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1. Background

1.1 The Ofsted Inspection in April 2007 stated that the use of Information Learning Technology (

ILT) was underdeveloped. The appointment of a Director for Technology ( Sept 09 ) to lead

on IT development and an E-learning Manager ( December 09 ) to support training for

teachers has had a positive impact on teaching and learning. There is good and improving

use of e-learning as evidenced by external reviewers in Enhanced Wider Reviews and

internal observations. Comments from Enhanced Wider Reviews demonstrating our

progress in teaching and learning and the use of ILT are included in this file.

1.2 The Inspection also identified that the VLE was not being used effectively across all

curriculum areas. The numbers of staff using the VLE was 45% in 07/08. This has doubled to

90% this academic year. This increase of staff usage is clearly evident in the number of T&L

resources placed on the VLE which has risen from 7161 to 13,37. Learners now register

themselves on the VLE using LDAP authentication and there are 3522 students registered on

the system making use of the resources.

The number of hits on the VLE are displayed below,

2007/08 2008/09 2009/10 2010/11

( 24/4/11)

Total Increase

from 08-11

199,236 280,601 1,130,073 1,267,596 986,995

0

5000

10000

15000

20000

25000

30000

35000

40000

45000

50000

Most Active Courses for 2010 / 11

ILT Position Paper

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1.3 An e-learning and Technology working group was established in 2008/09 including

curriculum staff and specialists who identify what can be used as well as make

recommendations for resources, staff development and the use of the VLE. In 2009/10 this

was split into two separate groups, an executive ILT strategy group and the teaching and

learning coaches. The T&L coaches are given responsibility of sharing best practice amongst

the curriculum teams

2. Training and Support

2.1 Training and support has been provided by the E-learning Manager and the VLE Developer.

Training is conducted on request as a one-to-one, group / team activity or through staff

development days. All themes are aimed at the pedagogical principles that e-learning must

adopt. Training sessions help to improve the way teachers and learners interact with

technology to enhance the learning experience. After training, staff are encouraged to use

resources in the e-learning toolkit. Data represented in the graph- Appendix Ref 1

2.2 A detailed training list is contained within the file, the types of training activities are

summarised,

Interactive Resources

Gadgets under £100

Promethean Board, flipcharts and Voting

E-Assessment

E-safety

Pro Monitor

PowerPoint

Office 2010

Guest

Administrator0

1000

2000

3000

4000

5000

6000

7000

Guest

Student

Teacher

Administrator

All

E-Learning Toolkit Statistics

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Windows 7

Moodle

Media Conversions

Prezi

iPad

Wikis

Collaborative on-line working

Social networking

Instructional design

Ning

The areas that briefings have taken place for 2010/11

6 3

12

5

16

4 2

4 6

15

1

6 8

32

1 2 2

7 7

11

15

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

Briefings 2010 -2011

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2.3 E-learning guidance notes and a pack of cards have been distributed to curriculum staff. A e-

learning skills survey has been issued for staff to rate themselves across and range of ILT

disciplines. Staff are encouraged to set themselves targets against the survey and identify

where they would like to be by the end of the academic year. This has had a low yield of

response, however will be embedded into staff training in the next academic year, to

coincide with a new VLE. It did however focus staff on the requirements of e-learning and

how to effectively embed it into curriculum practice.

2.4 In order to focus e-learning, courses are evaluated in accordance to the following criteria.

2.4.1 Localised

2.4.2 Co-ordinated

2.4.3 Transformative

2.4.4 Embedded

2.4.5 Innovative

A full description of these can be found in this file. ( section 3 )

2.5 Training has been conducted by ourselves and with the help of JISC RSC North West and

Compass

3. Sharing of best practice

3.1 A recommendation in the ‘e-learning vision, strategy and recommendations’

document, focused on the ‘silo based culture’ and that best practice and

ideas of appropriate use of technology for teaching and learning be shared.

The E-learning Manager and VLE Developer promote exemplar work to

other areas and have issued guest access to all course for staff to investigate

and gather ideas. We have seen evidence of this pollination approach since

2009. Examples include,

33

99

34 46

32

54

40

87

32

81

15

0

20

40

60

80

100

120

Series1

Number of training sessions and topics Total =553 sessions

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E-mail Blocks – First used by Health and Social Care in 2009 for learners to ask any

teacher in that department a question about their programme of study. This was

later adopted in 2010 by Construction. – Appendix Ref 2

Ning- Established by ESOL to improve electronic submission and promote content

created by learners in 2009. This was successful and later adopted by the Hair and

Beauty department for use with 14-16 cohorts in 2010.

Vokis – Introduced to Uniformed Pre Services in 2010, the voki is a speaking avatar

that learning outcomes and messages can be displayed through. This has been

adopted since by Sport, Catering, ESOL and Hair and Beauty in 2010/11.

An e-learning competition was held in February 2011 for all curriculum areas to

enter and present their e-learning solutions to all other departments. This worked

extremely well for all participants and the level of entries were high.- This boosted

staff confidence in e-learning and impacted on teaching and learning by influencing

lessons and VLE content. –Appendix Ref 3

All functional skills e-learning resources are available to all users.

3.2 An e-learning toolkit has been created for staff and learners to explore and learn about

web2.0 technologies. The toolkit features over 200 tried and tested websites, qualifications

for promethean resources and office 2010, how to guides, e-safety and mobile learning.

Staff can also explore further in the toolkit to learn about e-learning and instructional

design. Appendix Ref 1

3.3 A teaching and learning coaches best practice area has been established on the VLE since

2010. This has been populated by most of the T&L coaches and features useful hints and

tips. Appendix Ref 5

3.4 A Pro Monitor and Tutorial help courses have also been included on the VLE to support staff

in understanding the use and functionality of the ILP tool and resources for tutorials.

Appendix Ref 6

Following the piloting of ProMonitor software during 2008-9, this has now been rolled out to

be used as the ILP for full time learners during 2009-10. Dedicated staffing has been in place

since May 2009 to support both the technical implementation of the package, alongside

staff training to use it.

3.5 Sport created a Youtube channel for learning videos created as part of exercise and coaching

classes. This has now been adopted by UP S and Hair and Beauty as of March / April 2011.

Appendix Ref 7

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4. Assessment

4.1 E-assessment is still developing on the VLE. Construction, brickwork and Joinery have

successfully embedded formative and summative assessment. They are using resources

from Learning Lounge and Edexcel to prepare learners to final examinations at the end of

each module. Sport are using CYQ Fitness and Exercise assessment resources successfully on

the VLE.

Brickwork end tests – Appendix Ref 8

Joinery end tests – Appendix Ref 9

Fitness –Appendix Ref 10

4.2 ESOL use the Ning site for learners to develop the own e-assessment products and develop

content to be used by other learners in that area.

4.3 There is use of e-portfolios within the college, construction have promoted the successful

use of this medium. A whole college pilot has been conducted in March and April 2011 to

investigate one standardised e-portfolio to be used by all departments. This pilot so far has

proved inconclusive and other providers will be examined.

4.4 To support the development of e-assessment opportunities , the college has purchased It’s

Learning VLE, that is built with a specific focus on pedagogy and independent learning. The

tools are more sophisticated, but easier for novice users to create e-assessment

opportunities.

4.5 There is improving use of e-assessment in classrooms, as teachers are starting to convert

PowerPoint to Promethean flipcharts and using third party software such as Triptico. These

resources provide interactive assessment for learners, utilising the technology in place in

classrooms.

4.6 Learners are being encouraged to work collaboratively, UPS learners created picture boards,

movie maker films and photostory of their course and activities. Business learners are using

Cacoo for collaborative flowcharts, Mind42 for Mind mapping and Prezi for collaborative

presentations. These have been submitted as part of the assessment process.

4.7 Electronic submission is being encouraged by a number of curriculum areas. This is mainly

conducted through e-mail with some areas experimenting with cloud computing. As a

college, staff are currently experimenting with the tracking function of MSWord 2010.

4.8 Learners are encouraged to use their own mobile devices in college to promote independent

learning. The college provides free wifi access to all learners to enable these devices to

connect to the college internet service. Web Books, ipods, Nintendo DS are available within

most curriculum areas or from the LRCs. Sport, UPS and Esol are using Nintendo Wii and

Xbox 360 Kinect as part of active learning and assessment.

5. Further Developments

5.1 A UCAS information course has been created on the VLE to support all learners looking

towards HE progression –Appendix Ref 11

5.2 Support for at risk employees has been created to assist employees in alternative

employment or CPD – Appendix Ref 12

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5.3 Principals Question Time is available on the VLE for learners to submit questions and receive

answers from the event - http://moodle.hopwood.ac.uk/mod/feedback/view.php?id=22604

5.4 There are a number of e-resources that have been added to the LRC and VLE for learners

that include – Appendix Ref 13

Ebrary

News Film Online

Engage

Oxford Journals

Mediahub

Scientific World

Marketline

Gale

LRC Catalogue

6. E-safety

6.1 The VLE contains a wealth of e-safety resources for learners and teachers to explore and use

in tutorials – Appendix Ref 14

The focus is for learners to understand the risks associated with an online presence and how

that impacts on future employment. Learners also test the own knowledge of the internet

and understand where to report problems. All training materials and activities have been

created in collaboration with JISC, Rochdale Metropolitan Borough Council, BBC, CeOP and

Safer Internet.

6.2 A ‘Stay Safe’ button was added to the VLE in 2010 that links directly to the Safe Guarding

officers. This link has been used successfully by learners to report incidents. Learners can

access the Stay Safe button from the front page of the VLE with the subsequent report

mailed directed to designated safe guarding officers. The information generated in the

module is secure and complies with the Data Protection Act and Safe Guarding procedures.

6.3 Learners are also given access to CEOP and subsequent resources if they have concerns

about their online safety and wellbeing. This has been advertised in various sections of the

VLE and learners are informed at induction of the Stay Safe button and issued cards. For

2011/12 the E-Safety course will be mandatory within the VLE for all learners to rate their

level of understanding and monitor that throughout the year. Learners are also protected by

the college filtering and monitoring system, to deter unacceptable use that may cause harm

or offence to others. ( E-safety Policy )

6.4 Staff have received training on e-safety as part of staff development day events and another

round of these will be planned for the next academic year.

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