“Digital media in VET” roadshow goes international

The nationally successful “Digital media in VET” roadshow has now also made its international debut. Asia-based VET stakeholders presented examples of good practice in the application of digital media in vocational education and training for the first time in an international format of the roadshow at the specialist trade fair “Worlddidac Asia” in Bangkok on 10 October 2019. At a meeting of the Federal Institute for Vocational Education and Training (BIBB) and its partner institutions from the Asia-Pacific region which took place at the same time as the specialist trade fair, participants to the meeting and visitors to the trade fair were given the opportunity in workshops to explore and try out the different ways in which digital media could be used in training practice.

BIBB President Friedrich Hubert Esser stressed how essential it was to support teaching and learning processes using digital tools in order to ensure that vocational education and training remains up-to-date and attractive. “However, the effective use of digital media requires both qualifications and competencies as well as creativity and the initiative of the training personnel. At this trade fair, the roadshow therefore represents an appropriate format for presenting innovative approaches and for sharing opinions and ideas with its example of good practice examples for the international context.”

A project of the Vocational Training Council Hongkong is one practical example of the creative use of digital media. As part of a learning module, vocational school pupils from the areas of healthcare and IT worked together with external project partners to develop a movement-based video game which helps elderly people to maintain their mobility. The aim was to improve trainees’ understanding of the potential of digital technologies in their own vocational area. This enabled learners to gain initial experience in independently designing and using digital technologies as part of their day-to-day professional lives.

Another example from Mongolia focused on potential applications of the gamification approach for vocational education and training. The national construction industry association and the German Agency for International Cooperation (GIZ) developed a smartphone application which provides trainees with knowledge of industrial safety and health protection in the construction sector.

From Germany, the example of Social Virtual Reality allowed participants to see the potential of virtual environments for practical vocational learning in the print and media sector.

A total of 13 projects from the Asia-Pacific region had applied beforehand to participate in the international roadshow. The successful practical examples were ultimately selected by a jury comprising representatives of the BIBB, the UNESCO-UNEVOC International Centre for Technical Vocational Education and Training and the UNESCO Asia-Pacific regional office in Bangkok.

The international format of the roadshow is implemented in cooperation with the association of the German education industry—Didacta Verband e.V.—and the UNESCO-UNEVOC International Centre for Technical Vocational Education and Training. The roadshow moves on with further events in 2020. The concept is based on the national roadshow event series “Digital Media in VET” initiated by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF). This was developed by the BIBB and has been successfully implemented in Germany since 2016.

Further information on the international roadshow is available at https://www.bibb.de/en/105326.php.

Contact persons at BIBB:

Eva Hanau; Email: hanau@bibb.de  

Bettina Janssen; Email: janssen@bibb.de

Specimen copy requested if printed.