Virtual vocational training center

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The Virtual Vocational Training Center offers Internet courses for the physically handicapped, which serve to qualify them for the job market, including training as an office clerk. The pioneers of this development were the vocational training center Neckargemünd of the SRH and the BBW Annastift Hannover , who started the online training of the severely handicapped to become office clerks for the first time in a joint pilot project . For young people with disabilities who are dependent on intensive care or a familiar environment, the VBBW offers the chance of initial professional training exclusively via the Internet. The associated ongoing active use of new media is the best preparation for a future teleworking position.

General

The teachers and trainers are qualified for their work in the VBBW through additional training as telecoach or teletutor. The telecoach or teletutor training is carried out fully virtual except for short presence phases, so that the use of the virtual learning environment is familiar from the start and both roles, as learner and teacher, can be practiced in online learning groups. The test to achieve the Telecoach or Teletutor certificate is also taken online when using a webcam .

The trainees are equipped with a notebook, webcam and headset. You will then be given an introduction to the DLS (distance learning system) learning platform and the various possibilities of the virtual conference room. The administrator in the VBBW studio sets up password-protected access to the learning platform and divides the training classes into learning groups of up to 5 participants.

Process of virtual vocational training

The participants of the learning group log into the DLS learning platform from home and enter the virtual conference room set up for them from there, while the teachers / trainers moderate the conference from home or from learning studios in Neckargemünd or Hanover. In order to prepare for the conference efficiently, the participants receive homework about a week in advance by email, which they send back to the tutor. The associated independent learning performance increases the effectiveness of learning, but also places high demands on the self-discipline of the trainees. During the lesson, different solutions can be made visible to all members of the learning group via application sharing (common use), each participant has the opportunity to contribute personally.

The virtual conference room allows teachers to choose from a variety of forms of teaching, from the classic teacher lecture with the screen as a board (whiteboard, application sharing) to group work with subsequent presentation of the work results and discussion in the plenary . This means that communication in the virtual learning locations can be compared with lessons in face-to-face classes. The telecoach is available to the trainees by arrangement and becomes an individual learning companion and advisor.

In line with dual training, the vocational school and training company are displayed on the screen. Case studies and work assignments from all commercial areas shape everyday work. The budding office clerks also simulate setting up their own company, for which they put a homepage on the Internet. In the third year of training, the virtual trainees look for internships (teleworking positions) in companies.

Benefits of virtual learning

  • the content of the lesson (possibly in telecommunication partner work) with free time management and a high degree of self-control
  • intensive internet use
  • Topicality
  • Use of the most modern telecommunication forms of teaching
  • New opportunities for interaction and communication for the participants, who are often restricted in their mobility due to their disabilities
  • good preparation for future teleworking of the trainees
  • good knowledge of the trainees in design and presentation techniques
  • hardly any lessons canceled
  • You do not have to leave a familiar and nursing home environment

criticism

First of all, there is a risk that content is copied from the Internet without the creativity and critical ability that is required. The teachers involved are particularly challenged in imparting the necessary media skills.

With the elimination of gestures and facial expressions (when teaching without a webcam), an important level of communication is missing. There are high demands on the hearing, the language skills of the teachers and the concentration of the participants.

Technical failures and malfunctions of the server as well as individual participants can repeatedly disrupt the class. The time delays between speakers and listeners must be taken into account in the design of the lesson.

Performance reviews

The trainees in the Virtual Vocational Training Center are subject to the same performance requirements as the participants in the face-to-face training; their grades are made up of oral and written components. At the end of the training, the usual chamber examination takes place, during which the trainees have to answer questions from the examination board in a video conference. The vocational school examination (which is standardized across the country in Neckargemünd / Baden-Württemberg) takes place under the supervision of teachers who visit the examinees for this purpose. In a comparison of the test results, the virtual trainees achieve better results on average than the face-to-face trainees.

Training offers

In addition to training as an office clerk, the VBBW Neckargemünd currently offers the following additional offers in the area of ​​"e-learning services":

  • Virtual vocational training for electronics technicians for devices and systems during the internship in the third year of training
  • Acquisition of the ECDL (European computer driving license )
  • Acquisition of advanced technical college entrance qualification (accompanying training)
  • Acquisition of the Cisco certificate
  • Acquisition of the Microsoft Certified Professional

The Neckargemünd vocational training center has taken on additional professions this year:

  • Office communication merchants
  • Industrial clerks
  • Office workers
  • Technical draftsman

The project "E-LiS" (e-learning in prison) is currently being planned in cooperation with the Baden-Württemberg Ministry of Justice. Young prisoners have the opportunity to take advantage of an expanded range of professional and training opportunities that are not available to them in the workshops or at the school within the prison. The online training on the computer via the Internet is a high motivational factor that should not be withheld from these young people. The idea is to provide vocational training and the provision of basic or additional qualifications in order to facilitate their professional (re) integration - in accordance with the newly drafted Juvenile Prison Act.

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