competences to boost students’ engagement when learning online. 2BDigital will train teachers all over Europe to implement and mainstream an innovative online teaching and assessment methodology, that will allow VET students to promote their transversal and digital competences, boosting their engagement to online education and reducing dropouts. This methodology is grounded on the 2B- Digital Competence Framework of transversal competences for engagement in digital learning and working, designed at the beginning of the project. COVID-19 crisis has made even more evident how global, instable, volatile, and increasingly more technological driven and dependant our society and labour market is, and the urgent need for people to develop competences to constantly adapt to change, and to the digital way of living, working and learning. This digital transition has placed a lot of stress on the educational system, forcing it to put forward immediate distance teaching and learning solutions that often took both teachers and learners outside of their comfort zone, with teachers converting physical classrooms into digital learning environments overnight, and students adapting to ner online learning environments on record time. Teachers have struggled taking advantage of the potential of digital technologies to provide an effective e-learning experience to their students and learners have not always had the specific digital, personal, and transversal competences to keep up with digital learning. This is particularly remarkable in the case of early leavers from education and training, which are more likely to be neither employed nor in education or training (NEETs) and suffer social exclusion and poverty. VET should be helping to retain in education and training learners who would drop out from general education, and to prepare a successful transition of students into the labour market. However, dropout rates in VET area more acute than in general programmes, what raises equity concerns, as disadvantaged students are more likely to be enrolled in a VET than advantaged students. It is therefore more necessary than ever to implement actions that contribute to alleviate inequalities and gaps in access to high quality VET education of the most vulnerable young people, in their transition to employment, not leaving anyone behind. 2BDigital has the objectives of: -Improving VET teacher’s transition to digital education, increasing the effectiveness of their teaching, and preventing their burnout. -Increasing the engagement in online education of VET students, in order to reduce dropouts and early leavings, and boost their personal and professional development and employability in the new digital society. To achieve these goals, the project counts with a partnership of 5 organizations in 4 different countries forming a multidisciplinary team, representing the fields of VET, research, education, social innovation and inclusion, and entrepreneurship. The methodology and activities of this project have been designed to: a) Design a common framework of transversal Competences, key for engagement in digital learning and employment, matching different EU reference frameworks; b) Support the professional development of VET teachers with online innovative approaches for teaching and assessing learning in online settings, to adapt their teaching practice to all student’s learning needs, and boost their engagement in education; This leads to the expected following results: -VET teacher’s pedagogical digital competences and resources are strengthened, to promote student’s transversal competences in online training. -Lower and upper-secondary VET students’ transversal and digital competences are enhanced through online training, to boost their motivation and engagement to education. Along the life of the project, the following outputs will be developed, with a transferable and sustainable approach: A transversal competences framework for learning and working in the new digital society. An online teaching and learning methodology for transversal competences development in VET that will be also provided in an open MOOC format. An online transversal competences assessment methodology and tool. The access to the web portal where these resources will be hosted for download, and to the virtual Competence Evaluation Tool Platform, its sustainability and further maintenance, will be assured after the project’s end by all partners ensuring its sustainability.
The objectives of 2BDigital encompass enhancing the transition of VET teachers to digital education by improving their teaching effectiveness and preventing burnout, and promoting higher engagement in online education among VET students to reduce dropouts and early leavings, and facilitate their personal and professional development for enhanced employability in the new digital society. The primary focus is on meeting the competence needs of teachers and students in their digital teaching and learning experiences. The project is a response to the current demand across partner countries to modernize VET and enhance the pedagogical digital competences of teachers. These competences will enable them to effectively adapt to online teaching and support student engagement, thus mitigating dropouts. Ultimately, the project aims to ensure equal learning opportunities for all students, both during and after this challenging crisis, enabling them to fully realize their potential. Additionally, the project encircles various dimensions, including education, social innovation and inclusion, and entrepreneurship. By integrating these aspects, 2BDigital strives to contribute to a comprehensive and well-rounded educational experience.
The reasoning behind 2BDigital is to diminish the impact of COVID-19. It highlighted the necessity for individuals to adapt to a digital society. 2BDigital addresses the urgent needs of VET teachers and learners, particularly those at risk of dropout. It supports effective digital teaching and learning, mitigating the impact of COVID-19 on education inequalities and youth unemployment. By enhancing teachers' digital pedagogical competencies, the project boosts student engagement in online education, reduces dropouts, and promotes transversal and digital competencies. Moreover, VET programs, have higher dropout rates compared to general programs, exacerbating equity concerns. The socioeconomic crisis resulting from the pandemic has increased inequalities and unemployment rates. Students with special educational needs and socioeconomic difficulties face additional obstacles to online learning. By providing high-quality, inclusive online training and supporting teachers' ICT skills for teaching, the project protects educational opportunities for all students, especially those at risk. Furthermore, it bridges the training gap, improves online education, and reduces dropout rates, ultimately promoting better outcomes for VET learners.