The project vWBL "Virtual Work-Based Learning to simulate real experience in VET digital training" is focused on providing tailor-made solutions to the real needs of the VET systems in the forthcoming European post-pandemic societies, with special regards to the Work-Based-Learning (WBL) as key component of the VET having been particularly affected by the social distancing imposed also to VET teaching during the pandemic. vWBL will propose not only virtual situations allowing to transfer alternative experience to practise, when there will be obstacles to the real work-based learning. But the vWBL project will particularly operate in the area of the competences of the VET teachers to be aware of the potential effectivenesss of the virtual vWBL (virtual Work-Based Learning) and develop competences in creating their own impacting simulations of WBL. The project will proposed specific training to VET teachers on virtual vWBL. Furthermore, the vWBL training will pay special attention to the digital divide issue, including in the training all necessary support to inform the VET teachers about the issue of creating vWBL that will be usuable also by students having poor digital connection or device. In this way, the project will contribute to enhance inclusion and prevent the risk that categories of learners would be disadvantaged or excluded from learning. vWBL is promoted by seven partners from the six European countries Portugal, Estonia, Italy, Bulgaria, Cyprus and Poland, which are VET institutes, outstanding HEI undertaking research and training in the VET sector, provider of IT services to education and training, VET training designers and providers and international platform motivating learning and social development in more than 20 countries in Europe. | The vWBL Activities A1 Preparation (Months 1-9) Leader EPRALIMA / Collaboration: ALL PARTNERS A2 Coordination and Management (Months 1-24) Leader EPRALIMA / Collaboration: ALL PARTNERS A3 Implementation (Months 8-20) Leader JANUS / Collaboration: ALL PARTNERS A4 Quality monitoring and evaluation (Months 3-24) Leader EUROSC / Collaboration: ALL PARTNERS A5 Dissemination (Months 3-23) Leader IPCP / Collaboration: ALL PARTNERS | The vWBL Outputs Each activity will produce fundamental results and outputs. Some activities will produce reports as direct outputs documenting the undertaken process and the results achieved: A2 Management (Interim report at Month 12 and Financial report Month 24); A4 Quality monitoring and Evaluation (4 Interim reports, each one before the month after each TPM, Sustainability report at Month 23 and final QA report at Month 24); A6 Dissemination (Dissemination report at Month 23). The other activities will create the following intellectual outputs. A1 Preparation: O1 Guide for VET teachers to virtual WBL (Leader KRTC / Contribution: ALL PARTNERS) Months 1-9 A3 Implementation: O2 Virtual WBL pilots (Leader JANUS / Contribution: ALL PARTNERS) Months 8-20 | The vWBL transnational project meetings (TPMs) Kick-off meeting (KoM), organized in Naples (Italy), at Month 3; TPM2, organized in Kuressaare (Estonia), at Month 7; TPM3, organized in Plovdiv (Bulgaria), at Month 11; TPM4, organized in Lublin (Poland), at Month 16; TPM5, organized in Arcos de Valvedez (Portugal), at Month 22, in the same dates of the final conference E6 | The vWBL events National multiplier events, organized in all project countries at the same Month 20 E1 Promotion and validation seminar organized in Arcos de Valvedez (Portugal) E2 Promotion and validation seminar organized in Kuressaare (Estonia) E3 Promotion and validation seminar organized in Naples (Italy) E4 Promotion and validation seminar organized in Plovdiv (Bulgaria) E5 Promotion and validation seminar organized in Nicosia (Cyprus) E6 Promotion and validation seminar organized in Lublin (Poland) International closing conference organized by the coordinator EPRALIMA E7 Final international conference organized in Arcos de Valvedez (Portugal) at Month 22, in a date close to the TPM5 | Short-term joint staff training events C1 Awareness and competences of VET teachers on WBL training , organized in Nicosia (Cyprus) at Month 8 C2 Perspective strategies on virtual WBL, organized by organized in Naples (Italy) at Month 14
The main scope of the project "Virtual Work-Based Learning to simulate real-life experience in digital VET" (vWBL) was to encourage teachers and the Vocational Education and Training (VET) system to untangle innovative training provision in VET by integrating: (1) Awareness-raising methodologies for work-based virtual learning; (2) Innovative learner-centered pedagogical approaches, enhancing digital integration of virtual work-based learning (vWBL) into digital learning and teaching; (3) Promoting access to/and through Open Educational Resources (OER) for VET teachers to undertake the training proposed in the vWBL project. In particular, supporting the effective awareness of trainers and learners on the effectiveness of vWBL, while contributing to minimize the digital divide in learning. Through this comprehensive approach, it contributed to boosting WBL and social inclusion of all categories of learners, while improving the quality of training in VET. As well as the employability of VET learners and apprentices. The target groups of vWBL were VET teachers/trainers in the project countries, with needs to improve teaching/training skills in the project domain, becoming in time active multipliers of the project results locally and in Europe in general; VET learners in the project countries, with needs to improve understanding of diversity in order to improve employability and entrepreneurship, as well as to support social dialogue with migrants, refugees and third country nationals in general, in order to contribute to the social and economic development of more inclusive societies; VET and social integration stakeholders in the project countries, such as: staff from local/regional/national authorities with action on learning and inclusion; policy and decision makers within communities, from local to national. The specific objectives of the project were all fully achieved: - Promote the acquisition among teachers and VET learners/learners of awareness about the effectiveness of a vWBL experience; - Create, implement and validate a VET training on vWBL; - Share content for VET using OER (Opening Education Systems to the World, 2013 communication) by promoting and developing personalized modes.
The project was designed to make an innovative and specific contribution to the VET issues that were identified during the social disengagement imposed by the pandemic in European countries. In particular, like all other educational sectors during the pandemic, VET also had to shift all teaching activities to online mode, exploring at various levels of difficulty the digital competencies and skills of VET teachers, as well as the issues of technology availability. Support initiatives were taken at the system level, with a quick enablement of the equipment/hardware/devices for the schools, but as much as possible and at different levels in the project countries. Teachers also had to activate their digital skills promptly, and at the various initial levels of these skills, to the best of their abilities. As an equally immediate consequence, the teachers got a forced strengthening of their digital skills. The condition of urgency in which education across Europe suddenly found itself led to an acceleration in the solutions made available immediately, especially with regard to technologies that were provided both as free open educational resources and under low-cost educational licensing. This availability of solutions and positive effects, however, could not include immediate coverage of broadband Internet connection everywhere, with a digital divide problem actually occurring in some of the project countries, where the poor connection made it difficult for some students to participate in e-learning. Teachers also offered optimal performance in teaching and communication, but a general need to improve teachers' abilities to create their own digital learning system was noted. In the VET sector, an additional gap was identified for Work-Based Learning (WBL) because WBL needs technological awareness and advanced skills and competencies to be proposed as an effective alternative to practice in a digital environment.