Reframing TVET colleges into 21st century Learning Organizations

ABSTRACT: Technical and Vocational Education and Training institutions are a hub for most students who did not meet the University entry requirements nowadays. There is a need to remove the stereotype that they are for learners who do not cope with the formal education offered in institutions. It must be taken into account that TVET colleges offer full curriculum but their focus is on skills development. With the emergence of Artificial Intelligence, their formation needs a revamp so as to suit the new and changing system of Education. This can be done by changing the traditional methods of teaching by implementing blended learning and using flip classroom model. Blended learning is a term increasingly used to describe the way e-learning is being combined with traditional classroom methods and independent study to create a new, hybrid teaching methodology. It represents a much greater change in basic technique than simply adding computers to classrooms but it represents a fundamental change in the way teachers and students approach the learning strategies anywhere. It has already produced an offshoot called the flipped classroom – that has quickly become a distinct approach of its own. Flipped classroom model — in which students watch or listen to pre-recorded lectures over the Web, on their own time rather than during class — liberates instructors to finally make real connections with their students outside the school times. By focusing into traditional classroom settings like in the olden days, instructors are supporting the part of the learning process that students really need and are interested in. This paper intends to deal with the advantages of learning through MOOCs and MOODLE platforms where learners can learn, respond to questions and collaborate with each other and submit work through remote platforms. This is where students learn the most by implementing theories they’ve learned into real-life and to apply logic when responding to peers around the globe remotely and sharing best practices. This is in conformity with the types of students we deal with who have a very short listening span and with the fact that we are dealing with digital citizens.
KEYWORDS: Blended learning, e-Learning, flipped classrooms, MOOCs, MOODLE.