Showcasing the Impact E-learning Can Have

The Association of Learning Providers (ALP) has been key in supporting the uptake of technology by learning provides in the WBL sector. Its successful Learner Innovation Grants programme has already resulted in numerous innovative projects being completed that show just how effective e-learning can be for providers. (I’ve listed some regional examples in this previous post).

ALP will shortly be showcasing more great examples in its upcoming Providers of the Future Showcase Event. This will be held on 19th November in Sutton Coldfield (great for this region!). The event will contain presentations from Providers delivering in a range of occupational sectors including Construction, Health & Social Care and Sports & Fitness.

Like ALP, I also expect this will be a great opportunity to take advantage of providers experience, find out what works, what doesn’t and how to overcome hurdles. It’s also a great way to see what possible and be inspired!

More information and booking details are available on ALP’s website.

Hope to see some of you there!

Learning About Online Learning - Online

The National Institute of Adult Continuing Education (NIACE) are now offering online staff development opportunities which allow you to experience online learning whilst also learning how to develop online learning within your own organisation.

Exploring Successful Learning Online is a six week course ideal for people who have yet to experience online learning or the use of a virtual learning environment.

Application of Online Learning is a 12 week online course for those wishing to use online learning with their learners. This includes modules that focus on the delivery of blended or online learning, personalising learning, engaging learners or widening participation.

I beleive that experiencing online learning as a learner yourself, certainly goes a long way for discovering possibilities of online learning, as well as its limitations. It's a great way to discover how the learner feels. These particular courses also make ideal continual professional development for anyone in the work based learning sector as they are also accredited by the National Open College Network.

Both courses start at the begining of November 2008. For further information or to register your interest contact Kajal Samat by email at Kajal.samat@niace.org.uk.

More information is also available on NIACE website.

E-Guides updates

NIACE have just announced that there is some availability on the E-Guides training programme and have confirmed that capital grants of £2,500 are now also available for attendance on these. See this previous post for dates in this region and details of how to book. This other post also lists a few of the activities that previous attendees undertook after their initial training, highlighting just how much enthusiasm the programme generates.

Follow up training, E-Guides Plus

In addition to the 3-day E-Guides Training programme, NIACE are also offering follow-up events for existing E-Guides. These free, one day events are designed to enable E-Guides to refresh and build on their skills and knowledge through practical hands-on workshops.

Details of these 'E-Guides Plus’ events and a booking form are available at: www.niace.org.uk/eguidesplus Hope to see some of you there!

Examples of E-Learning in Work Based Learning

Are you curious to know who is doing what with e-learning?

The Excellence Gateway continues to prove a really useful source of information allowing you to discover just what is possible using ILT. Below I've noted some extracted summaries and links to just a few of the recent case studies that highlight how e-learning is being used specifically in the work based learning sector. Hope these will inspire you!

Our Information Officer, Kirsty Hill, also feeds into the Excellence Gateway with news and best practice from around the region. If you have an example you would like to see published, do get in touch.

Charnwood Training: Use of Tablet PCs
"Charnwood wanted to improve their retention and achievement rates in their training in the pub and club sector. By introducing Tablet PCs and electronic learning materials the company revolutionised access and the manner of delivery for its learners. Retention rates are now almost double to what they were prior to the introduction of the Tablet PCs...."

JHP Training: Paperless Monitoring for Work Based Learning
"A South West contractor, JHP Training...equip each of the remote workers with a laptop, mobile phone and digital recorder so that they can do their visits and compile reports without having to put pen to paper. They tape their conversations with the student, score them and load into the laptop. It is attached electronically as a “witness statement” to the student’s file. The students sign on electronically to chart their progress and see what needs to be done. All NVQs are now dealt with in this way...."

Construction Gateway: Tracking Success
"Construction Gateway Ltd. is a private training provider delivering construction NVQs. Their parent company have developed a fully integrated e-portfolio and Work Based Learning management system called ‘VeTAS' which has noticeably improved learner enrolment, assessment, tracking and portfolios..."

DV8 Training's virtual media company: Personal online space supporting work-related learning
"DV8's learners use an online resource to personalise and influence the design, layout and content of their online ‘portfolios'...The ‘public' showcasing and peer comment create a purposeful learning environment for a range of different learners but one especially motivating to those previously disengaged from education...."

Staff Development (and Capital Grants) for Work Based Learning Leaders

The Centre for Excellence in Leadership (CEL) has now published new dates for more of their leadership programmes that support the strategic development of e-learning.

For staff that have already completed CEL’s Connect and Realise programmes, the follow up programme ‘WBL Explorer’ now has availability in this region, and capital funding attached. (This capital grant entitles LSC-funded organisations to claim a £2,500 grant for each staff member who has completes one of CEL’s e-learning leadership programmes, up to a maximum of £7,500 per organisation). Read more about the grants here or more about the WBL Explorer programme here.

New WBL Explorer dates for this region are as follows:

7 October 2008 – day 1 - Birmingham
4 December 2008 – day 2 - Birmingham
10 February 2009 – day 3 - Birmingham
25 June 2009 – Landmarks – London

As with many of these types of programmes I’d advise that you book fast if you are interested in attending. Places do fill up fast and it is a case of first come first served!

CEL recommend that WBL organisations attend ConnecT and Realise before starting the WBL explorer programme. Unfortunately the new round of Connect and Realise courses are out of region this time but its still worth enquiring with CEL directly if you have an interest in these.

To book a place or enquire about any of the programmes, please email enquiries@centreforexcellence.org.uk

Getting to Grips with Interactive Whiteboards

The Interactive whiteboard is a wonderful tool to use with learners — great for group activities and for capturing the attention of learners. But while many learning providers own them, not all staff have been able to successfully integrate them into their teaching.

To address this, the RSC West Midlands are now offering another of our popular Interactive Whiteboard training sessions, free to staff from West Midlands based work based learning and adult and community providers.

In this repeat of a previous session, Alison Nock will again show what can be achieved using interactive whiteboards and show how they can be used effectively to enhance teaching and learning.

This beginners two hour workshop will take place in Wolverhampton on Friday 3rd October from 1.30pm - 3.30pm. There are a limited number of spaces available and they do tend to go fast - the last event was full within 48 hours of being advertised! Bookings are limited to two people per organisation.

For more information email our events coordinator or book online.

FREE Resources for Quality Improvement

Over the last seven years, the Nationwide Consultancy for Adult Learning (NCAL) Ltd has been developing a library of tools that it has used to support its client base of learning providers preparing for inspections. NCAL has now made much of this library of resources available to learning providers to use for free!

On their site, NCAL note you are now able to “…. browse through up to 60 well tried and tested items including forms, checklists, staff development presentations, diagnostic tools, sample policies and many more”.

They also note: “…The materials have been developed and refined over the years to be used as templates which our clients can adapt and customise to their own house-style. Many of them have played a part in the achievement of grade 1s!”

There is a wide range of tools and templates in this library, mostly in Microsoft Office formats so you can download the resources and refine them to your own organisations needs. They could also sit very nicely within a Quality Improvement area of your staff intranet or Virtual Learning Environment. There are several categories spanning Equality and Diversity, Leadership and Management, Learner Journey and Quality Improvement.

You can access the free resources on NCAL’s website.

Evaluation of CELs Leadership Toolkit

The Centre for Excellence in Learning (CEL) is currently evaluating one of its successful online resources, the Work Based Learning Leadership toolkit. I’ve mentioned the toolkit on here previously, it’s an online resource that supports work based learning leaders with interactive resources that cover nine core business areas. Constantly reviewed and updated, this evaluation is designed to review the toolkit and ensure it remains focussed on your needs.

As part of this evaluation CEL are welcoming input from users of the toolkit who can undertake a short survey online. CEL are also looking for organisations who would be willing to have a case study written about their experiences and use of the toolkit. (Organisations that take part and have a case study written about them will be given a yearly subscription for an additional member within their organisation.)

If you are a current user of the toolkit you can learn more about ways you can offer your own feedback on the survey website or by emailing the Toolkit team.

If you are not a current user but keen to know more, details of the toolkit are available on the main CEL website or you can view an animated demo of the toolkit and some of its contents at this link.

Molesharing Mobile Learning Resources

Are you looking for e-learning resources to use on mobile devices? If so, the new Moleshare site might prove useful.

This new site offers a number of mobile friendly learning materials that can be freely downloaded, for use on your intranet or your Virtual Learning Environment. The materials have been designed with mobile devices in mind (so they resize to smaller screens etc) but they can be displayed and used on PCs too.

The site has various sections - the resources area is useful if you are looking for specific learning material to download and use while the examples and tools area shares some of the outcomes of the Molenet work that has taken place this year.

There are already a variety of resources there ranging from videos to Photostorys, to PowerPoint Presentations to images and audio files. Each listed resource shows what mobile devices they are suitable for too.

More information..

This is another useful site to add to the list of growing sites that support the fast growing area of mobile learning. I’ve mentioned several others in a previous post here. I’ll now also be adding Moleshare to the new look Work Based Learning delicious site where there is already a growing list of resources that are available for use in the sector. If you haven't already seen those might be worth a look.

Free video-conferencing for learning providers

I’ve mentioned Dim Dim on here previously, its a free video conferencing tool. My colleagues and I have recently been showing how much potential this tool has for learning providers.

For example videoconferencing could be used to...

* support groups of remote learners who can access a tutor led session from their own PCs (no downloads required).

* many training providers have several centres and staff are required to travel to attend meetings. Using videoconferencing reduces the need for that, saving travel costs and travel time for the company. (Reducing carbon footprints too!)

* to host short staff training sessions online - these might also be recorded for later playback.

There are several options for free videoconferencing software, Dim Dim is not the only choice, but it is a favourite of ours at the moment because of its ease of use and the fact that it is an excellent free option. I’ve mentioned more in a previous post which has links to a BBC review too. A new version has also just been released with additional features making it an even stronger contender to many of the videoconferencing tools you pay large fees for.

If you haven’t yet seen Dim Dim or experienced videoconferencing, possibly because you were put off by the technical requirements, know how or cost, the good news is Dim Dim now addresses much of that. If you would like to know more here's a one minute video that highlights Dim Dim in more detail, this previous post has additional reviews or feel free to get in touch with any questions or comments.