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This open access book provides related theories, methods, strategies, and practical cases for implementing education reform through blended learning in curriculum, program, and institutions in the digital age. It sums up the research and practice achievements of blended learning from different research teams, involving more than 20 experts from educational technology, higher education, vocational education, and education management over the past 20 years. This book recommends relevant policies of blended learning to international organizations and governments in various countries, provides systematic solutions for administrators in institutions to promote educational reform via blended learning, and serves as a reference book for instructors, researchers, and relevant enterprise practitioners.

This is an open access book. Covering both theories and practices in Technical Vocational Education and Training (TVET) teacher development, this book provides up-to-date discussions and recommendations on issues relating to TVET teacher development in the digital age. It caters for the needs of in-service teachers and trainers, as well as TVET leaders who want to upscale their professional learning and development in terms of vision, knowledge, expertise, and industry skills needed in the transition to the digital era. What is particularly useful to TVET teachers/trainers are the proposed competency development framework, competency indicators, and the assessment instrument. Drawing on extensive research regarding TVET teachers’ competency development and today’s industry needs, the proposed framework and indicators can be readily used to inform the self-assessment of one’s professional competency level, so as to plan one’s career trajectory accordingly. Teachers and trainers may also find the exemplary cases of teachers’ professional development from various countries inspiring and motivating. The book also serves as a useful reference for TVET leaders, administrators and teacher trainers. The book's competency framework, indicators, and strategies are an adaptable reference for planning professional development policies, evaluation mechanisms, and programs for teachers.

Currently, industrial robot arms are trending in prefabricated building construction; however, a notable gap exists in established automated processes and related research specifically for the insertion of batt thermal insulation. The current method for accomplishing this task relies on manual insertion, which is labour-intensive for the workers and poses long-term health and safety concerns. This research presents an ongoing research project aimed at developing a feasible robotic process for the automated insertion of batt thermal insulation into prefabricated light-frame wood wall frames. This research focuses on the utilization of a single 6-degree-of-freedom robot arm for the insertion process, complimented by the design of a custom-built end-effector. The proposed robotic insertion process, named GLITPP, comprises of six major steps: (1) Grasp, (2) Lift, (3) Insert, (4) Tilt, (5) Push, and (6) Press. The GLITPP insertion process, along with the custom-built end-effector effectively mitigates the influence of the insulation’s nonlinear mechanical properties, while also taking collision avoidance into consideration. This ensures a tight-fitting insulation within the frame cavity, without visible gaps and deficiencies. The necessary physical operating parameters for the insertion process, such as angles, offset, and force requirements, are identified to ensure the precision, efficiency, and repeatability of insertion. A prototype of the designed end-effector is used to demonstrate and validate the robotic method, achieved a high success rate of 93.3%. The development of this research will further advance the complete automation of light-frame wood wall panel prefabrication, offering the industry a wider range of options for selecting thermal insulation for their processes