Blockchain Technologies for VET Education

<< Background >>Blockchain technology (BT) is developing rapidly in the field of information technologies (IT). BT is important because the sector needs knowledgeable employees. The direct target group of BLUEDU is VET trainers who provide training in areas of blockchain technologies. We have addressed the needs of the target group during the proposal stage. We have made a deeper needs analysis during the project implementation (A1). In the desk study, we gathered 5 cases and examples, 23 Literature (Research paper, book or book chapter), 8 Current VET Curricula. We also conducted surveys with 101 VET educators. After the needs analysis, we have seen that the majority of VET educators do not have sufficient knowledge of blockchain technologies. In this context, the targeted outputs of the project are prepared according to the needs of this target group, taking into account their characteristics. We determined our teaching objectives and the training outline in line with the information obtained in our desk study and the results of our survey. The prepared teaching materials are integrated with supporting interactive contents and the interactive e-book is generated. The pilot tests showed that the e-book suited the needs of the VET educators.<< Objectives >>What we would like to achieve by BLUEDU (our objectives) are as follows;O1: Understanding the education barriers to include Blockchain technology into ICT VET education curricula in local and European level, O2: Gaining experience and knowledge about blockchain technology education ecosystem and best practices in participating countries and Europe,O3: A report on the blockchain-related knowledge, and needs of VET educators, O4: The teaching outline in which the main titles and contents are specified to develop teaching materials, O5: Preparation of institutional and personal capacity building an interactive e-book about blockchain technologies including thematic areas in 5 topics (Internet technologies and related leading-edge technologies, terms in blockchain, blockchain technology fundamentals, blockchain technology in education, recommendations for using blockchain technology) for VET educators.O6: Validating and developing module-based interactive e-book.<< Implementation >> A1: Determination of teaching objectives and development of the training outline: In this activity, we determined the teaching objectives and the training outline based on the desk study and surveys conducted on the targeted VET educators.A2: Development of teaching material content: The project researchers developed the teaching content based on the teaching objectives according to the training outline provided in A1.A3: Development and validation of the e-book: The e-book is prepared with the supportive informative materials, such as videos, links to educational websites, animations, technical documents etc. in an interactive format.In the beginning of the project we signed the consortium agreement with the project partners. We organised a total of 12 online progress meetings with the attendance of all partners for discussing the ongoing project activities, and planning of the upcoming activities. The outputs of the project are shared through various dissemination channels. In order to monitor the quality of the project and project outputs and to ensure high quality contributions, a quality assessment survey was applied and a project quality report was prepared.<< Results >>The concrete outputs of BLUEDU project are;A1-R1: Determination of teaching objectives and development of the training outline, 31 pages, in English, presents the results of the desk study, the survey findings, teaching objectives and training outline.A2-R2: Teaching material content, 201 pages, the teaching material developed in English, Spanish and TurkishA3-R3: “Blockchain Technologies for VET Education” the interactive e-book, 207 pages, in English, Spanish and Turkish language versions.A3-R4: “Pilot test report”, 19 pages, presents effectiveness, usability, and applicability of the teaching material and interactive e-book, in English.Project Management Plan, is an internal consortium use document to guide the project partners on the management of the project. Quality Report evaluates the quality of the project management and implementation process from the partners viewpoint.Dissemination Plan and Final Dissemination Report; is a document that guides the consortium members for the dissemination activities and reports the reached KPIs.