Vocational Training has been experiencing unprecedented growth in recent years; So much so that last academic year 2023-2024, 1,132,364 million students were enrolled, the largest number in its history, according to data from the Ministry of Education and Vocational Training (MFEP). To further promote this training option and adapt it to the future work of students, initiatives have emerged such as the ATECA classrooms (Applied Technology Classrooms), a project of the Ministry of Education and Vocational Training in collaboration with the autonomous communities that is part of the Plan of Modernization of Vocational Training: they arise from the need to adapt educational spaces to the demands of the 21st century.
What are ATECA classrooms?
ATECA classrooms are innovative learning spaces that focus on the use of emerging technologies applied to VET teaching. And they are designed in such a way that they seek to simulate real work environments, integrating equipment and technologies such as virtual reality, robotics, artificial intelligence, 3D printing… Thus, they promote more practical, participatory teaching adapted to the needs of the student. current labor market, especially in constantly evolving sectors such as industry, commerce, health and information technologies.
In this way, ATECAs provide students with the opportunity to acquire advanced digital skills and, in turn, improve their technical training, achieve more autonomous and active learning and develop soft skills such as adaptation to change, communication and thinking. critical; skills that are increasingly valued by companies. In them, students can manufacture products using 3D printers or laser cutters, build robots, manipulate machinery or perform a medical intervention through virtual reality. And by facing challenges in simulated environments, they develop their ability to solve problems in real situations and learn to be more creative. Currently, in Spain there are 1,200 ATECA classrooms, according to data from the Ministry of Education and Vocational Training, and they are expected to increase as the plan progresses with the implementation of the FP Modernization Plan. An example of an ATECA classroom can be found at the IES Virgen de las Nieves, a center located in the city of Granada that has had one of these spaces since 2022. In it, students can be distributed among different locations: a work space for entrepreneurship and the holding of exhibitions and presentations, in which they have digital screens; a space for manufacturing prototypes and projects with scanners and 3D printers; one with chroma technology in which they can carry out video presentations or simulate that they are presenting a news report; and a space with virtual reality simulation.