Implementing a Digital E-learning @lternative

In March 2020, the Covid-19 crisis hit the Vocational Education and Training (VET) of the GIP-FCIP of the académie de Créteil and of his GRETA VET centers. Distance education was not any longer an option but the only possible teaching method. This shift to e-learning highlighted the major issue of accessibility, both digital and pedagogical, hitting the most vulnerable trainees and jeopardizing our inclusive pedagogical approach and therefore our trainees’ chances to professional integration and social inclusion. In this new context, the GIP-FCIP of the académie of Créteil and the GRETA VET network is facing 2 major issues :
• How can distance learning become as accessible as possible, with appropriate tools and relevant training paths to ensure the inclusion of all learners ?
• How can the educational teams be trained to distance education to allow a true efficient and inclusive pedagogical method ?
These issues are beyond the frame of our national VET organization and the GIP-FCIP of the académie de Créteil has formed a transnational strategic partnership with 4 other education and VET organizations :
Koena, a French partner dedicated to digital accessibility and inclusion of people with disabilities ; the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (UAB) in Spain specialized in pedagogical accessibility ; the European Certification and Qualification Association (ECQA) based in Austria, and a Canadian partner the Université TÉLUQ based in Québec and specialized in distance education for more than 40 years. In the frame of an Erasmus+ program (KA2) for innovative practices in a digital era and social inclusion, our partnership has gathered 14 people to design and carry out the IDE@ project : “Implementing a Digital E-learning @lternative”, gathering 4 VET project leaders, 6 higher education teachers, 2 VET and disabilities specialists, and 2 certification and qualification project leaders.
The IDE@ project is based on 3 specific Erasmus+ KA2 program VET priorities :
• Supporting the uptake of innovative approaches and digital technologies for teaching and learning
• Further strengthening key competences in initial and continuing VET
• Initial and continuous professional development of VET teachers, trainers and mentors in both school and work-based settings
The IDE@ project aims to set up an inclusive, drop-out proof distance vocational training dedicated to VET centers and trainers having to adapt to distance education with all profiles learners. In order to reach this general objective, the project will be carried out according to the following pragmatic methodology over 5 phases :
- identification of the obstacles to ensure accessibility to distance training
- identification of the teaching skills to be deployed
- observation of successful distance learning experiences
- implementation and dissemination of efficient training engineering
- creation of a certification framework for trainers