1. EdReNe Seminar CTI, Diophantus Apr. 24, 2017
Strengthening Learning to Employment Pathways through competence-based IT services
Cleo Sgouropoulou
EdReNe Seminar
CTI, Diophantus Apr. 24, 2017

2. About the speaker Cleo Sgouropoulou
Prof., Technological Educational Institute of Athens
Head of Department of Informatics
Scientific Director of Institute for Lifelong Education
Project Leader European Learner Mobility (ELM)
Vice-Chair of the European standardization committee CEN/TC 353 “ICT for Learning, Education, and Training”
ISO JTC1 SC36 WI “Learner Mobility Achievement Information”
Convener TC48-WG3, Hellenic Mirror Committee – ICT for Learning, Education, and Training

3. ICT for Learning, Education & Training
Learning, education and training in Europe relies heavily on the growing use of information and communications technologies.
Application sectors involved include:
universities, schools and other educational establishments;
education and training authorities, policy makers
providers of professional and vocational education and training;
employment providers
software and system providers that support educational contexts;
publishers and broadcasters of educational content.

4. Standards for ICT for LET
The European society, application sectors, markets, national and regional education and training systems are mature in the usage of ICT for Learning, Education and Training (LET)
National and European policies and strategies for the promotion and adoption of ICT for interoperable, quality products for LET
Requirement: Development of European and international Standards for ICT for LET

5. About standards an agreed way of doing something
design references for products and processes
international consensus and instruments
provide requirements, specifications, guidelines or characteristics that can be used consistently to ensure that materials, products, processes and services are fit for their purpose
common specifications and/or procedures that respond to the needs of business and meet consumer expectations.

6. Constituents of Educational Practice
Original diagram by C. Duncan

7. ICT Specs and Standards in Edu Practice
Learning object/resource metadata
Learning design SCORM
Transcript record e-portfolio
Social media collaborative environments
LOC definitions
VLEs
MOOCs
QTI
Learning object repositories, OERs
EML
Learning opportunity
metadata

8. … within institutions and beyond
QA info
learner info
employability info
research
qualifications info
course info
research activity info

9. ICT LET Standardisation Priorities
Interoperability and Frameworks
Development of European LET vocabularies and frameworks around which software vendors, tool producers and content authors may work in order to provide a greater level of interoperability and application of tools.
Provision of interoperability specs for the exchange of a range of European curriculum information initially aimed at formal education systems, but also applicable in a wider LLL context.
Development of a practical approach towards interoperability between existing and future repositories for learning whose purpose is the safe storage or delivery, and also administration and configuration management for learning objects.

10. ICT LET Standardisation Priorities
Interoperability and Frameworks
Integration with systems e.g. knowledge management systems.
Sharing of education related data, services, content and tools achieved through clearer technical agreements between all parties, without losing the value of expression typical of each European community’s language and culture.

11. ICT LET Standardisation Priorities
European Policies
Development of European standards for the realization, dissemination, implementation and exploitation of European key strategies such as European mobility and LLL (EU2020 and other communications by the EU)
Development of European data models for the description of skills and competences
Learning and employment opportunity exploration, management of individual learning pathways
Quality
Develop frameworks, specifications and guidelines to improve the quality and transparency of organisations, processes, products and services

12. ICT LET Specs and Standards development
National Bodies
European Bodies
De jure
standards
TC353
R&D
Specifica-
tions
WSLT
De facto
standards
Users

13. ICT Specs and Standards in Edu Practice
Learning object/resource metadata
Learning design SCORM
Transcript record e-portfolio
Social media collaborative environments
LOC definitions
VLEs
MOOCs
QTI
Learning object repositories, OERs
EML
Learning opportunity
metadata

14. LOCs for building LET to Employment Pathways

15. European Requirements
The EU should become “the most competitive and dynamic knowledge-based economy in the world capable of sustainable economic growth with more and better jobs and greater social cohesion”.
The achievement of this ambitious goal involves “not only a radical transformation of the European economy, but also a challenging programme for the modernization of social welfare and education systems”.
European Council, Lisbon (Mar. 2000)

16. European Requirements
Education and Training at European level involve
the development of the European Higher Education Area (the “Bologna process”)
the enhanced European co-operation in Vocational Education and Training (the “Copenhagen process”)
synergies between both processes for the design of national frameworks of qualifications and an overarching European Qualifications Framework (EQF) for Lifelong Learning, taking into account the work done in the Bologna and Copenhagen context.

17. Towards Europe 2020
Key role for Education Training and Youth in Europe 2020
Smart growth: developing an economy based on knowledge and innovation
Sustainable growth: promoting a more efficient, greener and more competitive economy
Inclusive growth: fostering a high-employment economy delivering social and territorial cohesion

18. The role of ET in EU2020

19. Youth on the Move Framework strategy with four action lines:
Modern education and training : actions to improve schools, VET, recognition of non-formal/informal learning etc.
Higher education : specific actions to make higher education more attractive / effective
Learning and employment mobility : actions to promote training & work abroad as a way to gain skills / experience
Youth Employment Framework : active labour market policies and reform of labour market rules

20. Agenda for New Skills and Jobs
Actions linked to Education Training and Youth
Implementation of ET 2020 (LLL principles, flexible learning pathways; attractiveness of VET)
Ensure that competences are acquired and recognised throughout all levels and forms of learning
Improvement of skills needs forecasting
Partnerships and common language between the worlds of business, employment, education & training

21. EU instruments & frameworks
EQF
ECVET
ECTS
validation of non-formal learning
EQAVET
Europass
Are bringing in a stronger European and international dimension to the development of national ET systems.

22. Shift to Learning Outcomes
Learning outcomes “what a learner knows, understands or is able to do at the end of a learning process”
Emphasis on ability to do irrespective of routes of acquisition
Supports better matching between education and training provisions and labour market needs
Associated with a learner-centered approach
Increases transparency of qualifications
Facilitates validation of non-formal and informal learning
Promotes mobility, employability, adaptability

23. Learning Outcomes vs. Learning Inputs
Learning based uniquely on input will not respond adequately to future challenges for individuals, society or the economy. The trend is to rely, increasingly, on the identification of learning outcomes. This trend is recognised as critical in many different contexts across education and training systems.

24. EU instruments & frameworks
System
Learning Outcomes
Learning Outcomes
Education & Training
Labour Market
Learning Outcomes
Learning Outcomes
Individual

25. Supporting Information Systems
The European instruments and the related support services should rely upon a suitable information system, allowing to link in a coordinated way the completed documents and to make them available to their holders through the Internet
expected to facilitate submission and exchange of information among the interoperating parts, and shall be developed taking into account the opportunity of future developments, with particular reference to the integration of information services on job and learning opportunities
Decision on Europass (Dec.2004)

26. The need for technical interoperability
The enhancement of learner mobility and employability is undoubtedly a high priority action item within the European Education Area.
The establishment of EU instruments and frameworks the representation of learning outcomes and related concepts as knowledge, skills, and competences, associated with learner information as well as with LET and employment opportunities provide the common basis for making learning outcome and competence orientation more tangible within the European LET and labour space.

27. The need for technical interoperability
Recording and exchange of harmonised semantic and technical descriptions of skills and competence information needs to be efficiently supported by technical interoperability standards.

28. Typology of Learning Outcomes

29. Contexts of use of LOCs
Educational context: learning outcomes are expressed in curricula, modules, course descriptions, educational standards, qualifications and assessment standards.
Labour context: competences are embedded in occupational standards and profiles, job profiles, job advertisements, performance measurement/appraisal systems, and recruiting systems.
Guidance context: information about learning outcomes is present in educational guidance systems and competences in occupational and job information.
Personal context: people communicate about learning outcomes through curriculum vitae or personal competence profiles.

30. Instruments using LOCs
Programs offering qualifications are determined by Learning Opportunity Providers (E&T, private and state dependent).
Qualification files describe the knowledge, skills and competences a person needs to fulfil a job or function.
Jobs and functions are described in occupational profiles.
Occupational profiles form the basis for the qualification descriptions.
One qualification can correspond to several occupational profiles.

31. Instruments using LOCs

32. Modelling LOCs
LOC definition a concept of a learning outcome or competence (LOC), taken separately from other ones;
LOC structure a structure (e.g. document) that contains several LOCs (learning outcomes and/or competences).

33. e-CF example

34. LOC definition
LOC Definition

35. LOC structure
LOC Structure

36. InLOC Information Model

37. UC1: Learning Opportunity Pathways

38. UC2: Learning to Employment Pathways

39. UC1: Learning Opportunity Pathways
Composing Lifelong Learning Opportunity Pathways through Standards-based Services

40. COMPASS addresses
the improvement of quality and relevance of offered learning opportunities to current and emerging labor market needs
the enhancement of mobility, making learning opportunities more visible and understandable for students that want to gain additional skills
the strengthening of cross-border cooperation of HEIs in the definition of quality flexible learning pathways for their learners,
the increase of social responsibility of HEIs through the transparent descriptions of their offerings
the implementation of sustainable infrastructure for all European HEIs and for the EU to leverage in the enhancement of existing or the creation of new related services

41. The COMPASS model

42. The COMPASS Repository

43. UC2: Learning to Employment Pathways
ECVET for Strengthening Training to Employment Pathways

44. ECVET-STEP objectives
Specification of a common reference framework for the design of Reusable Units of Learning Outcomes (RULOs), covering the perspectives of different stakeholders and different contexts including formal, non-formal, informal VET activities.
Development of online services that will facilitate the ECVET process and the specification of reusable units of learning outcomes, while at the same time will allow for management of ECVET related evidence and re-use by other systems and services.

45. The RULO concept

46. The RULO Repository

47. The RULOs within the Repository

48. The RULOs within the Repository

49. RULOs visualizations

50. Concluding Remarks
Strengthening LET to employment pathways is a strategic priority of EU 2020
competence orientation and competence models can be seen as one of the main drivers and facilitators of the new knowledge and information society and technology- enhanced learning as a key instrument with growing impact and usage.
much remains to be done to establish flexible learning pathways, e.g. through better transitions between VET, higher education, and professional learning, opening universities to non-traditional learners, and the validation of non-formal learning.

51. Concluding Remarks
The focus on learning outcomes and in particular the development of models and services to be facilitated by will strengthen both the integration and implementation of the European policies on linking LET to employment as well as strengthening mobility and lifelong learning in whole Europe.

52. Thank you!