The online report book – supporting learning location cooperation between companies, vocational schools and inter-company training centres online

The digitalization of vocational training was viewed rather hesitantly for many years. Problems such as cooperation between learning locations repeatedly raised questions about how cooperation could be better supported. Especially in the current situation, where a lot revolves around Corona and the possibilities of digital communication, the question arises as to how we can exchange information in the learning and training process in vocational training more quickly and efficiently than with the conventional, paper-based instrument of the training certificate (report book). How can communication between trainees, companies, schools and inter-company training centers be supported, even when the trainees are not on site? The tool presented in this article can be a quick-to-use approach that can be tried out today.

In the Project BLoK – Online report booklet to strengthen cooperation between learning locations – the Media Center developed an online training certificate from 2009 to 2012, which supports the cooperation of the learning locations through a common information base, as well as the communication between those involved.

After an extensive needs assessment and process modeling, a prototype was developed that was ready for the market at the end of the project. Through tests with trainees in interested companies, the processes for submission and signature by the trainers were made more intuitive and the technical framework conditions in the companies were taken into account. The processes by which the proof is sent electronically to examination bodies were also examined and implemented.

In terms of functionality, the online application offers not only the temporal and spatial documentation of the training process, but also other options for supporting the quality of the training process. Trainees can assign their activities at the learning locations to the learning fields or job profile positions, among other things, and thus receive feedback on their learning progress. Work results can be assigned to individual entries in the certificate, thus enabling a deeper understanding of the content.

The project was accompanied by research to determine whether and how the cooperation processes are changing, but also to determine attitudes towards digital media. All results are available in the Collection of articles on the project and freely accessible at the Technical Information Library documented.

Since 2012, the BPS Education Portal Saxony GmbH, which was also a development partner in the project, the Online report booklet “BLok” BLok is used throughout Germany by over 5000 training companies used!

In addition, further projects were developed based on the results. The project DiBBLok – Diffusion of digital technologies in vocational education through learning location cooperation – deals more comprehensively with the digitization of learning locations such as vocational schools and training companies, with a particular focus on cooperation between learning locations in vocational training, and thus contributes to a better understanding of digitization processes in vocational training practice.

BLok the online report book was awarded the Comenius Edu Media seal and received the IT innovation award “Best of 2017 initiative Mittelstand”.