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The Designers’ Kit

INTRODUCTION TO THE DESIGNERS’ KIT

Welcome! 
The Designers’ Kit was developed in the context of the oMERO project, funded by the Erasmus+ Programme, and aims to support designers VET providers in the design and management of the Visual Disabilities Rehabilitator (VDR) training courses.

In particular, oMERO produced a EU Curriculum for VDR, which is the main outcome of the project, along with a number of DESIGN TOOLS and GUIDELINES to support the proper instantiation of the VDR curriculum in actual courses.
These tools and guidelines were grouped in the present DESIGNERS’ KIT, which will support any VET DESIGNER in the localization of the VDR curriculum.

The Designers’ Kit is organized in 4 main sections:

  1. The EU Curriculum for VDRs: this section introduces the main outcome of the project, i.e. the Curriculum, by linking to the digital version of its final release.
  2. Tools for Curriculum instantiation: this section includes guides and tools for the proper localization of the general Curriculum in any designer’s own context.
  3. Tools and guide for students’ assessment: this section supports designers in implementing an effective students’ assessment in their courses, in compliance with ECVET recommendations.
  4. Supplementary readings for an effective Curriculum instantiation: this section presents some additional guides about Work-Based Learning (WBL), students’ entry level and REALTER, namely a virtual reality simulator developed in the framework of the project.

We invite you to navigate the following sections and download the provided tools.

The EU Curriculum for VDRs

The final release of the EU Curriculum for VDRs includes the description of 89 Learning Outcomes (LOs) grouped into 17 Units of Learning Outcomes (UoLs), which correspond to the 17 Key Activities defined in the Professional Profile.

Learning Outcomes are described in terms of Knowledge, Skills and Personal and Transversal Competences. 

The VDR EU Curriculum:

  • Is based on a VDR Professional Profile made of 17 Key Activities (and the related Core Competencies) which characterise the VDR at EU level;
  • Is “learning-outcome oriented” and compliant with the main EU standards and tools for VET such as ECVET, EQAVET, ESCO, EQF, etc.;
  • Is general and “across-the-board”, since it is supposed to play a reference role for any VET designer targeting the VDR profile in any EU country;
  • Is modular and flexible, since it is supposed to be adaptable to different contexts and rules in different EU countries;
  • Enhances Work-Based Learning.

These features will enable transparency and comparability of the localized curricula and will support the recognition of this qualification by regulatory bodies.

The European Reference Curriculum for VDRs developed by the oMERO Project targets professionals of the Visual Health and Rehabilitation fields with an EQF6 level and aims at awarding an EQF7 level.

Where to start? Here are some SUGGESTED STEPS to use the Designers’ Kit as effectively as possible:

  1. DOWNLOAD the VDR Curriculum.
  2. BROWSE the “TOOLS FOR CURRICULUM INSTANTIATION” section in order to understand which tools can support you in the adaptation of the Curriculum to your context and DOWNLOAD the identified tools.
  3. REFINE your design and PLAN an effective implementation of your course consulting the GUIDES about students’ assessment, students’ entry level, WBL and REALTER.

TOOLS FOR CURRICULUM INSTANTIATION

The EU Curriculum for VDRs is supposed to be GENERAL and “ACROSS THE BOARD” to be adaptable to different contexts.

The GUIDES and TOOLS provided in this section are intended to support the proper instantiation of the VDR Curriculum with respect to the number of ECTS allocated for the achievement of each LO, the creation of modules and the identification of the proper teaching/learning strategies.

Here are some SUGGESTED STEPS to localize the curriculum by using the related TOOLS developed to support the activity:

  1. Use the DK4 – Macro-design Table to understand how to contextualize the EU Curriculum in your own scenario.
  2. Use the DK3 – Definition of course modules to understand how to define the MODULES of your future courses.
  3. Use the DK5 – ECTS Table to check the number of ECTS you can award with your course.

Then, you can fill in the DK6 – Flexibility Tool, which is an Excel file that allows you to formalize the design of your course with user-friendly automatic menus. To use this tool, you can rely on a simple guide, namely DK7 – Localizing the curriculum with the Flexibility Tool – User Manual. Before completing the “Assessment scaffolding” sheet, we suggest you consult the tools developed in the oMERO project to support students’ assessment and presented in the next section.

Finally, the oMERO project delivered a template for the DESCRIPTION of YOUR COURSE. You can download it here: Course Syllabus Template.

TOOLS and GUIDE for STUDENTS’ ASSESSMENT

Students’ Assessment is a crucial element for the effective implementation of oMERO’s VDR Curriculum. Thus, it was addressed at various levels and with different tools, targeting both designers and teachers.

Firstly, the DK4 – Macro-design Table defining the main assessment methods suggested for each Learning Outcome (LO) was provided and is available for download.

Secondly, you are invited to describe and formalize the way in which you will carry out students’ assessment through the FLEXIBILITY TOOL and the COURSE SYLLABUS, both described in the previous section. To help you in this process a specific guide, DK8 – Assessment Guide was provided.

In addition, you can also download and use DK11 – Assessment Matrix, i.e. another practical tool which consists in an Excel file supporting the monitoring of students’ assessment with a focus on Learning Outcomes.

SUPPLEMENTARY READINGS FOR AN EFFECTIVE CURRICULUM INSTANTIATION

This section of the Designers’ Kit provides some supplementary readings to help you in the contextualization of the VDR Curriculum, taking into account other important design elements.

The VDR EU Curriculum includes a strong Work-Based Learning (WBL) component. Here you can download DK9 – Work-Based Learning Guidelines, which support you in setting up an effective WBL for VDRs.

The oMERO project also identified the need to integrate the Designers’ Kit with an additional guide aimed to support HE designers in the identification of the proper “entry level” for the implemented courses. Given the heterogeneity of situations in EU countries, the entry level guide focuses on preliminary competences and provides examples of specific solutions tailored to the project partner countries and HEIs. 

Finally, you can also find and consult DK10 – REALTER, a guide targeting HE Designers (not experts in the ICT domain) about the possibility to adopt REALTER (wearable egocentric altered reality simulator) in their own HE institution to support the implementation of the VDR Curriculum.