Call for Expression of Interest (EOI) for Junior Short-Term Expert (JSTE) to Develop and Translate E-Learning Lessons 31-60 for BT2 Science Subject -QuA-VET Project -PN (18.2208.9-002.00)

 General information

Brief information on the project

The Multi-Donor Action “Improving the Quality and Attractiveness of Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) in Lebanon for poor and vulnerable social groups” is jointly co-financed by the European Union and the German Federal Ministry of Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ). The joint action is implemented by GIZ as a specific Action within the wider BMZ project “Improving the Quality and Attractiveness of TVET in Lebanon (QuA-VET)”.

The aim of the action is to orient the vocational training towards the qualification needs of the labour market in sectors with sustainable employment potentials, therefore improving the employment capacities for poor and vulnerable social groups living in Lebanon. The implementing partner, the Directorate General for Vocational and Technical Education (DGVTE), requires further support in involving the private sector in vocational education and training. Thus, the project’s emphasis is placed on improving the partnership between vocational training institutions and the private sector. This includes developing modularized and practice-oriented training programmes in selected sectors, digitalizing e-learning lessons for the technical theoretical subjects of the promoted TVET programs and general subjects and enhancing the quality of in-company training for employees and work-based learning for vulnerable individuals.

The target groups of the project are vulnerable youth and young adults (aged 15-35), including Syrian and Palestinian refugees, individuals from hosting communities, TVET Lebanese students, unemployed or underemployed individuals (aged 17 to 35), and employees in Micro, Small, and Medium-sized Enterprises (MSMEs) seeking to improve their employment prospects through relevant qualifications.

Context

Background – e-Learning

Considering the stumbling economic situation that is affecting Lebanon at several levels, TVET students are not attending school on regular basis due to the transportation fees and unstable security situation in some regions of the country.

Based on the experience in e-learning which the GIZ projects’ ProVTE^[1] and VTE4all^[2] have collected and considering that the teaching and learning at distance will be a constant in the future in the form of blended learning, the QuA-VET project developed the technical theoretical courses of Baccalaureate Technique (BT) Industrial Mechanics and Technicien Superieur (TS) Health Inspection and Food Safety in e-Learning (EL) modality.

Following the development and digitalization of the BT1 general subjects by the VTE4all project, the QuA-VET project is extending the development of e-learning lessons to include the BT2 general subjects for all BT2 programs, according to the newly developed curriculum.

This will ensure that students have access to a larger number of courses and their learning is not interrupted due to the instability in the country. Moreover, the lessons in EL modality will be a support for teachers during the in-presence lessons.

Outline of the mission 

To assure a consistent level of quality of the content and the flow of the EL courses, an Authoring Software (AS) – Articulate Rise 360 - has been selected as a tool for the creation of interactive courses and a Learning Management System (LMS) – Moodle, which is SCORM compatible and can absorb the courses developed by the content developers contracted through QuA-VET project, has been chosen and used during the delivery of the BT “Bâtiment et Travaux Publics” and BT “General Subjects” under ProVTE and VTE4all projects, and technical theoretical subjects for the “Industrial Mechanics” and “Health Inspection and Foods Safety” during the 2022/23 and 2023/24 academic years under the QuA-VET project.

There will be up to 18 content developers trained in Articulate 360 by QuA-VET for inserting up to 450 e-learning lessons (ELLs) of the BT2 General Subjects for the school years 2024/25, 2025/26 and 2026/27 into Moodle and numerous teachers, administering and monitoring the use of the courses through their students. 

In order to develop the ELLs, a competent expert is required to develop and translate up to 30 e-lessons (lessons 31 to 60) of the BT2 Science subject using Articulate 360 in French language and translate them to English, according to the criteria set by the project team. 

1. GIZ shall hire the contractor for the anticipated contract term, from 14.10.2024 to 29.08.2025   
2. The contractor shall provide the following services: 

Development of BT2 Science e-lessons in French language:

• Draft the script for each e-learning lesson, following the official curriculum of BT2 General Subjects approved by the DGVTE.
• Draft in-lesson knowledge check and end-of-lesson quiz questions for each e-lesson in French language. 
• Find different visuals (photos, illustrations, and videos) to illustrate the e-lessons, as relevant and appropriate, ensuring permission for their public use. 
• Develop up to 30 e-lessons (from lesson 31 to 60) of 25 minutes each, on Articulate Rise 360, of BT2 Science in French language, following the quality criteria set by the project team.  
• Submit, at least two e-learning lessons of 25 minutes each, on a weekly basis, to the project team for review and evaluation. 
• Edit and adjust the e-lessons according to the reviewers’ comments and suggestions. 

Translate developed e-lessons from French to English language:

• Translate 30 e-Lessons (from lesson 31 to 60) of 25-minutes each, of the General Subject BT2 Science to English language. This includes exporting the lessons in XLIFF format to upload the file to a translation tool. The developer must identify a translation tool for the mission.
• Ensure the translation is accurate and make the necessary corrections: check and amend spelling errors, grammar and syntax, consistency, formatting, etc.
• Substitute multimedia contents from French to English language when necessary: this includes graphs, videos, etc.
• Ensure the usage of the correct English technical terms and the alignment of the e-Lessons with the already developed e-Lessons in French language.

Others:

• Meet with project manager, project team members, staff of the DGVTE and of other organisations involved in the project as considered necessary.  
• Inform and regularly consult the project team members.
• Upload approved and developed e-lessons to Moodle learning management system (LMS). 
• Share copies of the developed ELLs on Rise 360 with the project team. 
• Participate in training sessions organized by project team, e.g., uploading content into Moodle LMS.
• Carry on all activities necessary for the accomplishment of the required outputs / results. 
• Write mission report and required administrative deliverables, if needed. 

• Be accessible after the short-term mission through internet for follow-up discussions.

Outputs/Results 

• Links to Review 360 for up to 30 ELLs (each 25 minutes) of the BT2 General Subject “Science” in French language
• Links to Review 360 for up to 30 ELLs (each 25 minutes) of the BT2 General Subject “Science” in English language
• The upload of up to 60 ELLs to Moodle LMS  
• Up to 30 scripts and related pictures and illustrations in Microsoft Word and PDF formats 
• Up to 30 in-lesson knowledge check questions templates filled in Excel format
• Up to 30 end-of lesson quiz templates filled in Excel format
• Up to 30 SCORM file packages of the ELLs developed
• Copies on Rise 360 of the 60 ELLs developed in both French and English languages

Tender requirements

Qualifications of proposed staff

Expert 1:

General qualifications

Qualification & General professional experience:

Education:University degree at least at bachelor level, or LT in, at least one of the following majors: Education, Applied Sciences, Biology or other related fields.

Professional experience:  5 years’ experience in teaching Science subjects in the second year of Baccalauréat Technique and experience in developing at least one e-learning lesson using Articulate Rise 360.

Specific professional experience:

• Proven and extensive experience in the development of training materials and documentation

• Experience in preparing assessment on general subjects 

Experience in the region/knowledge of the country

• 5 years of working experience in Lebanon

Language skills

• Business fluency in English language
• Business fluency in French language

Others:

• Proficient in use of MS Office (Power Point, Word, Excel, Outlook)
• Proficiency in internet (re-)search and Articulate Rise 360
• Proficiency in use of Microsoft Teams, Zoom, WebEx or similar programs

Quantitative requirements

The number of fee days and the required number of experts are provided in the attached EOI document (see table).