Inclusive Online Collaborative Learning Environments in Vocational Education

Abstract

The work aims to create a holistic design of a truly inclusive, culturally adapted, and collaborative online learning environment for Vocational Education. The literature review relates to creating a community of inquiry from diverse perspectives, cultural and group differentiation, predictors of adult learners satisfaction and/or frustration and the creation of technology tools. Knowledge gaps refer to inconsistent literature on the transition of pedagogical principles from face-to-face to online collaborative learning; a lack of recognition of the pedagogical potential of digitalization for collaborative online learning; a lack of effectiveness of educational tools; the need to further adjust the design of collaborative learning to different groups, cultures, and learner groups with specific needs. An initial framework was validated by empirical qualitative and quantitative research.