Today, Tuesday 29th September, Apro Formazione took part to the webinar promoted by INNOTECS (https://www.innotecs.eu/), the International Network of Technical School. The topic of the meeting was to discuss how Technical VET schools are coping with COVID-19 crisis. The meeting has been an important moment for sharing good practices in times of COVID-19 and learn one from each other’s experience.

Apro Formazione and other European schools presented to the participants how their school ensured equity and inclusiveness in education while responding to COVID-19 crisis and how they got prepared for the new training year.

During the lockdown, Apro Formazione’s teachers set up short didactic units in order to maintain high the level of attention of every student and to foster inclusiveness of every student.

Conference call platforms were used to stream lessons and then to record.

Small equipment (PLC, small simulators, electrical and mechanical equipment for Tech sector) were taken home by trainers to do classrooms at home.

Apro Formazione's Moodle platform made it possible to give lessons, do exercises, take tests and receive feedback from trainers. All the lectures were recorded in streaming and then uploaded to the Moodle platform to allow them to be reviewed if necessary.

To shorten the distance, self-evalutation tools and instruments were used more frequently than before in order to enable students to monitor their own learning process. Usually, evalutation was made every lesson.

Despite the difficulty of the period, the cooperation among trainers became stronger, due to the need to plan, decide and set didactical programs and activities together.

In June, when the restrictions were softened, the final exam was done physically at school one student per time.

In the Tech sector, multi disciplinary activities focusing on project design and coding were organized as project works.

Project works were set up according with the activities that students were supposed to do in laboratories. Here’s an example:

• Step 1: Trainers prepared videos about the lesson using industrial system simulators
• Step 2: Students had to do and deliver the projects, the code and technical reports about the assigned project work
• Step 3: Trainers corrected and tested the delivered work
• Step 4: Trainers gave feedback to students
• Step 5: Project works were presented and discussed in the final exam (for the final years)

Concerning the new training year, preparatory works were made in order to re-set laboratories and classrooms so to maintain the minimum distance requirements and to equip them with a PC and a webcam, that in case of need will enable students at home to follow the training activities.

Moreover, every student has been given the software, licenses and materials to follow the training programme from home in case of need.

We want to thank you INNOTECS network for inviting us and for the opportunity of sharing good practices. Good luck to you all with the new year!