Case study Organisation: North Hertfordshire College Type of FE provider: College Focus on: Technology
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“Curriculum teams feel well supported and are able to take risks in experimenting with new technology.” Background North Hertfordshire College is a medium sized college that enrols around 15,000 students per year across three different sites in Stevenage, Hitchin, and a custom built management centre in Letchworth Garden City. Deputy principal Signe Sutherland moved into FE more than 20 years ago after a career in the travel industry and has a keen interest in the evolution of technology, and how it can be used to enhance learning.
Use of technology In 2003, with the opening of the new Stevenage campus, North Hertfordshire became one of the first colleges in the country to have interactive whiteboards in every classroom. By 2004/05, all teams had information and learning technology (ILT) action plans and a college wide strategy was in place. Curriculum teams feel well supported and are able to take risks in experimenting with new technology. The college participated in the first round of The Mobile Learning Network (MoLeNet) with the successful ‘MoLeMentors project’. Students mentored teachers in utilising mobile technologies in the classroom or workplace by introducing the teachers to the methods and techniques that they use themselves. Each
participating member of staff was paired with a learner and were given the same mobile device. They then set out to determine together how to best use the device to enhance learning. An example of an outcome of the ‘MoLeMentors project’ is that one ICT lecturer now uses QR** codes to share announcements and information with learners via mobile phones, rather than having a notice board. The college now posts video footage on YouTube, which can help students in securing employment by allowing potential employers to assess a student’s performance. Such clips also publicise the college and encourage further enrolment. In addition, each curriculum area now has a flip portable digital video camera that they can use to capture highlights and showcase good practice in an effort to market their own courses. ** A QR (quick response) code is a two dimensional barcode. Which when scanned on a mobile phone will enable you to complete a task. The most common tasks include accessing a web resource, sending a pre-written SMS or accessing more text information.
The student intranet, MyNHC, was redesigned last year after significant learner consultation. It is a SharePoint site accessible from anywhere that acts as the student portal to all the college’s electronic resources. From here, students can access their email, the college network, the virtual learning environment (VLE), online individual learning programmes (ILPs) and North Hertfordshire College Television (NHCTV). In addition, a number of social aspects have been incorporated into the site including a marketplace and student blogs. At the moment, podcasting is becoming increasingly popular and the demand is student driven. Through sharing good practice, more podcasts are being created and shared.
Staff continuing professional development Over the years, strong links have been forged between the IT department, staff development, teacher training and student services to enable easy facilitation of ILT training linked to continuing professional development (CPD), technology developments and student training. Staff are now able to book ad-hoc training session in addition to monthly ILT meetings, and any other advertised sessions arranged in conjunction with staff development. The college is part of an e-CPD project, with e-CPD staff focused specifically on ILT in pedagogy. Signe can see real benefits in this arrangement: “They are very focused on pedagogy for smaller groups arranged by vocational grouping. Our website is linked to the e-CPD project and joins up all the different elements, including e-guides and subject learning coaches.” The e-CPD programme has highlighted the need to use technology to support learning, rather than being used for technology’s sake. The college have submitted a Learning and Skills Improvement Service (LSIS) excellence and improvement fund project bid seeking to develop an individual in each curriculum area to champion the use of technology in teaching and learning, including the development of blended learning content. The college is seeking to have an ILT champion, or professional development adviser, in each curriculum area to develop the skills of staff, and increase the volume of blended learning resources available.
Key lessons • Students and staff work together to support each other as they master new gizmos – this takes away any nervousness that either the tutor or learner might have about using the technologies. • ‘The Learning Tree Day’ is very important – this way of disseminating ideas works brilliantly, motivating and enthusing staff. • It is important to join up all the elements of e-CPD together in one place, with access through the portal, and the sharing of good practice so that we can bring all staff up to speed with e-learning.
Benefits The benefits for the college have been considerable, as Signe sums up: “It’s really energised teaching. People are working smarter too. All our full-time students now have ILPs called, ‘My Plan’, which can be accessed both by the student and by tutors. That’s cut down a lot on admin, since it means that tutors don’t constantly have to rewrite comments on pieces of paper. Tutors can see where their students are with their learning and plan accordingly. It’s been a terrific help in terms of effective pedagogy and reducing wasted time.”
Future plans • The college has launched a student technology survey in an effort to measure the impact of technology on their learning, and are running a similar survey with staff to gather their views on the impact on learning. The results of these surveys will help direct future training action plans for staff, and provide guidance into any future technology developments. • The college will be involved in the launch of new Brain Train software, which is being developed by BDP Learning, for application in the classroom. • Basic skills reminder sessions are planned for iPod software for use with the college’s work in conjunction with the army.
At least twice a year the college has a ‘Learning Tree Day’ (which is a seminar for tutors). At the start of the day, five or six tutors from each of the college’s six academies (faculties) demonstrate software and pedagogy, which they then hand out on memory sticks. It’s an effective way of disseminating good practice.
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