Tag Archives: Technology Enhanced Learning

A German MP visits the training centre Bau-ABC Rostrup – Great praise for their digital competences

Last week I got informed that Mr Stephan Albani, a German MP (Bundestagsabgeordnete) visited the training centre Bau-ABC Rostrup during his field visit in the region. Here it is worthwhile to note that Mr Albani is a representative of that very region but also a member of the special commission of the German Parliament for Vocational Education and Training (VET) in the digital world of work (Enquete-Kommission “Berufliche Bildung in der digitalen Arbeitswelt“). Given this background, it was interesting to hear, what he thought of the use of digital tools to support apprentice training and further vocational learning in Bau-ABC. After all, a team of us from Institut Technik & Bildung (ITB), University of Bremen had worked together with Bau-ABC in the EU-funded project Learning Layers (2012-2016) to co-design and pilot test digital tools to support work process -oriented learning. The main result was the digital toolset Learning Toolbox (LTB) that has then been implemented in Bau-ABC in their apprentice training.

Impressions from the visit of Mr Albani

As I read it from the Facebook-update of Mr Albani and from the attached pictures, he has informed himself very thoroughly on the training of apprentices in different trades and on the use of digital toolsets (notably the LTB). He gives great praise for tthe digital competences of trainers and apprentices and declares Bau-ABC as a parade example, how to implement digitization in the field of VET.

Insights into the demonstration of Learning Toolbox during the visit of Mr Albani

Thanks to the photos that Mr Albani has shared in his update we can take a closer look, how the use of digital toolsets (and notably of LTB) has been presented to him. As we see it from the photos, he got a hands-on training and his tutor was an apprentice who had become an advanced user. So, wee see them working with a mobile device and with the LTB-terminal that makes everything transparent for the apprentices in the workshop and to the supervising trainers (Lehrwerkmeister) in their office. And this guided tour is managed by the apprentice.

Perspectives for new innovations regarding digitization in the field of VET

In addition to the above-quoted Facebook-update of Mr Albani I have heard that Bau-ABC Rostrup is involved in a major innovation project that runs until the year 2023. From this perspective it has been important that a prominent politician has informed himself of the state of the art and given positive feedback on the quality of training and learning.

New videos on innovative use of Learning Toolbox in vocational learning

In my latest post on this blog I reported on the new Support pages for users of Learning Toolbox (LTB) and Demonstration page with brief introduction and a video presentation. At the end of the post I mentioned that the developers of the LTB had also published three new videos that present innovative use of the LTB in the apprentice training of Bau-ABC Rostrup for different construction trades. These videos had been produced for promoting the use of LTB among other similar training centres in Germany. Therefore they are (for the moment) only available in German. All three videos are available on the following web page: https://support.ltb.io/fallvideos-learning-toolbox-im-bau-abc-rostrup/

Below I present some screenshots of these videos and then give a nutshell summary of the key messages that are conveyed by the respective videos.

Apprentice Jonas reporting on his carpenter’s project with the help of LTB

The two screenshots demonstrate, how apprentice Jonas documents an interim phase in his project in carpentry with the help of the LTB-app on his mobile phone. He takes a photo, gives it a title and then uploads it into the LTB-Stack of his trade as contribution to the current project. The trainer, who is supervising the project gets a notification and sees immediately from the LTB-Terminal in his office, what Jonas has reported and what he has to do in the next phase.

Apprentice Jannis using LTB in the context of masonry

Here the two screenshots demonstrate, how apprentice Jannis uploads the instructions for his new project in masonry by reading the QR-code from a mini-poster with his LTB-app. Firstly he synchronises the LTB on his tablet with a Leica-app on aseparate device. Then he takes a picture and edits it with a line and then takes measures with the laser of the Leica-app. At the end he shows the completely edited picture with all the necessary measurements with explanations in the picture. All this has been achieved with the help of the LTB-app on his tablet PC.

Using the shared LTB-terminal as support for trainers and apprentices in the trade of carpentry

The third video presents the LTB-terminal that has been developed for the training of carpenters – one terminal at the office of the supervising trainers and the other as a ‘kiosk’ to be used by the apprentices at the carpentry workshop. The following screenshots give insights into different potentials of the LTB-terminal.

The first two pictures show that the LTB-terminal (whether in the office or at the workshop) provides access to the training contents of the respective trade firstly as an overview on the whole training year and then at the level of particular projects. In this context it is worthwhile to note that the apprentices can compile their individual learning logs (consisting of completed projects) throughout their training and save them in their own project spaces of the respective LTB-stack. In this respect the LTB has provided a digital solution for the former paper-based White Folder of the training centre Bau-ABC Rostrup.

As further support for training and learning the LTB-terminal provides additional resources. Above the first picture demonstrates the ‘dictionary’ (Lexikon) space of carpenters. It provides overviews on training materials, health and safety and other apps that are being used in the training. All this information is based on reliable sourcesand has been validated by the responsible trainers. The second picture demonstrates the 3D-viewer for carpentry that gives multiple insights into wooden constructions.

I think this is enough of these videos. As I see it, the trainers and apprentices have made great progress as users of the LTB. Thus, the toolset (with these further user-initiated additions) has made its case as support for vocational and workplace learning in the construction sector. Moreover, it is worthwhile to follow the further developments in the field.

New instructions for (new) users of Learning Toolbox

My recent posts on this blog have focused on the digital toolset Learning Toolbox (LTB) that was developed in the EU-funded Learning Layers (LL) project to support vocational and workplace learning. At this point it is worthwhile to mention that the developers of the LTB have made good use of the quiet period when they have not been able to travel to visit interested partner organisations and run face-to-face workshops with new users. So, instead, they have prepared new introductory web pages and demonstration pages for the time when they can activate their contacts again. Below I want to give insights into the main introductory page (available in English, German and Spanish) and into a demonstration page (available in German).

Support page for new users of the Learning Toolbox

As I see it, the new support page for new users speaks for itself (see below two screenshots and links to the respective pages)

Here you have the link to Support page in English: https://support.ltb.io/

And here is the link to the Support page in German: https://support.ltb.io/wie-konnen-wir-ihnen-helfen/

Insights into the demonstration page on uses of Learning Toolbox (in German)

In a similar way the demonstration page – “Introduction to the Learning Toolbox in one minute” speaks for itself. Below you find four screenshots of the introductory texts (the one minute information package) and then a longer video presentation (slideshow with audio introduction and subtitles in German).

Here is the link to this demonstration page: https://support.ltb.io/learning-toolbox-kurz-und-knapp/

The video presentation gives more detailed information on the use of Learning Toolbox in vocational and workplace learning with an audio slideshow. Here we have four screenshots that give insights into the contents.

I think this is enough of these introduction and demonstration pages. In my next post I will discuss further videos that demonstrate innovative use cases of Learning Toolbox in specific construction trades.

Reflections on the impact of the Learning Layers project – Part Four: What all has contributed to the sustainability of the Learning Toolbox?

With my three previous posts I have started a series of blogs that report on the discussions of former partners of the Learning Layers (LL) project on the impact of our work. The discussion started, when I published a blog post on the use of Learning Toolbox (LTB) in the training centre Bau-ABC to support independent learning while the centre is closed. This triggered a discussion, how the digital toolset Learning Toolbox – a key result from our EU-funded R&D project – is being used in other contexts. This then gave rise to collect such experiences and to start a joint reflection on the impact of our work.

In the first post I gave an overview of this process. In the second post I presented the main points that I and my co-author Gilbert Peffer outlined on the use of LTB to support vocational and workplace-based learning in the construction sector. In the third post I gave insights into the use of LTB in other contexts based on spin-off innovations and on refocusing the use of the toolset. With this concluding post I try to summarise – from my perspective – what factors have contributed to the sustainability of the Learning Toolbox. Here I will make use of some aspects that were outlined for the authors of particular case studies that were brought together in our joint discussion. The points that I present below reflect the views of me and my co-author Gilbert Peffer on our experiences with the construction pilot of the LL project and its follow-up phase.

Strong focus on co-design and stakeholder engagement

As we see it, the co-design, pilot implementation and wider deployment of LTB in the training centre Bau-ABC Rostrup underlines the importance of well-functioning research & development dialogue. Many elements in the project design of Learning Layers provided favourable starting points – e.g. the emphasis on co-design practices, iterative processes and flexible teamwork. Yet, during the work, the partners had to find their ways – time and again – to adjust the guiding principles, the practical pedagogic orientations and possible software solutions to each other.

Flexible collaboration between partners during the follow-up phases of the project

By the end of the project it was not certain, in what ways the innovations could be sustained and the collaboration between researchers, technical partners and practitioners could be continued. From this perspective it was essential that the developers of the LTB and the accompanying researchers from research institute ITB  took several initiatives to launch follow-up activities with partner organisations  in the construction sector. These efforts were not always successful in terms of acquisition of new funded projects. Yet, they provided new insights into potential use of the LTB in organisational contexts and between dispersed work processes.

Rethinking the contextual opportunities and applying technology in previously unforeseen contexts

Due to many intervening factors the progress with the follow-up activities had not been a direct process of  scaling up the innovation. Instead, the interested partners have had to find new paths for working further with the Learning Toolbox in new contexts. Partly the success in using Learning Toolbox in vocational training and partly the spread of using ePosters in conferences have inspired new users. Partly the feasibility studies in the construction sector have opened new prospects for using Learning Toolbox for organisational knowledge sharing – as has been the case latterly in the healthcare sector.

Shaping of R&D projects as innovation hubs/ platforms

On this point our experiences suggest a common success conclusion: R&D projects should not be understood and planned out as mere research studies. Neither should they be looking for allegedly integrated solutions (‘one size fits all’, ‘one format suits all’). Instead, they should rather be shaped as networked innovation hubs or platforms. In such context research elements can receive initial validation and a team to start an innovation process. As we see it, the strength in the construction pilot of the LL project was the continuity of a participative research & development dialogue that kept the processes vivid and helped to overcome difficult periods. Moreover, the multiple support activities helped the practitioners to take ownership of the innovation and become multipliers of new practices.

I think that this is enough of our reflections for the moment. I will get back when we know, on what forum and in what way we will be presenting our joint findings and conclusions from all case studies.