ONLINE PLATFORM AND TRAINING METHODOLOGY IN MOBIVET 2.0: THE OPTIMUM TOOL FOR SELFDIRECTED LEARNERS AND TRAINERS IN VOCATIONAL EDUCATION AND TRAINING

The paper presents a summary of the activities and the results with an impact in vocational education and training from the implementation of the MOBIVET 2.0 project. The project envisaged that the future of teaching would rapidly vacate the classroom and become heavily involved in distance-learning using Multimedia/Internet. The revolution from the classroom lecturer’s “talk and chalk” to independent Mobile E-Learning requires a completely new and different didactical approach. Education process gets more focused on the availability and mobility needs of the students and more adapted to the changes in technology, as mobile devices become more versatile, software changes every few months and the wireless transfer rates increase. This process requires new teaching methodologies, training of trainers to keep them updated and validation of the best practices in the educational field. An online Learning Management System was implemented, a wide range of devices were used, ranging from desktop computers, to laptops, tablets and smartphones (with different Operating Systems, browsers and screen sizes and resolutions) to develop and test a number of seven courses in different study areas. Teachers and students from vocational education and training (VET) were assisted in the process and this lead to the development of a “VET Teachers manual in using Mobile Web 2.0 tools and applications in online training and tutoring”, an “online training and tutoring methodology” and a “self-evaluation methodology”, with step-by-step guidance for users. The technical testing and the piloting activities in the project revealed that by using mobile technologies in teaching, the availability of information increases and thus educational activities better serve their purpose for the students. Also, the use of laptops, smartphones and tablets was preferred by the participants over the desktop computers in a ratio of 3:1, thus emphasizing the need for mobility and information availability.