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Embedding Standards

Dr. Peter Littig, DEKRA AkademieGerald Thiel, DEKRA Akademie

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Partnership

LEONARDO-Partners:• DEKRA-Akademie (Koordinator, DE); Zentrum für Soziale Innovation, Wien (AT);

Bundesverband der Digitalen Wirtschaft (BVDW, DE); Fachhochschule Osnabrück (DE); MMB – Institut für Medien- und Kompetenzforschung, Essen (DE); Asociación Española de Empresas de Multimedia (ASEDEM, ES); Indra S.A., Madrid (ES); Association Multimedia Emploi, Bordeaux (FR); South-East European Research Center (SEERC), Thessaloniki (GR); Security Technologies Competence Centre (SETCCE), Ljubljana (SI); Fastrak Consulting, Brighton (UK); National Institute for Vocational Education (NIVE), Budapest (HU); Prompt, Gödöllö (HU)

Corresponding Partners:• KIBNET/BITKOM (DE); Association SwissMedia (CH)

Subcontractor:• E-Skills UK (UK)

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Overall Objective

Contribute to overcomethe „standardisation-divide“ in Europe

by developing and piloting sector-oriented qualification approaches

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A Reference Point of Project Work: EQF

Source: DG Education and Culture

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A Reference Point of Project Work: ECVET

• Common rules about European credit points will be fixed by a convention at European level.

• National authorities will fix the number of credit points to be allocated to a qualification and allocate the credit points to each unit according to the relative importance of the volume of the learning activities for the training pathway of reference.

• Credit points are characterized by a EQF level, normally the level where the qualification is assigned to.

• In case that a unit is different to the level of qualification it belongs to, the corresponding points have the same level as these units.

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Embedding Standards: Tasks

• Identify a grid existing ICT/multimedia profiles and curricula should be measured against

• Define reference profiles and qualifications

• Define smallest assessable units

• Assign credit points to units

• Define modules and learn paths

• Carry out and evaluate training, thereby creating Zones of Mutual Trust

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1. Identified grid/reference points

• Grid had to be defined by ongoing developments at European level

• Most important reference points were– European Qualification Framework (EQF)– European Credit for VET (ECVET)– European e-Skills Meta-Framework

• Further reference points were - E-Skills Metaframework (competence –oriented sector framework)- National systems as the British Skills Framework for the Information Age (SFIA) and the German Advanced IT-Training System (AITTS)

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2. Selected profiles (1)

Criteria:

• Comparable profiles available in most partner states

• Training providers being members of the partnership can carry out training related to those profiles

• Preliminary work results were already available: Profiles are subdivided in work elements

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AITTS as a pool of structured profiles

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2. Selected profiles (2)

Results:

• IT Project Coordinator (taken from the AITTS)

• IT Security Coordinator (taken from the AITTS)

• Web Content Specialist (taken from a previous LEONARDO project)

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3. Defined smallest units

Smallest units have been identified by using the descriptions of AITTS and

Web-Content-Specialist

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4. Described units in terms of KSC …

• Three job descriptions are now available related to the KSC descriptors of SFIA, but also in EQF terms.

• Derived from those, two qualifications have already been designed, structured in a way that enables ECVET application.

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An Example (1)

The Web Content Specialist Qualification Prepared by the Embedding Standards Project Team

For background on the purpose and positioning of the role, see the Job Description. Suggested ECVET credit points: <20

Prerequisites Knowledge:

Knowledge of the specialist subject areas addressed by the content. Skills:

Native language skills. English language skills. Spelling correctly. Using grammar and punctuation correctly. Basic operation of personal computers (Windows or Macintosh). Use of Microsoft Office tools, i.e. Word, Excel.

Basic report writing.

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An Example (2)

Unit 1: Understanding web content Suggested EQF level: 3 Weighting: 5%

Work elements covered by this unit None

Learning outcomes Knowledge:

The history of the Internet and World Wide Web. The basic principles underlying the functioning of the Internet and the World Wide

Web. The nature of web content. The purpose of the web content specialist. Parties in website development and management. The place of the web content specialist in the website project team.

Skills: None

Autonomy and responsibility: Not applicable

Learning competence: Demonstrates self-direction in learning.

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An Example (3)Communication and social competence:

Not applicable Professional and vocational competence:

Not applicable

Unit 2: Website design and development Suggested EQF level: 3 Weighting: 10%

Work elements covered by this unit Contribute to audience research as a basis for design of the site. Contribute to the top-level and detailed design of the website (or e-newsletter, etc.),

with a particular focus on the ways in which the goals for the site and the needs of users can be met -through the provision of appropriate content.

Contribute to the process of information design, to ensure that content is appropriately structured to meet the goals for the site and the needs of users.

Contribute to documentation of the design. Contribute to the selection or design of appropriate content management software.

Learning outcomes Knowledge:

The role of the web content specialist as a contributor to the design process. Techniques for audience research. Effective practices in audience research. Elements in top-level and detailed website design. Key principles of information design. Key elements in design documentation. Principles underlying the design of content management systems. Required features of content management systems.

Skills: None

Autonomy and responsibility: Contributes to the process of design and development, without assuming overall

responsibility. Learning competence:

Demonstrates self-direction in learning. Communication and social competence:

Uses communication skills to influence decisions of managers and specialists. Professional and vocational competence: Contributes to problem solving by integrating information from specialists.

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5. Carried out virtual transnational training

• Virtual transnational training was carried out for the - Web Content Specialist- IT Project Coordinator

• In addition, a (real) transnational 1-day IT Project Coordinator crash course took place.

• Evaluation has been carried out; in principle, results are positive.

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Nature and Status of Sending/Receiving Institutions

Equivalence of the Learning Experience

Reference Levels

Job ProfileNature of Learning Process

Units of Learning

Units and Credits/Credit Points

National Conventions Credit Profiling

Memorandum of Understanding

Validation/Recognition Agreement

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What has been done additionally

• Two modules of the Italian Tecnico Superiore per la Comunicazione ed il Multimediafrom the Italian vocational training system IFTS have been designed as enrichment of the Web Content Specialist curriculum, following the procedure applied within Embedding Standards (assignment of EQF descriptors)

• Thus replenished, the curriculum has been used as ICT sector case study within the European study ECVET Connexion.

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Main lessons learnt

• A common understanding of job profiles is crucial for enabling transnational training

• If job profiles are described in work elements from which competences can be derived, to be defined as learning outcomes within curricula, this common understanding is easily achievable among experts despite their national educational tradition.

• Under these conditions, instruments like ECVET are assignable to transnational curricula, whatever the concrete design of the credit transfer system might be.

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What we want to do in the future……

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Steering Committee

Juridically Defined Body

End Users

chooses

LearnersTraining

providers

Virtual Training Portal(VTP)

Advisory Board (Stakeholders)

ZMT Promotion Unit

advisestrains supports advises &

supportsevaluates VTP activities

delivers instruments for VTP activities

monitors and structures activities and collaboration of unitsanalyses

EQF/ECVET development environment

recruits

Target Groups

Active Units

Future Formal Basis

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For more information

http://www.embedding-standards.com

Thank you for your attention!