Intellectual Output 4: Designing and Development innovative VOOC platform for post-COVID-19 era

One of the sectors that have been hit hardest in the post-COVID-19 era is education, in particular vocational education. The only way out of the current situation seems to be the integration of digital technologies into vocational training, taking advantage of distance learning, and to continue online the learning processes of vocational training even in these difficult times of COVID-19 spread. So, to move towards this solution to the problem of the interruption of the vocational training process, we are faced with a rather significant obstacle. There is a large portion of VET educators who do not have sufficient skills in the use of modern ICT tools, and this fact has as result, in the post-COVID-19 era where distance learning will dominate among the educational methods, that they will not be able to rise to the occasion as well as meet the demands of the time. 

Another issue that VET educators with limited or no competencies in the use of digital technologies should address is that not having received the necessary knowledge and not having acquired the appropriate skills to cope with the digital transformation of the educational landscape, they are excluded from the development of their career. 

In this intellectual output, University of Ioannina has designed and developed a VOOC (Vocational Open Online Courses) e-learning platform, utilizing the training path that is delivered from IO2 and taking into account the didactic material that was produced in IO3, in order to integrate specific functionalities. One of the main obstacles that was bypassed using the VOOC platform is the minimal technical equipment that a user needs to gain access to didactic content of high quality, which consists of an Internet connection and a PC (laptop, tablet, smartphone). Besides, the courses that were produced in IO3 are constantly available and can be accessed at any time, so it is self-evident how time may be saved from the perspective of the VET educator, who will be in the role of the trainee. In terms of controlling, the e-learning platform allows the participants to have a certain degree of control over the learning process and constant insight into their progress, going back to the learning material and courses they have already attended, at any time. The functionalities included in the platform will enhance the digital skills of the trainees through practice and engagement with purely digital functions and increase the possibility of collaboration.

The VOOC platform link is included in the INGENIOUS website and can be found here: https://moodle.eingenious.eu/