FLEXI-COMP

Objectives of the project

Flexi-comp’s key objective is to support the uptake of innovative pedagogic approaches across different VET domains by starting from the baseline – ‘educating educators’ to use digital tools to give those left behind the chance to learn new skills. Specifically, the objectives are :

• To build on existing EU competence frameworks – in particular, ‘DigCompEdu’ – to develop a flexible digital competence framework for educators working in the VET sector
• To incorporate a set of competencies that enables educators to use digital tools to work with vulnerable groups, so as to in turn improve their digital competencies and knowledge
• To embed the framework in ‘situational knowledge-based practice’ so as to support educators to understand how to apply digital competencies in teaching and learning situations
• To develop an online learning programme – using micro-learning and game-based learning – to enable educators to acquire these competencies and apply them in practice
• To pilot the programme with 200 learners in four different VET contexts – school-based vocational training, college and further education training, vocational training for vulnerable young people and continuing vocational training for adult learners
• To disseminate the project results to a wide stakeholder constituency including policy-makers, educators, youth organisations and the research community
• To develop a Toolkit for scaling the programme up and out

Expected Results

For participating educators, the expected immediate outcomes – changes in awareness, knowledge and skills – are:

• an increased understanding of how digital tools can be applied in teaching practice
• an increased understanding of the opportunities afforded by digital tools in delivering quality learning
• an increase in the core digital competence areas covered by the programme, aligned to the EU DigCompEd framework
• programme participants acquire additional applied digital competencies to deliver innovative learning for disadvantaged and excluded learners

The expected intermediate outcomes – changes in behaviour and role – are:

• continuing professional development
• educators apply new competencies to developing and using innovative teaching practices
• improved teaching practice and learning outcomes for students
• increased professional mobility

In the longer term, the potential benefits for key ‘indirect’ target groups – disadvantaged and excluded learners – are:

• improved digital and media competencies;
• improved life opportunities, including increased employability and access to labour market opportunities;
• improved social and personal development, including increased self-confidence
• increased social and digital inclusion

The benefits for VET institutions will include:

• integration of good practices and new methods into professional activities
• increased capacity and professionalism
• reinforced cooperation with partners from other countries
• better targeting of teaching practices that in particular meet the needs of marginalised and disadvantaged learners
• • improved digital capacity and application of digital tools to deliver quality teaching.

Project Activities

Activity 1: Review of state of the art (Empathise stage) explores and assesses relevant competence frameworks and training programmes, lifeworld analysis identifies the challenges people who are digitally excluded face. The results of these activities feed into the programme user needs analysis,competence framework, pedagogic model, and technical specification (IO1).

Activity 2: Learning Platform, tools and Knowledge Space (Define stage). This develops the technical platform and tools to run the training programme and all other project activities that require an on-line presence (IO1).

Activity 3: Training Programme Development (Ideate stage). This designs the training programme and its core content modules (IO2) together with the simulated practice interactive game

Activity 4: Programme Implementation (Prototype stage). This firstly designs the operational procedures and systems needed to deliver the programme. It then coordinates the training programme implementation (IO2).

Activity 5: Evaluation (Test stage). This will apply the theory of change framework described above to monitor progress and assess end results.

Activity 7: Dissemination & Sustainability. This will design and implement an outreach and dissemination strategy from the project start and produce a Transferability Toolkit to support scaling up and out of the programme (IO3)

Activity 8: Project Management. This activity integrates quality systems, project monitoring, risk analysis, project governance and reporting