HALESOWEN COLLEGE. Whittingham Road Halesowen West Midlands B63 3NA

Transcription

1 HALESOWEN COLLEGE Whittingham Road Halesowen West Midlands B63 3NA Jo Williams Staff Development Director ext. 355 Team: Viv Whittome Craig Tucker Lee Fletcher Barbara Davis Halesowen Training the Teacher 1 of 22

2 INTRODUCTION Project Title: Training the Teacher Education Team to develop ICT resources for use on ITT programmes. Context: Halesowen College is a tertiary College located in the Metropolitan Borough of Dudley eight miles west of Birmingham. It currently operates from three sites close to the centre of Halesowen. The teacher education team is well-established with a proven track record in delivering the full suite of City and Guilds Education qualifications and were part of the original partnership group with the University of Worcester who successfully wrote and validated a Certificate in Education course. The context of the project originated from annual self-assessment together with pressures from Ofsted and students to develop the use of ICT to enhance learning. Ofsted criteria for judging the effectiveness of teaching and learning includes a judgement on: make effective use of technology, where used, to support learning and understanding pg.82 Ofsted Handbook for Inspecting Colleges Students should be able to: make use of the resources available to them, for example in libraries and ICT centres and other learning technologies pg. 83 A good lesson should include: interesting and relevant use of technology to support learning pg. 84 Furthermore, inspectors will evaluate whether: technology is used by learners as an integral part of their courses, where appropriate pg. 85 There is also a specific section on e-learning. This section states that colleges should facilitate e-learning and support it through the use of technology. Technology here is defined as involving the use of computers, interactive whiteboards, digital mobile devices, the internet, the college intranet, virtual learning environments and electronic communication tools such as , discussion boards, chat facilities and video conferencing. Further e- learning should be part of the overall teaching and learning strategy, as evidenced by references to e-learning in schemes of work, lesson plans and staff development plans and developing a blended learning approach. Halesowen Training the Teacher 2 of 22

3 As Ofsted are the key body assessing and evaluating Further Education it was clear that in preparing trainees for success e-learning has to be a part of the programme. Pedagogies that integrate information and communication technologies can engage students in ways not previously possible Pedagogy Strategy, MCEETYA. A number of reports have stated that the current generation of students have been born into a highly technological world. All educational institutions have had to respond to the needs of students and have also acknowledged that ICT competence and skills are essential for successful participation in today s society and economy. The College, like most other educational institutions, has supported the engagement with ICT in a variety of ways. Firstly, there are curriculum frameworks which focus on student-centred learning. Secondly, increasing levels of hardware, software and technical support. Thirdly, increased investment and use of handheld, user-friendly devices, and finally increased emphasis in staff development on digital technology and its use. This would create a seamless approach to teaching and learning with technology. It is also recognised, however, that increased investment in, and availability of technology does not in itself result in a change in teaching methods. To use ICT effectively appropriate pedagogy and training needs to be adopted. The team recognised the need to develop their own use of ICT within the teacher education programmes to model good practice and encourage trainees to integrate ICT into their own teaching. Prior to the project, ICT support sessions to ensure coverage of the minimum core had been the main source of ICT within Teacher Education programmes. This was delivered by an ICT specialist and there was a tendency to rely on the expert rather than seeing ICT as a tool for all teachers. The recognition of the potential of ICT and the importance placed upon its use in enhancing learning by Ofsted were the key drivers in the project Aims and Objectives: The project has four key aims: 1. To develop the skills of the teacher education team on Moodle assessment and online forums and blogging to extend opportunities for reflective practice. The College uses Moodle as a VLE. Moodle development and usage had been very uneven across college and had been used by one member of the teacher education team. It was recognised by the team that by learning more about the range of uses of Moodle it could be used effectively in teacher education and thus encourage staff to use it creatively in their own teaching. Further, the team had very little experience of the use of blogs, but were keen to look at the potential for using blogging to replace the reflective practice journals currently kept by trainees. 2. To identify key resources which could be used to improve the quality and effectiveness of ICT provision for ITT students. The main priority here was for the teacher education team to have time dedicated to investigate ICT/online resources. It has been acknowledged on numerous occasions that time is needed to see what is already available. Halesowen Training the Teacher 3 of 22

4 3. To explore the potential of using a VLE to enable mentors to effectively develop their subject specialism. Support for and engaging mentors is another key part of a successful teacher education team. The need to ensure high quality mentoring in the subject specialisms places a requirement upon the teacher education team to support the mentor and ensure they have access to the necessary materials and training. The teacher education team wanted time to explore what VLE support was available and how it could be utilised. 4. To develop advanced skills on College VLE (Moodle) The teacher education team started with varying levels of expertise on Moodle. For one member of the team, however, the opportunity to investigate and use the more advanced and interactive functions of the VLE would pave the way for upskilling the rest of the team. Halesowen Training the Teacher 4 of 22

5 3. STRATEGIES The teacher education team divided responsibilities for achieving the aims of the project subject to their own interests, CPD needs and ICT abilities. In terms of the first aim, all members of the team received individual training and development time on the Moodle VLE. Two members of the team have investigated the use of blogs in a variety of educational contexts with a view to adopting a College model for September The second aim has again been undertaken by all members of the team in different ways. One member of the team attended a JISC RSC West Midlands course. Others have used time to search available online materials. Aim 3 was the focus of one member of the team who has undertaken research on the use of the VLE for supporting mentors in their subject specialism. Aim 4 has also been the focus of an individual member of the team, though all have received training on some advanced functions. The strategies adopted have definitely been dictated by time and circumstance. Ofsted inspection and staff illness has put severe constraints on the ability of the team to run all team events. Thus work had often been done in sub-teams and individually. There has been constant communication and sharing, but much of the communication has been electronic and virtual. Halesowen Training the Teacher 5 of 22

6 4. OUTCOMES AND IMPACT Though as with many of these projects there is still a long way to go the team are unanimous in their feeling that this project has provided the opportunity for us to develop a good grounding in the use of the VLE and has started to be used to model good practice in use for trainees. As previously mentioned, the teacher education team had varying degrees of expertise in ICT use at the start of the project. Two members of the team were highly competent and thus for them the challenge was to use this expertise in the context of teacher education and develop more advanced skills. Two members of the team were competent ICT users, but had little VLE experience or expertise. The fifth member had basic ICT skills, but was nervous of the whole concept of VLEs. Thus, in evaluating the distance travelled there are varying degrees of success and achievement. As evidenced below some progress has been made towards all four aims of the project. In the case of the highly competent ICT users they have been able to utilise their skills and knowledge and have introduced a number of significant VLE and ICT resources into the teacher education programme in order to enhance learning. These are detailed below. The two competent ICT users have further developed skills and awareness of resources. Examples of where these have been used are detailed further below. The team member with basic ICT skills has now got a good working knowledge of Moodle and is able to upload resources. In some ways this represents out major achievement in that the team now all use Moodle and are able to highlight it as one of the many tools for learning to trainees. In terms of the first Aim: To develop the skills of the teacher education team on Moodle assessment and online forums and blogging to extend opportunities for reflective practice. The team have achieved the following: DTLLS year 1 and 2 now have dedicated Moodle courses on the VLE Examples of screenshots show use of Moodle to store key documents that can be accessed by trainees at any time. Images have been uploaded to Moodle showing the work that has been completed during lesson time. This has had a positive response from learners. Halesowen Training the Teacher 6 of 22

7 Resources were available on the VLE to allow for 24/7 access. Trainees commented on the ease and availability of the resources to save them time. Images were used to recap previous knowledge and allow trainees to see key elements quickly. Trainees commented that they did not have to always click on a link to see or download a picture. Halesowen Training the Teacher 7 of 22

8 The VLE allowed for notices to be posted to all trainees and for them to chart their own progress. Trainees were aware how and where to find out information to help them succeed. The use of digital cameras helped remove the need for constant note taking and allowed the trainee to focus on the input from the teacher training team or their peers. Halesowen Training the Teacher 8 of 22

9 A clear and structured approach to the course allowed learners to find information and resources quickly to help in their development. Moodle is now used on all aspects of teacher education and there has been a positive response from learners. This is evidenced in the Appendix by the Moodle usage statistics. All teacher training Moodle courses have been left open for guest access and this has allowed learners to access their course resources immediately When questioned about the use of Moodle in Teacher Education the following comments were made: Saves taking notes and allows me to concentrate on what the teacher is saying rather than scribbling aspects from the presentation If I missed a week I didn t have to worry about what I had missed as I knew the resources were on Moodle to help me. It helped relieve my stress levels Using Moodle on my Teacher Education course has inspired me to use it with my students. I make further use of digital cameras to record activities completed by students A student commented on an I have to say I really appreciate all the help you have given on Moodle for the assignment. This has helped enormously. One module of DTLLS has been delivered through Moodle Wider Professional Practice all resources have been uploaded and the module has been paperless. This will be further developed for the cohort by adding a blog and discussion forum on current policy developments. Halesowen Training the Teacher 9 of 22

10 In terms of Aim 2: To identify key resources which could be used to improve the quality and effectiveness of ICT provision for ITT students. Additional resources have been added to support learners with their assignments and developing their core skills. For example, online Harvard referencing generator, Microsoft Office Tutorials. Trainees often struggled with the concept of Harvard Referencing; however through using interactive sites linked through Moodle they were able to ensure their referencing met the requirements of the course. By linking directly from Moodle trainees were able to directly access the resource. Halesowen Training the Teacher 10 of 22

11 Trainees identified that their IT skills could be improved in addition to the minimum core elements which were built into the course. They asked for resources to support their development. Through using resources stored on Moodle which were related to different versions of the software the trainees were able to practice and develop their skills in their own time without worrying about having access to the latest software. This method of support will be further developed and embedded into the CTLLS course from September 2009 Frequent checks of learning were made using the VLE to support and monitor the progress of the trainees. A range of open and closed questions were used as starter activities to recap and develop their knowledge. Halesowen Training the Teacher 11 of 22

12 The VLE was used to prompt trainees into using different resources and to sign post where resources where available. This proved to be an effective method in sharing good practice and knowledge of resources with the group both from the teacher training team and peers. Halesowen Training the Teacher 12 of 22

13 Links to videos and embedded videos were included to give trainees a range of information in a way to suit their particular learning styles. Trainees did not need to take the word of the teacher training team when they could hear it straight from the theorist. Trainees commented on the ability to pause, rewind and watch again as key strengths of using video in the course. Forums are a key aspect of the VLE and allowed trainees to ask questions and reply to questions posed by the teacher training team. Forums were used both inside and outside of the classroom and fostered a positive working environment. The use of forums also ensured that trainees who could not attend were still included and could contribute. Halesowen Training the Teacher 13 of 22

14 The use of NLN (National Learning Network) materials embedded into the VLE allowed for a range of interactive elements to be included. Trainees commented that these allowed for a more visual and fun approach to dry subjects such as improving research skills, making useful notes, the Data Protection Act and the Copyright Designs and Patents Act. They are designed to be small bite-sized chunks of learning The Technology for Teacher Trainers course run by JISC RSC has provide an insight into the following resources: Use of Webquests as teaching and learning tool. Developed awareness of blogs and wikis Halesowen Training the Teacher 14 of 22

15 Use of Vodcasts and Podcasts as alternative ways to transmit information to students. The LSIS Excellence Gateway resources have also been reviewed and further work in July 2009 will investigate the use of these in ITT delivery. The use of webquests has also been implemented, however further planning in the structure of the webquests need to be developed. Further use of digital recording devices such as Busbis are to be explored in enabling trainees to have visual as well as verbal feedback and to further develop their reflective practice after completing class tasks. In terms of Aim 3: To explore the potential of using a VLE to enable mentors to effectively develop their subject specialism. This is the area where there needs to be a lot of further work. The HUDCETT ASSOCiate Online system has been researched. The essential purpose of the site is to offer subject specialist support on a trainee networking basis and through the teacher training team and mentors. It is imperative that the teacher training team embed the ASSOCiate Online system and use it as part of the various assignments. ASSOCiate Online is designed to support any initial teacher training course in any context. It currently covers 50 subject specialisms under 15 categories as laid out by QCA. The question of how we can use a national VLE to support trainees and mentors in their various specialisms was raised by OFSTED. To answer this question HUDCETT was contacted to see how their Associate Online system could be used. Further contact has been made with Denise Robinson (HUDCETT Director) to arrange a demonstration to show how the software can support us as well as our partner colleges. Contact has also been made to assess the views of current users of the system from the University of Wolverhampton & Lowestoft College. Positive responses have been received and the University of Worcester are keen to explore how a blended learning approach can be related to the mentoring process. Further development and research related to this point needs to be addressed. The key elements to be discussed included the cost of using the ASSOCiate Online system and how to successfully embed the ASSOCiate Online system into DTLLS assignments to ensure that trainees understand the reason and method behind using the ASSOCiate Online system to support their development. In terms of Aim 4: To develop advanced skills on College VLE (Moodle) Advanced skills that have been developed and used are: Use of digital cameras to support trainees and limit the amount of note taking The use of forums to include all learners and enable wider participation between trainees from different institutions and those who have been unable to attend. The use of video clips to meet individual learning styles and enable the trainee to re-visit key points at their own pace. The development of quizzes to further enhance checks on learning and to allow for a recap of previous session. Halesowen Training the Teacher 15 of 22

16 The key impact of the project has been to raise the profile of the VLE and digital technology in teacher education. Increased use and understanding by ALL members of the teacher education team has resulted in increased use by trainees. There is also evidence that trainees are now making increased use of Moodle in their own teaching. The other key impact is the enthusiasm and determination of the team to further use and integrate ICT as a tool to encourage learning. Halesowen Training the Teacher 16 of 22

17 5. LEARNING POINTS All members of the team have learned something from the project. For the highly competent ICT users learning has been in the form of awareness of more advanced applications and resources, but also the challenges of helping others to use ICT when skill levels are not particularly high. The project has enabled staff to increase awareness, gain skills and use these skills regularly. One key learning point is that training on IT cannot be a one-hit wonder. Following training staff and trainees need time to practice and use these skills, otherwise they are quickly lost. All staff have gained awareness of blogs, resources and the potential of VLEs. For most staff there has also been considerable gain in skills. Moodle is now used confidently and competently and the blog for reflective practice is under development. The aim which was only partially achieved was in relation to using the VLE for enabling mentors to develop their subject specialism. Only one team member has full awareness of this and this will be an action point to continue this next year. In terms of the future the development of Moodle will certainly continue with the integration of more interactive applications planned and online reflective blogs. Halesowen Training the Teacher 17 of 22

18 SYNOPSIS The project s key focus was to develop the ICT skills of the teacher education team in order that they could model good practice in using ICT as a tool to enable and enhance effective learning. Strategies included individual research and trialling of a variety of ICT resources, staff training and development sessions on the VLE and Moodle. The key outcomes of the project were greater staff awareness of resources and ICT potential, greater skills in particular relating to the use of the Moodle VLE, this includes the trainee use of Moodle VLE. Halesowen Training the Teacher 18 of 22

19 KEY WORDS ICT Moodle Learning Teacher Education Interactive Halesowen Training the Teacher 19 of 22

20 Appendix A Comparison of college access v home access College access 36% Home access 64% This clearly shows the benefit of an open access course. Learners from all teacher education courses have accessed Moodle from home on more than one occasion. This has facilitated out of hours learning and the lack of an actual tutor presence has been mediated by clear guidance on the VLE. Activities during the week SUN 10% MON 17% SAT 9% FRI 10% TUE 18% THU 20% WED 16% The days of the week when students are using the Moodle courses throws up some interesting statistics. Despite the lessons taking place on Tuesday and Thursday, students use the course consistently throughout Monday to Thursday. Weekend use is fairly high and approx 50% of weekly use. From the activities taking place during weekends it is clear students are using the resources that help them to prepare for assignment work. Halesowen Training the Teacher 20 of 22

21 PTLLS Activities resource add course view user view all course add mod resource view The chart above demonstrates the clear benefit of a VLE. limited teacher input with the majority of the activity taking place completed or initiated by the learner. Learners are using Moodle as a tool for learning and this is in line with current Ofsted expectations. 2% of the activity is teachers uploading resources, and 69% is learners reviewing and making use of the resources. Halesowen Training the Teacher 21 of 22

22 PTLLS Moodle course logs Dec 08 - Jun /12/ /12/ /12/ /12/ /12/ /01/ /01/ /01/ /01/ /02/ /02/ /02/ /02/ /03/ /03/ /03/ /03/ /03/ /04/ /04/ /04/ /04/ /05/ /05/ /05/ /05/ /06/ /06/ /06/ /06/2009 The above example shows access to the PTLLS Moodle course the maximum activities in one day peaked on 17 th June Earlier low activity periods represent the stage of the process when teachers were uploading resources. Generally in terms of Moodle usage 25 users are enrolled on the PTLLS course, 32 on DTLLS year 1 and 42 on DTLLS year 2. A clear advantage of an open access Moodle course is that it has enabled some DTLLS Year 1 learners to gain an insight into the second year of the course as they have already enrolled. This has also allowed students who have completed PTLLS to access DTLLS resources and again assess their suitability to continue with their training. Halesowen Training the Teacher 22 of 22