Birkenhead Sixth Form College

Transcription

1 Becta Technology in FE & Skills, Impact Study Phase 2 Birkenhead Sixth Form College Using mobile devices and Moodle to create a flexible learning environment By enabling easy access to Moodle from the students own mobile devices, such as phones, ipods, and MP3 players, learning can take place any way, anywhere, any time. It also reduces the need to buy and maintain costly computers, and allows a more flexible use of College space. Key Facts Type of Establishment: Sixth Form College Impact Area: Increasing flexibility of learning accommodation and accessibility of learning Those impacted: Staff, students, Computer Services Key Impacts Enhanced learner perception Enhanced learner engagement Improved accessibility Improved learner understanding Greater creativity in teaching and learning Introduction Birkenhead Sixth Form College (BSFC) offers courses in 14 sector subject areas to 1,225 full-time learners aged and 2,000 part-time adult learners. The College is a participating provider in Becta s Technology Exemplar Network. Role played by IT Moodle is used throughout the College and is the core of learning support. Laptops and web-books are used by staff, and provided for students to use in class. Becta Phase 1 funding was used to buy both web-books and PDAs, as, and Colin Hawksworth, Computer Services Manager, realised there was potential for using mobile devices for learning. In October 2009, BSFC beat over 100 other colleges to secure 150,000 from MoLeNET to take their mobile learning project to the next level. In 2010, students and staff will be able to access the network from both home and College, and have full access to their files wherever they are. Students are already encouraged to use the internet with their own mobile devices. The vision is to move the College forward so the use of technology, including Moodle and mobile devices, is embedded in teaching and learning. Importance of the mobile learning initiative Increasingly, teaching was being constrained by lack of space and lack of funding for more IT. When the planned new build was put on hold after the LSC withdrew funding, the College had to look at how to deliver quality education within these constraints. Mobile devices offered a possible solution. Most students have a mobile phone, with 24/7 access. 1

2 The College wouldn t need to fund any new capital purchases Students don t need training. The mobile devices are upgraded regularly. Mobile devices could thus provide an increasingly flexible learning environment to the student, at minimal cost to the College. The changes it introduced The role of e-learning champion was created to help encourage all teaching staff to use e-learning tools, including Moodle and mobile learning. When teachers ask students to get their mobiles out in a lesson, it creates real motivation and interest. Using their own device is very motivational to a student. Teachers and students now produce their own podcasts to help with revision. Time-scales and key milestones The main push to using mobile devices came in e-learning champions were appointed, two teachers who were passionate about IT and who would support and encourage others to try it. During 2009, students were encouraged to use their mobile devices as part of the learning process. By the end of 2009 there were pockets of innovation from those teachers who were using mobile devices in their teaching. 80% of teaching staff will be using mobile devices by the end of Issues Lack of equipment A few students didn t have up-to-date mobile phones, so FlipCameras were made available in class for photos and videos. Lack of time Initially some staff members felt they didn t have time to engage with mobile devices, which was overcome by the e-learning champions demonstrating the benefits. Wrong learning message Initially some staff felt that using a mobile phone in class was giving students the wrong message about the classroom environment. However they soon realised that useful applications helped them make best use of the mobile devices in their teaching. Storage of videos on Moodle The increased uploading of videos caused storage problems on Moodle. Now, videos are uploaded to the College YouTube account. Costs and resourcing Using mobile devices meant zero cost to the College no funding or upgrading of kit, and no training of students. A greater number of devices can access the network, again at no extra cost. Learning can be done anywhere so learning accommodation becomes fluid. This model of teaching and learning enables better provision to students and staff, at considerably less cost. 2

3 Dealing with change e-learning champions worked with the Heads of Subjects to see how mobile devices could be used in their subject teaching, and to show the benefits. Mobile devices are now being used in computing, IT, psychology, theatre studies, music, and geography. Delivering a flexible learning environment through mobile devices The close collaboration of Mal Blackburne and Colin Hawksworth in implementing the mobile learning project ensured that both e-learning and technical services teams were on board. Technical services are important, especially when you re running this type of project. You need their support, and having them on board is particularly important. We re lucky to have a computer services manager who believes in the project we're doing. Key indicators of success All areas using mobile devices in their teaching have had great initial success, but because this is the first year of the project, evidence is still anecdotal. Learners are saying the lessons have become more fun, more interesting, and much more memorable. All learners agree that being able to learn anywhere, when they want to, in a way that suits their learning needs, gives them control over their own learning. Some 25% of learners regularly connect up to the College Wi-Fi via their own devices, with a further 15% less frequently. Around 40% of learners use their own devices regularly as part of their studies. Quantitative student evidence will be gathered via the End of Year questionnaire. Changes in responsibilities, roles, accountabilities, attitudes The two e-learning champions were crucial to success. Introducing a new way of teaching and learning can create issues with some members of staff, and if they re not behind the project, it will inevitably fail. The e-learning champions are Jude Cochrane, Head of Psychology, and Esther Roberts, a part-time media teacher who shows other, full-time, teachers that limited time is no barrier. It s important to choose people who will trailblaze, and then gradually others will follow. The students love the mobile learning project. Some of their comments include I did it! : It s there on my phone, for me ; I ve created it ; It s instant. The Impact AREA Enhanced learner perception IMPACT Students are growing up with IT, and expect teachers to have a good knowledge of it. Most schools have IWBs and while we do too, we still only have them in 60% of classrooms. Students come in with a level of expectation that we have to meet. Enhanced learner engagement Encouraging students to use their mobiles in class, or suggesting that they text the teacher during class with questions or feedback, is immensely engaging. Use of applications that make texted input easy to share in class, such as TextWall, keeps students fully engaged throughout. 3

4 Improved accessibility Improved learner understanding Improved revision skills Greater creativity in teaching and learning Improved planning The use of mobiles, with Wi-Fi, makes it possible to learn just about anywhere, with all learning materials and resources available 24/7. Using mobiles as a learning device also improves accessibility by enabling the student to work with their preferred learning style. In some cases, by asking questions to which answers can be texted during a lesson, teachers innovatively can test learners understanding of the subject. Remedial action can be taken instantly if answers indicate a problem. Students use their phones for recording their revision notes. These can be kept on the phone, or uploaded to Moodle for future access. Students use podcasts to reflect on the work they ve done, to prompt them and assist them in their studies. Students are more open to different learning experiences, and teachers are encouraged to try new ways of teaching their subject. Set up might take a couple of hours, but if it saves 15 minutes per lesson, it won t take many lessons to realise the benefit. The short-term workload increase is outweighed by the long term benefits. Jude Cochrane, Head of Psychology and e- Learning champion. Increased teacher engagement with IT Instant student communication Teachers have to consider other ways of doing things all the time. No student can be excluded because they use a different device, so different formats have to be accommodated. Teachers are encouraged to use Twitter to communicate with their students. Using Twitter to send reminders of a class, event or assignment deadline has a massive impact on the students. Advice to others Provide a training framework for staff Develop e-learning champions. e-learning needs to work hand-in-hand with Computer Services, so that both are fully involved in every aspect of the project. Don t be afraid to try new projects on a small scale Don t force mobile or e-learning onto people present the advantages and let the teachers choose an appropriate approach Looking Forward Thanks to MoLeNET and Becta Phase 1 and 2 funding, the College will be making even better use of mobile devices in learning and teaching. We feel that mobile, managed, mine, the 3Ms, are the new WWW, providing our learners with the resources they need, in the style they need them, and in the format they need, so they can carry it around with them and learn any way, any time, anywhere. 4

5 Barriers to learning are thought of as being the curriculum, funding and time; we re saying that learning can be flexible and open, and the way is to allow the learner to be freer. Wireless systems let them roam about, use their own equipment, and to learn outside the classroom, even outside the institution. Colin Hawksworth, Computer Services Manager Contact Details. Colin Hawksworth, Computer Services Manager. 5