Making Blended Learning Work in Vocational Education & Training (VET)

MAKING BLENDED LEARNING

WORK IN VET

PODCAST: Making Blended Learning Work in VET


Welcome!

Génna-Leigh Adamiec Head Program Manager, Circulus Education

Working in VET for 6+ years [email protected]

Sophie Lanham National Operations Manager, Futurum

Helping RTOs of all sizes for 15 years [email protected]


What is blended learning?

Blended Learning (Or Flipped Learning) •  A combination of

face-to-face and online learning & teaching.

•  Students do their reading at home (online) and spend time in class collaborating with their trainer and peers.


F2F learning

Online learning


There are many degrees of blended learning:


Why should RTOs consider blended

learning?



Compliance concerns in BL

Compliance In Blended Learning 3 big questions that most RTOs have: •  How do I meet all the

compliance requirements? -> not sure -> fall back on paper (easy option)

•  Cost: how much is it going to cost me?

•  Knowledge: what skills are required?




Online or blended learning?

Introducing Online Learning Into RTOs

•  With fully online courses or blended courses, students may not get all the support and guidance that they need. RTOs often underestimate the amount of tech support and responsive trainers required.

•  Must start with the big picture (what is it? Why am I doing it?) then break down into bite-sized projects (what is my first target?)



7 Steps to Successful Implementation of Blended Learning

•  A change in the strategic direction •  Senior management support + training for staff •  A clear structure and processes: how would this look when we

implement it, do we have the audit capacity, is our staff capable, in what ways will blended learning help our students?

•  Think about the industry: what technologies are being used? What skills would be needed?


Plan from the start (or you are losing money!)

TIPS: •  Get experts involved

early if you need help •  Embrace technology!


•  Systematically take baby steps, improve and learn from your mistakes

•  Small successes lead to the motivation and knowledge to do more and more

•  If possible, test your blended learning course on a small group of users or a small course, before rolling it out to the entire RTO.


One target at a time

•  Discuss with trainers, assessors, admin, maybe even with your students, about which gaps blended learning could bridge

•  Have internal “ambassadors” to advocate for the transformation: your Training Manager, Head Trainer,..

•  Have channels & feedback loops with which students could give feedback


Involve staff and students throughout the process

•  Online & offline components need to work together to push students ahead in their learning journey

•  Set clear expectations for students even in from the pre-enrollment process

•  Pinpoint the learning outcomes -> identify activities that support those goals: what can we do online? what should be done during class time?

•  All activities should be assessed for knowledge acquisition at the end of the course.


Set clear learning goals

•  Think about what kind of teaching materials and resources you already have, and what you need to develop from scratch.

•  Use engaging content (videos, short quizzes, chat rooms, ..) •  Online content is different from offline traditional content •  What kind of access your students and staff will require in order

to learn? (internet access, software download, ..) •  Put the right staff with the right skills set in the right place!


Have the right type of resources

•  You need digital resources, virtual learning environments that work. •  Think about your current workflows: do they still work with blended

learning? Can you eliminate non value adding tasks? •  Training for students and staff is critical – think about your PD. •  Who does the training? Identify accountability and people: who

owns what.

-> the right processes are what make a compliant training course.


Systems & workflows

•  Watch the data: student progress, trainer workload, how much students are reading and doing, drop-out rate, engagement rate..

•  Are we achieving our learning goals? How do students feel? Are they getting a memorable and rewarding experience for them?

•  How can we improve even further? •  Assess performance regularly •  Watch the e-learning standards, requirements, legislation. Stay

informed by attending webinars etc about blended learning.


Monitor, refine, repeat


Virtual learning is not a matter of when, but how. We need to be more and more

comfortable with using technologies to engage and train students.


Documents

Making Blended Learning Work in Vocational Education & Training (VET)