Visual World, fostering multicultural VET collaboration in visual art and design profession by using virtual and peer learning

The VIWO project was a VET partnership project in the field of visual art and design. Target groups were second degree students, teachers and colleges of visual art and design. The main goal of the project was to foster participants’ skills to collaborate in a virtual and multicultural working environment. The project had four partners, Kouvola Region Vocational College from Finland (KSAO), Goldenberg Europakolleg from Germany (GEK), ROC Friese Poort from the Netherlands and The Art School Manolo Blahnik La Palma from Spain. The coordinator of the project was Kouvola Region Vocational College (KSAO).Occupational profile in visual sector is a wide combination of artistic, communicative, cultural, social and commercial knowledge, crafts and ICT-skills. Considering sustainable development, need to cut expenses and advanced digital mobility of information has changed working life in visual design field extensively in the recent years. Collaborative working in multicultural groups is necessary skill in current working life and in future it seems to become even more indispensable. The first objective of the project was to develop visual field students’ professional skills to work and cooperate virtually in a multicultural working environment and to raise their language skills by producing curriculum based learning events and to expand curriculum in an international collaborative virtual learning environment.The second objective was to raise awareness of similarities and differences in Visual art and Graphic design field in European countries by using peer learning. The third objective was to offer teachers an opportunity to observe and to apply new pedagogical systems and material, to try out a new virtual learning environment and peer learning, to compare levels of training and qualifications in partner countries and to improve their own skills and creativity. Long-term objective was to create collaborative learning event which applies virtual mobility and which could be transferred equally to vocational studies (ECVET) in all partner organizations. The target group was second degree VET organisations, teachers and students in the field of visual art and design. The project was carried out transnationally with four European countries to develop new pedagogical materials and to test new virtual learning and teaching methods and platform. The project included four workpackages, four for teachers, and four for students. They were combinations of virtual tasks and traditional, learning and teaching activities in four transnational workshops.Themes for students' workshops were: Workpackage 1. KSAO, fine art and environmental art Workpackage 2. ROC Friesepoort, cooperation with local museum (world of work), intercultural and experimental teamwork Workpackage 3. GEK,cooperation with local company (world of work), technical view to visual design Workpackage 4. The School of Art Manolo Blahnik, making pieces of art as a team workThemes for teachers´workshops were:Workpackage 1: KSAO comparisions of educational systems and curriculums of VET of visual art in partner countries Workpackage 2: ROC Friesepoort: Evaluation methods of students' creative work of VET of visual art in partner countries. They also planned a common form for evaluation to be used in partner countries. It is found in the web pages of the project. Workpackage 3: GEK, methods for creative working. They also used the methods and designed together a logo for the final meeting. Both of them are found in the web pages of the projectWorkpackage 4: comparisons of students workplacement in partner countries and sharing good practices about projects with the working life.The project carried out 4 learning, teaching, training activities, 2 transnational meetings and 2 multiplier events. The students have developed their skills to work virtually as a team in a multicultural working environment and raised their ICT and language skills. All the participants have better understanding about the VET and professions of visual art and design in European countries. Teachers have gained new practises, skills, working methods, materials and ideas for their work. Because of these new skills also the quality of VET in participating organizations has raised. They have also raised their language and ICT skills. The participants have planned a test model for virtual learning and teaching activity platform. The tasks and visual works are saved to project's websites and are open for everybody (www.viwoproject.blogspot.com).for a wider use.