
Foraus.de – the very first online portal for training staff
Unlike the rudimentary chat rooms of the 90s or the Usenet, as it was developed in the 80s, the “Knowledge Community” www.foraus.de was intended to be more than just a place for communication. Instead, it should specifically support training staff in sharing experiences and learning, as well as make important information easily accessible to training staff.
The focus was always on sharing experience and information
DEKRA Media not only took over the complete technical development of the portal, but also supplied the new system with information as part of the initial provision. Up until 2016, the editorial maintenance of the platform was also in the hands of DEKRA Media. BIBB then decided to incorporate this work into the internal editorial department for BIBB’s websites. But by then, DEKRA Media had written hundreds of news items and forum posts, supplied the learning portal in foraus.de with self-study materials, looked for and found authors for book reviews, and engaged education experts as forum moderators. “By closely monitoring user behaviour in foraus.de and flexibly adapting the editorial and moderating work, BIBB and the DEKRA Media Team have succeeded over the years in building up a stable online community. www.foraus.de is highly valued by trainers and also other educational professionals,” explains Heister.
Pioneering role requires research work
However, Foraus.de was more than just a development project. As one of the first systems in this field, it was also an important research project that showed the potential that community platforms hold for vocational education and training and how they can be designed to suit the target group. This resulted in several publications on the subject between 2001 and 2004, which were jointly published by Wolfgang Reichelt and BIBB.
Innovation ensures sustainability
Nevertheless, the cooperation between the Federal Institute for Vocational Education and Training and DEKRA Media continued. Just like the early days of the internet in the 80s and 90s, the ongoing digitalisation of recent years has made waves in the world of work. What is now commonly known as “Industry 4.0” has far-reaching implications for training methods. The question was how to prepare the training staff for these new requirements. The solution: an innovative series of explanatory films produced by DEKRA Media for the foraus.de platform. “In our twelve webcasts, which is what we call these films, we visit companies and show how these companies use new technologies, such as tablets or VR, in a relevant manner in training. However, the films not only consist of footage shot on location, but also of moderated sections recorded in the studio and great animated clips,” explains Michael Härtel, the responsible project coordinator at BIBB. “In the films, we not only show successful examples of these new learning methods, but also explain how companies can implement similar measures themselves”.
Webcasts – modern format for modern content
Nevertheless, the cooperation between the Federal Institute for Vocational Education and Training and DEKRA Media continued. Just like the early days of the internet in the 80s and 90s, the ongoing digitalisation of recent years has made waves in the world of work. What is now commonly known as “Industry 4.0” has far-reaching implications for training methods. The question was how to prepare the training staff for these new requirements. The solution: an innovative series of explanatory films produced by DEKRA Media for the foraus.de platform. “In our twelve webcasts, which is what we call these films, we visit companies and show how these companies use new technologies, such as tablets or VR, in a relevant manner in training. However, the films not only consist of footage shot on location, but also of moderated sections recorded in the studio and great animated clips,” explains Michael Härtel, the responsible project coordinator at BIBB. “In the films, we not only show successful examples of these new learning methods, but also explain how companies can implement similar measures themselves”.
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