GLARS – Goal-Based Learning in an Alternate Reality Setting

Digital media offer enormous potential in education and training. The Rheinische Fachhochschule Köln (RFH) developed a didactic and technologically pioneering training concept together with BIO Clustermanagement NRW GmbH (BIO CM) and other partners.

The project lied with the RFH, Prof. Dr. Stefan Ludwigs, and was funded from 2017 to 2019 by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research and the European Social Fund as part of the funding measure “Digital Media in Vocational Education and Training”.

GLARS – Goal-Based Learning in Alternate Reality Setting – is a multimedia learning project for students of the field of training for biological-technical assistants (BTA) at the Rheinische Akademie Köln gGmbH (RAK). In a playful scenario that brings together school, corporate world and home, they access and produce some of the digital learning media themselves.

The main goal of the project partners was to connect the training center even more closely with the working world and to impart application-oriented knowledge. This was done by directly integrating the learning processes into the various real professional contexts. In comparison to traditional learning methods, the project could contribute to an increased motivation to learn.

During the project, BIO CM connected the project partners to various Biotech companies that were interested to support GLARS. The industry experts not only had the opportunity to find future skilled workers but, in addition to digital media, also served as coaches and advisors for the students in order to solve tasks from real customers in the laboratory. Furthermore, the participating companies offered field trips to their facilities and gave presentations on their specific topics. Thus, the exchange between science and industry in the field of life sciences was promoted and the interest in biotech locations was aroused.