vocational education

The 2nd European Conference on "Learning Innovations and Quality" (LINQ 2013) has announced several high-ranking speakers to be present during the event on May 16th and 17th at the Global Headquarters of the United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) in Rome, Italy. Figures such as the esteemed Prof. Dr. Rory McGreal and Prof. Dr. Fred Mulder, both UNESCO chairs for Open Educational Resources (OER), as well as Christian-Friedrich Lettmayr, Director of the European Centre for the Development of Vocational Training (CEDEFOP), will contribute their experience to the conference. Their support of LINQ’s continuing mission to examine the intersections between learning innovations and quality will provide an excellent framework for the state-of-the-art research and project work collected through the LINQ call for papers and projects, ended on March 4th.

“Rory McGreal and Fred Mulder have long been crucial pioneers in the development of Open Educational Resources as UNESCO Chairs,” says Christian M. Stracke, LINQ Conference Chair and international ISO Convener for learning quality from the University of Duisburg-Essen. “We will be honoured to greet them at LINQ 2013 and to learn from their professional and academic expertise. Likewise, Christian-Friedrich Lettmayr’s familiarity with the inner workings of CEDEFOP will prove incredibly valuable to practically situate the newest research efforts submitted to LINQ 2013. We are certain that the discussion at LINQ 2013 will benefit enormously from their presence.”

More than 150 researchers and practitioners have answered the LINQ 2013 call for papers and projects and the contributions of the highest quality will make the conference programme insightful and exciting. Early-bird registration at the reduced rate of 90€ will remain open until March 31st, 2013. All interested parties active in the fields of new learning methods and design, Technology-Enhanced Learning (TEL), quality standards and certification, human resources development, competences and skills, digital resources, learning materials, and online collaboration and communities are encouraged to register for LINQ 2013 and take part in the continuing development of learning innovations and quality. For more information on specific registration requirements and other matters, please visit the conference website at www.learning-innovations.eu. 

Overview of the important dates:

-          End of early-bird registration period (90€): 31st of March 2013

-          Conference Programme Ready: April 2013

-          Conference date: 16th and 17th of May 2013

For the latest information on the conference and to submit any pre-conference feedback, please visit the LINQ Facebook page at www.facebook.com/LINQConference and follow the LINQ Twitter account at www.twitter.com/LINQ_Conference. 

The full first version of the AGRICOM Competence Model (ACM) was developed by the end of the first project year and is now undergoing extensive testing in AGRICOM partner countries. Now, the University of Tuscia (UNITUS) will coordinate the Italian portion of pilot-testing phase. Their efforts will complement the on-going pilot-testing in the other countries like Germany, Greece, and the Netherlands. Together, their results will demonstrate a variety of national implementations and applications.

For the lastest AGRICOM updates, please visit the project website, Facebook page, or Twitter account. 

Mobile learning, games and social learning: there is no mistaking the technological trends in the world of learning, and these developments are also reflected in the LEARNTEC 2013 motto: “Future Learning”. The convention is also dealing with topics from daily practice, including blended learning, the introduction of e-learning and virtual classrooms. Among the management themes covered, employer attractiveness, professional careers and performance management are areas of particular focus. A number of new fields will also be highlighted, including education for the “50+” generation, innovative interfaces and digital publishing.

LEARNTEC follows up on its success with highly relevant, up-to-date topics. LEARNTEC was rated as far and away the most important one among education fairs and conventions by MMB Learning Delphi 2012. A large majority of experts surveyed – 82 percent – considered LEARNTEC to be the go-to event for digital learning, while 89 percent of e-learning providers were of the same opinion.

According to PricewaterhouseCoopers’ “Global Entertainment and Media Outlook: 2012-2016” publication, digital learning media are set to grow by 12.1 percent annually over the next five years, whereas the non-digital media market is only expected to grow by 2.8 percent per year. This is why LEARNTEC will be featuring the debut of e-PUB@LEARNTEC, an interactive café that will serve as a meeting point for everyone dealing with digital learning media such as e-books and apps. All issues having to do with e-publishing will be up for discussion in a relaxed café atmosphere.

LEARNTEC 2013 once again has a wealth of highlights in store, with organisers being careful to ensure that there is a healthy mix. The event will kick off with two keynote addresses: Prof. Barbara Ischinger from the OECD will be talking about “Creating quality jobs by leveraging education, skills and migration”, while Prof. Dieter Kempf, CEO of Datev and President of BITKOM, for the first time serving as a conceptual partner to LEARNTEC, will be exploring learning scenarios for 2020. On the first day of the event, a high-calibre discussion group featuring Prof. Dr. Peter Vorderer and Prof. Dr. Gerhard de Haan will take a look at the topic of “digital relevance”, offering a counterweight to current theses about computers not benefitting the educational process. New York-based Colleen Macklin, an internationally renowned professor specialising in games, will be brought on board for the Wednesday programme, while the final day will once again be devoted to the issue of motivation, as successful trainer Dr. Frädrich will be showing ways to escape from demotivation. During LEARNTEC, Karlsruhe Trade Fair Center will also be playing host to the Baden-Württemberg media day, which is focusing on “The role of mobile media in children’s media”.

The 21^st LEARNTEC is to take place at Karlsruhe Trade Fair Center from 29 January to 31 January 2013.

The Q-Cert-VET project has announced that the standard NP 4512:2012 "Vocational training management system, including technology enhanced learning – requirements” is now available after initial testing and publication. Due to approval of certification scheme OEC010 by the Portuguese Institute for Accreditation (IPAC) on November 23rd, all certification bodies can apply to IPAC for accreditation and thus gain the ability to certify training institutions with the standard. Furthermore, all training institutions can now request accredited certification for their management system, if it has been implemented in accordance with the requirements of NP4512. “We are very satisfied with the progress of the standard and the potential it has shown in the first pilot-tests,” remarked Christian M. Stracke, scientific coordinator of the Q-Cert-VET project and ISO Convener of the international standard committee ISO/IEC JTC1 SC36 WG5 Quality Assurance and Descriptive Frameworks, “thus it is with great joy that we announce its general availability to all relevant certification bodies and training institutions.”

Q-Cert-VET partners in Portugal, Germany, and Romania responsible for pilot-testing have been active since the beginning of the public inquiry phase last April. Pilot-testing began in Portugal with the initial version of the standard in the Portuguese language, allowing for punctual testing without the need for translation. Two different training companies in Portugal, Prisma and iZone, have been using the standard to assist in structuring their training programmes. The Prisma Training Institute, located in Lisbon, has adopted NP 4512:2012 to its various training offers in the fields of IT and project management. iZone Knowledge Systems, also located in Lisbon, is using the standard in similar fields. Their use of the standard provided the first feedback on its practical advantages, helping to prepare the standard for its international application at Q-Cert-VET pilot-testing partners in Romania and Germany. They now await auditors to examine their implementation of NP4512 and to determine that it fulfils the prescribed requirements.

The implementation process of the Portuguese Standard NP4512:2012 at the Regional Training Centre for Local Public Administration Cluj-Napoca has been systematically and successfully carried out. Active preparations for the pilot test started in July 2012, before the Romanian version of the NP4512:2012 had been delivered and the actual implementation process could be started, the Romanian project team prepared themselves by getting familiar with ISO 9000:2005 and ISO 9001:2008, since CRFCAPL possessed no implemented quality management system and thus no experience with the terminology and requirements of such standards. However, this lack of specific knowledge proved to be no impediment at all for the conduct of the pilot testing. According to CRFCAPL, once the project team became acquainted with the Portuguese Standard all worries were lifted – the new standard successfully extracted the structure and requirements of ISO 9001:2008 and integrated them into the context of training institutions. Thus, most of the requirements seemed very precise and self-explanatory to the CRFCAPL team. The more complex requirements are accompanied by notes explaining terms and statements which could give raise to uncertainties. All of these, together with the very useful annexes which add informative value to the standard, provided great help during the implementation process. As soon as the training centre concludes its preparations, auditors trained in NP4512 will investigate its implementation in the Romanian context.

In Germany, Q-Cert-VET pilot-testing partner Helliwood Media & Education is underway with the implementation of NP4512 through certification scheme OEC010. Helliwood is currently identifying and defining the processes and sub-processes required for the structure of the new standard. As Helliwood had already implemented another standard, the “Quality Mark E-Learning” (QSEL), a comparison of the QSEL with the NP4512 made particularly evident the innovative aspects of the new NP4512 standard. The new standard fits Helliwood’s needs for E-Learning very well – their typical work processes include the development, implementation, and maintenance of professional multimedia and E-Learning applications for clients and in cooperation with different partners projects within the fields of learning and literacy, media competence, and community. As with the other pilot-testing companies, auditors trained in NP4512 will examine their implementation of the new standard, to ensure that the proper steps have been taken and that Helliwood’s identified work processes fit its requirements. Thus an example case for the applicability of the standard in the German national context will be established.

For more information on the Q-Cert-VET project and the standard NP4512, as well as more specific information concerning its pilot-testing phase (upon its conclusion), please visit the project website at www.edu-certification.eu/, like the project’s Facebook page at www.facebook.com/QCertVET, and follow the project Twitter account at twitter.com/#!/QCertVET for the latest project news.