- Understand the present context of vocational education in Canada. - Identify how the use of OER and OEP could benefit vocational education. - Appraise different methods and technologies for using OER and OEP being used in vocational education.
Trades education lends itself nicely to the philosophy of OER and OEP. Students are involved in the creation of their own hands-on skills from many sources during their apprenticeships. Some apprentices pursue a life in trades due to difficulties they may have had in standard formal education. By utilizing the same model of an educational system, the system is setting some apprentices up for failure. Often the classroom-based training is a lecture based lesson that may or may not be followed up with a lab to test the hypothesis of the lectures. The students are given resources such as textbooks, handouts, exercise books and lab books. The use of OER and OEP in vocational education has proven to be beneficial to vocational students, especially those who have previously struggled academically. The use of OER and OEP in vocational education would benefit from more research. This presentation will discuss the current state of vocational education (from a Canadian context), how OER and OEP can benefit vocational education (cost savings as well as pedagogical benefits), and present methods being employed in my own practice that are seeing beneficial results. The presentation will have "check-in" points along the way using the interactive plugin for google slides, pear deck. Not only will this allow for interaction between the presenter and the audience but it is an example of some of the technology that I am using in vocational education.
