Welcome to the College ILT newsletter NEWSLETTER

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1 ILT NEWSLETTER Welcome to the College ILT newsletter This publication brings together some examples of best practice both in and out of the classroom. Everything contained in this newsletter can also be found on Moodle.

2 How good is the access we offer to hardware and networks? During the past term we have targeted network accessibility to check adequacy and reliability of the network to portable devices. The network provides the means to drive the process, and a robust service is fundamental. Amanda Mills and Mark Rosthorn have provided fantastic live data, which shows what is being used and the level of curriculum uptake. The results are hugely encouraging and clearly demonstrate that many students are accessing the internet through the college network on private portable appliances. Wifi Access to the Internet - Growing and Growing! Amanda Mills and the network services team monitor usage continually through a live dashboard. The two graphs below show clearly the student uptake and use of the College wifi (table 1) and what they access using College machines (table 2) Student portable Smart phones and Tablets What is this telling us? A staggering 2.1 terabytes (or 2,100 gigabyte) is being downloaded and accessed each month across wifi by students using their own devices in college Internet usage on personal devices is more than five times greater than college owned devices, including PCs and laptops This means the challenge now is to provide more online content to further support Teaching and Learning at Nelson and Colne College.

3 College owned devices- PCs and Laptops What is this telling us? Embedded curriculum materials on Moodle account for 70% of all use Internal web services (pro portal, EBS, and ) account for 26.3% of all use The devices are primarily used for internal sites (not social media) Round up Access is good and getting better There is plenty of potential to further promote independent learning via wi-fi and portable machines

4 Vocational Science Vocational Science teams and students have been using Turn it in for assignment work since the beginning of the academic year. How has Turn it in helped support teaching and learning? The software package monitors plagiarism from internet sources and other students The students are now far more conscious of cutting and pasting and in most cases are becoming better researchers/assignment writers Paper copies of assignments are no longer needed The system monitors and registers very clearly the submission time and date It will allow late submissions, but these appear red, making it easier for staff to note missed deadlines Work can be marked and fed back online

5 How are we managing the students expectations of the digital environment? Three key guiding principles have been identified as the driving force to further embed Information and Learning Technology within Teaching and Learning at Nelson and Colne College. All students will: Be able to access the internet, college applications and systems both in and out of college All teaching staff will: Deliver sections of their courses using interactive digital resources Set, collect and feed back on assessed work digitally

6 How are we embedding digital experiences in the curriculum? GCSE Maths e-packs Setting the context Many of our students do not choose to take GCSE Maths. The vast majority are with us having achieved grade D or worse in school. They have, however, all taken a Maths course at GCSE level many will have taken GCSE Maths in school in Britain, although others took O-level (prior to 1988) or an equivalent course in the country they grew up in. Over two years our tutors have made a number of observations while teaching the GCSE Maths course: Some students are undermined by poor attendance or a refusal to engage with the course once in lessons. Sometimes adult students enrolled on evening classes have a change in their circumstances, which make it difficult to continue the required commitment Homework was patchily completed Moodle quizzes were not readily engaged with many students gave weak excuses for this The focus on teaching this linear course topic by topic meant that students forgot or got rusty on maths skills Why e-packs? After an informative training session, it was clear that e-packs could assist in giving all Nelson and Colne College students the best chance to succeed. The idea was welcomed and received immediate encouragement and support with plans to develop the e-pack course and maximise the varied experience the team could share put in place.

7 What makes e-packs work? Make it simple and keep the structure the same: Our students are not all enthusiastic about learning Maths, but they acknowledge they must do it and as such many will do the minimum work required to get through the course. Each week, students have a PowerPoint presentation to look at, a Moodle quiz to try and a past exam homework to complete and bring in the following week. Lessons are reserved for enriching the topic they studied independently in Moodle the week prior, and for going over past paper questions. This way, students keep their existing knowledge fresh, while building new skills as the course progresses. Cross-college drive to improve GCSE re-sit success: Tutors across the college have worked hard to support and encourage their students to engage with the course, and have also chased up homework and attendance on a regular basis. Raised profile: College management have stressed the importance of making GCSE re-sits a priority. As such, this message has spread across the college community and has resulted in better engagement from students. The bit you don t see: As well as PowerPoint presentations, past paper questions and quizzes, there is also a catalogue of engaging classroom activities to make lessons more focussed on new topics, or areas that need improvement. Curriculum Leader for GCSE and Functional Maths Georgina Holt said: We worked very hard on this project after our final exam (second week in June) up to the summer break. This was because we were determined to complete the whole year in advance, which ensured a consistent standard would be achieved across the whole course. An unforeseen bonus is that it has driven the teaching on this year, so the scheme of work is clear and all students have the same experience. Georgina Holt Curriculum Leader GCSE/Functional Maths

8 How are we preparing students for digital workplaces? Smart Assessor - supporting vocational training, evidence collection and assessment We now have 1,020 learners that have used and are using Smart Assessor in the following areas: Full time Catering at Levels 1,2 and 3 Hairdressing at level 2, with plans to implement across the entire hairdressing and beauty provision Engineering HNC, with plans to implement across all Engineering courses Apprentices at all levels, including Early Years Educator, Health and Social Care, Supporting Teaching and Learning, Management up to Level 5, Engineering, Catering, Hair and Beauty, Warehousing and Storage, and Health and Safety. All project learners use Smart Assessor All employers have a log in and are able to track the progress of learners. As a result of the use of Smart Assessor, the apprenticeship overall success rate for 14/15 was 86% - a fantastic increase of 9%. Timely success is 79.9% - an increase of 15%. All resources are on Smart Assessor and are linked and mapped to relevant units. Learners have full control of their own learning they upload and log their own work and can see where they are in terms of progress and areas they need to cover Catering use the e-timesheet to log every RWE (Realistic Work Environment) session Work is ongoing to see how this information can be exported to the EILP (Electronic Individual Learning Plan) work experience Assessors use a training and assessment plan in Smart Assessor. All learners are able to access this, so they are fully aware of their next steps

9 Learners can monitor the performance criteria they need to cover to complete units Learner/employer reviews are voice recorded and uploaded into Smart Assessor Feedback is recorded on Smart Assessor Going forward Plans are to make more use of the Smart Rooms, with Business Administration set to trial webinars through Smart Assessor. This will support the growth in apprenticeshipsand will be a more cost effective method of delivery.

10 How effective is our guidance and support for students use of digital technologies? Project Update: Rolling out across the College Community In order to build on current success, we will be rolling out a programme to develop and deliver online teaching and learning. Support will be available for teachers and other staff.

11 How are we building the digital capabilities of student-facing staff? Mark Rosthorn and Helen Kendall Support is available Mark and Helen (the team) will be supporting the following divisions over the coming months of this academic year and into the next. Spring 1: Sport / Public Services / Foundation Level 1 Spring 2: Summer 1: Summer 2: Business / Art HSC / Childcare / Hair and Beauty IT / Engineering / Science / Maths and English It is important going forward that we explain the importance of setting relevant and timely e-pack resources for learners in MOODLE. This enables the College to report on on-going activity and progress of learners and to measure the impact on learner outcomes. Initial meetings with HODs and CLs in each Division give the team the opportunity to outline the strategy and highlight present good practice. At designated times during the year teaching staff are being advised to arrange at least three one-to-one meetings with the team to discuss how their curriculum delivery can be enhanced by the use of ILT in and out of the classroom. The first strategy meeting would clearly set out the goals for the individual and task the teacher with providing the team with two resources that the team can produce on MOODLE for the member of staff to get them started. The follow up meeting is a discussion of the suitability of the resources presented and the creation of an implementation plan. The final practical meeting analyses how the supplied resources were created and discusses the outcomes brought about by the resources and the subsequent reporting on those. The teacher is then tasked with producing at least two more resources independently liaising with the team for support throughout the process. Together we can create an exciting array of online resources in each curriculum area on MOODLE that can be used year after year.

12 Coming soon: Level 3 student Zameer Ejaz has been selected as digital champion for a national student app development programme. Funded and delivered by CAE Technology Services with the support of the World s leading ICT manufacturers, and directly addressing recommendations from the FELTAG report, the Digital Champion Program is a new and innovative approach to engaging students. The program allows chosen colleges and their Student Digital Champion access to exceptional resources and an exclusive community. The program will help colleges to deliver the best outcomes from the use of technology and will help to transform Student Digital Champions into a digital leader of the future. Among other opportunities, Zameer will get to go to the Gadget Show and visit the Research and Development departments of some major technology companies. If he wins the competition, he will go to Munich to present his app idea at Fujitsu. Nationally, 16 students have been selected, on the basis of a written proposal for an app idea. Keep in touch Any queries or suggestions please forward to the ILT Strategy Group via: or j.ellis@nelson.ac.uk Nelson and Colne College Scotland Road, Nelson, Lancashire BB9 7YT