4 concrete ideas to enhance Vocational Education and Training using - Blended Learning, - Open Education - Social Virtual Immersive Environments & - Augmented Reality Applications. Presentation at CEDEFOP Expert Seminar (December 10-11, 2015)

1. Open Innovative Virtual
Vocational Education & Training

2. LEARNING PROVIDERS AND THE COMPETITIVENESS CHALLENGE:
PROMOTING QUALITY IN EDUCATION AND TRAINING DELIVERY AT EU LEVEL
SEMINAR
10-11 DECEMBER 2015, CEDEFOP, THESSALONIKI
Teaching Adults via ICT
Stylianos Mystakidis
University of Patras, Greece

3. Outline
Quality in VET: improvement for the benefit of the
learner
VET Learning Quality / Innovation Suggestions:
1. Blended/Hybrid Learning
2. European Good Practices in VET
3. Open Education
4. Social Virtual Reality Environments & Augmented
Reality Applications

4. Who we are
• Centre for Vocational Education & Training of the
University of Patras (3rd largest in Greece)
• Subject Areas: ICT, Energy, Education, Business,
Engineering
• Founded 1995
• 1995-2008: 150+ subsidized training programs with over
10.000 trainees supervised by 90+ professors, involving
flexibly over 100 trainers & staff
• Learners profile: Adults professionals (25-40 y) and
unemployed (20-35 y)
• 2012-15: Educational innovation & technology for new
professional blended learning services & courses

5. Adults Training via Blended Learning
• Blended (Hybrid) Learning
1. Attendance-based instruction
2. Online live sessions - Web conferencing (Synchronous E-
learning)
3. Flexible self-study & group activities (Asynchronous Learning)
4. Social learning
• Training of Blended Learning Trainers
– Blended learning design
– Pedagogical Design & development of asynchronous lesson
activities for LMS (e.g. Moodle) and E-learning 2.0 (wiki etc.)
– Webinar Design, Material Design & Implementation

6. Trainers Needs for Blended Learning
• Content Skills
• Pedagogical Skills
• Technological Skills
• Social Skills
• Communication Skills

7. European VET Innovation Insight
Open Education Europa
Teachers Contest
http://openeducationeuropa.eu/

8. European VET Innovation Insight
• Open Education Europa Teachers Contest
• October – November 2015
• Prize: Visit to one innovative school / organization
• Over 200 Good Practices received from 27 countries
• 118 Practices published in the Open Education
Europa Good Practices Section
• 18 Good Practices (15%) on VET and Adult Education
• Winner announcement: Contest Webinar Party on
15th December 2015, 6pm CET

9. Examples of European VET Innovation
1. Greece: Teachers Training on School Gardening 
Blended Open Course
2. Spain: Learn a Foreign Language  Internet Radio
Station
3. Lithuania: Project Management  Virtual local guide
4. Spain: Job search & employability  Personal Learning
Environment
5. Spain: Employment & Socialization Skills for
Disadvantaged People  Installation of wood spaces
Explore more Good Teaching & Learning Practices:
http://openeducationeuropa.eu/en/good-practices

10. Open Education
Couros, 2008
Moving towards the omni-directional, transparent classroom

11. Open Education
• Massive Open Online Courses for Mass Vocational
Training
• “Open Education can help address both employment
and skills gap” (Mystakidis & Berki, 2014)
• MOOCs for WebSkills EC Project
• NAMA MOOC (Numeracy for Advanced
Manufacturing) Erasmus+ Project

12. Social Virtual Reality Applications
Breaking the barriers of the physical world

13. Virtual & Augmented Reality Applications
• Social Virtual Reality Learning Environments
(3d Virtual Worlds)
• Augmented Reality Applications
• Advantages for Vocational Training
– The role of the avatar
– Virtual experiences are real to the human brain
– Mental practice
• Train 3d Trainer Training Program

14. Kapp, O’Driscoll, 2010
The Sense of Self
The Death of Distance
The Power of Presence
The Sense of Space
The Capability to Co-Create
The Pervasiveness of Practice
The Enrichment of Experience
Virtual Worlds Sensibilities

15. Virtual Reality Environments &
Augmented Reality Applications
Tell ME Project
AVARES Project

16. Simulation of real work 1/2

17. Simulation of real work 2/2

18. Activities too dangerous to replicate in
the physical world

19. Process & Technical Skills Learning

20. Visualization (Change of Scale)

21. Data Visualization

22. Virtual Events

23. Serious Games –
Gamification / Playfication of Learning

24. Cultural Immersion

25. Co-Creation | Collaboration | Cooperation

26. Solutions to Challenges 1
Continuous Professional Development of Teachers
Use Open Education (MOOCs & Virtual Communities
of Practice)

27. Solutions to Challenges 2
Enhance Quality of Learning in VET
Use appropriately Blended Learning and / or Social
Virtual Immersive Environments to enhance learning
quality

28. 3 Key Messages
• Appropriate use of Blended Learning can enhance
traditional VET in several cases
• Virtual & Augmented Immersive Reality Applications
have high potential for training cases (e.g. with
strong spatial, manual aspects or processes that can
be simulated)
• Innovative forms of Open Education have the
potential of innovative, massive, rapid, distance
upskilling and reskilling of workforce and to
strengthen employment and development

29. University of Patras
Centre for Vocational Training
http://kek.upatras.gr
@upatrascve
kek@upatras.gr